Advice please: 5 gallon tank- getting ready for a pea puffer!!!!

Hello!
I'm getting a pea puffer later this month and want its home to be perfect! Please help by sending any tips, experience, advice, ideas, or suggestions for the tank and anything else! It doesn't even have to be pea puffer related

P.S. I also have a 10 gallon with various plants, a mystery snail, and 3 glofish. I also just purchased some MTS for the puffer and various foods to help its diet !

I'm not pleased with the way the tank looks yet, so I'm reaching out for ideas! I attached some images of my 5 gallon tank:







If you have any questions, please ask away!!!!!

 

ok one question, why is the light like purple? also, i just set up a 5 gallon recently and i think a sand bottom looks fantastic!! i put some cholla wood and a coconut hide from aquarium co op and a finnex stingray light. looks fantastic!!! (i put gravel at the bottom of it and slme gravel mixed in with the sand which looks bad but its kind of ok)

 

I honestly don't know but its a MarineLand Portrait 5 gallon and that's the default. It has other color options that are cool and have more purple shades for some reason. The light fixture it came with has like 2 purple-blue mini LEDS and then the rest are white

Thank you for the compliment!!! I'm still thinking of whether or not to keep the separation between the sand and gravel layer, it's starting to blend in more with all the new plants going in lol.

also, im getting the MTS and hoping that the shells of the dead ones from the puffer's leftovers will look cool with the sand-- kinda dark but hey its nature

 

I honestly don't know but its a MarineLand Portrait 5 gallon and that's the default. It has other color options that are cool and have more purple shades for some reason. The light fixture it came with has like 2 purple-blue mini LEDS and then the rest are white

Thank you for the compliment!!! I'm still thinking of whether or not to keep the separation between the sand and gravel layer, it's starting to blend in more with all the new plants going in lol.

also, im getting the MTS and hoping that the shells of the dead ones from the puffer's leftovers will look cool with the sand-- kinda dark but hey its nature

haha fair. i think the shells look cool on it but thats just me. i used fluorite red as the gravel so it mixing looked terrible. i would recommend not mixing them tho. i only had the gravel so my plants could root

 

Right now, all of my plants have some sort of bottom that's not rooted into the gravel, this way I can move things around easily before making the final decision on placement. For instance, I have some on nice white rocks. Do you think I should keep the plants like this or plant some new ones into the gravel and move the others into my other tank?

 

Right now, all of my plants have some sort of bottom that's not rooted into the gravel, this way I can move things around easily before making the final decision on placement. For instance, I have some on nice white rocks. Do you think I should keep the plants like this or plant some new ones into the gravel and move the others into my other tank?

i think they r good u just need some plants in the front some like little plants that will carpet even maybe. im hoping mine will carpet but im doing a little more high tech. ummm only one pea puffer in there!!! they r too territorial. i just watched the video.

 

ahaha I've watched that video twice! Yes, I'm only buying one pea puffer and I've made sure to designate this tank for only that one puffer

 

ahaha I've watched that video twice! Yes, I'm only buying one pea puffer and I've made sure to designate this tank for only that one puffer

ok good to know!! for some reason i thought u said u wanted two

 

I think it looks quite nice. Very tidy. All sand bottom might look a bit more natural if you value that. Though changing substrate sucks from my experience. I did it once not a fun time. Could get rid of the pebbles on half of the tank and gradually build into it? My main suggestion would be maybe add some moss to the driftwood. You can glue it on or tie it on. There have been a couple posts here where members put Christmas moss and Taiwan moss on driftwood and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Just make sure to keep it trimmed and not overwhelm your tank.

Also it sounded like you want to plant the plants you have in the gravel? Correct me if I misunderstood. But it looks like you have a couple anubias and java ferns. Both of these plants grow by rhizomes and will rot out and die if they get buried. You can glue them or tie them down to something like a rock or piece of driftwood. And just make sure you have a good liquid fertilizer you can dose every now and then to keep your plants happy

 

I think it looks quite nice. Very tidy. All sand bottom might look a bit more natural if you value that. Though changing substrate sucks from my experience. I did it once not a fun time. Could get rid of the pebbles on half of the tank and gradually build into it? My main suggestion would be maybe add some moss to the driftwood. You can glue it on or tie it on. There have been a couple posts here where members put Christmas moss and Taiwan moss on driftwood and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Just make sure to keep it trimmed and not overwhelm your tank.

Also it sounded like you want to plant the plants you have in the gravel? Correct me if I misunderstood. But it looks like you have a couple anubias and java ferns. Both of these plants grow by rhizomes and will rot out and die if they get buried. You can glue them or tie them down to something like a rock or piece of driftwood. And just make sure you have a good liquid fertilizer you can dose every now and then to keep your plants happy

Thank you so much for the advice!!! I love the idea of the moss on the driftwood! And yes, those are the plants I have, I'm so glad you mentioned that, I haven't been sure on how they work lol (I'm still new)! I dose them with a seachem "Flourish Excel" carbon/iron supplement (I'm not really sure about it). The tank is still cycling so I'm not sure how to take care of the plants perfectly, thank you for the knowledge!!

 

I think it looks quite nice. Very tidy. All sand bottom might look a bit more natural if you value that. Though changing substrate sucks from my experience. I did it once not a fun time. Could get rid of the pebbles on half of the tank and gradually build into it? My main suggestion would be maybe add some moss to the driftwood. You can glue it on or tie it on. There have been a couple posts here where members put Christmas moss and Taiwan moss on driftwood and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Just make sure to keep it trimmed and not overwhelm your tank.

Also it sounded like you want to plant the plants you have in the gravel? Correct me if I misunderstood. But it looks like you have a couple anubias and java ferns. Both of these plants grow by rhizomes and will rot out and die if they get buried. You can glue them or tie them down to something like a rock or piece of driftwood. And just make sure you have a good liquid fertilizer you can dose every now and then to keep your plants happy

i recommend tying them bc when u glue them the part that was glued dies

 

i recommend tying them bc when u glue them the part that was glued dies

would you tie them with fishing lining? I have that at home but I don't know if that'd be acceptable

 

Thank you so much for the advice!!! I love the idea of the moss on the driftwood! And yes, those are the plants I have, I'm so glad you mentioned that, I haven't been sure on how they work lol (I'm still new)! I dose them with a seachem "Flourish Excel" carbon/iron supplement (I'm not really sure about it). The tank is still cycling so I'm not sure how to take care of the plants perfectly, thank you for the knowledge!!

Haha we've all been there. I had planted my anubias and java fern when I first got them and an attentive member of this forum pointed it out and told me. So flourish excel is basically liquid co2 (I think?) and isn't quite the full deal. If you get some regular seachem flourish that'll be the complete nutrients your plants need. Everybody on the forum has their own preferences on liquid fertilizers though. There's flourish, thrive, easy green and more. Try one see how you like it and if you don't just try another

Personally I haven't had anything die on me from gluing it but I'm not surprised if that happens every now and then. Fishing line works great I've used that too. Also thread works as well. The idea is that you can tie your plant down with thread and it will hold for a few months before it degrades. With something like mosses it gives it enough time to attach to it's surface and then disappear. Or your anubias may get enough roots out and work it's way into the gravel to stay in place. Just an extra option for ya. Oh and you can always wedge it in somewhere. Not too tight to cause the rhizome to rot but enough that it stays in place. Can be more natural looking as well.

 

Thank you so so so much for the help! For cleaning the tank, right now I have a plain siphon and I use it for my 10 gallon and its fine. However, that tank is gravel and super easy to clean. For this tank, is there any tips you have? Also, are there any small tools you'd suggest me buy? And for the pea puffers, I've heard mixed things about them biting their handler during a cleaning, is that actually a thing or just a big rumor? Sorry for all the questions lol!

 

I assume you'll be fine with the siphone. Sand is easier to clean than gravel. Also I don't know what the setup is like but do you have an intake sponge on your filter? It'll prevent sand from being stirred up and getting into your filter where it can really wreak some havoc. I'm not sure about specific little tools. Someone else might have some nifty ideas. I know very little about pea puffers I haven't kept any (yet. on the bucket list) so I can't really answer anything on them. Though it wouldn't surprise me if they did bite a little. Hopefully someone who keeps them can chime in

 

I watched a video on hotroding the certain aquarium I have (marineland 5 gal) and he only used one coarse sponge. So, I have pieces of sponge in the back compartment, the space where the water goes in seems to do fine with the sand... but I'm not so sure on how to actually check lol. Also, do you know if the heater can go in that back compartment? I'm so unsure on this because I've seen it done both ways. When inside the compartment, the water temp goes down by 2 degrees (78 to 76). Should I be worried about the heater doing something?

 

Yup that should be fine! And I do the same thing with my heater in my 5g. It hides in the back compartment out of sight. It's just restricted flow and not radiating heat out into the entire rest of the tank. Not sure what temp pea puffers prefer. I turn my heater up a few degrees to compensate.

 

I looked into it and they range but usually 78-82 or something like that. However, I'm in luck because the place where I'm getting the puffer from (Flip Aquatics) has their tank at 74-76, and my tank is now in that range!

 

i personally would recommend easy green from but flourish works too

 

The tank looks lovely already
Maybe you could add a small foreground plant like a crypt? I like cryptocoryne albida, personally. It retains its colour nicely even under low light. It would need root tabs though. As someone already recommended, you want a comprehensive fertiliser as opposed to excel. Seachem flourish is ok, but ime works better if you add api leaf zone too, to boost the iron and potassium!

i recommend tying them bc when u glue them the part that was glued dies

Did you put glue on the rhizome? When using glue it's important to only glue the roots

 

The tank looks lovely already
Maybe you could add a small foreground plant like a crypt? I like cryptocoryne albida, personally. It retains its colour nicely even under low light. It would need root tabs though. As someone already recommended, you want a comprehensive fertiliser as opposed to excel. Seachem flourish is ok, but ime works better if you add api leaf zone too, to boost the iron and potassium!

i was just looking into crypts!! I love the style of them, do you think I should get the green or redder ones? I'm thinking green but I'd love a second opinion. Also, I'm still new so bear with me, but could you explain what root tabs actually are and/or how to put them in? I've heard of them but never really got a true understanding of them.

 

i was just looking into crypts!! I love the style of them, do you think I should get the green or redder ones? I'm thinking green but I'd love a second opinion. Also, I'm still new so bear with me, but could you explain what root tabs actually are and/or how to put them in? I've heard of them but never really got a true understanding of them.

They are a brilliant and beautiful easy care plant! As for colour, the brown albida retain their colour quite well under lower light impe. But for many plants the red will lose their colour and turn green without enough red light. This probably applies to some crypts too.
And absolutely!
Root tabs are fertilisers in tablet form, for root feeding plants.
The plants you currently have feed from the water column, so they utilise liquid fertiliser, as do many stem plants. However, some plants such as crypts and Amazon swords take most of their nutrients from the substrate, like terrestrial plants. So require a food source within the sand/gravel.
You simply bury one underneath or right beside the root system of your plant. You can sometimes do this with your fingers but it's easier with a pair of aquascaping tweezers.
Many brands make them such as seachem, tetra ect but I hear great things about Nilocg if you're in the states.

 

Amazing, thank you so much!!! Do you have any ideas on where in the 5 gallon the crypt would look best?

 

Amazing, thank you so much!!! Do you have any ideas on where in the 5 gallon the crypt would look best?

I think one on the left at the front would look gorgeous
Or you could always do one on either side to mimic your java ferns. Depends on your personal taste really!

 

Love it! I'm thinking putting it on the left side, and then attaching some christmas moss to the center right side of the driftwood. I might move some moss balls out of the tank to give more space down below, I'm not sure

 

Love it! I'm thinking putting it on the left side, and then attaching some christmas moss to the center right side of the driftwood. I might move some moss balls out of the tank to give more space down below, I'm not sure

Sounds awesome! I think that'll look beautiful too. Especially when everything grows in. The moss balls are easy, you can move them around however you'd like. You'll find sometimes they have a mind of their own anyway, and pop up and hover around wherever they want to be lol

 

Sounds awesome! I think that'll look beautiful too. Especially when everything grows in. The moss balls are easy, you can move them around however you'd like. You'll find sometimes they have a mind of their own anyway, and pop up and hover around wherever they want to be lol

one of them disappeared in my 10 gal tank a while ago... then about five days later, i found it rolling around in one of the decorations lol, they're one of my favorite little plants/things

 

one of them disappeared in my 10 gal tank a while ago... then about five days later, i found it rolling around in one of the decorations lol, they're one of my favorite little plants/things

Yup! All too familiar with their vanishing antics, I lose mine all the time lol. Just make sure not to lose them for too long because sometimes they get lost where they don't see any light. I've had a few die buried amongst clumps of dense vegetation

 

I'll make sure to do a headcount during water changes lololol