# Stocking a 5 gallon fish tank???



## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

this is what i wan tto do:
2 albino cory cats
1 dwarf gourami
3 guppies
2 cherry barbs

good?

and in a 2 gallon tank my sister wants some shrimp and 3 glow fish.

r these stocking ideas okay? thanks


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Switch the albino cories to either otos or _Corydoras hastatus_ or _Corydoras habrosus_. If you want to keep male fancy guppies, then you cannot combine any gouramis there. They tend to view the guppies as their rivals due to their flashy fins. It's either guppies or gouramis for you.

And the 2g cannot house the glowlights. They like to be in groups with large space. Shrimps only or find some colored ramshorn snails. They're available in red, blue, leopard and ivory.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

i swim said:


> this is what i wan tto do:
> 2 albino cory cats
> 1 dwarf gourami
> 3 guppies
> ...


In my honest opinion in a 5 gallon tank I would not do any of the fish you are suggesting except maybe 3 guppys but then only if they are all male. Corys needs to be in groups of at least 3 and cherry barbs need lots of room to swim. And for the 2 gallon the only thing I would put in there are shrimp or a single betta.


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

3 guppies would work, if they were all male. If you wanted some fry you could get 1m and 2f. Keep in mind, though, that that is about 30 fry per month, per female and they do eat their young.

The smallest tank I'd ever put a dwarf gourami in is a 15g tank. They like to live in pairs/groups, and they are pretty sensitive to water quality, they just can't live in a 5 gallon tank. 

Personally, I don't support the trade of Glowfish (which are Zebra Danios injected with Jellyfish DNA), but I would never want to see any in a tank smaller than 36" long (I think a 30g would match that description). They are SUPER active and without enough swimming room, they wont be able to gather the proper amount of oxygen with there gills to support their metabolisms. Zebra Danios (and Glowfish) also require a group of at least 6.

If you get cories, don't go below 3. IMO, they really need 5 for one species or 3 of each for multiple species minimum. I wouldn't even include cories in a 5g tank, though.

Go with some guppies! I reciently got 1 male and 2 female guppy and I love them! The male's name is Washington.

(Washington)
http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff462/bettafish224/Fish/DSCN3087.jpg
http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff462/bettafish224/Fish/DSCN3084.jpg

I will probably upgrade the gupps to a 10g soon.


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## sik80 (Mar 16, 2010)

Agree with the advice so far



small fry said:


> which are Zebra Danios injected with Jellyfish DNA


Not injected; its a genetic manipulation carried out on single cells, where jellyfish DNA that produces a flouresence is combined with zebra danio DNA in a laboratory. No adult fish are involved in this, only single egg cells. From this egg a coloured fish is produced which can be bred as normal (I used to be a geneticist!)


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

sik80 said:


> Agree with the advice so far
> 
> 
> 
> Not injected; its a genetic manipulation carried out on single cells, where jellyfish DNA that produces a flouresence is combined with zebra danio DNA in a laboratory. No adult fish are involved in this, only single egg cells. From this egg a coloured fish is produced which can be bred as normal (I used to be a geneticist!)


+1 nothing wrong with glofish. The are a GMO and one of many many GMO that are common.


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## Curt (Jan 13, 2011)

I would stick with a guppy tank since it is so small. The cherry barbs I have love to stay as a group and love to hang out in my planted area alot. in a tank of that size it would not leave much room for them.

This is just my opinion as I know I haven't stocked my tank properly


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

Lupin said:


> Switch the albino cories to either otos or _Corydoras hastatus_ or _Corydoras habrosus_. If you want to keep male fancy guppies, then you cannot combine any gouramis there. They tend to view the guppies as their rivals due to their flashy fins. It's either guppies or gouramis for you.
> 
> And the 2g cannot house the glowlights. They like to be in groups with large space. Shrimps only or find some colored ramshorn snails. They're available in red, blue, leopard and ivory.


iiwll get rid of the guppies then. and i can get one of the cory cats you said. could i do this:
1 dwarf gourami
2 cory cats
4 cherry barbs/ or i can do cardinal tetras

i will talk to my sister about the glowfish. maybe she can get a 5 gallon tank too.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

i swim said:


> iiwll get rid of the guppies then. and i can get one of the cory cats you said. could i do this:
> 1 dwarf gourami
> 2 cory cats
> 4 cherry barbs/ or i can do cardinal tetras
> ...


Your five gallon is to small for all the fish you are trying to put in it cherry barbs and cardinals both need lots of room to swim. You might and that's a very big might be okay if you do the dwarf gourami and 3 dwarf/pygmy corys not regular size corys. The corys will not be happy in a group of less than 3 they will be stressed which can lead to illness and maybe early death. Also a 5 gallon for your sister will still be to small for the glofish they need lots of room to swim to.


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

charry barbs OR cxardinal tetras. one of the two.

pygmy cories arent available at my local petstore.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Neither of them will work they need to be in large groups and they need lots of room to swim.


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## Chickenfoot87 (Jan 11, 2011)

i swim said:


> iiwll get rid of the guppies then. and i can get one of the cory cats you said. could i do this:
> 1 dwarf gourami
> 2 cory cats
> 4 cherry barbs/ or i can do cardinal tetras
> ...



I wouldn't go with the tetras, they probably wont do well in a tank that size, they need to be in large groups. As far as cherry barbs I would say they need more room to swim but they might be ok if you have a bunch of plants. The cory cats need to be in groups of at least 4 to be happy so I would go with a different bottom feeder, maybe ottos would be better. Danios would be ok, I had a few danios in a 5 gallon. The dwarf gourami should do well if you give him enough plant cover. They can be very shy fish so if they dont have enough plants they will stress out.


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

Chickenfoot87 said:


> I wouldn't go with the tetras, they probably wont do well in a tank that size, they need to be in large groups. As far as cherry barbs I would say they need more room to swim but they might be ok if you have a bunch of plants. The cory cats need to be in groups of at least 4 to be happy so I would go with a different bottom feeder, maybe ottos would be better. Danios would be ok, I had a few danios in a 5 gallon. The dwarf gourami should do well if you give him enough plant cover. They can be very shy fish so if they dont have enough plants they will stress out.


Thank you so much. I will go with the cherry barbs. I have heard of many people that keep two cory cats. I really like them. My local pet store doesn't have ottos. Could I do a pair of Cory cats?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chickenfoot87 (Jan 11, 2011)

i swim said:


> Thank you so much. I will go with the cherry barbs. I have heard of many people that keep two cory cats. I really like them. My local pet store doesn't have ottos. Could I do a pair of Cory cats?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



In all truthfulness you probably could...they just do better if they are in larger groups. There is a possibility of them stressing out; if you want to try to help with that you can give them places to hide like a little cave. You're going to want to have plants for the cherry barbs anyway and they will also help the gourami and the corys be happy.


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

I will try and do a planted tank. With some nice decor with caves and stuff.

Thanks everyone for their help!!! I cant. Wait to get my tank
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

If you don't have the tank yet why don't you get a 10 gallon it would not cost much more and the fish you plan on getting will be much happier with more room.


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## Curt (Jan 13, 2011)

Calmwaters said:


> If you don't have the tank yet why don't you get a 10 gallon it would not cost much more and the fish you plan on getting will be much happier with more room.


Good suggestion!


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

Calmwaters said:


> If you don't have the tank yet why don't you get a 10 gallon it would not cost much more and the fish you plan on getting will be much happier with more room.


I talked to my parents about it and they agreed!!! Now, I obviously want a little bit more fish. What would you guys recommend?


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

With a 10 I would go with 3 corys of the same kind since you had mentioned them before but only after the tank is completely cycled and running for a few months. I still would not do the Cherry Barbs because they need more room they are long and like to swim. If you can get them I would get a group of 6-7 Ember Tetra, the corys you decide on(the albinos are my personal favorite) and then a single dwarf gourami. That way you have a top fish, middle fish, and bottom fish. ; )


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

I will increase the cory cats to three.

I still want the cherry barbs.

I wan tone more BREED of fish. 

1 dwarf gourami
4 cherry barbs
3 cory cats (i think i want the albinos)
...... some other type of fish


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## burnsbabe (Jul 15, 2010)

The cherry barbs do in fact need more room than this. I'd also hedge really hard on the Dwarf Gourami. Look into some of the even smaller types like the Honey Gourami and Chocolate Gourami (they're sensitive to water chemistry). I'd be tempted to go with something like this for a 10g (and only the 10g).

1 Honey Gourami
6 Ember Tetras
5 Albino Cory Cats

This is a bit overstocked but not badly. Make sure you plant heavily and have plenty of filtration (AquaClear 20 or similar). The tetras are shoaling fish and will appreciate being in a group this size, as well as the corys. Only trick here is that no one is suited to cycling the tank. Read up on fishless cycling and go that way, or add just a couple of fish at a time (probably the tetras) and keep on top of your water tests and water changes. Questions? Good luck.


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

burnsbabe said:


> The cherry barbs do in fact need more room than this. I'd also hedge really hard on the Dwarf Gourami. Look into some of the even smaller types like the Honey Gourami and Chocolate Gourami (they're sensitive to water chemistry). I'd be tempted to go with something like this for a 10g (and only the 10g).
> 
> 1 Honey Gourami
> 6 Ember Tetras
> ...



I want the cherry. Barbs. I don't really like the ember tetras. I could do the honey gourami.
Again I want :
1 honey gourami
4 cherry barbs
4 Cory cats
....... Someother fish

I was thinking glofish
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Rip (Dec 24, 2010)

you shouldn't get all those fish immediately. to start with, just get the cherry barbs, and use them to cycle the tank. i'm currently using 3 cherry barbs to cycle my planted 10 gallon tank.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

If you insist on the cherry barbs I would not add any other fish because the tank will be crowded and the fish will stress and die after a short while. I really don't know why I am typing this your going to do what ever you want regardless of what is good for the fish which is obvious by your insistence on having the cherry barbs in a tank to small for them.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## i swim (Jan 6, 2011)

since everyone is insisting, i wont get any more fish.

1 honey gourami
5 cherry barbs
5 alino cory cats


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## sik80 (Mar 16, 2010)

i swim said:


> since everyone is insisting, i wont get any more fish.
> 
> 1 honey gourami
> 5 cherry barbs
> 5 alino cory cats


The advice given on here comes from experienced fish keepers who want people to have success in fishkeeping and want to help you to keep happy healthy fish. I've certainly learnt an amazing amount from here and trust the advice given


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## philthefish94 (Jan 20, 2011)

If your so insistant about the corys maybe you could get dwarf corys, they look exactly like regular corys only smaller


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## coolcucumber (Jan 16, 2011)

I would say get a group of neon tetras, or a small schooling fish. You could get 5 or 6 of them, and they look really pretty. Also, cardinal tetras, etc. I wouldnt get the dwarf gourami, or the corys. they need alot of room, and i dont think the footprint of a 5gal would be enough for the corys. Cherry barbs are also extreemly active fish, so really, i would go for the neons or cardinals.

Edit- Eps! Didnt see the 10 gal idea ;D

I would still say neons or cardinals, because they look really cool in a group, and in a planted tank. but, i could suggest dwarf cories, or some guppies/platies. The guppies and platies come in a variety of colours, but keep in mind, if you get males and females you will most likely be getting fry. A snail would be good aswell, a zebra snail? they eat algae, and keep the tank looking clean.


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