Hey ! So I have a male betta in a 5 gallon tank. He has a heater and a low flow filter. I also have a Marimo ball in there as well. Just wondering what people recommend to add to the tank. The lady at petsmart said a frog .... Don't remember what kind though.
I am new to all of this so nothing too easy to kill. Haha. I would be heart broken. Maybe just a couple of easy care friends that my betta can get along with. Thank you guys

Okay, you can't fit much in a 5 gallon, you can have one or two African Dwarf frogs or a group of shrimp or a snail or two. A 5 gallon tank is super easy to overstock, so unfortunately you can't have much in there. Shrimp LOVE marimo, they will lay on it and just chill on it XD for some colour perhaps you could get red cherry shrimp?

Maybe you could get a guppy or two... But because your tank size is so small you don't want a male and female or they'll have like 25 baby guppies... The males are showier, as always. If your betta's aggressive, nothing could really live in there though.

Yes the lady was probably talking about African Dwarf Frogs (not African Clawed Frogs). I have an African Dwarf Frog and he's pretty cool. They don't produce much waste so you could have one or two of those in the tank. I like them a lot better than snails (much more personality - more entertaining) and some types of snails produce a lot more waste than you would think!

African Dwarf Frogs (ADF) spend most of the time on the bottom, they like to have hiding places, but mine swims around a good deal too. They eat frozen bloodworms but you have to be really careful that you don't let your betta eat all of the frog's food. That would starve the frog and probably cause some digestive issues in the fish. I catch my frog in a little net and then feed him all of his bloodworms in there. After he's done I release him back into the tank.

Like bettas they are good jumpers so you need a lid on the tank. They can be kept in pairs or alone and be just fine. In some cases you will have an aggressive betta that will pick on the frog and nip his toes and such, so you will have to separate the pair. Conversely, sometimes frogs can get confused by a bettas long fins an bite them because they think they are food. My frog is very shy and stays away from all other fish, but some people have experienced damage to their fish's tail by a hungry frog.

That's everything I can of for ADFs but I'm sure others can tell you more about other tank mates.

You could also get a Nerite snail. They suck algae, come in different designs, and usually their waste and all is pretty low for a snail. Most bettas usually get along with them and they don't reproduce on their own so you don't have to worry about a million snail babies if you get one. But they eat algae fast so you should buy algae wafers too.

Thank you all for the ideas. I don't want a whole bunch of creatures in there. Just a few. I know it's not a large tank or anything. I got my betta in a tiny fish bowl with a plant on the top as a gift. Felt bad for the guy and bought a basic tank. But now I find myself watching him swim a lot and thought maybe a few more simple interesting companions would be nice. I appreciate the info from everyone. I'll see what I can find.

I have one big shrimp in with one of my bettas. He is fun to catch a glimpse of at night or on occasion. For the most part in the day he stays hidden. Smart shrimp.
I don't like the frog with the betta idea, for a few reasons. Just my opinion.
Good luck

Awwwww.... You've got a lucky betta! Hope you find a nice tank mate

What would those reasons be? I'm also thinking about a couple of ADFs in my 8Gallon for one of my bettas. Would like to hear your opinion and experiences with the pairing

Guppies are a definite No No for betas. the fancy tailed mails will be quickly killed by the betta. The betta will think it is another male and will kill it. I have looked into other fish and found unless the tank is bigger Male Betas do not do well with other fish. Put in some ghost shrimp or cherry shrimp. They will do well with your betta.