# can anyone be kind enough to give me some pointers?



## kriss1151 (Oct 21, 2011)

Well...recently after a clear out of an abandond house...i found a tiny fish tank...(12" length x 7" wide x 9.5" high) roughly 3.55 gallons...now i have set the tank up...and as im new to this im just looking for some pointers...IE....can i put the heater under the stones? will it still heat the water and keep it at the required temperature? 

im looking to place a shoal of neon tetra's (roughly 10/15) in this tank (smaller decorations will be bought, a few plants/ little orniments ect)..Here is a picture of how i have it set up at the moment...(Ie...heater under the stones, and filter to one side....)

EDIT....Unable to post pictures at this time.


As i am totally new to ANYTHING relating to fish...anything anyone could tell me would be greatly appreciated, Thankyou


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

First of welcome!Sad to say you cannot put that many neons in such a small tank.A single betta,or a few ghost shrimp yes.

depending on the heater,some are made to go under the substrate but most others are not,so you will have to place it on the side.

Before anything goes in you will need to cycle the tank,but thats going to be kinda hard on such a small tank.You can plant it heavily and do a silent cycle.

For a shoal of neons you will need to look into a larger tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sorry to say, but that tank will not support much more than a Betta and certainly not what you were wanting. You could do it sure and not take the advice here as some do, but it will more than likely end in disaster. As a general rule (nothing to live by), people use a 1 inch of fish per gallon rule that sort of gets you ball park. With that size tank, take away water displaced from what you put in it and that you don't fill it to the very top and you'll probably have less than 3 gallons. That amount of water doesn't support too many types of fish, let alone any quantity.


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## kriss1151 (Oct 21, 2011)

aww no, im rather disapointed in this...but then...thats nature and i dont wanna be cruel....i guess remove the filter and heater...and its goldfish time lol!

Thanks alot guys!! biggg help!!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Nonononono!Not goldfish!

Goldfish get huge,they need at the very least 30 gallons for the first FANCY goldfish and ten for everyone thereafter.Thats the small fancies.The large feeders need a pond to truly be happy.

read more up on it here:
Goldfish: Thinking Outside the Bowl - UltimateBettas

and here:
Think a Bowl is Big Enough? - UltimateBettas


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## SevenNoOni (Oct 11, 2011)

I blame circus's for this goldfish mindset. No offense Kriss it is just a common thing.. I persoanly thing they are Nasty fish lol NO OFFENSE ANYONE IM SORRY!  id go Betta Kriss with the shrimp it will be Awesome


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Fairs,Circus's and non educated pet store employees.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

If you want a school (shoal? Sorry, in nautical terms a shoal is basically a sandbar) of fish, you might want to consider some dwarf rasboras. They are tiny and you could fit 4-6 in a 3 gallon tank without much worry, but they are VERY delicate fish and very sensitive to water changes, so you'll have to be very careful there.

I agree with what has been stated above - a betta would be your best bet. Does anyone else think a single dwarf gourami would be feasible as well?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Shoaling and schooling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think most fish referred to as schooling fish (in an aquarium context) are actually shoaling fish.


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## kriss1151 (Oct 21, 2011)

i have read a few of the links posted, and i think it would be best for me to go for a betta, which i will be doing in a week or so, once my tank have sorted itself, thanks guys


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## SevenNoOni (Oct 11, 2011)

I think out of the Bettas my persoanl Fav is the Crown Fin... Is why i have 2 of them LoL.


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## kriss1151 (Oct 21, 2011)

which is exactly the one i fancied lol, a nice bright purple one or a blue one


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

Given that you are new, first look up either on here or google, the cycling process. This is essential as it looks like you want to do this somewhat impulsively (a "I want to do this now") sort of thing.

In my opinion, you should get a 10 gallon tank for about 10-15 dollars either in a store or on craigslist and go from there, you'll likely start getting bored of it as there isn't much you can do with a 3 gallon tank.


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## RobSchuele247 (Oct 17, 2011)

They are all right (especially mikolas) I started with a 5gallon tank and it wasnt very good! Good advice would be to start with a 10 gallon, excellent advice would be to start with a 25 gallon or larger that way less mistakes and healthier fish!


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