Hello all,

I am just getting started in the saltwater hobby, and a discussion with a knowledgeable Petco salesguy (yes they do exist, but only on weekends in Lawrenceville) brought me to these forums. As for background on me, I know freshwater tank keeping and I'm taking a Marine Biology class this semester, so I have given the mechanics some thought but I don't know much about livestock.

I'm setting up a small marine tank, and I'm looking for suggestions about what to put in it. (It's not really a nanoreef as I don't think that my lighting will support coals.) It's a 5 gallon tank that currently contains about 7 lbs of beautiful live rock. I have started it off partly filled with Nutri-SeaWater on the reasoning that the natural packaged stuff may contain some trace elements that the mixes don't, although I plan to do changes with Instant Ocean.

I realize that marine stocking guidelines are different than freshwater and that this won't support much and will have to be watched closely. I am hoping to put in a snail or two, maybe an itty-bitty hermit crab, and a fish to be the centerpiece of the tank.

Below are some ideas that I've had, and any comments/suggestions are appreciated. Ideally I would like a fish who won't eat all the beautiful algae off my live rock and is active enough to be interesting to passerby, and one that fits a college student's budget.

:arrow: I am very drawn to mandarin fish and scooter blennies but are these a no-go with only 7 lbs of LR to graze on... what about adding newly hatched brine shrimp to the tank regularly? (As background I had originally though about, and researched, dwarf seahorses when getting this setup, so I am not completely afraid of the idea of hatching lots of brine and/or culturing 'pods).

:arrow: Damselfish of the $4 varieties; don't most grow too big too fast? Aggressiveness is not a problem in a one-fish tank and the ease of care does appeal to me.

:arrow: What about a little clownfish? The fact that most of these are aquacultured is a big plus in my eyes, but I don't really want everyone who walks in the room to yell "Nemo!"

:arrow: Any experiences with lettuce nudibranchs? There's a tank of them in the marine biology lab and I'm obsessed with the crinkled little things... but some sources say they're easy, others say they're hard.

:arrow: What about a really dramatic starfish?

Welcome!

Starfish, nudis, and mandarins would probably starve eventually, although there are some very small red starfish that might be nice. Save those other animals for your eventual second larger tank. If you come to the next meeting, we are actually raffling off a Nano to members.

The dwarf seahorse idea sounds like the best.

Our New Member Coordinator (Ray) is also the expert in this area. I am sure he will chime in soon.

Steve

Welcome! I have had poor luck with lettuce nudibranchs. They can take little current. Do you have a lot of algae in the tank as this is what they eat? It may starve if you do not. A clown goby may be a good fish for your tank. They perch on corals and have tons of personality. The one I have is darn near tame and will come right to my hand when it is in the tank.

I second on the clown goby! They are quite reasonably priced as well! :lol:

Thank you for the replies!

On further reflection I realized that the amount of work (food culturing) involved for keeping the dragonets or seahorses, while possible, would not be a good way to start out with saltwater. So I am going to save those for later tanks. (Which are inevitable, aren't they? I also want a great big panther grouper one day :D )

I found some yellow clown gobies at Athens Aquarium today, and I agree that those are the right fish for this tank! They are such cute little things, and I hadn't realized that they would stay small. So a huge thanks to fishwhsperer and chicagoman --- I probably would not have researched these guys without your suggestion.

The tank currently houses two very small hermit crabs who are keeping busy picking over the live rock (branching Tonga) as it finishes curing. This seems to be proceeding quickly, as it it had been cured before and is just recovering from its trip to my tank.

I am considering a cleaning shrimp of some sort and introducing some zoanthids (my Mom saw a polyp colony she particularly liked and Mom likes the tanks = tanks get to move out of the back of the kitchen to a better display place :D ). Will the clown goby be all right with these organisms? My research so far says yes but my gut instict says that a big enough shrimp might go after the fish.

I have two cleaner shrimp and two clowns gobies in the same tank and have never had a problem. This is a 55 gallon tank though...so much larger. I would think if you keep the shrimp fed well..he would not be looking at your goby as food. I never say never though in this hobby as all animals can be opportuntist.

Work has kept me very busy as of late.

Anyways. There are several fish for a small nano. I agree about the dwarf seahorses, if you are not willing to feed them twice a day with baby brine shrimp.

The list of available fish for a small tank are kinda large. I prefer keeping the aggression levels low since you can see some really neat personalities with small fish without any larger fish keeping them at bay.

1. Gobies. I am talking red headed gobies, neon gobies, clown gobies, hi-fin banded gobies, yashi gobies. One of my favorite tanks was a 5 gal tank with leathers (low light) and some zoos with 3 red headed gobies. Watching the dart through and fro as they chased each other around playfully was a joy to watch. With no other fish to chase them around they were very bold and playful.
2. Blennies. Bi-Colors, sally miller, lawn mower and there a few others. They do tend to be on the larger side but really docile and have really neat personalities.
3. Some Wrasses. I am only talking coris wrasses and 6 lined wrasses. However make sure you have them trained on frozen foods and can feed them properly. Same goes for dragonettes (Manderians, Scooter blennys). I have kept a target manderian in a small tank using fortified mysis shrimp. However this is not necessary the rule since I have read horror stories about them wasting away.
4. Clown fishes and damsels. I think a single damselfish or pair of clowns make a good nano. Two damsels could end up with a territory battle. A really good choice is a honey damsel, which is a type of chromis more than damsel. I had a pair in a 5 gal tank and they never exceeded more than one inch. They did take about a month to get over their shy nature though.
5. Ornamental shrimp. I have seen very successful nanos with just ornamental shrimp and these tanks seem to take very little feeding. I have always liked fish but these can just be very interesting and comical with the dancing.
6. Jawfish. Probably not suitable for a 5 gal tank due to the depth of the substrate, but would work in a deeper 10 or 15 gal tank. I have kept 2 in a 20 gal high tank but you will need a cover since they are leapers.

Hope to help.

Ray

Hey there,

Although I am no expert in the field of nano/pico, it definately is my specialty. I have kept a 2.5g, a 5.5g, a 20L, and even two .75g reefs for quite some time. I am re-starting my 2.5g and 5.5g and have been putting a lot of thought into their future inhabitants.

Here is what I suggest for your 5 gallon:

First, salinity is always a factor. Even when you are able to top off everyday, sometimes it goes a weekend or more without getting filled. I tend to stay with only the hardiest specimens in the just over pico range. I would also avoid anything that needs a lot of food, because even with regular changes, 7lbs of LR is not going to be enough filtration to make up for the amount of food bigger/hungrier fish will need. Thats the "bad news."

The good news is that there are so many unique organisms to place in a 5 gallon tank. Many of these would never be considered for larger tanks. Gobies are almost the secret of pico's. Just a few years ago, people would have advised against any fish in a tank smaller than 10g. However, gobbies are almost the secret of having an outstanding fish in your small ecosystem. Not only are they small and extrememly colorful in most cases, they don't constantly swim around. This means that they will need less food and therefore produce less waste than a similarly sized fish that actually swims most, if not all, of the time.

Personally I am planning on keeping a catalina goby in my 2.5g. This is an exceptionally colorful fish. However, it cannot live in the higher temperatures demanded by almost all other fish in the trade. Because its care requirements are different, it almost demands its own tank.

Here is a lonk to some colorful gobies that will go great in such a small tank:

Click Here! (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=2124/)

Shrimp! Fire shrimp often hide in larger aquariums, but in a 5.5g you will have lots of opportunity to view him. Other options sexy shrimp/anemone shrimp/pepermints etc. You could even try a Harlequin if you were able to commit to buying him the starfish needed for him to eat. Banded coral shrimp are also very popular for such small tanks. I have seen them in .75g's at more than one of the local fish stores. Finally, a small/colorful mantis shrimp is an agressive alternative to something more peaceful. I had one in my 2.5g before selling him to a local school teacher. It was something I could actually interact with instead of just admiring.

And now for crabs. I plan on getting several Dwarf Zebra Hermits for my two upcomming nano's. They are incredibly cheap ($1 each) and their black and white pattern stands out from the natural colors often seen in the reef. However, more interesting ones are also available. I think an Arrow Crab has a pretty high chance of making it into my 5.5g. They have a reputation for catching small fish, so it(like the mantis shrimp) would have to live a lonely life.



I am also a college student, where do you go to school? Also, what are your plans for lighting?

Let me take this opportunity, Darold, to thank you for that mantis shrimp. We absolutely love him. He now shares a 20gallon reef with two damsel buddies. Their interactions are quite entertaining!

Ok..end of thread hijacking. I personally would second the recommendations of a clown goby for your nano, and I'm glad you agree I absolutely love them and plan to buy one tomorrow. No I won't be putting it in the mantis tank :wink: .