# 4 gallon tank - what to put in it?



## sakuda (Jan 21, 2009)

Hello everyone!

I'm Sakuda, just joined, but I've been an avid fish lover for a few years. Anyway. I work at a pet store and we got a Baby Biorb 4 gallon tank returned to us because it was leaking, the manager wrote it off to throw away and I asked if I could have it, and voila, got a free fish tank. Any other time, I wouldn't bother with such a small aquarium, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I was able to fix the leak and now I'm ready to get it running. Problem being, I've always used the same 30 gallon tank and not really had to worry too much about the size/number of fish to put in because well, it's easier to guestimate with a larger tank. So I was curious to know if anyone here has had experience with a tank of this size and the best way to maximise the beauty of only a few fish in there. I may just go the easy route and put guppies in there since they're pretty and small, but that also brings up the question of, how many? 2, 3 maybe? I think it's a pretty neat little setup, here's some more info if anyone's not familiar with the Biorbs Baby biOrb Silver Aquarium Kit at PETCO

Thanks for the help, all!


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

What a lucky person to get it for free! The people here have talked me into setting my 5gal back up for a Betta. They talk about what great personality they have. That may be one idea.


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## dylan94 (Jan 15, 2009)

A betta would be nice and you could also put in an african dwarf frog or some white clouds(2-3)


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

A betta would definitely be a good choice. They DO have great personalities.


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## sakuda (Jan 21, 2009)

Okay, I may have been sold on the betta idea, as long as I can be assured from other posters here I may add possibly a cory catfish and maybe 1 or 2 ghost shrimp? While I find bettas very beautiful, I would like a little variety. I've done some research saying it may be okay to mix these species, but I would like more opinions. Thanks!


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

You could maybe do four PYGMY Cories. Not the regular kind, with the betta. Shrimp could work as well if you plant the tank and/or have plenty of hiding spots. And be sure to stay on top of your water changes.


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## sakuda (Jan 21, 2009)

do pygmy cories get less than 2 1/2 inches? the info i was looking up on cory catfishes say they get about that size. if there are smaller sizes, i would definitely go that way, so i could have a few more. with planting of the tank, do you mean real or fake plants? i have a few fake ones i could put it in there, i'm not a big fan of live ones just cause they're too much work (yeah, that sounds lazy but.. well, yeah). i guess i may have to be creative with such a small tank, it's a whole new world to me, haha. with the baby biorb which has filtration built in and media gravel, how often would you think i'd need to change the water? and.. how? would i use the gravel vac? or just transfer the fish somewhere else and dump it all out. haha, shows you how much i know sometime, so weird having such a tiny aquarium.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Some pygmy's stay under 1", but most average around 1-2".

Real or fake plants are fine.

Change every week to every two weeks, and 25-50% depending on your parameters. Keep all fish and decor in, and use the gravel vac like you said.


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## sakuda (Jan 21, 2009)

good info, thank you.

in reference to the ghost shrimp, i originally bought them for my larger tank mainly as kinda a snack, and they actually lasted and did a good job of cleaning up, until i got a tiger barb and a black molly, and i'm assuming the tiger barb ate them. which doesn't make much difference, as shrimp are 33 cents each. just wondering though, without a lot of hiding places, would the corys and bettas munch on them? and if they do, is that bad for them? my thinking is maybe to make a small hiding place so a few shrimp can survive, but i won't be heartbroken if they're eaten, if it's healthy for the fish.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Bettas will munch the shrimps. Cories will not. If it were me, I'd simply stick with shrimps and snails. Get the cherry shrimps. They're more tolerant to hard water than crystal red shrimps thus the snails won't have problems with their calcium dosing affecting other inhabitants.


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

i would say only get shrimp if u want the betta to eat them. You could try some ottos once the tank has been running for atleast 4 months (they need a well-established, planted tank)


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Otos should be in a group to thrive, and since many of them will *only* eat algae, I'd avoid them in a tank as small as 4 gallons as you'd never be able to grow enough algae to support a small group of them. Pygmy corydoras would be a better choice. Just be sure to use a sand substrate so as not to injure their delicate barbels.


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