Do remember that new fishkeepers just starting the hobby are usually unawares that 5 gallons / 20 litre tanks are too small for most species of fish and the advice given by a lot of LFS are unhelpful and even encourage new keepers to start with a 5 gal tank with inappropriate stocking suggestions from LFS staff members, bear in mind not ALL LFS staff are like this but sadly is an all too common occurence.
So its absolutey correct that the OP, SnailPocalypse, is asking for advice BEFORE actually stocking his 5 gal tank. We encourage folks to ask questions or query anything that they are unsure of simply because they are possibly new to the hobby or just simply want to learn more.
As for 'advanced users', well, I for one, am not one of these 'advanced user' for sure, and am continously learning new things all the time about this hobby which is one of the reasons why I love this hobby. The fact that I can pass on some of what I've learned over the years into this forum for other members to use as part of their research makes it all the more rewarding.