tlombardo Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Hey I am starting a pico and am looking for invert advice! It is a 3.5 and the goal is to really only have to mess with it once a week(feed, change water, clean). I will not be having fish in it as I would feel bad only feeding them once a week so my question is what cool inverts fit this model? I will have a typical clean up crew, some rics, and some RFAs in there. These can be inverts that get some or all of their food from scavenging the tank like the CUC does, or ones that just don't need to eat frequently to live a happy life. Obviously mainly looking for interesting crab/ shrimp suggestions but am open to anything. Thanks! Link to comment
ETucc Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Emerald Crabs are nice because they eat algae and leftover fish food. Look into Cerith Snails, Trochus Snails, and Nassarius Snails. All of these snails have no problems righting themselves when flipped on their backs. Ceriths and Trochus' stay smaller in comparison to most species and clean algae just as well. Nassarius Snails DO NOT eat algae, but they will eat decaying organic matter (Detritus) from the rock, and burrow into your sand bed to help aerate it with oxygen, which is important! I've done my research, and I advise you to become an expert on everything you wanna put into your tank before you do it. Snails that can't right themselves will die if overturned and will be hell in a tiny pico. The species I listed are perfect for your tank, and I have all of them! They are the only logical choices for your size tank, too. Shrimp do not eat algae, for the most part, and can eat fish and corals. Emerald Crabs are slow scavengers Check out my critters in my thread! Link to comment
jestep Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Porcelain crabs if you have something they will host like a BTA. I haven't had good success with them if they don't have a nem to host. Link to comment
tlombardo Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Good point about keeping snails that can right themselves. I will be travelling Monday-Thursday/Friday most weeks for work so that is important to go along with the once a week maintenance/feeding. I won't really have anything similar to a BTA in the tank for a porcelain crab and I always felt bad when I would see my porcelain start sifting sand after a few days with no feeding in the tank. I don't know much about pom poms except what they look like/ that they tend to be shy. I think they are really cool though do they just pick up detritus/ waste with their nems? I could also provide extra food when I do feed the tank. In addition to catering to my travel schedule I am also trying to keep bio load very manageable as I haven't had a tank this small before and will be feeding 2-3 rock flower nems. Link to comment
BulkRate Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Porcelain rock crabs (i.e. not the larger white/red spotted ones) will do well - mine cruise on leftover food and pellets that's been broadcast fed, but I've caught them scooping up substrate and nomming on it from time to time. Bonus in that in a 3.5 gallon there won't be many places for them to hide. You could have a couple and they'll vy for the "premo" feeding locations, especially in a tank free of anything they recognize as a potential predator. You can typically get both red & purple striped and blue/white striped specimens in the various stores in Atlanta, and sometimes the white & red striped variety. As for self-righting snails - look into banded trochus, tectus fenestratus and florida ceriths. All of these will graze on a pretty wide variety of algae, navigate sand/glass/rock and can subsist on just the green film you'll get on the glass/acrylic if you're only there to wipe it every weekend. Link to comment
BulkRate Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 On second read - if you have a rock flower anemone then even the oshimai-type porcelains (the red & white spotted ones) should be a viable choice. I've never been able to keep one alive for more than a few months without hostable anemone present. Link to comment
tlombardo Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yeah I had this guy. I actually had him for at least a month or two before getting the torch seen there but after I got it he spent most of his time near it. I may go for another but part of me wants to try something different. http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/awlomba/media/IMAG0211.jpg.html'> Link to comment
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