5 gallon tropical tank inhabitants

I don't recommend the zebra danios at all....I see you're set on them so you'll just have to see for yourself. These fish are VERY active...quite HYPERactive actually...and they need a much larger tank to be able to get all that energy out. I had longfinned danios in a 29 tank and they drove me absolutely nuts ! they NEVER stop moving and zipping around.

The only type of catfish I would recommend for a 5 gallon is a smaller species of cory cat....panda cory or dwarf cories...and no less than 2, 3 or 4 would be better as they really need to be with other cories to feel safe.

NO tiger barbs in a tank that small...

Tiger barbs are very active as well, and with what Emg said no less than 2 cory cats.

sorry to say but the zebra danios are gonna be a no-go. A 5 gallon tank simply does not have the space to keep them happy; they are very active swimmers.

Tiger barbs can be kept individually or in pairs but are going to be somewhat aggressive to the other tank inhabitants. I'm not sure about keeping them in a tank that small though.

a few cories should be OK. Personally I would suggest pygmy cories if you can find them.

a few small cories, a small school of neon tetra or white clouds, and perhaps some shrimp is all i would suggest for a tank so small.

You can always get otos...

5g's is not alot to work with. Along with the other guys I'd also say tigers and danios are to active. You could go 3 Panda Cories and a Betta or a trio of Endler's instead. I know it kinda sucks because I also purchased a 5g and it was a mistake so it is now housing my Betta "Spud". Oh and another thing you mentioned you had like 20g of filteration. With a bit of extra filteration you can usaully keep a few extra fish but not alot becasue it also depends on aggresion and swimming space. Thats like saying you had 300g's of filteration on a 100g tank with 6 Oscar's in it you know what I mean? I'm sorry my reply sounds kinda harsh but it is not at ALL meant to be I just didn't know how to word it differently sorry.
Good Luck

ok i also have a 5 gallon and heres what i have planned for it.

1 male betta
3 corydora nanus (they are dwarf cories)
a few shrimp probably ghost cause they are cheap and available.
planted (low light easy plants) standard lighting no co2
good filtration and mini heater

it exceeds the inch per gallon ration but i know what im doing

things that are good in 5 gallons are fish that dont get over 2 or 3 inches and pretty lazy depending on how your tanks shaped mines a bit longer than it is wide so if i wanted i could have a more active fish. (not danios or anything like that) danios seriously need a 55 gallon long with an elevated hood they like to swim fast and jump out the water if you dont have a raised but still enclosed hood they will sometiems get stuck inthe lights and that gets gross.

anyhowwwwwww

dwarf cories are the coolest so definatly get 3 of those remember they are scavangers and dont eat algea or the other little crap shrimp and ottos eat

a otto is a good replacement for shrimp if you dont want shrimp but i like shrimp and it adds and extra element to your litttle mini tank i hate having allll fish and nothing else and i hate snales so shrimps a good option.

as for the main fish use common sense dont go too big and if you do get a 3 incher like a dwarf gourmei or a betta only get one

could you put a betta and a dwarf puffer in a 5g?

Puffers are not community fish. They nip fins and would have a field day with the betta's long fins.

yea i have a 20l with about 6 dwarf puffers and had a betta in there and well lets say not after too long was it looking like a female betta, had to move it to the big tank to get its fins back but it shortly got eaten by my big guy, so yea, the pufffers with easily nip its fins to nothing. Dwarf puffers in the tank thought are a good idea, they are fun to watch very nosy fish. i love my puffers