What to put in my 5gal?

[JenNewbie]

Well, with the 2nd dwarf puffer gone and payday still a week away, it's time to get down to the business of what to put in my 5 gal tank. I don't know if I want to try dwarf puffers again, since they're not a cheap fish to have dwindle away on me. My 1st choice would be a dwarf gourami, but I've been warned that they can be sensitive to water conditions? Any thoughts/advice? The other issue, if I decide not to get dwarf puffers, is that now the snails are running amok in the 5 gallon. What will eat these little things besides dwarf puffers and that can live in a small tank?

Current occupants of the tank are:
2 ghost shrimp
2 otos
a growing cadre of snails

Anyway, TIA for any advice.

[TankGirl]

Dwarf puffers are really an excellent choice for such a small tank. They are going to be about it for snail-eaters in a tank that size, unless you got some juvenile loaches that could be moved out later as they grow.

A dwarf gourami is not going to be happy in a tank that small, just from experience. A betta, of course, would work great in there.

[LittlePuff]

Puffers are more sensitive to water conditions than gouramis.

Kim

[Devilishturtles]

Don't bettas munch on snails? I always thought they did. You could go that route maybe. The betta with the otos and ghost shrimp would be perfect.

[SHortyGeorge]

I have 5 MTS in my tank.. well... 4 that I see regularly so I don't know if #5 is AWOL in the sand all the time (they seem to surface at night and hide in the day... But I see 4 of them on a regular basis, so I don't think my betta is eating them.. I have noticed him kinda look at them, but he alsways gets bored and swims away... :|

[TankGirl]

A betta can't eat a MTS, that's for sure - many puffers can't even eat them, due to their rock hard shells, but a puffer would snatch the animal out of its shell, LOL. A betta won't bother with it. Some bettas will eat the tiny snails often found on plants (nerites, etc.) but the betta I had would not touch a snail of any kind.

[William]

Grumpy, My Male Betta [ RiP ] used to live with a horde of snails.


He never fooled with them, He never even gave second thought to the tiny babies that were so very edible.

[oscarbreeder]

IMO a Betta would be great in that tank.
Of course I am a Betta freak...lol

[DragonChild]

Would a small group of tetras be too much for that tank? I think that would be nice...

[JenNewbie]

Well, I think you guys have convinced me to take a chance on puffers again. They are just so adorable! And I'll try live food this time. Part of the decision maker was the baby snails I've been seeing spreading across the tank...! 8O They're going to take over by the time payday comes... On the other hand, the snails seem to be more industrious than the otos when it comes to scrubbing the tank! They just stream across the sides like those scrubbing bubbles in the commercial (what WAS that product, anyway??).