How to Set up a Five Gallon Fish Tank

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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    Put five gallons of water in a container or multiple containers and let it rest for a day or two.[1]
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    Add the background, substrate and decorations to your five gallon tank. Try to keep the decorations natural or at least natural looking. Driftwood is common and looks good.[2]
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    Pour half of the the water you previously prepared in the tank. Use a colander or a plate so you don't ruin your arrangement of decorations.
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    Install the filter, heater, and air pump. Some fish do not require a heater, but filters are necessary to keep your tank clean.[3]
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    Arrange and place your live plants.[4]
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    Add the rest of the water to your tank.
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    Add several drops of conditioner (water conditioner, not hair conditioner). Follow the directions on the bottle as to how many drops are needed.
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    Let the tank cycle for at least two weeks and occasionally add some fish food in it. Cycling a tank is important because it lets helpful bacteria form. That bacteria will later dissolve the ammonia from the fish feces.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:

Adding Fish

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    Buy the fish! 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![5]
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    Feed your fish twice a day. Don't add too much. however. Surprisingly, overfeeding your fish is worse than underfeeding them.[6]
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    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?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    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.
  • Question
    How much conditioner should I use?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It varies. Check the print on the side or back of your conditioner bottle.
  • Question
    Do I need an air stone as well as a filter in a five gallon tank if I want a pair of bottom feeders?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Yes, a 5 gallon tank is too small of a water surface area for the water to naturally diffuse oxygen into the water and if you live in a warm climate the water will have less oxygen as well. Air stones make more bubbles to increase the area of the water to increase oxygen. A filter helps clean the tank and house good bacteria so that the waste from the fish don't kill them. Also, find out the adult size of the fish you are getting. A 5 gallon tank is a very small fish tank and can only hold very small fish, about 1.5 to 2 inches max as adults and only about 2-4 fish of that size depending on how well to take care of it. Fish you buy from pet stores are usually just babies and still have more to grow.
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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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References

  1. ↑ https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parenting-and-child-care/parenting/learning-your-child-greatstart/growing/setting-fish-tank
  2. ↑ https://aquariuminfo.org/beginner.html
  3. ↑ https://www.fishkeepingworld.com/how-to-set-up-a-fish-tank/
  4. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/fish/care/evr_fi_how-to-clean-fish-tank
  5. ↑ https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/petcare/selecting-pet-fish
  6. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/fish/nutrition/evr_fi_fish_food
  7. https://users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/hardware.html

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 22 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 83,820 times.
40 votes - 85%
Co-authors: 22
Updated: June 25, 2020
Views: 83,820
Categories: Aquariums
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