Beginner freshwater 2.6 tank set up

Hi,
So I am thinking about getting my 4 year old daughter a fish for her first pet. Obviously with the idea of me taking care of everything. I’m leaning towards the Fluval 2.6 gallon (really not wanting to go bigger than this). I know very little about fish and caring for them so was hoping for something as low maintenance as possible. Please let me know where to even start with setting up a tank, what is needed, how long to cycle if needed before adding fish, and fish recommendations.
Thank you in advance!

 

I know you don't want to go bigger, but small is more maintenance in my opinion. A betta in a 5 gallon is a really easy beginner setup. Read everything you can on the nitrogen cycle. That is, in my opinion, the single most important thing for a beginner to understand first. You will need a filter and a heater and a water conditioner. I like Seachem Prime. Get yourself a good test kit too.

 

Hi,
So I am thinking about getting my 4 year old daughter a fish for her first pet. Obviously with the idea of me taking care of everything. I’m leaning towards the Fluval 2.6 gallon (really not wanting to go bigger than this). I know very little about fish and caring for them so was hoping for something as low maintenance as possible. Please let me know where to even start with setting up a tank, what is needed, how long to cycle if needed before adding fish, and fish recommendations.
Thank you in advance!

Yeah, a 2.6g is VERY hard to do, not to mention those tanks are only meant for inverts. However if you REALLY want to you can have a Betta, but a 5g is the best minimun.

 

Hi Rvan,
Welcome to fishlore
Keeping fish alive requires a lot of skills that nobody is born with. It’s a lot of work. There is no such thing as a low maintenance fish or tank.

I have read and been involved with replying to many parents that ask about setting up a tank for a child.
I have many tanks from the rubbish dump recycling shed . Many are almost new . There is a continuous flow of tanks being tossed out . Some have the medications in them to show it was not an easy journey for the human or fish.

You should know what you are getting yourself into .
Your child will see dead fish .

Should you decide you have the time and energy to take on the routine maintenance requirements I am very willing to help you on your journey.

To answer some of your questions.
2.6 is harder than 5 which is still harder than 10 gallons.
2.6 is not suitable for a first tank and is not really suitable for fish long term. To establish this for myself I ran a 2.5 for a few months with small fish and cherry shrimp. The fish stayed alive but the shrimp did not breed. It’s as much work as any tank.

Forget about a 2.6 gallon it’s to small.

You ask about maintenance.
Any tank will require a partial water change every week. All fish require feeding once a day 6 days a week but can easily go 7 days without food . Meaning you can have a week or ten days holiday anytime without worrying.
Fail to change some water for 3 or 4 weeks and the fish will slowly become sick. It takes a miracle to safe sick fish from a slow death.

Building the cycle. It’s a couple of colonies of bacteria that take 8 weeks approximately to establish. You have no guarantee if you think you can buy living bacteria in a bottle you are being misled.
No fish for at least 8 weeks is my suggestion.

While a betta is the classic girls fish in a 5 gallon having a small group of very small fish means when one dies you can replace it with or without the child knowing. Ember tetras perhaps?

Do you have half an hour every week and a minute a day?
You will need a liquid test kit to know about the cycle situation in any tank .

When walking the rubbish dump recycling shed I would not bend my back to pick up a 2.6 gallon even for $5 it’s a waste of time and money in my opinion.

 

I know you don't want to go bigger, but small is more maintenance in my opinion. A betta in a 5 gallon is a really easy beginner setup. Read everything you can on the nitrogen cycle. That is, in my opinion, the single most important thing for a beginner to understand first. You will need a filter and a heater and a water conditioner. I like Seachem Prime. Get yourself a good test kit too.

Thanks for your reply! I’m definitely going to read about the nitrogen cycle. And after reading all of these responses, I think I’ve been swayed against the 2.6 gallon and will go with the 5.

Yeah, a 2.6g is VERY hard to do, not to mention those tanks are only meant for inverts. However if you REALLY want to you can have a Betta, but a 5g is the best minimun.

Thank you for this reply! I am leaning towards the 5 gallon now

Hi Rvan,
Welcome to fishlore
Keeping fish alive requires a lot of skills that nobody is born with. It’s a lot of work. There is no such thing as a low maintenance fish or tank.

I have read and been involved with replying to many parents that ask about setting up a tank for a child.
I have many tanks from the rubbish dump recycling shed . Many are almost new . There is a continuous flow of tanks being tossed out . Some have the medications in them to show it was not an easy journey for the human or fish.

You should know what you are getting yourself into .
Your child will see dead fish .

Should you decide you have the time and energy to take on the routine maintenance requirements I am very willing to help you on your journey.

To answer some of your questions.
2.6 is harder than 5 which is still harder than 10 gallons.
2.6 is not suitable for a first tank and is not really suitable for fish long term. To establish this for myself I ran a 2.5 for a few months with small fish and cherry shrimp. The fish stayed alive but the shrimp did not breed. It’s as much work as any tank.

Forget about a 2.6 gallon it’s to small.

You ask about maintenance.
Any tank will require a partial water change every week. All fish require feeding once a day 6 days a week but can easily go 7 days without food . Meaning you can have a week or ten days holiday anytime without worrying.
Fail to change some water for 3 or 4 weeks and the fish will slowly become sick. It takes a miracle to safe sick fish from a slow death.

Building the cycle. It’s a couple of colonies of bacteria that take 8 weeks approximately to establish. You have no guarantee if you think you can buy living bacteria in a bottle you are being misled.
No fish for at least 8 weeks is my suggestion.

While a betta is the classic girls fish in a 5 gallon having a small group of very small fish means when one dies you can replace it with or without the child knowing. Ember tetras perhaps?

Do you have half an hour every week and a minute a day?
You will need a liquid test kit to know about the cycle situation in any tank .

When walking the rubbish dump recycling shed I would not bend my back to pick up a 2.6 gallon even for $5 it’s a waste of time and money in my opinion.

This is so informative, I appreciate your reply! You’ve convinced me to do the Fluval 5 gallon.

The maintenance aspect sounds very doable. However, what all does a water change involve? Is it just a matter of scooping out 10% of the tank each week then adding back in fresh water? What would I do to fresh water before pouring back in? I assume it would need to be dechlorinated and conditioned?

As far as preparing the tank for fish I was looking at a Hudor Theo heater to be able to adjust temp, and an LCR Hallcrest outside thermometer. Do these sound ok to use? What do you recommend for media? I’m leaning towards live plants so are there any you recommend? Also, any water conditioner and test kits you recommend to test nitrogen, pH, etc?

For fish, I like your idea of a beta then a small school of smaller fish. I was looking at neon tetras. Also, would a few shrimp do well in there too to help keep tank cleaner? Was thinking of 1 beta, maybe 5 neon tetras, and 4 shrimp. Is that a good amount for 5 gallon? Don’t want to overcrowd.

Thank you once again for your help. I know this is a lot of questions thrown at you so I apologize. Just want to make sure I do this right

 

I've never tried 2.6 but 5 gallon is perfect. Once you have it set up, you'll find it's still pretty small. W/ a 5 gallon, you'll be able to get a snail or 2 as well. (They are awesome btw! I had originally thought all they do is sit. Not true! They crawl all over, & do laps around the tank, cling to plants upside down, the fish watches it sometimes, plus more)

Water testing is really important first setting up a tank. Ammonia spikes, goes down, then you get Nitrite, & then start getting Nitrate. When Nitrates up, Ammonia & Nitrite will be down, & you can get a fish. That's it in a nutshell. Can take a few weeks. Be patient! I reccomend getting Ammonia from ACE Hardware store. It works faster than using fish food to seed. Fish food takes too long to break down to ammonia. Ammonia from ACE Hardware store skips that.

For tetras:
Tetras & a betta are going to be way too much in a 5 gallon. I've only been able to get a betta & snails in a 5 gallon to work. Most people here do not recommend it.

Tetras zip around & are fast swimmers. Bettas are much more relaxed. It's a stocking issue too where Nitrate will get too high

Forget about tetras unless you want a 10 gallon too. Even in a 10 gallon, it's not recommended mixing tetras & bettas.

For water changes: get a water vaccuum. A lot of the junk gets buried in the gravel. Take about 50% out every week. (some people say 20-30%, 50% in a 5 gallon keeps Nitrate down better over the course of a week, only takes about 15 minutes w/ a water vaccum)
Put dechlorinator in the new water & wait 15 minutes or so. That's what I do. Get stress coat & put that in when adding fish, changing filter, & after adding new water.

Very important item I learned you won't see many people say: make sure new water is same temp as water in tank! My tank was 80 degrees, but I was putting in 100 degree water in the tank & stressing out my fish. Take the tank's thermometer out of the tank & make sure you have tap water set to that when filling bucket for new water!

 

Sorry for not reading all the comments. Last year I set up an extremely low tech / maintenance tank for my son. I'm all about low tech, so this has been a walk in the park.

2.6 gallon is too small for anything though. A footprint of 10 by 10 inch is the smallest to consider and would suit a single male Dario dario or Dario tigris for instance. That's about it.

My son's tank has a surface area of 19 inch x 11 inch and is only 8 inch tall. So this approximates 6 gallons.

I added a layer of sand, some pieces of driftwood, a few dry leaves, and lots and lots and lots of java ferns. I didn't attach the plants to anything, just put them in. I added a small airpump with a tube sticking in the tankwater to ensure the water surface is crystal clear. His standard desktop light is directed towards the tank. We added 10 ember tetra's and that's it. No "real mechanical filter", no heater, no special aquarium light.

Low tech.... so best never to clean the tank, except for a weekly 5% water change. That's the only thing my son has to take care off. I feed the fish live foods a few times a week.

The embers already have had offspring - very rewarding for son and dad.

 

Hi Rvan,

I'd like to commend you for doing your homework BEFORE getting a tank and fish. Continue to do your research and ask questions. You are on your way to many happy years of successful fishkeeping!

 

Hi Rvan,

I'd like to commend you for doing your homework BEFORE getting a tank and fish. Continue to do your research and ask questions. You are on your way to many happy years of successful fishkeeping!

This is encouraging to hear. Thank you very much!

Sorry for not reading all the comments. Last year I set up an extremely low tech / maintenance tank for my son. I'm all about low tech, so this has been a walk in the park.

2.6 gallon is too small for anything though. A footprint of 10 by 10 inch is the smallest to consider and would suit a single male Dario dario or Dario tigris for instance. That's about it.

My son's tank has a surface area of 19 inch x 11 inch and is only 8 inch tall. So this approximates 6 gallons.

I added a layer of sand, some pieces of driftwood, a few dry leaves, and lots and lots and lots of java ferns. I didn't attach the plants to anything, just put them in. I added a small airpump with a tube sticking in the tankwater to ensure the water surface is crystal clear. His standard desktop light is directed towards the tank. We added 10 ember tetra's and that's it. No "real mechanical filter", no heater, no special aquarium light.

Low tech.... so best never to clean the tank, except for a weekly 5% water change. That's the only thing my son has to take care off. I feed the fish live foods a few times a week.

The embers already have had offspring - very rewarding for son and dad.

This is definitively an option I haven’t considered. I’m pretty sold on the Fluval Spec V however after all the great reviews I’ve read about it, so may stick with that.

I've never tried 2.6 but 5 gallon is perfect. Once you have it set up, you'll find it's still pretty small. W/ a 5 gallon, you'll be able to get a snail or 2 as well. (They are awesome btw! I had originally thought all they do is sit. Not true! They crawl all over, & do laps around the tank, cling to plants upside down, the fish watches it sometimes, plus more)

Water testing is really important first setting up a tank. Ammonia spikes, goes down, then you get Nitrite, & then start getting Nitrate. When Nitrates up, Ammonia & Nitrite will be down, & you can get a fish. That's it in a nutshell. Can take a few weeks. Be patient! I reccomend getting Ammonia from ACE Hardware store. It works faster than using fish food to seed. Fish food takes too long to break down to ammonia. Ammonia from ACE Hardware store skips that.

For tetras:
Tetras & a betta are going to be way too much in a 5 gallon. I've only been able to get a betta & snails in a 5 gallon to work. Most people here do not recommend it.

Tetras zip around & are fast swimmers. Bettas are much more relaxed. It's a stocking issue too where Nitrate will get too high

Forget about tetras unless you want a 10 gallon too. Even in a 10 gallon, it's not recommended mixing tetras & bettas.

For water changes: get a water vaccuum. A lot of the junk gets buried in the gravel. Take about 50% out every week. (some people say 20-30%, 50% in a 5 gallon keeps Nitrate down better over the course of a week, only takes about 15 minutes w/ a water vaccum)
Put dechlorinator in the new water & wait 15 minutes or so. That's what I do. Get stress coat & put that in when adding fish, changing filter, & after adding new water.

Very important item I learned you won't see many people say: make sure new water is same temp as water in tank! My tank was 80 degrees, but I was putting in 100 degree water in the tank & stressing out my fish. Take the tank's thermometer out of the tank & make sure you have tap water set to that when filling bucket for new water!

This is all such great info, so thank you! Making notes over some of the points you’ve made

Will pick up the Ammonia from ACE. So once tank is aquascaped, I fill with dechlorinated water then put some Ammonia in it and let the tank run with filter (with the charcoal and those white rock things) for several weeks till levels are right (nitrate up and ammonia and nitrite down)? Also, for the dechlorinated water, do I just fill up a bucket with water and add in some sort of dechlorinater solution?

Since you don’t recommend tetras, are there any other small fish I could get with the betta? Or would any other fish with the beta be too much? If it would be, would the beta, some snails and some shrimp be ok for a 5 gallon?

Also good to know about water temps during changes!

 

This is encouraging to hear. Thank you very much!

This is definitively an option I haven’t considered. I’m pretty sold on the Fluval Spec V however after all the great reviews I’ve read about it, so may stick with that.

This is all such great info, so thank you! Making notes over some of the points you’ve made

Will pick up the Ammonia from ACE. So once tank is aquascaped, I fill with dechlorinated water then put some Ammonia in it and let the tank run with filter (with the charcoal and those white rock things) for several weeks till levels are right (nitrate up and ammonia and nitrite down)? Also, for the dechlorinated water, do I just fill up a bucket with water and add in some sort of dechlorinater solution?

Since you don’t recommend tetras, are there any other small fish I could get with the betta? Or would any other fish with the beta be too much? If it would be, would the beta, some snails and some shrimp be ok for a 5 gallon?

Also good to know about water temps during changes!

One more thing I’d like to add is 60% of bettas or more will see the shrimp as a large, but very yummy snack! My betta ate all 10 culled shrimp I put in his tank from the main tank as a hope for a clean up crew within minutes to the point I was worried for my betta’s health. Nerite snails are great as they can’t reproduce in fresh water and they happily live with bettas. Mystery snails can be fun too, but often reproduce out of control and bettas might eat their antennae. Tbh, bettas are a solitary fish (plus snails as a good tank mate, I think mine just thinks snails are sentient rocks) and do not get lonely. In fact, adding more tank mates is more likely to stress out fish, cause ammonia and nitrite spikes or parasites or disease that can be hard to fix, and/or will be eaten right away. Bettas look lonely alone to our human eyes, but they’re much happier alone. In fact, mine is still trying to kill his own reflection.

 

"Will pick up the Ammonia from ACE. So once tank is aquascaped, I fill with dechlorinated water then put some Ammonia in it and let the tank run with filter (with the charcoal and those white rock things) for several weeks till levels are right (nitrate up and ammonia and nitrite down)? Also, for the dechlorinated water, do I just fill up a bucket with water and add in some sort of dechlorinater solution?"

That's exactly right! You put very little ammonia in, also. Like a drop or two, if that. You can then test the water to make sure it's 2-3. Anything more, you'll just be waiting more time for it to be ready.


"Since you don’t recommend tetras, are there any other small fish I could get with the betta? Or would any other fish with the beta be too much? If it would be, would the beta, some snails and some shrimp be ok for a 5 gallon?"

My friend got a couple Platys to work. I've never tried it, & most here wouldn't recommend it due to betta aggression & overstocking. Stick w/ a snail or two.
You can try shrimp! The Betta may eat them tho. Will depend what you want to tell / how to tell your daughter if it disappears Maybe she'd be fine w/ it?

 

One more thing I’d like to add is 60% of bettas or more will see the shrimp as a large, but very yummy snack! My betta ate all 10 culled shrimp I put in his tank from the main tank as a hope for a clean up crew within minutes to the point I was worried for my betta’s health. Nerite snails are great as they can’t reproduce in fresh water and they happily live with bettas. Mystery snails can be fun too, but often reproduce out of control and bettas might eat their antennae. Tbh, bettas are a solitary fish (plus snails as a good tank mate, I think mine things just snails are sentient rocks) and do not get lonely. In fact, adding more tank mates is more likely to stress out fish, cause ammonia and nitrite spikes or parasites or disease that can be hard to fix, and/or will be eaten right away. Bettas look lonely alone to our human eyes, but they’re much happier alone. In fact, mine is still trying to kill his own reflection.

“Kill his own reflection”. Sorry had to laugh at that. This is good to know though! Didn’t realize they liked being alone. My thought was it would be more fun for my daughter to have several things in the tank to watch, and if one died she’d still have others. But don’t want to cause issues in the tank obviously. Are there other varieties of fish and/or snails/shrimp I could put together in a 5 gallon?

 

“Kill his own reflection”. Sorry had to laugh at that. This is good to know though! Didn’t realize they liked being alone. My thought was it would be more fun for my daughter to have several things in the tank to watch, and if one died she’d still have others. But don’t want to cause issues in the tank obviously. Are there other varieties of fish and/or snails/shrimp I could put together in a 5 gallon?

Sometimes amano shrimp will work for bettas because they are larger, but if you do amanos and a betta, I’d go to 10 gallons. Mystery snails are super personable, too, I enjoy mine but keep having to scrape egg clutches out so I don’t have an overrun tank. Tbh a 5 gallon is really hard to keep from having ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, temperature, and bacteria issues, etc. a 10 gallon will be more stable and causes less stress as the fish can get away from each other. Unless you have a schooling or schoaling fish, they are not usually looking for friends, we just personify them! Also, the more plants and hides, the better for stress and to have places for them to hide and for beneficial bacteria to grow!

Edit to add: in a 5-10 gallon tank, your betta will still be the star of the show. Mine greets me at the glass, dances when he’s begging for food, and is constantly swimming and exploring. If you care for your betta right, they can live 3-5 years or more. They also change colors and grow longer fins when in healthy, clean water and have room to swim, which is very rewarding to see (take “progress pics” and it’s so heartwarming). Short fin plakat bettas are more active than super long fin ones (I’ve heard it’s like swimming in a wedding dress with the long fins), but all are amazing. Just keep them solo for best outcomes! Hope this helps!

 

Thank you everyone so much for all the help! I do have a couple more questions - I keep thinking of more things!

So I think I’ve pretty much got everything planned out for the tank and what to buy. I’m leaning towards the Fluval bio stratum substrate with a planted combination of (some or all) guppy grass, pearl weed, Java moss, anubias, Amazon swords, and marimo moss balls. I’m guessing all these plants might be too much for a 5 gallon. Thoughts on which plants I should stick to? My idea was to have so many plants covering substrate that I wouldn’t need to worry about vacuuming gravel as plants could just feed off what I’d be vacuuming up anyways, if that makes sense? If it would still be recommended to suction/vacuum bottom, what should I use and how often is that even recommended?

When getting started and I first start cycling the tank, will I be putting ammonia in daily? Weekly? Will I need to do water changes even for fishless cycle during the approx 2 months it takes for levels to be right for fish?

I plan on trying out 1 betta, a couple nerite snails, and maybe 2-3 cherry shrimp. What levels should everything be before it’s ok to add all these in? Also, is there a specific type of betta I should get? Maybe one less non aggressive so it’s less likely to eat the shrimp (although I know that’s still not a guarantee)? Male or female? Is it ok to buy all these at Petco? Or should I go to a non chain store for these?

And last question I can think of for now is - how often do I clean the filter media/charcoal bag thing? And how do I clean them?

Thank you so so much for whoever takes the time to read all this and answer. I appreciate you more than you know!

 

"My idea was to have so many plants covering substrate that I wouldn’t need to worry about vacuuming gravel as plants could just feed off what I’d be vacuuming up anyways, if that makes sense?"

Yup, that's exactly right. It works best if you stick to having many (root)plants and not too many fish...or just one betta. And don't overfeed, no matter how he or she begs.

You can't have too many plants. If you also add a few pieces of driftwood that allows shrimps to hide in or under, chances increase they'll survive.

You only need to clean a filter when you notice the water flow is getting less.
Remove the "charcoal bag thing". It mostly serves advertising (chemical filtration...wow).

I only cycle bikes, not tanks. Others can help you with cycling.

 

You only need to put in ammonia once. So the tank tests at the like 3-4 level. Then you don't again.
You don't do water changes while it's cycling (unless you put in too much ammonia at first & need to get it down so it's at that good starting level) except at the end. When ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0, & nitrate is 20-40, the cycle is done, but before adding a fish, you do a water change to get it back down again (10-20 is fine) & then can add the fish.
I've heard Veil Tails are the least aggressive, & females are less aggressive then males. Females aren't as fancy as the males tho (tho there are some pretty fancy ones out there), but I have a not-as-fancy female & she's great.

I've never had live plants.

I don't have Petco by me. I have a Petsmart. They do great. Nothing wrong w/ buying from the big chains. Just make sure that they all look healthy & in clean water. If some don't look good, I would either wait till it looks like they're being taken care of, or find a place that it taking care of them (not always the store's fault, may have trouble finding good help, for example)

I don't clean the actual filter. Just change the cartridge every few months.

Another thing for cycling: don't use products (other than the dechlorinator when adding the water). In my experience, products gets rid of the ammonia but don't produce Nitrite. Just add the ammonia & let it go.

 

"My idea was to have so many plants covering substrate that I wouldn’t need to worry about vacuuming gravel as plants could just feed off what I’d be vacuuming up anyways, if that makes sense?"

Yup, that's exactly right. It works best if you stick to having many (root)plants and not too many fish...or just one betta. And don't overfeed, no matter how he or she begs.

You can't have too many plants. If you also add a few pieces of driftwood that allows shrimps to hide in or under, chances increase they'll survive.

You only need to clean a filter when you notice the water flow is getting less.
Remove the "charcoal bag thing". It mostly serves advertising (chemical filtration...wow).

I only cycle bikes, not tanks. Others can help you with cycling.

Lol, thanks so much for the quick reply. I have heard that about the charcoal before, that most people who know what they’re doing just leave the charcoal out completely. So I’ll probably do that. And yes forgot to add I’ll be adding a piece of driftwood and floating log for betta as well. And real pieces of driftwood can be purchased at Petco? Good to know about the plants that I can’t have too many! I’ll probably buy them all and just see how many I can cram in there

You only need to put in ammonia once. So the tank tests at the like 3-4 level. Then you don't again.
You don't do water changes while it's cycling (unless you put in too much ammonia at first & need to get it down so it's at that good starting level) except at the end. When ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0, & nitrate is 20-40, the cycle is done, but before adding a fish, you do a water change to get it back down again (10-20 is fine) & then can add the fish.
I've heard Veil Tails are the least aggressive, & females are less aggressive then males. Females aren't as fancy as the males tho (tho there are some pretty fancy ones out there), but I have a not-as-fancy female & she's great.

I've never had live plants.

I don't have Petco by me. I have a Petsmart. They do great. Nothing wrong w/ buying from the big chains. Just make sure that they all look healthy & in clean water. If some don't look good, I would either wait till it looks like they're being taken care of, or find a place that it taking care of them (not always the store's fault, may have trouble finding good help, for example)

I don't clean the actual filter. Just change the cartridge every few months.

Another thing for cycling: don't use products (other than the dechlorinator when adding the water). In my experience, products gets rid of the ammonia but don't produce Nitrite. Just add the ammonia & let it go.

So helpful, thank you thank you! I’ll probably just see what they have available at Petco and try to search for a Veil Tail. Have several things in my Amazon cart I’ll go ahead and purchase. Can’t wait to get started! (I’m probably more excited than my daughter )

 

Let me fly from the Netherlands to the USA and visit Petco to see if they have any driftwood. Hold on.

 

Let me fly from the Netherlands to the USA and visit Petco to see if they driftwood. Hold on.

I’m sorry, didn’t realize you weren’t in the US!

 

This is encouraging to hear. Thank you very much!

This is definitively an option I haven’t considered. I’m pretty sold on the Fluval Spec V however after all the great reviews I’ve read about it, so may stick with that.

This is all such great info, so thank you! Making notes over some of the points you’ve made

Will pick up the Ammonia from ACE. So once tank is aquascaped, I fill with dechlorinated water then put some Ammonia in it and let the tank run with filter (with the charcoal and those white rock things) for several weeks till levels are right (nitrate up and ammonia and nitrite down)? Also, for the dechlorinated water, do I just fill up a bucket with water and add in some sort of dechlorinater solution?

Since you don’t recommend tetras, are there any other small fish I could get with the betta? Or would any other fish with the beta be too much? If it would be, would the beta, some snails and some shrimp be ok for a 5 gallon?

Also good to know about water temps during changes!

Honestly, with the questions you are asking you should seriously consider just going for the Fluval nine or 15 gallon flex (at basically the same price!). I owned the Fluval spec five and it’s really tiny. I now have the fluval flex 15 and enjoy it much more. I gave the spec five away. If you hope to have some thing more than a single betta the flex nine would be a great choice. You could try the betta plus dwarf shrimp or snails or even some chili rasbora or ember tetras.
Have you heard of multiple tank syndrome? It’s a real thing. I would bet money that if you buy that Fluval spec V that within a few months you’ll be looking for a bigger tank because you already want more different kinds of fish.

 

Honestly, with the questions you are asking you should seriously consider just going for the Fluval nine or 15 gallon flex (at basically the same price!). I owned the Fluval spec five and it’s really tiny. I now have the fluval flex 15 and enjoy it much more. I gave the spec five away. If you hope to have some thing more than a single betta the flex nine would be a great choice. You could try the betta plus dwarf shrimp or snails or even some chili rasbora or ember tetras.
Have you heard of multiple tank syndrome? It’s a real thing. I would bet money that if you buy that Fluval spec V that within a few months you’ll be looking for a bigger tank because you already want more different kinds of fish.

I get what you’re saying, and I’d love more fish in the tank other than just the betta. But it’s honestly just a matter of space. Only spare place in my daughters room is on her dresser, and the spec 5 will fit perfectly on it. Anything bigger would just be way too big :/

Honestly, with the questions you are asking you should seriously consider just going for the Fluval nine or 15 gallon flex (at basically the same price!). I owned the Fluval spec five and it’s really tiny. I now have the fluval flex 15 and enjoy it much more. I gave the spec five away. If you hope to have some thing more than a single betta the flex nine would be a great choice. You could try the betta plus dwarf shrimp or snails or even some chili rasbora or ember tetras.
Have you heard of multiple tank syndrome? It’s a real thing. I would bet money that if you buy that Fluval spec V that within a few months you’ll be looking for a bigger tank because you already want more different kinds of fish.

I think if I could be ensured my 2 year old son wouldn’t knock a 10 gallon over if the tank was on a stand, I’d highly consider going larger. But I have yet to find any sort of solid stand that’s high enough where my son couldn’t hit it or mess with it.

 

I get what you’re saying, and I’d love more fish in the tank other than just the betta. But it’s honestly just a matter of space. Only spare place in my daughters room is on her dresser, and the spec 5 will fit perfectly on it. Anything bigger would just be way too big :/

I think if I could be ensured my 2 year old son wouldn’t knock a 10 gallon over if the tank was on a stand, I’d highly consider going larger. But I have yet to find any sort of solid stand that’s high enough where my son couldn’t hit it or mess with it.

The Home Depot HDX metal stands are sturdy enough to hold the 10 gallon. I have a small one for my quarantine tank. Obviously that’s not the greatest decor option depending on what you’re looking for …but in a kids room those stands might be able to hold toys or books or some thing and then have the aquarium on top.

 

Thanks for your reply! I’m definitely going to read about the nitrogen cycle. And after reading all of these responses, I think I’ve been swayed against the 2.6 gallon and will go with the 5.

Thank you for this reply! I am leaning towards the 5 gallon now

This is so informative, I appreciate your reply! You’ve convinced me to do the Fluval 5 gallon.

The maintenance aspect sounds very doable. However, what all does a water change involve? Is it just a matter of scooping out 10% of the tank each week then adding back in fresh water? What would I do to fresh water before pouring back in? I assume it would need to be dechlorinated and conditioned?

As far as preparing the tank for fish I was looking at a Hudor Theo heater to be able to adjust temp, and an LCR Hallcrest outside thermometer. Do these sound ok to use? What do you recommend for media? I’m leaning towards live plants so are there any you recommend? Also, any water conditioner and test kits you recommend to test nitrogen, pH, etc?

For fish, I like your idea of a beta then a small school of smaller fish. I was looking at neon tetras. Also, would a few shrimp do well in there too to help keep tank cleaner? Was thinking of 1 beta, maybe 5 neon tetras, and 4 shrimp. Is that a good amount for 5 gallon? Don’t want to overcrowd.

Thank you once again for your help. I know this is a lot of questions thrown at you so I apologize. Just want to make sure I do this right

First of all: Kudos to you for being able to receive informative criticism so well. That takes integrity.

I really am glad you decided to go bigger - it is 1) more humane and 2) honestly so much easier to maintain.

Honestly, with the questions you are asking you should seriously consider just going for the Fluval nine or 15 gallon flex (at basically the same price!). I owned the Fluval spec five and it’s really tiny. I now have the fluval flex 15 and enjoy it much more. I gave the spec five away. If you hope to have some thing more than a single betta the flex nine would be a great choice. You could try the betta plus dwarf shrimp or snails or even some chili rasbora or ember tetras.
Have you heard of multiple tank syndrome? It’s a real thing. I would bet money that if you buy that Fluval spec V that within a few months you’ll be looking for a bigger tank because you already want more different kinds of fish.

he is absolutely RIGHT. Omg. Fishkeeping is an absolute addiction. I have "upgraded" my tank 4 times now - intending to throw out the old ones... that didn't happen. Prepare to become a crazy fish person.