5 gal sw tank?

deevr

deevr

New Member
A friend of mine has a 5gal salt water tank. He has had it runnig for almost a year. Is this possible?
He has nothing realy special in the tank:
. About 10-12lbs of live rock
. 2 snails (not sure which ones)
. 1 blue damsle....i think....it's the small bright (neon) blue fish
. 1 yellow damsle....again not sure but it kinda resembles the blue one
. 1 hurmit crab ( it's red and yellow face)
just wondering b/c i was told that FS can only be done in large tanks.
thanks.
 
karajay

karajay

Active Member
You can certainly do a small SW tank with success. I wouldn't recommend one for an inexperienced hobbyist though. I also do not recommend fish in anything smaller than 10g (and 3 is WAY too many for a 5g IMO).
The reason that large tanks are usually recommended is that they tend to give a larger margin for error. Water chemistry does not change as quickly in a large tank.
Also, most SW fish do better when given an ample amount of room.
:happyfish
 
jedininja

jedininja

Member
Tanks that size make gorgeous micro reefs, but is not very healthy for fish, not to mention 3 fish. Not that it cant be done, just not the best environment to keep the fish. A 5 gallon with coral, and small inverts would be great.
 
deevr

deevr

New Member
Question.....in smaller tanks....does adding more live rock help things out? but how much can you add before your down to about 3gal....haha
 
jedininja

jedininja

Member
no, adding too much LR could be detrimental in a tank that size. You really lose a lot of volume if you get too much LR.
 
jackson5

jackson5

New Member
Wow! I am surprised those 3 fish were able to survive after a year. The tomato clown will outgrow that size of a tank. They're pretty hardy fish so maybe that's how they survived. I recommend getting a larger tank. You need at least 5 gallons per one inch of fish.
 
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