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Great idea - that would definatly work only if we had a bigger house. the only other place to put the tank is either on my other bookshelf, in our very empty living room, or in the garage. I live my the Pacific ocean, and am only about a mile away from it, so it gets pretty cold here and the fact thatmy dad works with harsh chemicals outside in the garage makes it even worse for the fish. If I could get a heater, and stand, I could possibly move the fish out of ways harm in a different location in the garage.

I ramble, don't I?[img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0](How about white clouds? I already have some in a 3 Gallon.

rosy and black/red phantom tetras arent really schooling fish and stay fairly small (1.25in), so you could probably try 2 or 3. the only thing is that you'll have to get all females, as the long, flowing fins of the male may confuse the betta into thinking its another betta.

Lovely idea - Thanks agian, Girl

I found alot of small fish stores by looking on whitepages.com. Just put the type of business and your city and state and it will give you a list. It gave me a few stores I had never seen before. That way you will know if there are more LFS nearby.

*Kristin*

I'll be doing that tomorrow. I live washington, mainly by Renton, so the only two petstores I know of are Petco, and Sierra Fish & Pets. If anyone lives by there, I'd love a few stores, but I will be researching that tomorrow. Seems by betta thinks its live food if it moves, so I'm quite busy feeding him

LFS = Local Fish Store. I don't know what city you live in, so I can't help with which stores might carry live foods, but you can call around the stores near you and ask.

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Cake or death?

Yes, I was thinking along the line of a shrimp or a snail. My local Pet store (I'm pretty much a n00b when it comes to abreviations - have no clue what LFS stands for ) holds the most exotic fishes - freshwater sting rays, etc. I will have no problem finding a shrimp or a snail. Thanks so much for your replies, and have one last question.

Currently my new beta only takes live food. What would be a good place to find a store that stocks live bloodworms?

my current 6 gallon setup will be with one south american bumblebee catfish and 1 betta.

i would suggest a south american bumblebee catfish(not the asian bumblebee cat, those suckers get like a foot,lol) or maybe a kuli loach, but they get a bit too big for a 5 gal i think...4"...granted they are narrow, but they are danged active.

my suggestion is some snails or a cool looking shrimp of some sort, cause really, most small fish need a school and will overload a tank. there are some small plecos and catfish, but good luck finding them, and they are also very expensive ussually...even the SA bumblebee cats are hard to find at LFS's.

Beautiful tank, I must admit. I'll see what I can do about the parents and a 10g, but we are very limited to space in our already -very- small house, and I would've brought them back to the pet store if it wasn't for the fact that I lost the recipt

I have asked about white clouds before for a 5g and the answer was that they are pretty active..a little too much for a 5g. They also like company.
I really don't think they should be in a 3g either. They would be much happier with more space. I think a 20g is minimum for those guys.
Neons are a maybe for the 5g. I had it suggested to me before...but they can be sensitive and small tanks tend to crash easily and could cause the fish to die. They need stable water...although mine have been ok in my 10g that had 3ppm of ammonia in it for a couple days.
My Betta chases the neons and I am moving them to a 29g soon...so he won't bother them anymore..so I'd be careful to put them in a 5g.
Ultimately its your choice and if you want them in a 5g its up to you. My opinion is that a 5g is only good for a Betta...or shrimp or snails.

Here is a picture of my 5g planted before I added the betta:
[/font]

*Kristin*

Alright, so I got a 5 Gallon for a community tank (light, heart,m filter = the works). I already have my betta in there, whose persinality (sp?) is quite timid and shy to any kind of fish. I know that a 5 Gallon is quite small, but I don't have room for anything else in my room, and the dreadful fact that I'm not out of highschool yet, so the parents won't let me keep a 10/20 Gallon on our bookshelf. I was just wondering what types of fish could go with my timid little crowntail, and what tempuratures they need. Thanks to anyone who replies

A 5 gallon is quite small...so the best stocking is a male betta. Plant some plants in there and he'll be very happy.
Tetras need atleast 6 and that is too many for a 5g.

In a 10g you could have a small school of neons/cardinals (6) and a male betta. You could get a stand for it and it wouldn't have to go on a bookshelf. A 10g is also small...but better for putting tetras in. Keep asking the parents...thats what I did and they said no every time. Now I've got a 55g, 10g, 29g, and a 5g (getting rid of). Hopefully soon I will also get a 48g. I am in college..but still living at home, so I do have to ask before getting more tanks.

Just tell them that it helps you learn more about responsibility. :%)

*Kristin*

I agree, a five gallon is really too small to put anything in with the betta except for maybe a snail, but there -are- some really nice-looking snails out there. I've seen pink, white, black, yellow, and a purpleish color. I think aquabid.com usually has some good auctions on interesting snails.

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Cake or death?

Just leave the Betta on his own, as 5 gal. is too small for any schooling fish.



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Everything helps, Ingo, help is very apreciated.

Well,

I am not a fan of adding 3 tetras, or any other schooling fish. They are not happy in such small numbers.

In my opinion, the betta is blocking the way for any schooling fish that occupies the same realm (and in a 5G that would be pretty much the whole tank) to be added.

2 Otos are also not the happiest campers, neither are 3 cories.

I would say that you should look into the smaller (smallest) cories (that occupy mostly the bottom, I know there is one small one that is mostly in the middle, but forgot the name) and add 5.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 12-Jan-2006 04:49

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Lovely advice - I appreciate ALL of your advice

You could add either
2 otos
or
3 panda cories
or
3 harlequin rasboras
or
3 neon tetras
By this I am going by the 1"/gallon rule, the betta being 2" from nose to tail (the tail isn't included)
Other fish should be around 1" in size, be gentle and not really fast swimmers. Some may not agree with adding the harlies. If you could find microrasboras you may get to have more although they could be lunch for the betta.
All of the fish I mentioned like to school so you can't keep just one of each, that would be bad for the fish.
If you put live plants, did weekly water changes and have a good filter on the tank you may be able to push the stocking level of these fish up by one or two. But you have to be diligent and I would wait before adding more than the recommended amount until the tank is fully established. If you choose live plants look for java fern, anubias nana petite, cryptocornes and java moss and put them in right at the beginning, it will help ease the fish through the cycling process.


"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

I am not a betta owner but as far as I know they are happy by themselves... no little kids in their room to mess up their bubble nests.

A funky ramshorn snail?

betta owners may be better able to assist...

Enjoy your little friend (wish I had one)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~