12 replies to this topic

[Joshaeus]

Hello all! I have a heavily planted 5 gallon that I am hoping to put a fish or fishes in next year (not yet...this is my first tank that will use yeast generated CO2, and I want to figure out how to avoid gassing fishes with it first). I would really love to have a personable fish or fishes in there, one that would interact with me and perhaps even take food from my hand...would any natives work for that task in a tank this size? The ones that I immediately think of are centarchid sunfishes, but I think it might be a tall order to keep any of those in a 5 gallon. Thankx!

[9darlingcalvi]

maybe pygmy sunfish or a bluespotted?

[gerald]

Pygmy sunfish are about the LEAST sociable (toward humans) of any fish I've ever kept.  OK, maybe swampfish are the all-time least responsive; on par with banjo catfish if you've kept tropical fish.  Five gallons ain't much space, but yes a single bluespotted, banded, or blackbanded sunfish would make a good pet fish.  I'd vote for banded (obesus).

[9darlingcalvi]

my pygmies weren't that bad for me, I like blue spots because of the black and nice blue accents

[NotCousteau]

Are swamp darters small enough for a 5 gallon? I have two in my 10 gallon, and they are very personable. They swim to the glass when I walk by and swim up to the surface for food if I get close. I got them from a store's feeder ghost shrimp tank.

[gerald]

Yes, any of the smaller darter species would be good, and they're very personable.

[Dustin]

Blackbanded sunfish are my favorite puppy dog-like fish.  They meet you at the tank and feed from the surface.  And they are beautiful with the striking black and silver highlighted by the salmony pink.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I would not consider them the most outgoing or flashy fish, but mudminnows are a favorite of mine, I wouldn't hesitate to put a couple eastern mudminnows in a five gallon tank.

[Joshaeus]

I would not consider them the most outgoing or flashy fish, but mudminnows are a favorite of mine, I wouldn't hesitate to put a couple eastern mudminnows in a five gallon tank.

Of course a fish you can find in tepid, nearly waterless mud holes would do well in a five Well, that's what I assumed after reading the nanfa article on them.

[Joshaeus]

Yes, any of the smaller darter species would be good, and they're very personable.

Other than swamp darters, any other 'smaller' darters available?

[Dustin]

Other than swamp darters, any other 'smaller' darters available?

Sure, there are least and iowa darters from the midwest, cypress and slough darters from the lower Mississippi and sawcheek darters from over this way, just to name a few.  

[Joshaeus]

Are pupfish like sheepshead minnows or flagfish personable?

[Doug_Dame]

Are pupfish like sheepshead minnows or flagfish personable?

 

Well both of those certainly have character. Some of my favorite fish. Have some flagfish in a tank two foot from my face as I type this, and both species in a big community tank ten steps away. Don't know if they adopt the behaviors you're looking for, never really tried that. BUT ... males of both types tend to be semi-territorial and/or chasers. Need more space than a 5-gal allows IMO. (Sheepshead minnows are of course a brackish/salt water fish, but do okay in freshwater.)

 

Heterandria would do well in a 5-gal heavily planted tank. They're tiny so you could have a dozen or more, and prolific. But again, don't know if they'd act like pets. 

 

The small sunfish that Gerald and Dustin recommended would be good choices. (Blackbanded, bluespotted, banded.) 

 

A singe dollar sunfish might work too. They are nice-looking but vicious towards their own kind. No matter how many you start with in a normal-sized aquarium, it's pretty much guaranteed you'll end up with just one, so might as well start with just one and avoid the heartburn. 

 

Disclaimer: not a fan of 5-gal or smaller tanks, except for high-density breeding. The size limits the types of fish you can happily keep in them, and they're chemically less stable and therefore more work than larger tanks. Unless there's a space limitation, I like bigger tanks.