How to Set up a Five Gallon Fish Tank

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Co-authored by Luke Leskovisek

Last Updated: July 31, 2024 Approved

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Keeping small fish can be fun and rewarding, and if you follow these simple steps, your fish will thrive!

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Setting Up Your Tank

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Try to keep the decorations natural or at least natural looking. Driftwood is common and looks good. ^{[1]
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Use a colander or a plate so you don't ruin your arrangement of decorations.
Some fish do not require a heater, but filters are necessary to keep your tank clean. ^{[2]
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Follow the directions on the bottle as to how many drops are needed.
Cycling a tank is important because it lets helpful bacteria form. That bacteria will later dissolve the ammonia from the fish feces.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Adding Fish

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You can also get snails, shrimp or frogs. Don't add them right away. If they're in a bag, let it float in the tank's water for about ten minutes. Mix some of the water in the bag with the water in the tank. Do this every few minutes, and eventually let the fish out of the bag so they can explore their new home! ^{[4]
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Don't add too much. however. Surprisingly, overfeeding your fish is worse than underfeeding them. ^{[5]
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How Do You Set Up a Freshwater Aquarium?

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Is glass or acrylic better with fish tanks?

Luke Leskovisek
Aquarium Expert
Luke Leskovisek is an Aquarium Expert and the Owner of The Coral Crib, based in Bloomington, Illinois. With over five years of professional experience, Luke specifically focuses on coral aquaculture and growing coral. He and his team offer fish, aquariums, live rock, aquarium decor and lighting, water testing, aquarium cleaning and maintenance, and more to their customers.

Luke Leskovisek

Aquarium Expert

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Well, that will depend on lots of factors. Acrylic aquariums are very clear and light, which is a huge plus. The downside is that they scratch easily. Glass aquariums can be more prone to breaking when moving them into a house, but they are more resistant on the day to day operations, being more durable long term.

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I have a 5 gallon tropical fish tank, one of my fish died because of the heater (according to the Petco employees) - how do I maintain the temperature of the tank without the heater?

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First, find out if it was really the heater that killed the fish, Petco employees are know to lie to avoid giving a refund and most of them don't know anything about fish or about caring for fish. Always do your own research. To keep the tank warm without a heater, you can warm up the room slowly until you've got the target temperature in the tank, then just keep the room at that temp. Always have an aquarium thermometer in the tank and check it often to make sure the temp is right with or without a heater.

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How much conditioner should I use?

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It varies. Check the print on the side or back of your conditioner bottle.

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Keep in mind the fish's needs and how they will get along.

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A tropical fish's recommended temperature is 76-82F. Try to keep it the closest you can to that temperature.

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Research the fish that you are going to buy, and make sure they are able to live in a five gallon tank. Recommended fish are smaller live bearers, such as guppies and platies.You can also put smaller tetra species, danios, or white cloud mountain minnows in your tank. If you don't want a lot of fish, a betta fish is a great choice. You can put only one in a tank, however, because they are aggressive fish and might even fight each other to the death. Appropriate bottom-dwelling fish are otocinclus and smaller corydoras species (such as the dwarf and the pygmy cory). Shrimp are a great addition to your tank.

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Warnings

Make sure your wash off your decorations before you put them into your tank. DON'T clean them off with any cleaning agent such as soap or bleach. It can be very harmful to your fish.

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Keep in mind that some fish have different temperature requirements.

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Don't combine aggressive fish and other fish. Doing so will not result in a pretty situation!

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Many livebearers will rapidly reproduce. It is important to keep this in mind when buying your fish; if you cannot support the large amount of baby fish then you should buy only females or only males. Females of certain species are less colorful, but they are also less likely to get into conflicts.

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Don't get fish that are drastically different in size. If the fish is to small, it will most likely be eaten by another bigger fish. Remember; if a fish is small enough to fit into another fish's mouth, it will most likely be eaten.

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Don't stock your tank with fish that will grow large. It is both a torture for the fish and doesn't look good. Inappropriate species include: plecos, most cyprinids (especially goldfish!), cichlids and loaches, bigger species of livebearers, tetras and corydoras.

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Thing's You'll Need

Small fish tank
Filter
Air pump and/or heater (depending on the type of fish you want to keep)
Lighting
Substrate
Live plants (recommended)
Background (optional)
Water conditioner
décor
Fishnet
Fish food
Fish and other aquatic organisms

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How to Set up a Five Gallon Fish Tank

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Setting Up Your Tank

Adding Fish

How Do You Set Up a Freshwater Aquarium?

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