Plans for Stocking a 5-Gallon Aquarium

Five-gallon aquariums are popular because they are so compact, ideal for desks, kitchens, and children's bedrooms. Unfortunately, due to common misunderstandings about the chemical dynamics of healthy community tanks, many fish kept in five-gallon tanks die prematurely from overcrowding.

Since a five-gallon aquarium is too small to comfortably accomodate most varieties of freshwater fish, the options for stocking a healthy tank are limited. However, these five plans can comfortably enable your five-gallon aquarium to house a healthy and long-lived community.

Stocking Plan 1: Guppies

Although they are a schooling variety of livebearer, guppies will do surprisingly well in pairs or small groups. A five-gallon aquarium can comfortably accomodate two or three adult guppies without a high risk of nitrate buildup or overcrowding. Guppies breed readily (whether you want them to or not!) so it is best to get only male guppies. In addition to being much more attractive, they are a safer bet for a small tank than females, who are often already pregnant by the time you buy them.

Stocking Plan 2: Betta

A single male Siamese fighting fish (or any other member of the betta genus) will feel like a king in a five-gallon aquarium. Although it may seem boring to have only one fish in the aquarium, a male betta will look stunningly attractive in a well-planted five-gallon tank. They can do surprisingly well in poor-quality water and are very forgiving if you are a first-time aquarist, although attention should still be kept to maintaining good water quality.

Stocking Plan 3: White Cloud Minnows

White Cloud Mountain minnows are a very forgiving member of the carp family, and can adjust well to harsh aquarium environments. For this reason, it is often widely recommended for beginning aquarists and those with small tanks. White Cloud Mountain minnows are a very social schooling fish and should always be kept in groups--they tend to become depressed and stop eating, often to the point of starvation, if they are kept isolated. Although they should ideally be kept in groups of eight or more, they will still thrive in schools of four to five individuals, which is the maximum that can be comfortably housed by a five-gallon tank.

Stocking Plan 4: Cardinal Tetras

Cardinal tetras are a close relative of the more popular neon tetra, and they are nearly identical. Although less common in the aquarium trade, they can be an ideal first fish because they are hardier and less inbred than their neon cousins. Their bright colors and flourescence make them a charming and beautiful addition to any tank, and their compact size makes them perfect for small aquaria. Up to five cardinal tetras can live in a five-gallon aquarium without much trouble, especially if the tank is kept well-planted and well-filtered. In addition to its aesthetic and practical benefits over the neon tetra, cardinals are also ideal because they help to protect the Amazon rainforest .

Stocking Plan 5: Zebra Danios

Zebra danios are quick, active schooling fish with a tremendous amount of personality. Like cardinal tetras and white cloud minnows, zebra danios thrive when kept in large numbers. Dwarf varieties of zebra danio can be kept in groups of four to five in a five-gallon tank without excess nitrate buildup. Zebra danios should be carefully selected, because some strains of them are excessively inbred, including some of the long-finned varieties and the genetically modified "Glofish". Zebra danios are hardy but prefer fast-moving water and well-planted tanks.