# Is there such a thing as a 5 gallon suitable cichlid?



## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

Well...is there? My hopes are not high for this...my best hope was a pair of Lamprologus Brevis cohabiting in a tank this size, but even that might be a stretch.


----------



## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

Almost forgot! (Wish there was an edit function on this thing) My landlord puts no limit on how many tanks I can have, but forbids tanks larger than 5 gallons...the best I could do is a half filled 10 gallon.


----------



## Thorpef1 (Aug 8, 2018)

AlmightyJoshaeus said:


> Almost forgot! (Wish there was an edit function on this thing) My landlord puts no limit on how many tanks I can have, but forbids tanks larger than 5 gallons...the best I could do is a half filled 10 gallon.


Or alot of 5 gallon tanks with bridges between them









Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

A pair of the smallest African shell dwellers could live in a five. Look them up in the species profile. You would have to grow up the fry in other tanks. Those bridges between tanks are water spill risks and also unless there is circulation from the first tank to the last, anoxic water tends to build up in the bridge, and fish may lose consciousness and die traversing a bridge if they linger.

If you use a lot of leaf liter, pairs of Apistogramma might be possible. Good leaves are oak, hickory, swamp magnolia, and Indian almond. Other hardwood leaves should be OK. Black walnut is an exception.


----------



## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

Thanks! Shouldn't there be some way to circulate the bridge? Maybe if it had a small hole in the top and you put an air pump under the bridge?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't think a bridge truly makes 2 5G tanks operate like 10G tanks. I also can't imagine fish will very often swim through them voluntarily.

I might try a pair of brevis but would skip the other shell dwellers that like lots of shells and/or bigger colonies and/or are more aggressive.

I am not familiar with apistos but thought about them...glad McDaphnia chimed in.


----------



## Bd79 (Apr 11, 2011)

AlmightyJoshaeus said:


> Thanks! Shouldn't there be some way to circulate the bridge? Maybe if it had a small hole in the top and you put an air pump under the bridge?


If it had a hole, the water would flow out, and overflow the two tanks.

In any event, bridges like this are very difficult to build and maintain.


----------



## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Out of the tanks I have on my website, the 5G might well be the one I get asked about the most. At some stage a guy translated the whole page into Polish!

http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/5g/


----------



## Tom's Tanks (Aug 14, 2018)

fmueller said:


> Out of the tanks I have on my website, the 5G might well be the one I get asked about the most. At some stage a guy translated the whole page into Polish!
> 
> http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/5g/


I love the polarity of that photo, there in the middle of a seriously cold looking winter is some fish from Africa sitting in warm, tropical waters.


----------



## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Tom's Tanks said:


> I love the polarity of that photo, there in the middle of a seriously cold looking winter is some fish from Africa sitting in warm, tropical waters.


I have a theory about that: the colder the winters, the more popular the fish hobby is.

Germany, The Netherlands, the UK, Scandinavian countries - all large cichlid societies, and a thriving fish hobby. But have you ever heard about a Greek, Italian, Spanish cichlid society?

Same in the US. Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and so on. Canada also. Very active cichlid hobby. Lots of clubs. But Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, not so much.

Cold winters are more bearable if you can look at colorful tropical fish.


----------



## Tom's Tanks (Aug 14, 2018)

fmueller said:


> Tom's Tanks said:
> 
> 
> > I love the polarity of that photo, there in the middle of a seriously cold looking winter is some fish from Africa sitting in warm, tropical waters.
> ...


I've never thought about it like that - but you do make a very valid point. Mmmm...


----------

