7 great fishes for only 5 gallon tank which you shouldn’t miss
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If you have a 5-gallon fish tank then I can assume that you are just starting out this hobby. For this, you should go for some aquarium fishes which are easy to keep and only for beginners.
Here I’m gonna discuss 10 such aquarium fishes which is very much suitable for a 5-gallon tank so without wasting much time let’s dive deep into the topic
What are the 10 great fishes for only a 5-gallon tank?
Now from this chart, you’ve got your answer almost I guess. Right? But to keep these types of fish you must know more about them. So to know more facts or care guide of these fishes keep scrolling
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Betta Fish
Betta fish is one of the most colorful and popular aquarium fishes. Everyone wants to keep it in the aquarium. This is not so much difficult to keep. If you are good at fishkeeping then your betta can live up to 5-7 years and more. If you are keeping betta only then you should not keep your aquarium under direct sunlight. Try to keep it where it gets sufficient lights but not directly.
The water temperature of betta fish should be between 24°- 27° C. But one or two-degree temperature changes are considerable.
If you want to find a suitable substrate for betta fish then you should know that sharp-edged coarse gravel should not use for betta fish because betta fish can be wounded by the sharp edge or gravel. Smooth and fine sand can be a good option for betta fish as a substrate.
When it comes to the tank mates of betta fish then you must avoid Guppy, Parrotfish, Killifish, etc. Poecilia, Black Tetra, Catfish can be good options as tank mates of betta fish. You should not keep two male betta fish with each other. But for a 5-gallon tank, you should keep only one male betta.
Read more: – 5 Rare Betta Fish that you must try to collect: With Care Guide
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Guppy
If you want to make your 5-gallon fish tank active then you should go for guppies. These fish species are very much active and help to make your aquarium too busy. The male guppies are colorful but female guppies are grey in color.
You should know those male guppies are a little bit smaller than females. The size of guppies varies between 0.6 to 1.4 inches. As the average size is 1 inch that’s why you can keep 4-5guppies with each other in a 5-gallon tank.
The ideal pH of the water should be 7 to 7.2 and the water temperature always should be between 23° to 27°C. Try to keep the water heater attached to your fish tank.
As this is school fish that’s why more guppies will be the ideal tank mate of it. Male guppies are very much colorful that’s why you should keep only males for visual effect. But if you want to keep females also then you should maintain a 2:1 ratio with male and female guppies. The ideal number is 1guppy per 2-gallon water.
You must avoid aggressive species like sharks, barbs, aggressive tetra to keep with guppy where molly, platies, gourami can be kept with it. But for a 5-gallon tank, you should go for an only guppy.
Read more:- Is goldfish compatible with cichlids?
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Chili Rasbora
Chili rasbora is another tiny little fish that you can keep in your 5-gallon tank. This has an attractive orange color. The male rasbora is more colorful than females but females are bigger than the male species. The size of chili rasbora is approx. 0.7 inches long. As this is very short in its size, that’s why you should not keep it only one.
The ideal tank size of chili rasbora is 5 gallons. So if you are making a 5-gallon tank first time then this fish can be a great choice for your tank. But you should remember that this can be affected by slight changes in water parameters. So you have to keep eye on this always.
The ideal pH should be 6 to keep chili rasbora and the ideal water temperature should vary between 20°-28°C.
When you are going to choose substrate then always try to choose dark substrate for this type of fish. And try to add some plants and driftwood to your aquarium. Chili rasbora is basically top dweller fish but when it gets stressed then it needs to hide somewhere that’s why plants, driftwoods are important.
As this is so tiny that’s why always try to keep with more chili rasbora. But if you want to make a community fish tank then you can go for otocinclus, Cory catfish, and Neon tetra. But try to avoid any type of big aggressive fishes like sharks etc.
Read more:- How to set up a community fish tank with cost analysis
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Molly
If you want to get some active aquarium fish then molly can be a good option for you. This fish lives up to 5 years and that’s why it can be a good friend of yours also. To fish is easy to keep and beginner-friendly.
Molly fish is peaceful generally but it can be aggressive if it gets attacked by any other fish in the community of the same size. So you need to be careful while choosing its tank mates. If you are planning to make a 5-gallon tank with molly fish then you should not try to keep it with other fishes because it gets worse after a while. This is just a recommendation.
These are mid-level dwellers and that’s why you need some hiding spots and some long bush in your aquarium. Here mollies can hide if they feel stressed or attacked. If you are asking for substrate then you should go for some fine grain which will be the best for these fishes and plants.
The water temperature should be 22°-25°C for molly fish and this is the ideal range and the pH should be 7 to 8.5
As the average size of molly fish is 4 inches that’s why it needs more space to live freely. A 10-gallon tank is more suitable than a 5-gallon tank but still, if you want to keep mollies in a 5-gallon tank then you should keep not more than 3 numbers of mollies depending upon its size. Only molly fish needs a minimum of 3 gallons of water.
Cherry barbs, catfish, danios can be good tank mates of molly fish and you should avoid cichlids group especially convict cichlids.
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White Cloud Minnows
White cloud minnows are known as beginner fish of fishkeepers. So if you are one of the beginners then you should start with this fish. As this lives for 5-7 years, that’s why it can be your great companion. The length of this fish is approximately 1.5 inches. As this fish is very much popular among fish keepers so you can get it from any shop.
The ideal water temperature varies between 17° to 21°C and the pH of the water should lie between 6-8.
For this fish, you should choose a gravel-based coarse substrate. But that should be smooth enough rather than a sharp edge. It can be wounded by the sharp edge of gravel so remember this while choosing the substrate of it. Another thing is that this fish can hide in between the gravels so that is an advantage to provide coarse gravel as a substrate.
One white cloud minnow needs 2 gallons of water to move freely. So if you want to keep it in 5-gallon water then you can keep it 3-4 numbers of this fish. Don’t keep more than 4 fish in 5 gallons of the fish tank because it will feel suffocated and stressed.
The tank mates of white cloud minnow are cherry barbs and rosy barbs but you should avoid tiger barbs, clown loach cichlids, etc.
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Ember Tetra
Ember tetra is one of the best fish for beginners. This is very easy to keep as a pet. If you want to make your aquarium colorful then you should not skip ember tetra. The color of this fish varies from bright orange to orange-red.
If you want to keep ember tetra then you need a planted aquarium. This fish feels safe in a planted aquarium. This is a recommendation for you. Not only that, ember tetra is found from the heavily forested rivers and that’s why to give the same environment you need to provide planted aquarium.
This fish species is an active swimmer and keeps your aquarium active very much. No one will feel bored by watching it. This is basically bottom dwellers.
The size of this fish varies from 0.6” to 1”. The pH of the water should be between 5.5 to 7 and the water temperature should be lie between 20° to 27°C.
The 10-gallon tank is more suitable for a group of ember tetra but you can keep it in your 5-gallon tank also. The only thing you should remember is that 1 ember tetra needs 2 gallons of water to move freely. So you should keep 4-5 ember tetras in a 5-gallon tank. But when it turns to a 10-gallon tank then you can keep a maximum of 7-8 fish in a group.
Suitable tankmates of ember tetra are dwarf cichlids, rasboras and you should avoid large predatory fishes as its tank mates.
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Honey Gourami
Honey gourami has little bit of similarities with molly fish. The size of the honey gourami is between 1” to 2”. The size of male honey gourami varies between 1”-1.5” and females go up to 2” long. This fish needs more space than a common tiny fish species because they attack each other. At mealtime male honey gourami attacks females.
When you introduce a new fish tank with it then it becomes shy and timid. It needs time to be habituated with a new tank. When it’s habituated then the real color comes out from its body.
Provide lots of hiding spots in your aquarium to make it feel safe. These are mid and bottom dwellers and that’s why hiding spots are more important than any fish. These hiding spots will help them to hide while getting attacked by other gouramies.
The ideal tank temperature should be between 21°-27°C and the pH should lie between 6-7.5 which is good for honey gourami.
For your 5-gallon fish tank, you need 1 number of honey gourami but you can keep a pair if you want. Basically, one honey gourami needs 5-7 gallons of water to swim freely. But it will not be a huge issue if you keep a pair of honey gourami in your 5-gallon tank.
The ideal tank mates of honey gourami are harlequin rasbora, danios. But you must avoid Oscars, silver dollars, large catfish, etc.
Final thoughts
So if you are planning to make a 5-gallon fish tank for your home then this is the article from where you’ve got some good examples of fishes which you must keep.
Betta is sophisticated fish I won’t recommend betta if you are just starting out. Go and keep some small easy types of fishes like tetras, mollies, rasboras, guppies, etc. these will help to increase your confidence also. After that, you should go for betta to keep as a pet
But this is totally up to you which one you will be going to keep. All these fishes are suitable for a 5-gallon tanks but check the chart before keeping any of them.
So best of luck & happy fishkeeping🐟