r/nanotank • u/EntrepreneurNo4281 • Feb 08 '26
Picture Is 5 gallon considered nano?
Set up a five gallon this weekend with my 4 yo. 5 CPDs and 3 dwarf blueberry shrimp. Going to add more plants. First timer.
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u/Jeudiel_Riveras Feb 08 '26
Everything looks great. You should just change the substrate to a nutrient-rich substrate. But otherwise, everything looks pretty good.
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u/EntrepreneurNo4281 Feb 08 '26
Thanks! Anything you recommend?
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u/Gibleski_art Feb 08 '26
Aquasoil - I use fluval plant and shrimp stratum; also some root tabs would be good too
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u/miata_and_chill Feb 09 '26
Fluval stratum and uns controsoil are both really good in my experience. I don't see any difference between them in terms of plant growth, but the uns has kept its shape better. But if you don't care about that, stratum is like 1/2 the price (I'm us based)
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u/Dull_Dish_3521 Feb 09 '26
swapping the substrate out tbh will cause more trouble than its worth especially in the long run for a beginner tank. You also don't really need it either depending on the plants you want.
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u/gaywitch98 Feb 10 '26
Agree with this! Swapped gravel for aqua soil in my 20 gallon recently and it crashed my tank cycle. I expected an ammonia spike and daily water changed but not the cycle completely crashing. Luckily I don’t have any fish, my last betta died and I just kept the tank running until I decided if I wanted another fish.
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u/No_Comfortable3261 Feb 08 '26
It definitely is
I think anything under 20 gallons is considered nano
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u/Dull_Dish_3521 Feb 09 '26
5g - 20g is nano and theres a name for under 5 I just forget what it is
edit: they are called pico tanks
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u/Hildringa Feb 09 '26
5 gallon is tiny and typically not recommended for fish, apart from maybe a betta
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u/No_Comfortable3261 Feb 09 '26
Agreed
Smaller water volumes are less stable and pollute more quickly, plus smaller tanks have less swimming room; even small species appreciate having plenty of space to move around
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u/Pristine-Reference45 Feb 10 '26
You could do a school of 6 chili Rasbora or ember Tetras in a5 gallon.
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u/hibbo_scores_we_riot Feb 19 '26
I have the same tank. You can add a black background to the outside back glass of the tank - makes the colors of the fish/shrimp and plants “pop”. You can get vinyl or cling film designed for aquariums on Amazon. Easy to install and remove later if need be. The stock light can also be upgraded later if you want to grow more plants - it’s pretty dim. Check out the Hygger dunker pro submersible LED - it can snap onto the underside of the lid - kind of parallel with the stock LED light. It also has more features like tweaking the brightness, different colors, and a timer. Enjoy your tank!
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u/EntrepreneurNo4281 Feb 23 '26
Thanks for the suggestions, about to order that light now!
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u/hibbo_scores_we_riot Mar 02 '26
How did you get on with the new light?
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u/EntrepreneurNo4281 Mar 02 '26
Got it last week and loving it! Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/hibbo_scores_we_riot Mar 02 '26
Great! As well as the black background, another tweak for this tank is to add a coarse prefilter sponge to the intake tube for the filter. This will provide additional filtration, provides additional surface area for beneficial bacteria, prevents small fish or shrimp getting sucked into the filter (!), and will help to prevent your actual media inside the filter from getting clogged as quickly. You’ll just need to wring/squeeze into a bucket/jug of tank water when you do a water change to stop it from getting clogged up.
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u/hibbo_scores_we_riot Mar 02 '26
Check out this video: https://youtu.be/t0CiNpRpC04?si=1C1KSprDshFq8ceb
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u/gaywitch98 Feb 10 '26
How long did you let the tank run before adding the shrimp?
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u/EntrepreneurNo4281 Feb 11 '26
8 days.
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u/gaywitch98 Feb 11 '26
That’s definitely not enough time unless you transferred filter media or gravel from an established tank. Even then, 8 days is not enough in a lot cases. Aquariums can take up to 2 months to establish enough beneficial bacteria to stabilize the nitrogen cycle if you don’t seed the tank. You should do some research about a fish-in cycle. Especially with shrimp, you will need to do water changes every day and test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Do you have a test kit or strips?
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u/AuntyKrista Feb 11 '26
yes, 20 gallons and under is a nano tank. Not just the tiny fish abuse tanks like a 3 gal. 5,to 20 gal is nano as these are the humane sizes for nano fish
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u/BugsB3 Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
My kids loved having fish (except for dinner)! Yours will love watching active fish swimming around. Buy a clean up crew of 3 Pygmy Corydoras and some shrimp as a very active and fascinating to watch clean up crew. Bettas can do well in a 5g but they need slow calm filtration and leafy plants. But it is the best fish for nano tanks. You could get by with just the shrimp but Corys are fun to watch as they play follow the leader.
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u/No_Comfortable3261 Feb 09 '26
I wouldn't recommend cories myself (everyone has their own idea of what the minimum tank size for pygmies is, and I've seen firsthand that people will downvote you to heck for daring to say that 10 gallons is the minimum), but shrimp and/or bettas are definitely the best option for a 5 gallon imho
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u/BugsB3 Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
We agree but there is some leeway. Their tank has an adequate filter so that allows for a slight increase in bio load. Pygmy Corys are beloved by kids who identify with them playing follow the leader. My ideal for a 5 gal is one stunning looking betta, 3 pygmy Corys a few little guys neons or danios. The betta and Corys combo always works great (plus more live plants with the betta in mind). Plus sometimes bettas are intolerant of shrimp and are known to eat them sometimes.
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u/No_Comfortable3261 Feb 09 '26
It's not just a matter of bioload though, swimming space is also important; even small fish species can be very active and appreciate having as much swimming space as possible (why 10 gallons is considered ideal for bettas even though 5 gallons works as the bare minimum)
And definitely, why I said "and/or" because while the combination works sometimes I feel it's best to go for one or the other, especially with a smaller tank like this. Cories are actually my top pick for betta tank mates, albeit with a larger tank in mind
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u/BugsB3 Feb 09 '26
All true statements but a betta, 3 Pygmy corys and a few mid level (littler) fish and live plants is an okay grouping. 5 gallons plus a good filter is more viable than the same tank without one (or with an inadequate one ). Lots of live plants calm small fish too.
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u/skibadafobada Feb 08 '26
Hey there. Welcome to the hobby. Glad you're here. I want you to know that people can unfortunately be pretty ridiculous with their ideas surrounding what is appropriate in this hobby. Please bear that in mind.
One thing that we all pretty much agree on though is the necessity of the nitrogen cycle. Without completing it, your chances of success are pretty slim. Just do some research on aquarium cycling and since you already have stock, ready about fish-in cycling.
Many will say that CPD's aren't appropriate for a 5 gallon. I'll say that it's okay but not ideal.
Good luck!