casperchants

hello everyone i went to my local pet store today they had a 2.5 gallon all glass tank set up on display with 3 african cichlids in the tank all about 4 inches each the guy said that the tank that size would be great for me since i dont have much space i want to know what type of fish i can get i just want one fish that doesnt get over 3 inches and i dont want a betta i want 1 fish that has a lifespan of 8 years plus, the tank is 12 inches long 8inches tall 6 inches wide 2 half gallon all glass tank with a clear free penn plax corner filter with a glass top and fluorescent light , and a 25 watt heater no gravel i also got a test kit liquid API , along with cycle to help it cycle , please let me know what type of fish i can get, thank you and have a great weekend

capekate

Hello I also have a 2.5 tank, but it houses a female betta. And I see you dont want one of those. Not sure what fish will live for 8 yrs, but those cichlids would be too big for that tank. You can maybe get a few otos for the tank, but they may need more of a swimming area. Not sure what other fish besides a betta that would be happy in that size tank. Maybe two guppies...??
Good luck with your tank! ~ kate

COBettaCouple

yea.. the 8 yr+ lifespan limits the choices and i'm not sure i know of any fish that stay 3" or less but live that long. a dwarf puffer would be a cool fish for that tank i think.

we used cycle at first too and stopped using it when we read up on it and found that it's pretty much a bottle of water with the wrong bacteria in it. It has more potential to create mini-cycles than to help a tank cycle.

zeddy

try gouramys they are colorful and breath air

capekate

Zeddy... even a dwarf gourami gets to be about 4 inches long. I believe that a 2.5g tank would be too small for a gourami not counting that they really like to swim around alot.

vin

Dwarf Gourami max out at 2.5" but should really be in a 10g. They are labyrinth fish, but enjoy room to swim. 2.5g really limits the choices. Not many relatively easy to care for fish other than bettas or dwarf gourami enjoy being alone and can tollerate smaller conditions....

capekate

Hi Vin,
I guess my dwarf gouramis just looked bigger inside the tank, didnt realize they are that small.

Phloxface

You are very limited in what kind of fish can fit in a tank that small. I can't believe a fish store would put cichlids in a tank that tiny! But then again, I can believe it... :
I don't know of any tropical fish that live 8 years and enjoy being alone, don't need much space to swim and stay under 3 inches. Even a fish of 3 inches would be too big for that tank.
You could try 2 fancy guppies maybe. I don't know how long they live and they don't like being alone but they are small enough to fit, although even they like lots of room to swim.
Just wondering why you bought a 2.5 gallon glass tank? A ten gallon glass tank actually costs LESS than the 2.5g and you'd have more options. Maybe you could return it and trade up for a 10 gallon? They'd probably even have to give you back a couple dollars!

Shrimpy

you could get a dwarf gourami or guppies or any kind of tetras