Redtails get to about 10" as adults. A 70 gallon is reccomended. I could be wrong but I think it is reccomended to only keep one per aquarium. If not a larger aquarium would be advised to give them space. The 5G is way too small for the sharks either way. They betta is OK with maybe 2-3 very small fish,like Oto cats, or just by itself. Does the 5G have a heater, a 25W heater is needed. Also if this aquarium hasn't cycled(sounds like it hasn't) in about 2 weeks all hell will break loose. The ammonia levels will spike and the water will become toxic. I would ask the petstore or your freind to hold the sharks until it has cycled. Borrow some filter media from your freind and put it in your filter. This will speed up the cycle and the aquarium will establish quicker. It sounds like you are interested in keeping fish so start to think about a larger aquarium and let the addiction begin.

Hmmm... does my budding interest show that much? lol My plan for when the sharks started to get too big for this 5 gal tank was to have already started a larger tank. Shhhh...don't tell my husband.lol

Yep, everything I have read about the sharks says two is not a good number. One is best, but 3 or more can work out also. Needless to say, I now know three or more is not an option in a 5gal tank.

At this time I'm not using a heater. The tank is holding steady at 80 degrees all on it's own. Should I still check into a heater?

Oh rat's, I never heard of cycling an aquarium. Okay it looks like I better go search for information and find out all about it.

Thanks!

Foxy.

Ha, yes the weaker shark will bully the weaker one, and the weaker one will hide. Your tank is going to get veeeeeerryyy dirty with 2 sharks in there, because your filter wont be able to handle all that waste. Even water changes wont help. I would get that bigger tank as soon as possible, or get rid of the shark(s) or let them hang out in a friends tank for a while.
I would take ALL your fish to a friends house and get some albino corydoras. They will cycle your tank well, they have been cycling my new tank very well. I would go with 3 or 4 for these fish will get lonely by themselves.
Cycling your tank is letting the bacteria and waste build up in your tank to reach a safe level. Some people may say that you have to cycle it without fish and this is untrue. No matter how long you let it sit, it would never get enough waste or bacteria built up inside. Also, some people that do agree with fishless cycling will also say that it is cruel to put a fish inside a tank that hasnt fishless cycled. To put it simple, you NEED fish inside a tank to cycle, but not many. Go buy a nice hardy fish and cycle it.
Good luck,
BeavisBMX

I support fishless cycling because it doesn't hurt fish. You can add ammonia to the water, buy a product that will help cycle the tank, use someone else's filter media to seed the tank, or create conditions in the tank that would lead to ammonia. None of these require fish.

Obviously the cycle won't happen without some sort of food for the bacteria, so that's why you think a fishless cycle won't work (because "it would never get enough waste or bacteria built up inside"). All you do is add the ammonia - pure ammonium hydroxide in a bottle. You have to look at the label. Or you can leave your fish in there long enough to create some ammonia, then remove him and put him in a temporary tank while the cycle finishes. Either way, a fish does not have to be in the tank for the cycle. To subject your fish first to burning and then to suffocation is cruel.

Due to size issues the sharks can't go to my friends tank yet. They are so small they could be eaten by his fish. Miss Betta doesn't have to go from what I understand, she can be kept in a fish bowl until cycling is complete, right?

Ummm...what would one do with the albino corydoras when they are done cycling a tank? Wouldn't 4 fish be a lot for a 5 gal tank?

At this point in time I want to get a clue about fish tanks before I go out and buy another. I have already made enough mistakes with this 5 gal tank...imagine the blunders I could make with a larger tank.

I have read about cycling without fish and using ammonia. This is the first time I heard any details about what kind of ammonia to look for. I don't know much about ammonia...just that they have bottles of it in the grocery store. Thanks for the details, Minaku.

I don't think I will have to use ammonia for this tank, because it already has fish waste in it.

Thanks for all your help!

Foxy.

You wouldn't do a fishless cycling w/ ammonia in your present 5 gallon... but could consider this when you do your next set up. Personally, I've started all my tanks with fish - starting out with just a few small fish to do the cycling process.

In lieu of your red tailed sharks, if you'd like to add some friends to your betta in the tank, try some small cory cats. Do your homework and figure out which are the corys that stay small. Corys do best in groups of three and they're bottom feeders. Very fun fish to watch.

Do you have a female betta in this tank? Female bettas can be kept with other female bettas in the same tank. But if you have a fancy long finned betta, this would more likely be a male betta who should be kept solo (no second male betta in the tank).

For now, do regular water changes and don't get lax about it. Try to find homes for the red tailed sharks - or see if you can trade them back to the fish store and get fish that are more appropriate for you 5 gallon tank.

A lot of people are suggesting cory cats. These fish must really be something or they could just be great fish for a 5 gal tank. Since they come so highly recomended I'm definately going to be checking into them.

Oh yes, Miss Betta is definately a little girl. Her fins are short and she doesn't fluff up at her reflection. Yes, I had to check since her color was so striking I was beginning to think she might be a very young male who's fins hadn't grown out all the way yet. Since I don't want to steal her thunder (LOL)I will pass on another female betta. The cory cats sound promising, but first I need to deal with getting through cycling.

How often should I change the water during the cycling process?

Foxy

I would change 25% religiously every three days. It will take longer for the tank to cycle, but it'll help your fish out during the cycle.

That is good advise. I like to keep an eye on the parameters daily, sometimes twice a day with your setup. IME,maintaining 1.0ppm ammonia is good. You want the constant "feed" of ammonia to shorten the cycle as much as possible. When nitrites appear they can be treated with salt. Meaning salt lessens the toxicity of the present nitrites. Also pH is important. It tends to dip in the cycling stages. pH plays a role in toxicity of ammonia and nitrites.

Dear Foxy
I am really enjoying this post. It sounds like you have an extremely beautiful female betta. Most females are pale compared to the male. I bet you will be in a huge aquarium before or by 2007 the way you are going. Also your supporters have been so helpful here.
Theresa

Thank you all for all your help!

Theresa, my female Betta is amazingly beautiful. Her short fins are a nice bright red. Her body is red and white w/nice looking even markings. Her personality is incredible. When I first picked up her up at the fish store I was won over by how happy and friendly she was even in that dreadful little cup they had her in. Can you tell I'm a proud fish momma?lol
I was at my friends house looking at his 29 gal aquarium today. Oh, it is so tempting to go out and get a bigger one.lol Then there is always the 20 gal long I'm using as a terrarium right now, hmmm... I keep telling myself I need to get a handle on the 5 gal first and learn a lot more before going bigger. Yep, by 2007 I'm sure there will be a bigger tank in here.lol

Foxy.

Congrats on your new setup. I should let you know that larger tanks are less likely to have cycling problems than smaller ones, as long as you don't add too many fish too quickly. I'd go for setting up the 20 in addition to the 5, or better yet, look at upgrading to a nice 75! It's only 4 feet long and a foot and a half deep; think of all of the plants and fish you could have in there!

Hi rjm! I'm beginning to see what you mean about cycling smaller tanks. Mine doesn't seem to want to cycle. Yet every day I keep checking the ammonia levels and waiting. I only have two fish in there- 1 red tail shark and Miss Betta. The one shark, ummm.. how do I say this as nicely as possible, the one shark was to rough on the other one that I had. The poor little fella didn't make it. The nastyness erupted out of nowhere one night and I caught it too late.
Yeah, I hear ya, a 75 would be nice, but not possible in this 156year old house.lol Among the obvious (aka the floors) we have the problem of not having any outlets on outside walls. The largest tank that I could find space for near an outlet would be a 35. Oh yeah, the other problem I have with tank placement is....we don't have access to water on the scond floor of this house! This isn't exactly the most aquarium friendly house:(

Foxy.