I have a 5 gallon fresh water tank that is filtered and heated. Currently it has 2 african dwarf frogs, 2 neon tetras, a blood-red drawf gouramis and a betta fish. All of them get along and do not fight with each other. I feed the frogs about 1/4 cube of frozen blood worms every other day which the fish also eat as well as some flake food food for the fish. I currently have no live plants. I was wondering how often I should clean the tank or if I should just do partial water changes? If partial water changes is the answer what %. Also after I add new water do i have to pretreat it? Or can I add my conditioners when all the water is added to the tank? I take the fish out into a smaller temporary container with the old water because i vacuum and syphon the gravel. This is my first aquarium and have already done one full water change. Any advice on easier or more effective cleaning?
Another question, i am planning on getting a couple of live plants. How will this effect tank cleaning?How often to change water in a 5 gallon Tank?I wouldn't say you are so overstocked and I think there's been a bit of over-reaction.
Those neons really should have a group. They'll survive in low numbers, but won't thrive or live as long, or behave naturally. Also, it might be working now, butI have a feeling your gourami and betta will go at it sooner or later. I would suggest removing the gourami or the betta and adding a couple more neons. 5 neons, a betta, and 2 adf's
is not overstocking a 5 gallon, so don't worry.
Any tank should have weekly maintenance in order to keep the tank clean and stable and fresh. You should not be changing all the water or removing the fish - this can stress and shock them, which increases the chances of illness immensly.
All you need to do is drain out 1/4 of the water (use a gravel syphon so you can vacuum the substrate at the same time) into a bucket. Fill the bucket with new water, treat it with conditioner, and add it back to the tank. No need to age the water cause conditioner works instantly. The new water should be pretty close to the temperature of the tank.
Live plants do not affect tank cleaning. Aquariums are closed systems and must be maintained. Do it more often and it will save you trouble later on.How often to change water in a 5 gallon Tank?For that stocking level you need to change water 25-50% daily. You are insanely over stocked. That tank should only hold the betta, OR the frogs, Or the two tetras, OR just the gouramis, not all of them together. 5 gallons is a very tiny home. This tank is going to give you nothing but problems. The fish you have need at least a 10 gallon, better yet a 20. Sorry that you were mislead somewhere.How often to change water in a 5 gallon Tank?with that many animals i would do it every 2 weeks but dont chage the whole thing just rinse out the filter of any waste and just dump out half the water or 2.5 gallons and renew with fresh filtered water.How often to change water in a 5 gallon Tank?You need to get ammonia and nitrite tests for your tank. With the number of fish/frogs you probably need to change 25% every day. You didn't mention if you cycled your tank yet. You need to use your tests every day and if you have any ammonia or nitrites do at least a 25% water change. Use a gravel siphon to take out about a 1.5 gallons. Take new water that is the same temperature as the old water, add dechlorinator according to the directions, and put the new water back in. You do not need to remove the fish to do this and it is better if you don't. Catching/netting them constantly will just damage them and cause them stress.
What you will probably find is that you need to remove some fo the livestock in order to be able to maintain ammonia/nitrites at 0 for more than a day. With such a small tank you will probably end up changing water every 3 days or so once the tank is established.How often to change water in a 5 gallon Tank?Only do partial water changes you never want to empty a tank out unless it becomes contaminated with a toxin. You are definalty over stocked. I would recommend weekly water changes of 20-25%. You do need to treat the water before you add it to the tank. You can add it either before or immediatly after adding it. You don't need to remove the fish to vacume the gravel and this will only stress them. The live plants will help with keeping the nitrate levels down some but I would recommend either reducing the number of fish/frogs you have in the tank or upgrading to a larger tank.
