Any suggestions for what to put in a 5gal fish tank?

I have done tanks before , so I know to cycle it first (my kids will bug me the whole time I bet). I do have a filter for it and know to set it up a week or two before getting fish. My local pet store will test water for me and I can get it right that way. They also sell RO water and thats what I plan to be putting in it as the tap water where I live has a very high PH level (and my purifier has a high nitrate level LOL). I will not be getting the Betta til I get the rest all set up and running good. He will be the biggest thing in there so needs to go in last. Thanks for reminding me about the ghost shrimp though, they are cute and do help clean. As for Bettas attacking guppies, I have kept them together before and find that as long as they have plants and room they seem to do fine. Thanks for the recommend on the java fern I will check that out. I may well wait a month or two to do this, I checked out the little ones suggested by skittles in my first answer and they can only be ordered, but I like them and they sound easy to keep. Thanks so much for your input here though! :)

Thank you for the suggestions and will take them to heart. That's why I love discussions, I learn something new every day. I probably should have mentioned that the pencil fish I have is also a dwarf and it is about 4cm.

Hmm, I have a couple suggestions for you ... those tetras, need more then two because they are supossed to school (ie min. of 4-5 in a tank) and that pencil fish, shouldn't be in a 10gal at all, it should have more room. I appreciate your suggestion, but those take more time and work then I want to put into fish right now. They are cute little buggers though!

Hmm ... I forgot about the glass tetras ... they are pretty cool looking. Thanks for your suggestions! Best to you with your tanks too.

I had thought about guppies. But, I have had them before and ended up with a TON of them from them breeding so I know about babies. I will check out the other two you mentioned though. I want to let my kids at least help pick out what I get too. Thanks for your suggestions!

I don't think he was being nasty, his info is pretty accurate. There's always the exception to the rule. What it comes down to is the personality of the fish. I've had some that wouldn't get along with anything, and others that would. But, usually it's recommended not to put them with fish that have colorful/fancy tails. Yes, they may not attack and only nip fins and tails, but that's stressful to the other fish that are being attacked-or even if it's the betta being attacked, and could cause fin/tail rot amongst other diseases/infections. A 5 gallon is a small tank, and when you factor in substrate, decorations, plants, etc. it's not really a 5 gallon tank anymore. So that limits the amount of fish even more with trying to balance & keep the tank healthy. If you do go with more fish, I'd stick with the smaller fish, like you said you liked in the first post.

Not trying to argue here, but the betta thing seems to be a great controversy. I have successfully put a betta in several community tanks, including with male guppies and swordtails. Just a note on the swordtails, they don't belong in anything less than a 20 gallon unless you're going to only keep one. They get up to 3 inches long, and need around 4 gallons a piece. They are a lot of fun in a bigger tank though.

OK ... number one here ... I have had numerous Betta's ... they do NOT attack much ... they do tend to pick at tails and fins on other stuff though. I was not asking for advice about the Betta ... but for advice on OTHER stuff that WOULD go well in a small tank with one. Also I know better then to put the Betta in first. If you know as much as you seem to infer that you do you would know that too. There is NO good reason to "doom" them to a solitary existence ! P.S. An intelligent thing for you might be a spell checker. The Goggle toolbar has one built in that will check text in any boxes you have typed into.

If you can't contribute to the conversation, why are you posting? Have you read the rules here?

Excuse me? Who do you think you are to tell me what is a "worthy" topic? Do you own this site? Do you work for this site? Do you have any authority here at all? This reply is not "worthy". If you can't add to the conversation please don't post on my questions. Its no wonder you have a low ranking.

LOL wonder why he has a 4 rating huh? I just contributed to it :)

LOL , kinda what I was thinking yea ... really just not a helpful post ;)

Did you read my whole question? Or did you just not understand it? I have the whole set up, I am just looking for suggestions of WHAT KIND of fish would be good in that size tank, with a male Betta.... as I stated I am NOT new to keeping fish. I was not asking what I need to start it. I was only asking for suggestion on WHAT KIND of fish would be good.