The Pico vol. 2

[sr2z]

39 minutes ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said:

The other hydroid in your tank that you didn't see

 

I hope I got all of those tiny bastards, but if another one appears...

[Tired]

Hydroids tend to just be a small patch in one area, and are often overrun by corals eventually. They aren't usually a big deal. 

[sr2z]

13 minutes ago, Tired said:

Hydroids tend to just be a small patch in one area, and are often overrun by corals eventually. They aren't usually a big deal. 

I know, I know. I'm just being a little dramatic... 😂

[sr2z]

Update: The tank is running quite fine, I see new growth on my Lime Chilli zoas (aprox. 3 new polyps)... My dove snails are breeding... a lot! I already see 15 baby snails, and they aren´t looking like they are going to stop multiplying any time soon!

And I decided to start a poll... just for the sake of it... Feel free to vote! (Some of the options are quite out of place, like the "clownfish" option... I just want to know what others think, that´s all 😁)

[sr2z]

Some photos...

[Reefkid88]

I can dig it !!! Looking good. 

[Leo_ian]

Ricordia garden?

 

[Tired]

You should keep one goby, of a species that doesn't really get past 1.5" long. Maybe two gobies of that size. Clown gobies, trimma gobies, and antenna shrimpgobies are good options. A two-spot blenny or similar could work on its own. Any other gobies you can find that are super tiny and exclusively perch or sit in a hole would be fine. Neon gobies are maybe a bit active for this tank. Flaming prawn gobies are gorgeous, but rare and a bit pricy. I wouldn't put anything else. Everything else on your list is too active, too large, or both. Oh, and a court jester goby is a fish that needs a lot of algae to nip at, so they're too large, too active, and too fussy of an eater for a 5gal. 

 

Whatever you get, make sure your lid is decent. Small gobies can jump through a 1/4" gap. No matter how unlikely you think it is that they would manage to find the hole, expect that they will find the hole. Seriously. You can find all sorts of stories of people having fish make it out of unbelievably small holes. If you look at the hole and aren't sure if a fish could fit, expect that the fish will fit. 

 

[sr2z]

5 hours ago, Leo_ian said:

Ricordia garden?

 

I wouldn´t call it a garden, but I will be definitely adding more, right next to the ones I have right now! Aaand, I can get them super cheap, like 5 euro for a polyp/5 euro for 2 smaller polyps.

 

10 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

I can dig it !!! Looking good. 

Thanks a lot! The corals were a little closed up and without coloration, because I changed the water 30 minutes before taking the photo. Hopefully, I will take some better ones 😁

 

2 hours ago, Tired said:

You should keep one goby, of a species that doesn't really get past 1.5" long. Maybe two gobies of that size. Clown gobies, trimma gobies, and antenna shrimpgobies are good options. A two-spot blenny or similar could work on its own. Any other gobies you can find that are super tiny and exclusively perch or sit in a hole would be fine. Neon gobies are maybe a bit active for this tank. Flaming prawn gobies are gorgeous, but rare and a bit pricy. I wouldn't put anything else. Everything else on your list is too active, too large, or both. Oh, and a court jester goby is a fish that needs a lot of algae to nip at, so they're too large, too active, and too fussy of an eater for a 5gal. 

Thanks Tired! I made the list from potentially available fish in my LFS, I knew that I wouldn´t be able to keep most of them. Trimma gobies are SUPER HARD to find here, even Stonogobiops shrimp gobies! On the other hand, everybody sells clown gobies etc. I tried my best to find the two-spot/tailspot blenny, but I must wait for the january import of my NSLFS (Not So Local Fish Store... Actually, the nearest FS that stocks corals and marine fish is 60 km away!)... I wasn´t thinking of neon gobies either, just because I think that spending 30 euro on a tiny fish that doesn´t even have to survive a month, I don´t like it too much (etc etc) would be a waste of money. So I narrowed it to three species of blennies and a clown goby. Also, I will narrow the poll down to much fewer fish...

[Tired]

I personally wouldn't put a yellowtail blue damsel in a tank that size, but some people do. Linear blennies get a bit large, IIRC. The other two blennies and the clown gobies are good choices, but you should probably get just one fish for a tank that size. If you ever found trimma gobies for sale, two of them would likely be fine, they're super small. 

 

If you pick a clown goby, insist on seeing it eat before you buy it. Sometimes they won't eat when freshly brought in. It's good to ask to see any given fish eat, but especially important with clown gobies.

[sr2z]

5 minutes ago, Tired said:

I personally wouldn't put a yellowtail blue damsel in a tank that size, but some people do. Linear blennies get a bit large, IIRC. The other two blennies and the clown gobies are good choices, but you should probably get just one fish for a tank that size. If you ever found trimma gobies for sale, two of them would likely be fine, they're super small. 

 

Makes sense.. I left the yellowtail damsel in the poll because it got a lot of votes, and I wanted to know other peoples´ opinions... Finding trimma gobies for sale would be... well... really unusual. I haven´t seen them anywhere yet. The linear blenny gets to about 3½", but because it is available and relatively low priced (14-20 euro), I decided to leave it there... The tailspot blenny gets to about 2½", the two-spot blenny is 1½"... I did some research, and found that my NSLFS has Ecsenius dentex sometimes. It is about as small as the 2spot blenny.

[sr2z]

So, I started to notice increased algae (cyano, diatoms) growth on my sand... The question sounds: What pico reef species would be fine to keep the sand clean? What would you recommend? Thanks!

[Leo_ian]

1 hour ago, sr2z said:

So, I started to notice increased algae (cyano, diatoms) growth on my sand... The question sounds: What pico reef species would be fine to keep the sand clean? What would you recommend? Thanks!

ceriths, expensive in my area so probably expensive in yours too

[Leo_ian]

4 hours ago, sr2z said:

Makes sense.. I left the yellowtail damsel in the poll because it got a lot of votes, and I wanted to know other peoples´ opinions... Finding trimma gobies for sale would be... well... really unusual. I haven´t seen them anywhere yet. The linear blenny gets to about 3½", but because it is available and relatively low priced (14-20 euro), I decided to leave it there... The tailspot blenny gets to about 2½", the two-spot blenny is 1½"... I did some research, and found that my NSLFS has Ecsenius dentex sometimes. It is about as small as the 2spot blenny.

googled that blenny, found out its the same tiny blenny in all the reef books, love how plain it looks , i know an oxymoron. plain fish are the prettiest imo becuase they usually have so much personality, think algae blennies vs firefish

[sr2z]

19 minutes ago, Leo_ian said:

ceriths, expensive in my area so probably expensive in yours too

I already have 1 cerith there, it IS trying, but not too effective even on a small scale... Any other suggestions?

17 minutes ago, Leo_ian said:

googled that blenny, found out its the same tiny blenny in all the reef books, love how plain it looks , i know an oxymoron. plain fish are the prettiest imo becuase they usually have so much personality, think algae blennies vs firefish

Agree... but colorful fish do have something to them, too.

[sr2z]

Anybody?

[farkwar]

41 minutes ago, sr2z said:

Anybody?

What?  CUC?

 

Reefcleaners.org is a little low on stock

 

Try here is you can't find what you want

 

https://www.live-plants.com/index.htm

[farkwar]

Or fish?

 

A Flaming Prawn Goby would be my first choice for a pico reef

 

Never had one before. And they look remarkable

[sr2z]

9 minutes ago, farkwar said:

What?  CUC?

 

Reefcleaners.org is a little low on stock

 

Try here is you can't find what you want

I need only something to clean my sand... except ceriths... Aaand I happen to live in Europe, so I can´t really order from live-plants or reefcleaners... Regardless of that, thanks for your answer!

 

10 minutes ago, farkwar said:

Or fish?

 

A Flaming Prawn Goby would be my first choice for a pico reef

 

Never had one before. And they look remarkable

Although I already have somehow decided on what I will keep (a pico blenny, or a CG.. still have to decide that), I will try and look for a FPG, but I have NEVER EVER seen them on stock anywhere near...

 

 

Some new photos of my tank:

 

From the right side:

 

From the top-left:

 

There are LOTS of pods on the glass (and cyano on the sand):

 

If you have ANY suggestions or ideas on coral you would like to see inside, I am ABSOLUTELY HAPPY to hear about them!

[farkwar]

3 minutes ago, sr2z said:

Aaand I happen to live in Europe,

Well, I didn’t know that🤪

 

3 minutes ago, sr2z said:

need only something to clean my sand.

Get a bunch of snorkle snails

 

Nassarius

[Tired]

Nassarius eat leftover food and don't really do much else. They move the sandbed a tiny bit, but, because they burrow into it and then just sit there until food happens, they don't stir it around enough to have any real use. You definitely wouldn't want a bunch of them in a pico. Maybe one, if you like them. 

 

I would look at what snails you can get locally. Not just from stores- see if you can find a local reef forum and ask if anyone has spare snails. You need very few snails for a tank that size. Ceriths or dwarf ceriths would really be ideal, if you could get some.

[sr2z]

In the means of eradicating the current and preventing future algae (cyano and diatom) blooms, what would you guys suggest:

 

Investing in a bigger CUC:

Currently, I have 1 big cerith, 1 blue-legged hermit crab, 2 fully grown dove snails + aprox. 30 baby dove snails... Maybe adding some nassarius to stir up the sandbed, or more hermits would help?

 

OR

 

Investing in a powerhead:

The circulation pump has a flow of 300lph, or aprox. 75gph, but in reality, it isn´t as strong, mainly because of the amount of filter material I have in the filter... Would increasing the flow using a 600lph or 150gph powerhead work?

 

So, what do you think guys?

[Leo_ian]

12 hours ago, sr2z said:

In the means of eradicating the current and preventing future algae (cyano and diatom) blooms, what would you guys suggest:

 

Investing in a bigger CUC:

Currently, I have 1 big cerith, 1 blue-legged hermit crab, 2 fully grown dove snails + aprox. 30 baby dove snails... Maybe adding some nassarius to stir up the sandbed, or more hermits would help?

 

OR

 

Investing in a powerhead:

The circulation pump has a flow of 300lph, or aprox. 75gph, but in reality, it isn´t as strong, mainly because of the amount of filter material I have in the filter... Would increasing the flow using a 600lph or 150gph powerhead work?

 

So, what do you think guys?

depends on the corals you want, 75 should be good with lps and softies.

i think your CUC is good enough

[sr2z]

So.. It looks I'm going to buy the powerhead and maybe add another hermit crab. Thanks leo_ian! 

[Leo_ian]

15 hours ago, sr2z said:

So.. It looks I'm going to buy the powerhead and maybe add another hermit crab. Thanks leo_ian! 

I’ve said this a lot, if you have snails, no hermits, they kill for shells