The Overview

-Your fish stock will be very limited

-The smaller the tank the harder it will be to maintain parameters

-Keeping down aggression could be tough with limited space

-Each fish will have individual need and sometimes their needs do not mix with other fish

-Make sure to do your research

 

 

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#1 Betta Fish (Betta Splendens) AKA Siamese Fighting Fish

Let’s start this very touchy subject by stating that you should be careful, or the betta police are going to come and get you. I make this job because it is one of the largest debates in the aquarium hobby about what size tank a betta fish should live in. I personally fall in the category that a 5-gallon tank is about the right size a betta should live in. There is a reason why betta are one of the most popular fish in the freshwater fish keeping hobby and it’s the color. These fish come in so many different colors, styles, and patterns it is crazy. This is absolutely center piece fish, but likely it will be your only fish if your tank is only 5-gallons. If you are feeling like he needs a buddy maybe add a snail in for him to hang out with, preferably one that won’t reproduce on its own.

 

 

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#2 Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

So Guppy is in the number two spot for many of the same reasons why a Betta fish is desirable. Guppies have amazing color and variation between each type. These fish are also easy to find in almost any pet shop, so you won't have to struggle to hard before you find the one you are looking for. The biggest issue with getting these fish in a 5-gallon tank is that they reproduce like rabbits. You may start with two a end up with a whole bunch in a couple of months. So, when you buy a pair of Guppy make sure they are both females. Normally you can tell by the size of the belly. Females will have a larger rounder stomach area. If you end up getting two males, they might end up getting a little aggressive with each other especially because 5 gallons is already a fairly small tank. 

 

 

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#3 Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario)

The Scarlet Badis is an absolutely beautiful fish but is definitely not for everyone. This is an extremely hardy fish, but still an intermediate care level fish and that is mostly because of its dietary needs. The fish eat meaty food because it is a carnivore. Where it gets extra tricky is that some Badis will not take frozen foods right away.  Their instinct in nature is to eat living foods like worms and other microorganisms in the wild. You can train them to eat frozen food, but it might prove to be a little tricky. Some people claim they have trained their Badis to eat flakes. These are the one-in-a-million exceptions and will prove to be very difficult in my opinion. So essentially if you aren’t willing to get your hands a little dirty and feed live foods like daphnia, brine shrimp, blackworms, Grindle worms or other live foods you should not buy this fish. If you find that you are willing to do this you will find that this fish has a ton of personality and is an absolute show stopper.  For this fish I would also recommend sticking to just one of the species for a small tank because they can be a little territorial to their own species and trying to find a female will be an almost impossible task in the middle of your local fish store. “Sleeper males” are very common in this species. You should be able to add another fish of a different species without much of a problem. For example, this article will explain better which fish are compatible with them.  So see who else on the list would be a good match. 

 

 

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#4 Pea Puffer Carinotetraodon travancoricus)

This fish is another small fish with a lot of personality. This fish arguably has the most personality out of all nano fish. It will always be out and about searching for food. This fish will even come out and look right at you almost like a greeting. This little guy also would be considered an intermediate care level and that is mostly because of its dietary needs. Pea Puffers needs meaty foods, and some will only accept live foods. You should be able to get them to eat a bloodworm, but on occasion, some will only accept live food. Then you would need to get daphnia, brine shrimp, blackworms, Grindle worms or other live foods. The Pea Puffer stays extremely small at just under one inch. They are very nimble fish with the look of almost floating. Its extremely cool to see them navigate your plant work with extreme precision all while they scope out the area for some live foods. They should be keep by them self because they are notorious fin nippers and males will be very aggressive to other male pea puffers. Picking out the gender for these fish in the pet store can sometimes be difficult, but if you look really close you should be able to see males are slimmer and females tend to have a rounder stomach area. If a 5 gallon don’t have a lot of room so you should keep just this fish and do no add a snail friend for this guy unless he is a very large species. He will eat most small snails in seconds from it entering the tank. You can add a bigger snail and he might leave it alone, but it is possible that he will pick at it especially if it has long extended snouts.  If you find that you absolutely must have the pea puffer with other fish make sure you only pick fish that are fast enough to get away. This works best in bigger tanks with lots of rocks and plants. We are currently talking about a 5-gallon tank so you shouldn’t push it too hard. If you are looking to find out how to aquascape the perfect 5 gallon pea puffer tank check out this article.

 

 

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#5 Pygmy Corydoras (Corydoras pygmaeus)

The dwarf cory cat is one of the best options as a bottom feeding nano fish. The guys will swim in the mid-level of the tank and search the floor for scrap foods. The do a great job getting the food your other fish might miss. There is several pygmy cory cat types like pygmaeus, hastatus, habrosus, similis, and gracilis sub types. This fish will stay extremely small at just around one inch in size. They are technically a schooling fish, but do not show a tight schooling pattern. They  more or less shoal rather than school. You will see the makes and females do a dance from time to time. I have also seen that the males and females exhibit a tag like behavior. It is really cool to see how much these fish will interact with each other. You would be able to have a small school of six in a five gallon tank and maybe a guppy or two. So, if you need a clean up crew for a small thank these are the guys you want.

 

 

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#6 Celestial Pearl Danio (Danio margaritatus) AKA Galaxy Rasbora

Celestial Pearl Danio are extremely popular fish in the aquarium hobby because of its beautiful golden spots and wonderful orange highlights. This fish is one of the few schooling fish that would do well in a five-gallon tank. The reason why is because this fish will max out at just under one inch. These fix do not exhibit tight schooling formation, but they are still very social and need to be in a group of at least six. These fish are very shy and like to hide in vegetation, especially when keep in small numbers. The bigger the school is the more confidant the fish will be and makes them more willing to be out in the open. I am sure most of us want to see our fish as often as possible so be sure to keep them well fed and in large numbers.>

 

 

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#7 Emerald Danio (Danio erythromicron)

Emerald Danio are extremely similar to Celestial Pearl Danio and will share almost all of their care requirements. These two fish will shoal together lightly. I wouldn’t recommend taking one of these fish and throwing it into a school of Celestial Pearl Danio, but you cant do some mix and matching with a large school and it should turn out well. These little guys will also max out in size at just under an inch. They do need to be in a group and are very shy when not in a large group. The care level is very easy because they will readily eat flakes or any other food. They are fairly hardy with water parameter requirements.

 

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#8 Phoenix Rasbora (Boraras merah)

This is probably the smallest schooling fish you could get. Many fish that are labeled “schooling” will actually only use active shoaling. This fish will tightly swim together to confuse predators especially in bigger tanks where there is more wide-open space.

 

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#9 Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma)

This is a North American native species. They can actually live in a colder tank range in the mid-sixties. So, you can actually run a small tank with no heater and they will do just fine. The fish are very hardy when considering water parameters, but what makes this fish an intermediate care level fish is their diet. These fish are very similar to Scarlet Badis because both are micro predators. This means they mostly need live foods, some will eat blood worms after you get them used to it. read more about how to appropriately feed this guy.The fish is instinctively set to eat when the item has movement. The problem is blood works don’t have movements, but once they learn that it is food they should take it. This fish is a little hard to come by at fish stores, but local hobbies do catch native specimen in Florida and ship them out. You might also catch small time breeders who keep these fish and sell the offspring. You might even be able to breed them yourself in a small tank.

 

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#10 Neon Kubotai Rasbora (Microdevario)

These fish are great nano fish and work well for a five-gallon tank because the stay just about one inch in size. They do need to be in a school of about six. They will eat flakes or most other fish foods you could find. The are great as top tank swimmers and are almost always out in the open. The neon green color is fully natural and exactly how you find them in nature. What is really cool is that if you look close you can see right through them and see their spine/stomach. This is a unique fish and will definitely grab some attention. These fish look very similar to ember tetra and will and very similar with light shoaling behavior. They will eat pretty much any fish food stores sell. They would be a perfect addition to any five gallon fish tank.

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