Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: bmarine on June 01, 2013, 10:30:22 AM
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Hey, just got a 5 gallon for free and have no idea what to do with it, any ideas/suggestions?
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I would do shrimp (red cherry or similar) and possibly a pair of endler guppies or else some heterandria formosa or similar very small fish. A sponge filter should be adequate for that tank.
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Beta and couple Cory cats would be my vote.
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I would do shrimp (red cherry or similar) and possibly a pair of endler guppies or else some heterandria formosa or similar very small fish. A sponge filter should be adequate for that tank.
I agree
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I don't really want a betta, they just seem like a boring fish to me. But i do kinda like that shrimp idea. If i did a few shrimp, how many fish could i have in there? Im thinking maybe like rasboras, tetras, or danios. Otherwise could i get something like a dwarf gourami and then a few other small fish with that? I have an undergravel filter and a power filter with the tank if that helps.
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Otherwise, could i do a pair of shell-dwellers?
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I would say a Dovi ;)
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With shrimp you can't have a dwarf gourami cause he will eat them but rasboras, tetras, or danios are fine. shell-dwellers need a 10 gallon.
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You could put a pair of brevis in a 5 gallon. I have a few pairs in a 6 gallon right now. Would be willing to sell one off.
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You could put a pair of brevis in a 5 gallon. I have a few pairs in a 6 gallon right now. Would be willing to sell one off.
I also have a pair, doing well in a 3.5 gallon so it can definitely be done.
As far as rasboras, most fish will eat baby shrimp...so if you want more shrim p without buying them periodically you would need to put the shrimp in for a few months first or go with very small fish like endlers or some of the micro asian fish.
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Is it possible to do shell dwellers with shrimp? Ive never seen it before so i have no clue!
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Is it possible to do shell dwellers with shrimp? Ive never seen it before so i have no clue!
I would think they would eat the shrimp, but never kept shrimp before.
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Is it possible to do shell dwellers with shrimp? Ive never seen it before so i have no clue!
I would think they would eat the shrimp, but never kept shrimp before.
My observation is all cichlids will eat the baby shrimp and over time you will probably lose the adults also.
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Alright so i won't do that then. What do you guys think about celestial pearl danios or chili rasboras with shrimp? Or is there another fun type of fish that i could put in there?
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Alright so i won't do that then. What do you guys think about celestial pearl danios or chili rasboras with shrimp? Or is there another fun type of fish that i could put in there?
Chilis may be safer...I've read that CPDs wilp hunt shrimp more aggressively. They are micropredators on insects a d crustraceans eg shrimp in the wild. Scarlet badis would be even worse. All will eat some babies, but from least to greatest risk.. probably chili rasboras, then celestial pearl danios, then scarlet badis.
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Gotcha. Are there any other good fish that I could put in there?
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I have my paradise gouramis breeding in about 5g of water, but it's a 20 long divided, so the space is somewhat different. I've tried multifasciatus (shelldweller cichlids) in a 5g before...didn't go the greatest as they never really thrived. Cichlid fry work well for a while but I find myself quickly wanting to move them to a bigger tank for growout. I think you could perhaps do a few of the dwarf cory cats (pygmaeus or habrosus or a few others), and/or some cool pencil fish or else ember tetras, green tetras, some of the micro Asian tetras are cool as well. Small doesn't mean cheap though.
A good resource for some mini or micro fish is here: http://msjinkzd.com/ This lady specializes in such fish and often has various types for sale.
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Think i could do:
3 emerald dwarf rasbora
3 killifish or 3 celestial pearl danios
6 red cherry or blue velvet shrimp?
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Think i could do:
3 emerald dwarf rasbora
3 killifish or 3 celestial pearl danios
6 red cherry or blue velvet shrimp?
Should work.
I'd skip blue velvet as unless they come from a reputable place they will be very washed out blue. Red Cherries are a lot easier to find with nice red color. Even brighter are the fire reds, show up nicely on a dark substrate (ditto the fish you're looking at).
Before you get the CPDs or dwarf rasboras, confirm they are OK on some kind of dry food like new life spectrum or similar; otherwise, if they're freshly wild caught (I believe most are) they may be finicky about eating. Shrimp will eat whatever - sometimes I feed mine, sometimes not - they eat microorganisms in the tank - but they love algae wafers.