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Hello everybody.
I have a 5 1/2 gallon, HOB filter, 3 zebra danios, 2 WCMM, 1 otto, 1 cory. Not heated.
Right now its just decorated with a few silk and plastic plants. I was thinking of re-doing the tank and use live plants instead of plastic.
NONE of my tanks are planted, so I have no clue what I am doing here.
Currently, the lid has no lights in it. For Christmas I was thinking of asking for a canopy. Should I ask for the normal lights, or the other kind (Sorry, I forget what they are called, there the ones that almost "glow" and don't heat up as much as the normal lights. They also cost more)
Also, would I need a heater? I'll buy one if needed.
Thanks for any help!!!
-Meg

P.S. The current is VERY strong, would this affect the plants at all?

Actually, I might be moving the 2 WCMM to the 50 gallon so I can make a school, and the 3 small danios into the 3 gallon, so I would only be left with the otto and cory. I really want a dark crown-tail betta...what would they think of the plants?

If you plan to get a Betta, which would be very happy in a 5g tank by the way, you should consider getting a little 25 or 50 watt heater. If the current is very strong, consider getting a large plant and planting it in front of the filter outflow- bettas dont like too much current, and a big plant would block the flow and dissipate it a bit, or you could take a peice of coarse filter sponge, and slide it up over your filter intake spout, which will make the filter suck up less water and therefore less flow.
If you have plants, you will need light. I would reccomend an Incadescent Hood - the kind with regular lightbulbs- then take those bulbs out, and get two little compact flourescent bulbs (spirals or straight double tube), you can buy them anywhere- walmart, superstore, target, home depot. If you can get "daylight" ones, even better, but not necessary.
If you get 2 7watt compact flourescent spirals, that will give you 2.8 watts per gallon, or if you go with 13 watt ones, that would give you 5.2 watts per gallon. You will be able to keep pretty much any type of plant in there. I would recomend either plants that stay small- such as Anubias Nana or Dwarf Chain Sword, or just keep the tall ones nicely pruned down. I can reccomend a great many easy to keep plants if you need some info, and great site is www.tropica.com as well.
Also, bettas love live plants!


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I don't think I am going to get a betta any more...not too sure if it would get along with the danios.
Anyways, I think I'm going to do this:
Move the 2 WCMM to the 50 gallon, so I have the 3 danios, 1 cardnal tetra, 1 otto and 1 cory in the 5 1/2 gallon, and maybe add 2 more cardnal's. I was thinking of getting a snail too...would this be okay?
Some questions regarding the plants:
Do they need a heater?
What are some begginger plants that stay rather small? I also want some tall ones, but ovbiously they can't be too tall.
What about pruning? What exzactly do you do? Also, the parts that I take off, can I feed them to my goldies?

And another question, my tank is a 5 1/2 gallon, would a lid made for a 5 gallon fit on it? I can't seem to find any lids for a 5 1/2 gallon.

Sorry about all the questions, but I want to make sure I know everything I need to know before I start.
-THANKS!!!
-Meg

Move the 2 WCMM to the 50 gallon, so I have the 3 danios, 1 cardnal tetra, 1 otto and 1 cory in the 5 1/2 gallon, and maybe add 2 more cardnal's. I was thinking of getting a snail too...would this be okay?

[font color="#800080"] Adding 2 more Cardinals would be fine. The type of snail you got would have to be pretty specific. Apple snails of some varieties eat plants, others grow too large for a 5g tank. Ramshorn snails, Malaysian Livebearing Snails, and Trapdoor snails, would all be small enough, but are all hermaphroditic, or livebearing, and would quickly explode in population. I would avoid a snail in such a small tank. Perhaps look at some different types of shrimp. Amano Shrimp, Wood Shrimp, Cherry Shrimp, Bumblebee Shrimp etc. They would be much better for a small tank. [/font]

Some questions regarding the plants:
Do they need a heater?

[font color="#800080"]That depends on the type of plants you choose, some such as Amazon Sword, Ludwigia, Rotala, prefer warm water, some such as Cabomba, Foxtail, etc prefer colder water. Check on www.tropica.com for more info on your plant of choice.[/font]

What are some begginger plants that stay rather small? I also want some tall ones, but ovbiously they can't be too tall.

[font color="#800080"] Anubias Nana, Java Moss, Wisteria, Anachris, are all good beginner plants. Most taller plants are also good because when you prune them they just get bushier and bushier. Wisteria is one like this. [/font]

What about pruning? What exzactly do you do? Also, the parts that I take off, can I feed them to my goldies?

[font color="#800080"]When you prune a plant, you just decide where you want it to end at the top, and then snip it off in between the leaf nodes. You can either plant the cuttings and most plants will regrow this way, or you could feed them to your goldies if the plant is edible.[/font]

And another question, my tank is a 5 1/2 gallon, would a lid made for a 5 gallon fit on it? I can't seem to find any lids for a 5 1/2 gallon.

[font color="#800080"]That would depend entirely upon the measurements. Take the measurements off the box in the store for the hood, and then compare to the dimensions of your tank at home. Likely the 5 1/2 gallon is only slightly taller, which wont matter on the fit of the hood. And if the hood was slightly larger, I dont think it would be of much concern.
[/font]



Last edited by Babelfish at 30-Nov-2004 09:35

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Thank you sooo much! You guys have been a great help! ^.^
Instead of getting a snail I was thinking of getting a few ghost shrimp, or some other kind of shrimp.
Tommorow I'm going check the price and measurements of the 5 gallon hood.
Also, I'm moving the WCMM to the 50 gallon so I can add more to make a school, and I'm also going to get 2 more cardnals for the 5 1/2 gallon.
-Meg

While you're filling out schools...corys are schoolers as well they'd love the 50...

^_^
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You mean they would be okay with the goldies? I could see why, the goldies don't seem to be bothering the danios...and are probably too slow to catch anything, anyways. I don't think I would have to worry because the largest goldfish isn't extremly big. That might be a good idea because I really need something to clean the bottom because the goldfish are really messy with their food, LoL. The only problem is there is already 6 danios, and I'm adding 4 WCMM, along with the 5 (small) goldfish that are in there. I don't think I would have a problem with water quality issues, my filter (HOB) is rated for a 100 gallon, and I do weekly 25% water changes.
Also, the goldie tank doesn't have a heater, but neither does the 5 1/2 gallon, and they are both in the same room to the temps are the same.
How many corys should I get? Will they school if I only get 2 more?

2 is really the minimum....corys are really fun and social fish, you'll notice as you add more of them that they become more active. Mine like to take naps together and share bottom wafers .

5 goldfish really is too much for that size tank, they need the space to grow. You should estimate 20+ gallons per goldfish in a 55 gallon tank minimum (ie not 1 goldfish in a 20 but 2 goldfish in a 55). A 75 gallon is much better for goldfish as it has a larger footprint. Remember fancy ball shaped goldfish get the size of softballs and larger, common torpedo goldfish get 2 feet and more.

Depending what type of cory it is, it might be okay with room temperature so long as the room doesn't shift too much during a 24 hour period (all my tanks have heaters because I let the house cool off to 60F @night).
And now that we're compleatly off topic...I'll say HTH a bit .

^_^
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I decided to go by the 10 gallon per goldfish rule...I know it is the bare minimum. If the goldies do get too big for the tank, I'll make sure to find them a bigger home I'm going to go look at the corys they have at my LFS...maybe get 2 or more. I'll have to see.
Thanks,
-Meg

Just to continue the off-topic topic :%)... not all plants need a heater but I'm sure the tetras and ottos would certainly appreciate one

Also check with your local store to see what kinds of plants they have in stock. Take a pen and paper, and make a list of what they have. It's fun to make your 'perfect' planting plan from here or tropica.com but it can be really disappointing to then find that your local store doesn't have any of them!