Little 3/5/6 gallon? Thoughts?

[muckluck]

Hey all,

I setup a nice community 10 gallon and am loving it, but I miss my Betta. I have 0 room for anything big, but want a second tank. I'm starting to think a small Eclipse will be perfect for a desktop aquarium. What would you all say about this setup:

1 Eclipse 3/5/6 Gallon tank with heater.

A large (for the tank ) decoration/rock for a place to hide

One or two back ground type plants (Egeria/Wisteria)

Maybe some grass upfront

Eco-complete/flourite for substrate

1 Betta

Small community of shrimp


Think that would work. Should I bother with the shrimp, and do the Eclipse systems have good lighting?

[Fishguy2727]

Shrimp are a great idea, as well as maybe those little 'pest' snails that come in on plants. Both will help keep things clean.

I personally do not like package tanks like that. I am stuck with their light and their filter. I would go with a standard aquarium so I can pick the lighting and filtration.

I setup a couple nano tanks at my work recently (one one gallon and one three gallon). I have been thinking about doing one at home too. I like open-topped, especially with a plant or two growing out of the top (like lucky bamboo or pothos/devil's ivy). I personally prefer sand (see article on sand or ask me for more info as to why). I even added a few nicely colored male feeder guppies to one at work.

If you go with an open-topped tank then I would go with a hanging light with a screw-in compact fluorescent bulb. If you go with the normal glass top I would still use a screw-in compact fluorescent but just put it in the incandescent fixture for that size tank. I would probably use a standard 5.5 gallon rectangular tank because it has the usual glass canopy and incandescent fixture.

For filtration with just a betta you do not really need much. A small spnge filter run by an air pump would be great. So would a small HOB or a small internal power filter.

[troy]

Id wouldn't go with shrimp because the betta would probably eat them.

[Fishguy2727]

Ghost shrimp are too big to be eaten by a betta. Some bettas may decide for some reason that it either enjoys picking at the shrimp or wants them gone, but in most cases (especially with some live plants and a little decor like a piece of driftwood) this should not be an issue.

[muckluck]

I like the idea of the plant growing out of the top, but wouldn't they eventually grow past the light fixtures? Sand is a good idea too. Do filters fit on the back of small regular aquariums? What filter should I use?

[Fishguy2727]

Many companies have filters small enough for a tank this size. Tetra has the Whisper 10 or 10i, Fluval has the Fluval One Plus, AquaClear has a little HOB, etc. Just look for something rated for 5-10 gallons. I think the Fluval One Plus would be my pick, it is an internal filter.

It depends on the plants you use and how you setup the light. A light hanging 8-12" over the tank with pothos (a vine, creeping plant) should not have any issues. Pothos will hang over the side of the tank rather than grow straight up. The leaves will orient toward the light, but it is not like a sturdy houseplant that will grow tall.

[Darkstar824]

I would most definitely have some sort of lid on your tank if you're going to get a betta as bettas WILL jump especially at feeding time. ONe of my female bettas rip little snowball, jumped out of her tank (but the thing is it had a lid but with a small opening to drop food in and let some air in, go figure) anyway, just a safety precaution if you want a betta.

[muckluck]

I would most definitely have some sort of lid on your tank if you're going to get a betta as bettas WILL jump especially at feeding time. ONe of my female bettas rip little snowball, jumped out of her tank (but the thing is it had a lid but with a small opening to drop food in and let some air in, go figure) anyway, just a safety precaution if you want a betta.

I always hear this, but I have never had a Betta jump. They only went up to the surface for air. I can't find any tanks that are under 10 gallons around here either. I don't wanna go to my LFS cause they over charge for everything.

[Fishguy2727]

We have a betta in an open-topped one-gallon at my work. Most of the time when a fish jumps, especially with bettas, there is an issue with water quality. The one at my work has live plants and a filter, this may have a lot to do with why it has yet to jump.

In addition, with a plant like pothos on top covering the tank the betta is even less likely to jump.