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5 Gallon Tank Anonymous
Recently someone gave me a free 5 gallon (~19 litre) hexagonal tank with a filter and canopy, and I've pondering how to stock it. I don't particularly want another betta - I was thinking of throwing in a few white cloud mountain minnows, or getting a heater and some zebra danios or small tetras (in the 1-2 inch [~2.5 to ~5 cm] range). The thing is that I know those are all schooling fish, and I couldn't put enough of them in without overstocking the tank.

I know this guy, though, that used to have this lone emperor tetra. Emperor tetras also being schooling fish, it suffered from all sorts of stress-induces diseases as a result of being alone. When he put a mirror by the tank, though, it would stay by the mirror, and the diseases went away because it wasn't so stressed any more. I'm wondering if I could use a similar but improved technique - using mirrors as a background for three of the back faces of the tank. They wouldn't just have one reflection of themselves, they'd be almost surrounded by reflections of themselves - and reflections of reflections of themselves. Would that trick them into thinking they were in a large enough group to be secure? Or would just visual stimulus not be enough? (I understand that some fish sense electric currents from the fish around them to organize correctly in schools - but I rarely see aquarium fish swim in synchronized, tight knit formations, they're usually just in the same area.)

If that's a big no, I'll probably just get a heater and a betta or a dwarf gourami.

Picture not really related.
>> Anonymous
thats cool but wouldn't that be really mean to the birds? lol they want fish!
>> Anonymous
It's all a matter of perspective.
>> Anonymous
Freshwater dwarf puffer = perfect, interesting inhabitant for a 5g. Just remember to cycle your tank before purchasing one.
>> Anonymous
>>330810

Thank you, perhaps in a few years, but I'm fairly new to the fish thing and don't particularly trust myself with anything beyond beginner fish.
>> Anonymous
Come on /an/. Halp.
>> Anonymous
>>331069
If you want "beginner fish", get a ten gallon tank. A five gallon is much too small for anything that isn't beginner, past a betta, because pretty much every beginner fish gets too big for a 5g or is a schooling fish (and thusly needs more swimming space/will pollute water too quickly).
>> Anonymous
>>331151

I've had a 10 gallon tank for a bit less than a year, and bettas before that.

>A five gallon is much too small for anything that isn't beginner, past a betta, because pretty much every beginner fish gets too big for a 5g or is a schooling fish (and thusly needs more swimming space/will pollute water too quickly).

Please re-read my post, I am aware of that. I was wondering if I could trick 2-4 fish into thinking they were in a school with mirrors, because I've seen something similar done before. If the answer seems to be no, I'll get a betta or a dwarf gourami.
>> Anonymous
>>331974
I think you're missing the point of why a small tank is bad. It's not because they can't school, it's because it's just not enough room for anything to be happy. Such a small amount of water will mean you need to do frequent partial water changes and constantly monitor the water quality. A betta can survive in that but it's not going to have much fun in a small hex tank. Gouramis are fairly active swimmers and I wouldn't have one in anything less than a ten gallon.
>> Anonymous
>>330756

shit is that an aquarium with a bird cage in it? hot
>> Anonymous
i think white clouds would be happy in there, though there isn't a lot of room to swim around. a mirror may help, but probably won't be necessary.

white clouds are really tough. a single one will be unhappy, but even a pair will do okay. you could put four or five in your tank and they'd be perfectly healthy. they wouldn't really school together, but they'd wander around and interact with each other.

i'm curious though. you implied that you have a betta, but what are its tankmates? i have a one in a ten gallon with four white clouds, a rainbow shark, and a yoyo loach. it's tough to find suitable tankmates for bettas, though i really like them.
>> Anonymous
>>332216
Rainbow and a yoyo in a ten gallon? Not to be fish police, but I'm just asking if you have a bigger tank to move them into as they get bigger (assuming you do, just checking...)?

Also OP, the mirror idea is stupid tbh, the fish won't school with a mirror reflection. Not that you couldn't trick it, but I'm saying if you're going to have a schooling fish it's more interesting to see them interact. Do you honestly want a single 2-inch fish in a five gallon, watching it go about its pathetic life, pretending the reflections are its kin?

Just get a betta. Not a gourami, as someone already said, they need space.
>> Anonymous
>>332229
i had a 20 long, but i gave it away. i don't know why, but neither of them seem to be growing. i've had them both for at least six months and they're both about 2.5 inches, just like when i got them. in any case, there's a nearby store with a lot of good customers that want larger fish, so they're glad to buy anything that gets too big.
>> Anonymous
>>332264
That's kinda funny, actually. One of my friends bought 2 swordtail fry once, at the same size, and one of them is about an inch long now, however the other has stayed at only half that.