Osmium Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Okay, I know this topic has been covered A LOT, but most of the opinions I'm reading are coming from people who either have never kept a fish in a pico reef or from people who have kept fish, but they only had their tank set up for a month and don't know what they are doing. I'd like to hear from people who have kept fish in a pico reef for an extended period of time (extended meaning at least a YEAR). Did it make maintenance more difficult? Did the fish seem content and healthy? What kind of fish did you choose? Alternatively, if you tried keeping a fish for less than a year and decided it wasn't worth it, why? I have 5 gallon reef almost a year old with a coral banded shrimp in it and I'm considering adding a small goby to it. However I cannot sacrifice the health of my tank overall in the long term, and I don't want to keep a fish if it won't be healthy in the long term. Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 You could do a Clown goby or a pair of Neon gobies. I plan on keeping a pair of Sharknose gobies in my 5.5g. I had neon's in my pico way back in the day. I wouldn't say it made anything more difficult,just keep up on your water changes and you should be more than fine. Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 minute ago, Reefkid88 said: You could do a Clown goby or a pair of Neon gobies. I plan on keeping a pair of Sharknose gobies in my 5.5g. I had neon's in my pico way back in the day. I wouldn't say it made anything more difficult,just keep up on your water changes and you should be more than fine. Cool! how long did you have them for? Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 A little over 2 years if I remember correctly. Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 That's very encouraging. I'd like a few more people's opinions, but I'm leaning toward trying it now Quote Link to comment
OldManSea Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I have had a small Gobiodon and clownfish in a 5.5 gallon for about 16 months. They are all very happy together. I do a 100% water change once a week. The tank has lots of acans and ricordeas so they are happy to clean up any escaped food. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Well, I think a clownfish is pushing it quite a bit. Unless you mean a clown go by, in which case, ok. I see no problems with 1 or 2 small gobies. I tried 2 gressingeri gobies in a 7.5. It quickly became 1, I'm guessing they were both males, as one beat the crap out of the other. I had that fish in there a bit more than a year before I upgraded. No problems. I can remember an old member, cestma, or something along those lines. She had a pair of green banded in her 5.5 for several years. I believe she also spawned them in there. One thing I will suggest, though. If you are set on putting a fish or two in there. I think you'd be better off getting rid of the banded coral shrimp. They have been known to take out fish, especially small ones. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I have a bicolor blenny in my 5.5g. Plenty of room in there for it. Tank and fish is very healthy. I wouldn't put clownfish in a 5g but some have. 1 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I agree with you,I cringe so freakin' hard when I see people put Clowns or something close to it in size in a pico or really anything under 10g. I want to say something every time but bite my tongue every time 😡 Quote Link to comment
1.0reef Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 A small goby will have a smaller bioload than the shrimp, should be fine. Quote Link to comment
BlennyBoi Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Clown79 said: I have a bicolor blenny in my 5.5g. Plenty of room in there for it. Tank and fish is very healthy. I wouldn't put clownfish in a 5g but some have. um thats way too small liveaquaria says 30g min. 1 hour ago, Reefkid88 said: I agree with you,I cringe so freakin' hard when I see people put Clowns or something close to it in size in a pico or really anything under 10g. I want to say something every time but bite my tongue every time 😡 yep, clowns are shit machines Quote Link to comment
BlennyBoi Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 i wouldnt trust the CBS with a goby. mine took a clown. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 59 minutes ago, BlennyBoi said: um thats way too small liveaquaria says 30g min. yep, clowns are shit If we all went with what liveaquaria says, not a single nano owner would have a fish because they are generally rated for 30g or more. I have clowns in a 10g. Healthy and happy. Many of us do. 4 Quote Link to comment
MrObscura Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 A small goby should be fine in a 5.5g. I saw a little 4"x6" sps tank from the early 2000s that had a little clown goby in it. Not saying you should do that, but they're pretty stationary so they don't need much space. Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 2 hours ago, BlennyBoi said: i wouldnt trust the CBS with a goby. mine took a clown. 6 hours ago, RayWhisperer said: One thing I will suggest, though. If you are set on putting a fish or two in there. I think you'd be better off getting rid of the banded coral shrimp. They have been known to take out fish, especially small ones. Oh I hadn't considered that. I love my CBS though. Are there any cases of them getting along with fish, or should I just avoid trying altogether? Quote Link to comment
MrObscura Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Sometimed they're fine with smaller fish, sometimes not. But if you didn't want to risk it period you'd have to go with bigger fish than you should put it a 5g. Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 My CBS is a pretty aggressive eater at feeding time, but she's really chill the rest of the time and she doesn't bother my corals at all. So I think I'll negotiate with my LFS to see if they'll let me bring the fish back if I see signs of aggression. There are several little caves in my tank and she has her territory in one of them, so I hope she would only be aggressive around her cave. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Lol. I dont think you understand my warning. Banded coral shrimp will have no interest in corals whatsoever. Infact, young ones are a cleaner species. However, once older, they dont clean any fish. They do tend to eat them, though. Try it if you it want. I'm just giving you fair warning. In a 5.5, I can pretty much guarantee you it will happen. Dont just take my word for it. Do some searches online. Their penchant for fish killing is pretty well documented. 2 Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 1 minute ago, RayWhisperer said: Lol. I dont think you understand my warning. Banded coral shrimp will have no interest in corals whatsoever. Infact, young ones are a cleaner species. However, once older, they dont clean any fish. They do tend to eat them, though. Try it if you it want. I'm just giving you fair warning. In a 5.5, I can pretty much guarantee you it will happen. Dont just take my word for it. Do some searches online. Their penchant for fish killing is pretty well documented. That's weird, I did do research and they said that they often bother corals as well as fish. I think it's still worth a shot, I'll remove he fish immediately if I see aggression Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Clown Gobies, Neons, Yashas, Hi-Fins, Tangaroas etc. should all be suitable for a 5G. Smaller goby species like these have very small bioloads - I think adding them to a nano shouldn't be an issue. Quote Link to comment
1.0reef Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 You could trade in your coral banded shrimp for a blue or gold coral banded shrimp, same genus but smaller species. 2 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 9 minutes ago, 1.0reef said: You could trade in your coral banded shrimp for a blue or gold coral banded shrimp, same genus but smaller species. I second this. Regular CBS has a long history of attacking fish. But a blue/gold CBS is relatively peaceful and much smaller in comparison. Quote Link to comment
Osmium Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 Thanks for the advice, but like I said I love my coral banded shrimp. I'll just not have any fish if she's going to beat up on it Quote Link to comment
MainelyReefer Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Pistol shrimp/goby pair might be viable without the CBS(I’ve never kept a CBS). I keep a pair in my 1.75g pico and they stay nice and plump with daily feedings, behavior from the two is consistent with my pair in a 40g so I don’t think the pistol and goby mind the limited real estate. Their addition hasn’t necessitated increased maintenance on their behalf as I am already in the habit of changing ~100% of the water weekly. Might be worth looking into if the CBS shuffles off to Buffalo Quote Link to comment
BlennyBoi Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 On 10/31/2018 at 12:32 PM, Osmium said: Oh I hadn't considered that. I love my CBS though. Are there any cases of them getting along with fish, or should I just avoid trying altogether? yeah, they mostly do get on fine with fish, but, in that size tank, theres nowhere to hide, and the shrimp would get the fish eventually Quote Link to comment
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