2 and a half gallon stocking ideas

[Balistik928]

Pea puffers only get to about nickel size at the max and i believe that a raphael catfish would be a good candidate given that they barely move and are easily able to handle the water conditions if they start to go downhill in such a small aquarium.

Pea puffers are really sensitive to water quality too. At least 5-10 gallons for one.

 

[Balistik928]

The only scientific study i have seen on bettas said that they need a two foot planted tank to be happy, but if you were going into a random store to get one i would say it is more likely that an experienced aquarists keeping one in a 2.5 gallon would give it a better and longer life than the alternative

A betta is ok for a 2.5, it's recommended to be at least 5 gallons, but 2.5 is still acceptable. Heck, I'm putting one in my 20 gallon that just finished cycling

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Eh. I think it's kind of arbitrary to say that a betta "needs 13 gallons". Do they even make 13 gallon tanks? I have kept bettas in a 2.5 gallon before. I would recommend at least a 5.5 or 10 for one. But it can be done smaller IMO. But of course tank size is an opinionated topic.

But personally I think shrimp are your best option

If your not scared of salt, could do sexy shrimp in there

Like the idea of sexy shrimp, would be cool.

13 gallons is what scientist, using different tank sizes and seeing how long and well bettas lived in each tank size did.
It was found anything under 13 gallons led to early death from fat build up (believed to be caused by lack of exercise in a too small tank).
This led to some laws on betta keeping in parts of the world.

 

[Supergeorge123]

Here is an example of what a 2.5 gallon could be like with a betta. I still assert that you would be giving that fish a better life than letting them be sold to the 90 percent of people that will put them in an 8 ounce cup or dying in their 4 ounces of petsmart water. I also assert that spotted raphael catfish are even more suitable to this setup given their general inactivity and being orders of magnitude hardier than bettas.

 

[phreeflow]

Opae Ula Shrimp are the easiest Shrimp to keep. I have a small Biorb full of them and they are so fun and easy to keep as a nightlight. Feed them twice a week and top off is all I do. I throw algae covered lava rocks in there that continues to grow under the light and they mostly eat that. Almost zero maintenances. Neocaridina are easy to but need more maintenance and can be sensitive in the beginning. Most caridina like bee Shrimp are a pain

 

[the big kahuna]

I like the shrimp idea for one of the tanks. Will begin doing my research on them. There was only 4 available, turns out he needed 2.

 

[CarpCharacin]

A 2.5 gallon could work OK for a betta, I've kept them in 2.5 gallon tanks in the past, but they need at least 10 gallons to thrive, IMO. Scarlet badis might work.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Like the idea of sexy shrimp, would be cool.

13 gallons is what scientist, using different tank sizes and seeing how long and well bettas lived in each tank size did.
It was found anything under 13 gallons led to early death from fat build up (believed to be caused by lack of exercise in a too small tank).
This led to some laws on betta keeping in parts of the world.

sounds like an interesting read, could you possibly link it?
Sounds believable that 13 gallons is optimal, but then again, 1000 gallons is probably optimal for a Oscar, doesn't mean one can't live fine in a 150. That's just my reasoning on it. Not advocating for undersized tanks by any means. Just think that "optimal" is not always possible/necessary.

 

[CarpCharacin]

I agree, shrimp are definitely a good option.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

sounds like an interesting read, could you possibly link it?
Sounds believable that 13 gallons is optimal, but then again, 1000 gallons is probably optimal for a Oscar, doesn't mean one can't live fine in a 150. That's just my reasoning on it. Not advocating for undersized tanks by any means. Just think that "optimal" is not always possible/necessary.

If optimal isn't possible for someone, then they really shouldn't be keeping that fish.

I can't post links with this phone, but I'll see if I can find one of the studies websites