# 3 gallon planning



## pirasha (Nov 3, 2012)

Hello lovely people!
I've recently moved into a new office with a bit of desk space which means new tank! WOOP! 
I dug out my old 3 gallon Betta tank and it fits great (plus is beautiful glass and rimless) so now the planning can begin!

So let's start with what I've got:

wave point 8 watt light
eco complete substrate (may change this/get new stuff)
ehiem classic 250 filter or rapids mini canister filter
- I've for lily pipes coming (squee) so I'm hoping that will lower the ehiem flow so it's not super strong as I'd rather use that over the rapids


I'm also maybe going to have Co2 on it - I'm going to play around with it because I put anything other than plants in to make sure it doesn't flux the pH/ oxygen too much. If it does and I can't get a handle on it I'll take off the Co2.

Now your help,

I love bettas but I'm looking for something a little different this time, a little more busy as that would greatly help my ADD. 
so
I'm planning on getting some RCS as this is something I've always wanted to try. 
I was also thinking about a smaller fish or two in order to break up the water column a bit more. The only thing I can think of that is small enough for this tank and non-schooling is a male Endler. Opinions on this guy? Would he be alright in this setup or should I forgo the fish and stick with just the shrimp?

Any smaller fish ideas that would do alright in such a tiny tank without posing dangers to the shrimp?

I haven't entirely nailed down what I'm doing plant-wise; I have to see what they've got in stock at my LFS and figure out what I'm planning on organism-wise and plan from there.

Oh! this is so exciting! I've got the bug again!


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## Parahnoyd (Mar 8, 2013)

As far as planting is concerned, I would make sure to have some type of moss in there for the shrimp. Most really small fish are schooling fish, because without this defense mechanism, they wouldn't survive as well. I honestly can't think of a loner fish that would work in a tank that size (and not predate on the shrimp). Good Luck!


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## Maclyri (Mar 6, 2016)

Maybe a couple boraras?


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## pirasha (Nov 3, 2012)

@Paranoyd - Oh yes moss is a must  You don't think a lone endler or male guppy would do well in these conditions? They aren't schoolers as far as my experience goes. I know most smaller fish are schoolers and I know (sadly) that my tank just will not support enough of the for a decent school so most things are out.
@Maclyri - as much as I would LOVE a school of boraras I don't think I'd be able to fit enough of them for a decent school. With such a tiny tank, with plants I think I'd be able to get away with just two of them size-wise; I believe even three would be pushing the limits of the tank. With my experience with these guys they seem to do much better with a bigger school (more than 5) so I don't think they'd work for me. thanks for the suggestion though


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

betta or shrimp

tank is too small for anything else IMO


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

Scarlet Badis (Dario dario) will work.


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

For a 3 gallon: Shrimp, snails, a single male Scarlet Badis (only if you have access to live food) or a single bumblebee goby


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## Al3x (Sep 3, 2016)

Danionella Dracula or Priapus could be options. The both grow to about half an inch. 

But I've never kept them so you'd have to research them a lot first. 


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## Helmetless Stig (Jan 10, 2016)

A single sparkling gourami could work.


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## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Helmetless Stig said:


> A single sparkling gourami could work.


It would eat the shrimp.


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## Helmetless Stig (Jan 10, 2016)

geisterwald said:


> It would eat the shrimp.


Perhaps a lampeye killifish. Don't think it would eat the shrimp. 

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## D.Farci (Mar 15, 2016)

Do only shrimp. Maybe get a male endler. Overall, you're going to either have to cope with too high of a bioload or unhappy fish due to too few in a school. Boraras spp. are jumpers, and need a decent school to feel comfortable. Hell, even with a decent school and a nice-ish lid, they still jump (lost two in the past week - though I haven't found bodies yet, so I'm assuming it was jumping). 

Sparkling gourami's are shy and need friends and cover. Tetras are too big for 3 gallons. Badis are also fish that want friends. Killifish - same thing. 

I don't know what your plan/capabilities are, but if you make your aquascape have a little height and depth, it'll be great for the shrimp and help disrupt the water column and keep your tank from looking bare in the middle. Maybe get some stones that are a little bigger and build them up with plants around the cracks? The shrimp will hang out on any level, meaning from top to bottom the tank will have creatures. 

I also recommend snails, but nerites are notorious for climbing out of rimless tanks. They can survive dry conditions for some time, but I still wouldn't recommend without a lid. 

Good luck!


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## pirasha (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I think for right now I'll stick with just shrimp as that's what this tank is for and really are the most important aspect for me. Once they are all settled I can decide from there if the tank can logically and healthily support anything else; but that's not going to be for quite a while. I've still have to acquire a few items and decide on plants and scape items. And that's before the setting up of the tank, getting the plants nicely rooted and getting it properly cycled before getting any shrimp. 
I also need to make sure I can properly fertilize the tank and fiddle with CO2 (I've only ever done DIY before so injected is going to be new) before getting any non-plant organisms in there; so I've got a loooong road before anything actually happens.

I'll start a tank journal once I've got more than just my tank to work with 

thanks again!


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