What is a good 5 gallon (hex)tank setup?

Question

i am trying to set up an aquarium for my dad (get him addicted too) and i would like to find a good community setup that is lower maintenance, interesting to watch, and at least somewhat flexible, so he can add fish if he wants to. (knowing him, in 6 months he'll upgrade to a 20 gallon tank) but it still needs some room for modification

my dad had an aquarium when he was a kid, and he always loved:

khuli loaches (possible)

angelfish (not likely)

tiger barbs (possible)

and he has fallen in love with my upside down cats. (better than the angelfish, but still...)

i understand i cant put all of these in a 5 gallon hex tank, but those are his favorites.

Answer 1

Sorry none of those are suitable for a 5gal tank.

Go straight to the 20gal and you could keep the kuhlis and tiger barbs, but even then it's a squeeze. You need to consider the adult size of the fish, the size group you should keep them in, and how active they are.

For tiger barbs thats 3" long, 6 fish and they are active and need space to swim.

A 5 gal tank is fine for a betta, and OK for a few guppies, but most small fish need to live in a school, which is too much for a 5gal.

Ian

Answer 2

your local pet store should set you up with all your dos and don t they were very helpful  

Answer 3

try getting your dad 6 neon tetras they're small, active, and very interesting once your dad upgrades to the 20 gallon and all those fish your dad use to have you can put it with your school of tetras however the loaches will take up a lot of room so it is maybe best to not get them. Also here is a compatibility chart: http://www.petco.com/assets/livefish/fre...

Answer 4

Personally I would not waste the time or money on a Hex tank. Fish do not swim up & down. They swim side to side in "levels". Angels and tiger barbs swim in the middle of the tank while platies and swords tend to swim near the top.  Loaches and cats are "cleaners" and tend to stay on the bottom. When setting up a tank you want to try to populate the layers without over populating the tank. Generally the rule is 2" of fish per gallon of water. Also if your setting up a new tank you'll have to wait a little before putting cats in the tank as they are generally garbage eaters.

If dad like color Platies (mollies), Swords, and Guppies are the colorful way to go as well as neons.  There are new fish out there too that are really cool.  They are genetically engineered danios that are neon colored. The cool part is when something starts going wrong with the water they start loosing the color and when you fix the problem the color comes back. These fish were created to let us know if someone poisoned our water supplies but then when they got caught everyone decided they were really cool and a new market was born.  Anyways good luck with your quest.

Answer 5

the only thing I can think of that would work well in a 5gallon tank is a plant.

sorry a tank that small can not support any other type of healthy happy life.

Answer 6

Sorry, but you can't put any of those in a 5 gallon.  Minimum tank sizes:

Kuhli Loach: 50 Gallon

Angelfish: 40 Gallon

Tiger Barbs: 30 Gallon

Upside Down Catfish: 40 Gallon

You could do ONE of the following lists:

2 Male Guppies OR 1 Male Betta OR 6 Neon Tetras  OR 3 Panda Corys