Ideas for 5 gallon tank

[chrisd1]

I have a 5 gallon Marineland tank from wal-mart with the stock hood and light, and bio-wheel filter. I've had it a few months now, and let it cycle for about 8 weeks with around 5 pounds of live rock.
I have one green chromis (which will go in my 55 gallon if he outgrows the nano) and a few blue leg hermits. I'm just wondering what else to get to add life to the tank. I don't really want to upgrade the lighting. The flourescent bulb (no wattage listed) is supposedly ideal for plant life, but I know I won't be able to have any corals.
I was thinking of getting a chocolate chip starfish and maybe a sexy shrimp. Any other ideas? I won't be adding any more fish, and won't hesitate to move the green chromis if he gets too large, though he appears very healthy right now, and my water tests are great.
How about feather dusters? Or a sponge of some type?
Thanks

 

[ivanfj]

If you want a fish and you are willing to take the chromis out, a yellow clown goby or the green clown goby would be a very nice choice. Mine has lots of personalities although I had trouble getting him to eat at first. I personally would skip the starfish and add a cleaner shrimp or a fire shrimp. Feather dusters would certainly add some life to your tank as well. I would also get a few snails for cleaning duties.

 

[chrisd1]

Yeah, I love the way gobies look, and I might put one in at some point if I decide to my move the green chromis to my bigger tank.
Why would you not want a starfish? Could a chocolate chip star harm the hermit crabs (or snails, which I'll be adding)?
I'm definitely getting some type of shrimp soon, not sure which kind though. Also, I was reading some posts regarding the bio-wheel, and some people seem concerned that it could cause nitrate problems down the road. I'm leaving it in for now, but I'll keep an eye on it. I emailed Marineland and they said the biowheel was just as beneficial for saltwater as fresh, and that regular water changes were all that were required to keep nitrates in check.
Thanks for the reply.
Chris

 

[diddley]

you could get a couple of sexy shrimp. they stay out in the open all the time. cleaners and fire shrimp get much larger and would probably look disproportionate in a small tank. starfish are very sensitive to salinity and ph changes and would be a challenge in there. snails definitely. feather duster would be a good choice. you'll probably have to add a powerhead for circulation, get a low wattage one due to heat issues in an acrylic tank. i'm pretty sure that tank comes with an 8 watt light bulb. you can add almost any kind of filter media you want up in the sump area where the filter pads fit, and that's a bonus. there was a guy on here who had an awesome five gallon walmart tank he made into a reef. his user name was CBSHARK, do a search.