So I decided to get a smaller tank for my room, mainly that I can put some different fish that wouldn’t fit in a community tank; I always liked bettas and gouramis, but while I’ve had success with them in the past, they seem to be better off apart from community-friendly fish. This was partially an experiment in that direction.

I already did the shakedown and cycle with it, so my first three residents is a cleaner shrimp, a freshwater mussel and a pearl gourami (male with the red fin). I named him Guti, after the character in my sci-fi stories I write who is a sentient fish that causes a lot of mayhem.

I really like this 5-gallon tank because of the bio-wheel filter system, it’s certainly a lot different than the cartridge thing I use on other tanks! While it as a bit tricky to find appropriate other equipment such as a tank heater, it was worth the trouble I think.