# What to put in a 5 gallon Nano tank?



## jtwilson3 (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi all,

I was going to work on setting up my nano tank and was wondering what fish you would think would be good for it?
I was thinking:
1 Otocinclus
1 Ghost shrimp (Or other shrimp that is better and cooler, price not a matter)
1 snail (IDK which kind)
2-3 neon tetras

Now what I am wondering:

Will this all fit?
is there a better kind of shrimp than a ghost shrimp? Maybe a bright/colorful one? Maybe one so I don't need a snail?

IF I do get a snail...what kind is a good cleaner? What is small?

How many tetras should I have?

Thanks,
Josh


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

I have a couple of thoughts, but the smallest I have is a 10g, so it will be based off of my experience with it. First, the next step up from ghost shrimp are Red Cherry Shrimp, which are pretty hardy, but more colorful.They usually rum about $1 each on aquabid.com and 10 or so should get a colony going. An otto sounds good. 5g seems small for neons...are they a must? Maybe guppies or endlers? A betta would work well, eccept he might eat up shrimp babies pretty quick. Last I would suggest several plants to give the shrimp perdu to hide in and feed from.

Good luck


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*I have a 2.5g and I keep yellow shrimps. They are similar to cherry shrimps. I had to do water changes every day because the tank was not cycled. They are breeding fine and no deaths so far. I think 6 neons would be ok in a 5g tank along with everything else you mentioned. Just remember to do water changes frequently. *


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## jtwilson3 (Nov 22, 2010)

How many shrimp should I have in a 5g? And Yeah I just found the cherry shrimp. I am definitely doing those. No the neon tetras are not a must. I just had 2 before that i loved. I thought they would be better than cardinal's but yeah I forget about schools of 6 or more. ya the guppies would be better I believe. Are there any other options? I know I love the dwarf gouramies but I know they are way too big for a 5. 

And I don't want to sound stupid, but what is the difference between endlers and guppies?


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## jtwilson3 (Nov 22, 2010)

Huh I think I like the cherry's a little more than the yellows (I read up on them and they would fit well i believe). I definitely LOVE the otocinclus (One of my favorite fish for freshwater). And really? I didn't think I could even fit more than 2 neon's in there comfortably?


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*nevermind about the neons, i guess they would grow quite too large for a 5g. you could keep them, but would need to upgrade the tank once they get bigger. i dont know how many shrimps you can keep. usually you can tell if they start getting too crowded, by then you would need to remove some and rehome them to another tank. if you keep shrimps, fish must not go with them. i have tried every single option to keep fish with shrimps but it never works, one way or another the fish will eat them. 

Endlers look different because people value them more. They come in more attractive colors and patterns such as tiger endlers and peacock endlers. They are also a different species from guppies but they can be bred together. Similar to how platies and swordtails can be bred together. *


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## jtwilson3 (Nov 22, 2010)

Even fancy guppies with adult shrimp? 

And thank you.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

jtwilson3 said:


> Even fancy guppies with adult shrimp?
> 
> And thank you.


*the baby shrimp will have a very very low survivability rate. Baby shrimps are very small, probably as small as newly hatched brine shrimp which are used to feed baby fish (fry). And the adults will be vulnerable during shedding. the shrimp will be as soft as jello for a few hrs and will titled as expensive fish food during those hours until its shell has hardened 

At the time i was keeping baby/junior platies, in the corner of my eye i saw increased activity. i looked over to see what had happened and i saw them tearing apart one of my adult cherry shrimps. I looked around and sure enough i saw a very clear transparent shrimp shell. the platies must have gotten her during her shedding. made me so mad that i removed all my fish and from then on i kept a strict boundary between fish and shrimps.  *


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## jtwilson3 (Nov 22, 2010)

Well what about a snail instead of a shrimp? Cause I do want fish. 

And yeah, my old platies LOVED brine shrimp. lol. Funny to watch them devour them though and its awesome to watch the fry eat them. They just seem to pick at their body parts until they are all gone.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Im sure snails will work. There are many colors of mystery snails out there. I have blue and magenta mystery snails. Ive seen yellow, white, black and gold too. They get as big as golfballs. *


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Well shoot. I'd been hoping I'd be able to add some fish to my shrimp tank if I had enough cover. I guess not. You keep a planted tank, right NursePlaty? 

I know I've read others keeping a neon by itself before, it is just a little less suited for it than a guppy. If you're keeping them I'd recommend 1, or 3 or 4... 2 is usually a bad number for a schooling fish. Snails work with most fish, except loaches.. Some fish, especially loaches love eating snails. All the fish we've talked about would be just fine though. As cheap a ghost shrimp are you could use those and just buy new ones if they are eating. They're sold as feeder fish anyway.


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## Leafir (Apr 29, 2011)

"if you keep shrimps, fish must not go with them."

I don't mean to be rude but I sorta disagree, I got some guppies and 2 algae eating shrimp and the guppies never ever touch em. I'm down to only one adult guppy and 7 or so fry but still, had to put in my 2 bits! heheh..
It all depends on you, your tank, your fish species, and personality.

The Betta however did turn out to be an agressive one so watch n be careful. XD I hear most Bettas are good with some community fish and shrimp but it just depends on the individual personality and such. Y'all take care!


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