[Cook.MN]

Cause I felt so bad for those Bettas in the fish stores, was thinking I could add 5 tetras to his tank as well? I have only kept Bettas as a young kid and I only kept them alone.

Would adding 5 tetra cramp him? I hear that Bettas are actually a friendly fish who do prefer company so wanted to get him some buddies.

 

[dwarfpike]

Not much room in it ... if you want to do lots of water changes, could add some ... i'd go with rasboras though, more themed. :thumb:

Harequins rasboras are one of the prettiest fish when settled in ...

 

[naegling23]

get him a small dwarf aquatic frog.

In a 5 gallon, your only going to be able to add a couple of tetra's. 1 or 2 tetra's isnt going to make it more interesting though imho, you really need 6 or so to make tetra's worthwhile. Your better off with another interesting small fish in there, kuli loaches might be another suggestion.

 

[Cook.MN]

It is one of those eclipse tanks with a biowheel filter and heater, so it's not just a 5 gallon bucket

 

[straitjacketstar]

Trigonostigma (Rasbora) espei or hengeli would be better suited to a smaller tanks than T. heteromorpha as both stay smaller. A 5 would accomidate either species with a little more elbow room.
Anything in the Boraras genus would also fit nicely. They stay small and could be housed in a good number group.

 

[dwarfpike]

Ack. Fell into the common name trap! :lol: Should of been more specific which harlequin rasbora I meant!!!

Those new Boraras brigittae are stunning ... I think they go by the common name Phoenix rasboras ...

See? Included the scientific name this time ... old dogs can learn new tricks.

 

[straitjacketstar]

All of the Boraras sp. look amazing but I can't keep up with the common names! lol
I thought B. brigittae were going by "Brigitte's Rasbora"?! :lol:

 

[Cook.MN]

:roll:

So...small fish :lol:

 

[straitjacketstar]

:roll:

So...small fish :lol:

More like....tiny.

 

[Laurel]

How do killies do in tanks that small?

 

[straitjacketstar]

I know the avid killi breeders use no more than small containers to spawn many of their less common African and South American species. I don't know how ideal a 5 gallon tank would be for any of them as a living situation but I believe some of the South American Cynolebias sp. would probably fit the bill.
I've had a group of Lucania goodei (North American) do nicely in a 5.5 along with some pygmy sunnies.
I've also always wanted to try the small Leptolucania ommata (North American), which seem like a perfect choice for a small tank, but never found a source for them.

 

[toddnbecka]

Here you go straitjacketstar, an online source for pygmy killifish :thumb: http://www.aquaculturestore.com/fwverts.html
No more excuses for not trying them out.
Pics and commenary when you do... opcorn:

 

[dwarfpike]

One I would avoid is the celestial pearl danio/gaxaly rasbora ... as pretty and tiny as they are, they prefer much cooler water than the betta does.

 

[dwschacht]

It is one of those eclipse tanks with a biowheel filter and heater, so it's not just a 5 gallon bucket

stop dissing my 5 gallon buckets!

I have 3 set up with holding female africans in them at the moment.

At least I put sponge filters in them!

 

[theinjected1]

Go with a trio of male endlers. A female would be worthless because of the lack of color and the fact that if they did breed, the betta would most likely eat the fry.

 

[heylady]

Do not be surprised if the betta ends up killing any fish you put in with him. IME male bettas can get quite aggressive with small fish and in a small tank they are very capable of catching/cornering and killing their tankmates. This goes for shrimp too.
IMO I'd keep the betta by himself and maybe go for a planted tank. This can look quite stunning! And the betta will love it!

 

[lab911]

I would go with a nicely planted tank (with live plants) and add a few dwarf frogs. If you really want some fish with the betta maybe try the fast but small white cloud tetras. They do not require a heated tank and you never mentioned having a heater for the five gallon eclipse. I would not put any danios due to their tendency to nip fins. I would be afraid that the male bettas long fins would be too much of a temptation. I have had bad luck with the killie fish becomimg too aggressive and killing my mollies, platy's and even my large swordtails. I would stay away from any killie fish too.