Re: 5gal Hex-bio wheel-Betta & Cat or 2 small fish & Cat?

ko57 wrote: 
Hello,

I've been reading through some of the postings at this group and at
afew aquarium sites and just joined, any advice even though my new tank
is small would be appreciated.  Perhaps later on I'll get a larger
tank...

After having had an aquarium many years ago when we were kids, I bought
a small 5 gallon Aquatech Hex with the bio wheel and the blue/white
carbon filter. I also got the 5-15gal heater since it is adjustable
and since we don't have central air/heating, it can get pretty cool in
our house during winter. I also have a small thermometer attached
inside and will get the small strip thermometer for the outside.
I set up the tank Sunday evening, with a little less than the 5# bag of
gravel, a few smooth stones, a plaster driftwood ornament (where fish
can hide or swim through underneath), 1 small round coral
ornament-about 2 3/4" in diameter, and bought two lilly bulbs in a
pack, will see how these grow, supposedly in about 20 days. I did
initially put 2 5# bags of gravel but read about how much harder it
will be to maintain and clean too much gravel-so took out a little more
than half, the bottom is covered well.
After reading on the web in this group and at other sites about the 1"
(full grown)/ gallon rule, I see how limited my options are. I didn't
want to start out with a large tank but perhaps I should have bit the
bullet and at least got a 20 or 29 gallon tank.
I'm leaning toward a male betta and maybe one of the small albino
catfish later on to help keep the tank kind of clean. I'll get the
vacuum gravel cleaner, will get the test strips that also check for
ammonia before I put any fish in. I've had a couple of male bettas
before, they are sweet-had them in bowls (medium sized, about half a
gallon), realize they do need better living conditions-I know the cool
house in the winter did them in, and they need more than betta flake
food-brine shrimp, blood worms for their diet.
If I get the small catfish, did I read right in that they eat algae
tablets and brine shrimp for their diet? Do they have to have the
algae tabs every day since don't they eat the stuff at the bottom of
the tank?
One more question-when I removed the excess gravel from the tank, I
noticed a small amount of fine dust from the gravel on some of the
larger stones, the driftwood ornament and coral, and a little on the
outer lower tube of the pumps intake, Would the gravel vacuum remove
this or will I have to take everything out again and re-rinse
everything?
I realize this is a small tank, not the larger tanks that most people
have but any advice would be appreciated, small tank owners chime in
also, please- thanks and regards,

ko57

I've got two 5 gall heated tanks - I have one male Betta in each of them. I toy with the idea of adding some Cories from time to time but haven't got round to it yet. The Betta's look great in these little tanks and swim around them actively :-). I also have a 7.5 gall heated Hex tank in which I keep Pea*** Gobies (difficult to find) and Panda Cories.

When looking at catfish what they eat really depends on the species. Otos will eat algae but the otos I have in one of my larger tanks will only eat real live algae - I had them in one of the 5 galls once and there just was not enough food to sustain them hence their move. Corys won't eat the algae but are great fun to watch - mine get catfish pellets along with bloodworm and brine shrimp. They do root around in the bottom taking up some waste food. Both Cories and Otos need to be kept in groups - I have 5 in my 7.5 gall although I have heard that they do well enough with just 3.

The main problem that I get with my 5 gall tanks is controlling the temperature as the lights heat such a small volume of water quite quickly so this is something to watch for - that being said I still need the heaters when the temperatures drop overnight. The second most common problem is issues with water quality - a smaller tank is less tolerant to any changes - (less water to dilute it). Rather than a second thermometer I would suggest investing in a Water Test Kit - you will want to monitor ammonia, nitrite, pH and nitrate initially as the tank cycles....You will also need to do more frequent (larger) water changes on a tank of this size along with the gravel vacs to maintain the quality. Personally I would get at least one ready grown plant in addition to your bulbs.

As for fish there are any number of fish that you could put in depending on your water type. I'm biased towards the betta idea - but a small school of tetras could also look good....others on this group are also full of ideas on this....

Gill
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