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I've got a standard 5.5 gallon all-glass tank with filter (a Hagen stingray model 10), heater, and light. I'm looking for suggestions on what to keep in it.

We already have an office betta, and since I'm using a pretty powerful filter a betta really isn't suitable for this tank.

Some things I've considered are:

A pair of neolamprologus brevis shelldwellers - I've seen many successful setups in 5 gallon tanks for brevis, and my LFS will probably take any fry that may result. The downside is mostly just having to maintain water hardness and Ph, which I do for another tank at home using buffers and cichlid salts, but might be more challenging in the office.

A pair of dwarf crayfish like cambarus ludovicianus - I've kept these before and they are absolutely facinating. They only grow to be about 3", so they are suitable for small tanks. Their penchant for rearranging their environment limits the options for aquascaping, though.

The following would all allow me to have a mini planted tank, which I'm not sure I want to maintain... Also, all of the following fishes are species I don't often see at my LFS, so I would have to order them online. I'm not opposed to ordering fish online at all, but these particualr ones are notorious for being very fragile shippers.

A trio of killifish - I know absolutely nothing about killies, but supposedly they make good inhabitants for small tanks, perhaps with an african dwarf frog or two.

Endeler's livebearers - another good candidate for small tanks, and again my LFS might take the fry that would undoubtedly result. Tankmates that wouldn't eat the endlers or their fry would be lmited to shrimp, probably.

Dwarf puffers - These have intrigued me for a long time, but I've heard many conflicting stories about their aggressiveness and territoriality.

Any other thoughts?

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Hey illustrae,

If you go mini-planted route add micro-rasbora to the mix, or any rasbora of the Boraras genus. They stay just under an inch and are just as colorful as endlers without the insane breeding.

The brevis pair is a good idea too, but don't sweat keeping the ph etc up, just use eco-complete african cichlid sand - it's a mix of tahitian moon sand and finely crushed aragonite. I used it before in my old shellie tank, and it kept the ph and GH way up there, no addatives or anything like that. I've found it's tought to keep BGA out of these tnaks though...

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Back in the saddle!

Ever hear of the site franks aquarium? They have a whole section of nano-fish for sale and some very interesting ones at that. You should check it out. http://www.franksaquarium.com/

Wow, cool link, Ethan. Carries lots of species I'd love to set up tanks for... maybe someday.

As for my water Hardness and Ph... I discovered when I set up my Caudopunk tank (Tanganyikan) that my towns water is ridiculously soft. I started with the cichlid sand you mentioned, NowhereMan, and some florida moonrock and shells, and the Ph wouldn't rise above 7.2 without buffers. I'm pretty happy with the Seachem Tanganyika buffer and rift lake salts, and it's not too much of a pain to add some to every water change; at home, that is. At the office, I'm not sure it's something I'd like to get into, involving test kits and everything. Water changes are going to be enough of a challenge.

Decisions... decisions...

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...