2 gallon, first week

I really like this. I want to make one.

Thanks! It's a lot of work, but I love it.

Holy balls! Is that a clown in there?! :omgomg:

Yes it was, but it had marine ich. I knew better, it looked thin at the pet store. Now I wait 10 days and get another (smaller species) fish. Thats how long it takes for the protozoan to die. There are no other vertebrate vectors in the tank so it should be fine. I am considering Dwarf seahorses, which would be perfect for the space. The Percula would have gotten too big anyway.

The inch of swimming room probably didnt help his cause either. Lol

The Percula had plenty of room, perhaps you have perceptual problems Mr. nor_cal_nano. He wasn't well when I got him, and I've learned my lesson.

And to you Mr. "i leave my identity blank" what the @#$#$ do you think ANY aquarium space is compared to the ocean? Daft

Y'know I joined this forum to get helpful information, and for comradery with fellow reefers who like small tanks, but I have yet to glean anything exept snide comments from some of you. So kindly keep you fingers off my thread unless you have something constructive to say. You guys sound like you must still be in high school. Now if you want to have a discussion on the topic of the morality of keeping organisms as pets in our homes I will chime in. If you want to start a discussion about how many gallons of saltwater will support how many inches of fish, I will be glad to listen. Otherwise can the teenage bs.

You aren't going to convince anyone that you know what you are doing with a "tank" that looks like that. You must not have spent much time on this site before joining. Clowns can put in smaller systems, but there is a general consensus that the minimum is around 1 small clown per five gallons. It's not exact no, and it's certainly not the size of the ocean, but your logic there is flawed greatly. My backyard is pretty big, my dog lives there, but the woods behind it are much bigger. Still the dog is born and raised in captivity, much like your clownfish, and does not know what the woods even are. But I promise you he can tell the difference between being locked in the laundry room and the backyard. Don't be an ass. Oh and one more thing, marine ich is only a death sentence to people who do not know what they are doing. I could have taken your "doomed" fish and he would have been all better in about a week in one of my setups. I am a friendly guy most of the time, but no one said anything to you to merit your little outburst. Only the truth was spoken. Your tank is too small for a clown, you killed the clown not ich. It's true, deal with it.

Well at least you aren't telling me not to have fish for the enjoyment of it's viewers. I'm sure this forum loses a LOT of new members simply because if they make a mistake they are criticized with no real informative explanations. You sound a little more reasonable, and are explaining exactly why you think my fish died. That's all I ask. I was under the impression it was 2 or 3 gallons for every inch of fish, the clown was an inch long. I planned to move it to a bigger tank when it started getting bigger. I see lots of pics of 5 gallon tanks with more than one clownfish, and other fish to boot. But I will certainly take your general consensus of 5 gallons per fish for clownfish under advisement. The 'tank' magnifies the contents, so I can see how, from the picture, it looks like there isn't enough room for a fish to swim around, but it is deceiving as far as that goes. What exactly do you mean by "a 'tank' that looks like that"? PLEASE EXPLAIN. As to having a fish of any kind in my 'tank', I think it depends on the water quality and whether or not the individual fish will thrive. I was not trying to be an ass, I was just reacting to being "yelled at" with no real explanation. How would you have cured the ich? I gave the clownfish a 10 minute fresh water bath each day for 2 days. He seemed to be doing better, died the morning after the 2nd day. Please tell me what you would have done. I am here to learn. Oh, and I do understand the closet versus backyard analogy. But the statement "How will you like in a cramped space like this for other people watch you for their amusement? Why don't you just use it for growing tiger pods, instead of torturing animals that don't belong to small spaces?" is ridiculous. That kind of statement does nothing useful in my opinion. I think HE was being an ass, otherwise he would have said "A 2 gallon tank is too small for a clownfish, and that contributed to its death"

Yeah man, I appreciate the intelligent reply. You will see a lot of people cramming things that do not belong in small tanks on this forum. Thing is, they won't last. For every one comment saying "Cool tank, awesome! Is that a flame angel in there? Saweet!"

You will see fifteen comments telling the person how stupid they are. And btw making a mistake with fish selection is not what makes someone stupid. It is when eighty percent of the community tell them otherwise and give valid reasons why, and they persist anyway.

What I meant by "a tank like that" was basically a rude comment. A may or may not be fully cycled, air stone fueled, iced tea dispenser. You are right that people keep small tanks now, but usually if it's under five gallons it's basically a coral tank with some decorative inverts. Maybe a clown goby. Inch per gallon is archaic and totally farse. Pink Anthias is a 3-4 inch little pink fish, they require very large tanks for long term success. Long term success should be the ultimate goal. Too many people start these gimmicky picos (not saying you) with the mentality of, "I wonder how long I can keep this up until it has an epic crash, lol" Hardly anyone has long term in mind with these little tanks. Most people keep them for six months, they crash or interest is lost, and on to the next fad in the hobby. Meanwhile three clowns that did not have to die...die, coral dies, etc. These things are alive, and I feel a lot of people lose grasp or respect of that fact.

I made a joke thread a while back about a pico tank in a contact lens case. Most people were clearly aware I was joking and were actually playing along. But believe it or not, some people actually thought I was serious and were trying to offer legit advice and planning. I made it as a joke to show how stupid this forced fad for ugly ass, unorthodox, totally non-practical, pickle jar picos that are fail boxes in the long run is. Get yourself an AIO, or hell even a jbj pico, it was DESIGNED for it.

Oh and about the ich. Honestly it's minimal stress, great diet, calm water, a little vit-c, and a mature system that will pull them out of that. They are stressed when you buy them, they are also babies. Babies have weak immune systems. There is not one thing that causes or cures it, but having a mature, proper set-up is step one always when dealing with any sort of ailment.

The setup you have is doable (minus the fish) but honestly picos are tricky dicky . You said earlier you have not much experience at all other than old skool theory and books. With proper research this kind of "tank" can work and last a while. The reason I say to get something proper first is so that if you DO have a problem with something in the experimental pico, you have a more traditional setup to move things into/out of so nothing has to die.

Thank you very very much. All points well taken, especially the having a larger tank for creatures that aren't working out in the pico part. Greatly appreciated, and a fabulous excuse to get a bigger tank. Lol on the contact lens post. That is epic. I have done hours upon hours upon hours of research since I started the tank, plus have had the advice of a guy who has several tanks and 40+ years of hands-on experience. The problem with the research has been that no two advice(s) are the same. No advice is as good as hands-on experience so I have been trying to take the middle road on conflicting advice. The guy with 40+ years experience tells me there is no reason it won't work, given the water change every week or so and the introduction of lots of macro algae. He also says there is no reason to believe I can't have a small fish. I tend to go with his advice. When you look at his tanks it is blatantly obvious he knows what he is doing. He told me ich is extremely common with clownfish and difficult to cure, and advised the freshwater bath. But he did warn me the chances were slim. Again, thank you for the informative comments, I will put them to good use.

The vitamin C in the tank is a very interesting idea. For future reference how much?