[New2Planting]

Hello, I am new here and have been reading up a little on planted tanks and have been inspired to start up one and see how it goes.

I have a 5 or 6 gallon cube tank that I will be adding LED lights which should be plenty for a planted tank.

I am having difficulties figuring out what to add for livestock into this tank. I have order eco-complete substrate and I may add some small pieces of driftwood (if I can find any) for hiding places for the fish.

As far as fish go, I made a fish wish list (I know I cannot have all of these and that is where you guys come in! to help me narrow my list and let me know if something will not be compatible).

I really would like these:
1 Hillstream Loach (for cleaning algae)
5 Cardinal Tetra
3 Von Rio Flame Tetra
1 Dragon Female Betta (blue)
5 Salt and Pepper Cory?

Are all the fish okay with shrimp and plants?

Another question, can you add multiple kinds of shrimp to a nano tank? I really like the crystal red shrimp, but i also like the yellow/gold colored shrimp too. If I had to pick just one kind I would stick with the CRS.

As far as plants go, I really want Dwarf Baby Tears to fill the bottom of the tank, I also really like Anubia nana petite and plan to put it near the back of the tank.

Do you think this would work?
Thanks so much for your time!

 

[Hilde]

How about white cloud fish or red shrimp? Definately to small for Salt and Pepper Cory.

 

[flc]

The hillstream loach is not a good choice. Here are a few reasons why:

- They'll eat your shrimp
- One of them isn't enough. They're much happier in groups of at least four to eight.
- They're going to grow. Even if you had adequate filtration and oxygen, anything that fits in their mouth is fair game
- They prefer exceptionally strong current, as in strong enough to blast your other fauna to smithereens.

 

[StraightAddicted]

If your main goal is to have some nice CRS in your tank, then go with them and the tetras. Some bettas will bother shrimp, really depends on size of tank and the betta. The loach and cory cats prob not a good choice as pointed out by others.
If you want algea eater for a tank that small, certain snails would do a good job. If your scared of snails then oto's are always a great choice, but best kept in a school.
If possible with money and space, I always recommend getting a bigger tank when starting out. This will allow more room for error with water parameters. Also, room for more options with fish/inverts/plants.
Sorry for rambling, but good luck with your tank and keep us posted

 

[Hilde]

Here is a 2.5 gallon example. Possibly having different colored shrimp you will hybrids that won't sell.