Setting up a new 5 gallon

[Yenko]

I know people will say this belongs in Bettas and Abatanoids or the Barb&Loach forum, or even the livebearer forum.

Anyway, I recently inherited a 1.5 gallon hex tank from my sister who didn't want to take care of it. It contains a Betta, an African Dwarf Frog and a female guppy.
This tank takes 30-40 minutes a week to clean! My 32 gallon takes 10-15 minutes to clean and do a water change!

Besides, the tanks overstocked, it has a UGF, and the plastic is scratched. I'm going to buy a 5 gallon tank to replace it. I want it to be a small community tank. I was planning on having a Betta, the african dwarf frog and 4 guppys. Of course, this is overstocked, right? Wrong. I'm not using normal guppies. My LFS sells feeder guppies that aren't as big, look more like wild guppies, and are 50 cents each.
My plan is to buy the 5-gallon, put the betta and frog in, and quarantine the guppies in the the 1.5 gallon. At the most I could end up with 6 guppies (That's only the biomass of 2-3 fancy guppies), a Betta and an African Dwarf Frog.

The tank will be planted with dwarf sagiterius and a cryptocryne. It will have duckweed (A variety with larger leaves) for easy nutrient removal and shade for the fish.

Once the tanks up and running, can I add a Khuli loach or two?

 

[Fish Buddy]

I wouldn't recomend it- if you want an algea cleaner type thing otocinclus' are good because they are much smaller (they are shoaling fish so...)

 

[Yenko]

So no khuli loach? Oh well. Actually, I'll just put a couple in my 32 gallon. One otocinclus would be fine, right?

 

[juliethegr8t]

I wouldn't suggest adding an otto, they really love buddies and one will be lonesome! And unfortunately you don't have enough room for enough to keep them happy.

 

[DN530]

I'd just keep the betta, frog, and 2 otocinclus. 5 gallons is kinda small. you could set up a 10 gallon for the same price so you can keep a few more fish. I remember when i set up my 10g, i also considered a 5g because of space. 10g cost the same, plus the bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep balanced.

 

[Yenko]

I think I'll just have these fish:
Betta
ADF
4-6 (depending on how many die) feeder guppies
Trumpet snails

I know it wouldn't be too much more expensive to set up a 10-gallon tank, but my room is rapidly running out of space for fish. I have to put the tank on a shelf that I wouldn't trust with a 10-gallon tank on it.

The guppies aren't as big as normal fancy guppies; they are half the size of normal ones. If it ends up overstocked, it's no big deal. The guppies can go in the 32-gallon tank.

I agree that 2 otocinclus, the frog and the betta would be nice, but my sister's convinced that the frog is unhappy without dither fish (She doesn't know the term, but has a roundabout way of explaining the concept).

Besides, I'm already getting 3 otocinclus to replace my chinese alage eater. I'll miss that guy.

Edit: Wait. Excuse the lack of knowledge, but as long as I don't provide any food for the otocinclus, how would they influence the amount of waste in the tank?