"JJG" wrote in message
om...
My daughter got a 5 gallon tank kit for the holidays. We have an
African Dwarf Frog and a small tetra in the tank. We'd like to get
another frog and perhaps 1-2 more fish. How many fish can safely live
in a 5 gallon tank? Would a ctfish be a good idea (to help keep the
tank clean)?

Thanks in advance for you help!

First thing you need to do is read up on the nitrogen cycle. Pretty soon
toxins (ammonia and Nitrite) will start building in the tank. These will
then decline back to zero as the bio filter kicks in but it can take a good
number of weeks for it to happen - basically bacterial colonies develop that
deal with the Ammonia and turn it into Nitrite and then another one develops
that eats the Nitrite & turns it into Nitrate which is relatively harmless
to fish. That said you need to manage the nitrAte & you do that by changing
10-15% of the water in the tank every week or so. The ammonia is given off
by the fish poop and rotting matter. The more you feed the more of the
latter there will be so don't over feed! Feed as much as they will eat in
2-3 minutes twice a day. A slightly hungry fish is more likely to stay a
healthy fish.

You need to manage these toxins or you will have a dead fish & I would guess
frog as well. The Tetra will not tolerate a lot of this at all. Assuming you
have set this up in the last week you need to act on this quickly - the
ammonia will be rising now - the Nitrite comes inside the next week or two.
If you see the fish gasping at the surface then you know its struggling -
not for air but because of the toxins & you should change some water
immediately.

The shortcut would be to go back to your LFS (or find a friendly local
aquarium keeper) and get either some gravel/sand from one of their tanks or
better yet a piece of used filter wool/sponge from one of their filters.
This will carry the essential bacteria you need and so will kick start your
own filtration very much more quickly. If you go there then take a sample of
your water - they will test it for you for ammonia & nitrite & you will know
where you are. You only need a small amount in a jar for them to test.

If you don't have them you then should buy test kits for Ammonia and Nitrite
as a minimum. You need to watch these for the first few weeks - testing
every day if necessary. Once the filter is established you will have less
need of these.

If the levels rise too high then change some water making sure to use a
suitable dechlorinator - ask your LFS if there is Chlorine or Chloramine in
your local water supply & make sure you get dechlor that will deal with
chloramine specifically if you have it. Also make sure you match the
temperature of any new water you put in the tank to the water in the tank
itself as close as you can (within 2-3 deg F. in a tank that small). Add the
dechlor to the bucket of water before you put it in the tank .

If you have some kind of small power filter then when you clean it do so
only in a bucket of water from the tank - it doesn't need to be spotless
just rinse away the worst of the junk. If you use some kind of filter with
sponges/wool etc in it NEVER clean it under the tap - you will kill all the
bio bugs & end up back at square one. If you use an under gravel filter then
vacuum out the worst of the rubbish with a syphon as part of your water
change routine.

5 gallons is a very small tank & so the toxin levels will rise quite
quickly. Its not unmanageable at all but you will need to watch it closely
till it stabilises otherwise you may have a very unhappy little girl on your
hands.

Don't know a lot about frogs & how big they get so suggest you ask the LFS
as to populations

HTH, good luck.

I.