5 Gallon Invertebrate Salt Tank
 

Hey everyone; I just got my 10 gallon freshwater aquarium up and running a couple of months ago and I'm looking to do something special for my dad for father's day.

I was wondering... does anyone have any experience with a 5 gallon saltwater tank?

I know it will be a challenge to keep the tank running safely considering any little change can have a large effect on the water, but I'm always up for a challenge.

I was thinking since the tank is so small (because of space constraints) that it might be a better choice to go with an invertebrate rather than fish, and of course most of the cool crustaceans do require saltwater to my knowledge.

I was looking at Arrow crabs, Decorator Crab, Emerald crabs, and Porcelain anemone crabs.

Can anyone tell me if a 5 gallon tank would be okay for one of these single crabs?

I was thinking maybe a small piece of coral and 1 crab; I really like the decorator crab the best. I'll have to do a bit more research on coral though.

If not a crab.. how about a couple bumblebee shrimp or coral banded shrimp? Any other recommendations on unique crustaceans or otherwise that might fit in a 5 gallon tank?

I know a 5 gallon is quite small, but I'm under the impression that the bioload of invertebrates can be much less than fish; that's why it was my original thought.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I know the post was pretty long, but thank you!!

Your good along those lines of thinking. The Inverts will be ok in there, and the corals with enough flow.

Fish are generally hardier than inverts in saltwater I've found, they handle fluctuation a bit better, inverts are always the first to go when something bad happens (temp, pH etc)