Best Fish For 5 Gallon Aquarium Tank 2022(ultimate guide)

5 gallon tank is the best for people with a low budget and not recommended for beginners as it needs special care to keep the tank inhabitants safe. It could be a freshwater or saltwater tank. It’s considered a small tank according to other tank sizes, it is the smallest size before the 2.5-gallon tank. It’s small and compact; hence, it won’t take up a lot of space. With this, you can easily move the fish tank around.

• Fish tanks are available in different shapes and sizes. Glass fish tanks are most often rectangular in shape, but according to hexagons, bow-front rectangles, and cylinders. Other shapes are manufactured, but it’s hard to get.
• Acrylic is much more easily formed into different shapes, so acrylic aquariums come in a much wider variety of shapes. While rectangular tanks (usually with rounded corners) are the most common shape for acrylic fish tanks.

• Tank Size: 5 gallon
• 5 gallon tank dimensions:  L x W x H: 16″ x 8″ x 10″
• Filled Weight: 62 lbs

Let us now see the best 5-gallon tanks with pros and cons.

best 5 gallon aquarium saltwater-or-freshwater

Product	Pros	Cons	Buy Now
MarineLand 5 Gallon Portrait Glass LED Aquarium Kit	1- Recommended for low budget 2- Easy to clean 3- Not difficult to collect all parts together. 4- Luxury and has a great looking 5- Built with a strong materials	1- filter system doesn’t collect debris well which make it hard to be cleaned	BUY NOW ( 55 $ )
Aqueon LED MiniBow Aquarium Starter Kits with LED Lighting	1- Built with impact resistant plastic 2- 7 great colors LED lightning 3- internal power filter that cleans the water 4- Secured against leakage 5- Maintained readily 6- affordable	1- Filter issue,However it still works fine	BUY NOW ( 34 $ )
GloFish Aquarium Kit Fish Tank with LED Lighting and Filtration Included	1- Strong plastic tank 2- Stunning LED lightning 3- Setting up and maintenance is easy 4- Comes with heater 5- Contain free Glofish plants and anemone	1- internal filter that is good but is rather risky for small fish	BUY NOW ( 45 $ )
Fluval Spec V Aquarium Kit	1- Easily maintained and set up 2- Great LED lightning 3- Small and stunning design 4- 3-stage filtration, chemical, mechanical, and biological	1- There is a risk for the small fish because of the filter.	BUY NOW ( 110 $ )

best fish for a 5 gallon tank

Some people ask, What fish can live in a 5-gallon tank?” So let us now see the different types of fish that can live in a 5 gallon tank. 

Betta Fish (Betta splendens) :

• a 5 gallon betta fish tank is truly one of the favorite fish for most fish hobbyists. It’s an active fish with an attitude, it stares at you through the tank besides it looks adorable.
• It tends to fight with other betta fish so you should have only one in your tank.
• Betta fish is an easy fish to take care of. All it needs to thrive is a heater (Recommended Temperature is 78–80 degrees Fahrenheit (25-27 degrees Celsius) ) and a sponge filter along with a light.

Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) :

• Guppies are more active than betta and recommended for people who like watching fish through the tank .
• Male guppies come in a huge range of colors, from bright red tails to panda-like coloring. The 5 gallon aquarium can have more than one guppy fish but if you intend to keep one male fish and a female in this case consider a lot of babies.
• Keeping guppies is not that hard they just require a cobalt heater( recommended temperature 74-80 degrees Fahrenheit (23-27 degrees Celsius), sponge filter, and a LED light.

Molly (Poecilia latipinna/Poecilia sphenops) :

• Mollies are a classic freshwater aquarium. It’s kind of an active fish like goopy. Also, it can give you a lot of babies in a short time. in a 5 gallon tank, you can keep up to 5 mollies without any aggression.
• Keeping mollies requires also a heater (Recommended Temperature 76-80 degrees Fahrenheit (24-27 degrees Celsius)), sponge filter, and light.  

Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon innesi) :

• It is a colorful fish that looks like a jellyfish and minnows. In a 5 gallon aquarium planted tank, you can not have more than 5 Neon Tetras.
• Sometimes it tends to be aggressive and if you plan to keep them until they are mature, in this case, you need a bigger tank as they thrive bigger.
• The bright colors of neon tetras will contrast especially well with a dark substrate and deep green leaves, like those of Anubias plants.

best 5 gallon tank kit

Filters for 5 gallon tanks

Let we now see the best filters for 5 gallon aquarium:

• Tetra Whisper Internal Aquarium: 3-stage filtration system—chemical, biological, and mechanical.
  

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• AquaClear Aquarium Power Filters: Quick and easy installed filter offers superior contact time with filter media and energy efficient pump lowers operating costs.

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• Zoo Med Canister Filter: Three-stage external aquarium filter uses mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration to keep your aquarium clean and clear!

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• Penn Plax Small World Pump :

  Penn-Plax Small World Aquarium Air Pump and Filter Kit – Comes with a Disposable Media Cartridge (Bio Sponge, Carbon, and Zeolite Crystals). Help keep your small aquarium healthy and looking beautiful.

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5 gallon betta tank mates

Can you keep other fish with a betta ?, a lot of opinions about this part and it is kind of confusing because the nature of betta fish is to be aggressive to other fish so this might make aware inside your tank with injures, but I think it is an exaggerated opinion. we can keep betta fish with other kinds. There is a lot of kinds that can be mate with betta fish such as, snails, and shrimp.

Keep in mind, all that we said above is true in case you have a large tank, not 5 gallons one, but in the case of five-gallon we will see.

If you need to know the best mates for a betta, here is a list below that contains the best kinds that can be with a betta in the same tank.

• Ember Tetras
• Guppies
• Black Neon Tetras
• Mollies
• Dwarf Crayfish
• Dwarf Loach
• Ghost Shrimp
• Amano Shrimp
• Lambchop Rasboras
• Chili/Mosquito Rasbora
• Glass Catfish
• Platies

okay, now if you have a low budget and you plan to have a small tank. the best mates for betta fish is :

• Malaysian Trumpet Snails
• Ramshorn Snails
• Nerite Snails
• Ghost Shrimp
• Dwarf Crayfish

Those are the most popular kinds, However, you should select the less aggressive betta to keep in your tank as long as you planning to have 5 gallon tank because betta likes free space.

Q & A about Best 5 gallon tanks

How often should you clean your tank?

•  you should change 10% of the water every week for the first year of keeping the aquarium.
• The more fish you have, the faster the water needs changing.
• During the first few months of keeping fish, you should watch the water conditions of the tank regularly.
• Also will come to your mind a great idea on how often your tank should be cleaned.
• The parameters depend entirely on the species which you are keeping.

How many fish in a 5 gallon tank ?

There is a simple rule that says, one inch of fish can be fitted in 1 gallon, 5-inch fish need 5 gallons of water. Most importantly, make sure the fish will not get bigger than 5 inches. So this depends on how large the fish is. Some fish need lots of room, others less. so, Some fish won’t do well in a 5 gallon by themselves, others will be fine. The more fish in a tank, the faster the water gets polluted with waste. Waste will cause either toxic conditions for the fish, killing them, or cause algae to grow on everything.

So you have some options but it’s not the only options, you can have 6 chili rasbora or a betta or a Dwarf Puffer, And in most cases, you can also add a few shrimp

How much does a 5 gallon fish tank weigh?

If the tank is empty it will weigh about 7 lbs. And if it’s full it will be about 62 lbs.

How to set up a 5 gallon fish tank?

• Put five gallons of water in a container and let it rest for a day or two.
• Add the background, substrate, and decorations to your five-gallon tank
• Now Pour half of the water which the container has into the tank where you are going to keep the fish.
•  Install the filter, heater, and air pump.
• Put the plants if you planned to have them.
• Now put the rest of the water in the tank.
• Let the tank cycle for at least two weeks and occasionally add some fish food to it.
• Then you can put the fish and start feeding them.
• You can set up a colorful LED to make your tank looks stunning.

How many goldfish in 5 gallon tank?

The common rule is one inch of fish per gallon, so for a 5 gallon tank, you just can add one fish. The size of the fish could be smaller especially if you have other breeds, you got to calculate their size to the goldfish.

How long can a goldfish live in a 5 gallon tank?

This classic fish is always bought for children or bought by beginners with a belief that it will not live a long time and it can be replaced. but in fact, this fish can live more than people think especially if they got the right care.
in order to increase its life, you should put them in a place with a large space such as a pond, keep the tank clean and do water changing regularly, feed them the correct diet, Protein and vegetables are the most important part of their diet and finally don’t overcrowd your tank.

is a 5 gallon tank big enough for a betta?

the answer is yes if you didn’t add anything to it. there is another opinion that says it is possible to have planted with a betta as it will give your tank a happy life but pair in mind that the water can go bad quickly so you should do the water changing regularly.

what is the best 5 gallon tank for a betta?

when you look for a good 5 gallon tank for the betta you should consider the tank that comes with the extra kits like filter, lightening and water conditioner, so here we mention the best according to this point of view.

•  Fluval Spec V Aquarium Kit :

• It comes with extra kits that are adjustable like filters, led lighting, and more.
• The tank has two separate places where you can hide the heater and the filter.
• BUY NOW ( 109 $ )

• Marineland Portrait Aquarium :
  

   

• Also, contain two spots in the back where you can hide the filter and the heater which make your tank look nicer.
• Its filter doesn’t make any noise so it will not be a problem for your betta.
• You can clean the tank easily without taking off the filter and the led lights.
• BUY NOW ( 63 $ )

• Penn Plax Curved Corner Glass Aquarium :

   

• The best thing about this product is the cover that comes with it as it covers the top of the tank completely, not like other tanks that have some gaps.
•  includes a cascade internal filter, LED light, mat, and hinge style plastic lid.
• The filter comes with is great according to the price of the tank.
• BUY NOW ( 60 $ )

• Tetra Crescent Acrylic Aquarium Kit : 

• The filter is good and almost makes no noise.
• Its cover comes with two holes one for the heater and another one for the filter.
• The led that comes with is it will make you able to put plants that need a low level of light.
• BUY NOW ( 45 $ )

• Koller Panaview 5 Gallon Aquarium Kit :
  

• an affordable tank that allows you to adjust everything whenever you can.
• it comes with five different light systems so you can pick your favorite.
• BUY NOW ( 46 $ )

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