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Stocking ideas for 5.5 gallon tank

12K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  agentzero  
#1 ·
Hi!
So I have this 5.5g (21 L) planted nano tank that i am currently cycling and i wanted to ask what fish i could add to it once it's fully cycled. I'm looking for suggestions other than betta fish, shrimp and snails as i am not really interested in them. I have hard water with a neutral pH and temperatures in the summer here reach 29 C ( 84 F). The tank has a small hob filter and a heater as well. If you have any suggestions please include the number of maximum fish of the species that could be added . Thank you in advance :)
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Sure!
Dimensions are 36x22x26 cm (14.17x8.6x10.2 inches)
And here is a picture

Image


Main reason i asked here is because there are very popular youtube channels that mention you can keep small fish like endlers, boraras, tetras in a tank like this but online i see a lot of opinions like yours above mentioning that the volume is too small to keep a school of them. Also a popular online bio load calculator doesn't really recommend most fish for my setup.
As a potential newbie fishkeeper i find all these conflicting opinions somewhat confusing which is why i posted here really.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Thank you for the detailed post!
So yeah. What can you keep in the 5g? Anything that physically fits. How long will it thrive in there? That’s the real question. We tell you what can live there definitely and comfortably. For anything else... it’s down to your own sense of gambling luck I guess.
I wouldn't want something in there just surviving, i'd want it to have a better life than me honestly 😅. So i take it your suggestions are the usual betta/shrimp/snails?


Which brings us to YouTube channels. Keep in mind the great majority of them care far more about the cool visuals than about the quality of life of their fish. Also, most of them keep tearing up and setting up new tanks over and over because new content is their bread and butter. So they’re not interested in setup longevity etc. just gotta look good for the camera.
We are probably taking about different channels. Don't know if this goes against the rules but i wasn't referring to a channel like MD or other aquascapers but channels like Aquarium Co-op or Prime Time Aquatics which seem to be well accepted by the community and do not really post stuff for the camera. Why would they suggest such fish for small tanks? So that you go buy their fish? Their tanks ? Their tiny hob filters? Why would the same guy tell you that there are similar products to his and you should buy whichever one you want. Why wouldn't they tell you fish wouldn't live their happiest lives in there because it's too small a place? Just to make another video for the algorithm?Like you i am also raising questions because in the end who really knows.

Anyway it seems that most people on forums agree that you should only put a Betta fish there and some people on YouTube suggest other fish. I think this thread is really valuable to new fishkeepers because all these conflicting views only lead to confusion.Someone posts a video of a betta in a 2.5 gallon and everyone roasts them in the comments saying the space is too small and the fish is miserable. Someone posts a video of 6 ember tetras i a 5 gallon and nobody complains.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
if i want a 5 gal. or 10 gal. how many fish in theses tanks as far as white cloud minnows, guppies male and female,halin ras. , neon tet. and 1 nerite snail. they say at least 6 of each of these fish i really like guppies. can you give me stocking ideas
What I have successfully done in my planted 5.5 gallon is:
2 male endlers
3 male shrimp