pico creature list

[Mihai]

Hi,

I saw Matt's nano fish list, but I'm curious about a pico (say <1 gallon) creature list. First, is there any fish suitable? I was thinking about a small goby (say yellow, clown or red head goby), but I'm not sure if it would not be too small for it.

If the fish is out of question, then what's the best next thing? It has to be moving... I'm thinking hermit crabs, what else?

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

sexy shrimp. toss 3 or 4 in there and they'll be quite happy.

 

[tinyreef]

emerald crabs are another possible choice (altho i don't trust crabs). herms are fine (usually).

maybe one of the lettuce nudis but you'll continually need fresh algae for them.

or maybe bumble bee snails and such (i'm assuming you want color and action).

marine ghost shrimp are cool too (jumpers tho!). maybe a blood shrimp depending on your rockscape.

 

[Mihai]

So fish are pretty much out...
M.

 

[Mihai]

So fish are pretty much out...
M.

 

[tinyreef]

not really.

 

[tinyreef]

not really.




i've kept some very questionable fish loads in <3-gal. ranges. :roll: it's up to you to want to keep up with the maintenance tho. the constant monitoring and adjustment (e.g. keeping salinity within a tolerable range) became 'work' instead of 'hobby' for me and i backed out of the really tiny reefs. :wink:

 

[brandon4291]

Good call on that. I think if one is willing to adjust water changes or system designs to handle the new nitrogen tolerances, then fish-in-picos can't be ruled out. I have used cherry-heads before with some success but wanted to be much more lazier on water maintenance than what was required. Coral-only had spoiled me. And, I think the little rascal died by being stung by a hammer coral...but that's my guess. You guys ever hear of marine fishes being stung by LPS or are they sensitized/immune in some way like the clowns? I figure it probably has to do with nematocyst emission on the part of the coral rather than fish receptivity...

I have used with success in my picos:
bumblebee conchs, like them very much
hermits, although they bulldoze precisely-glued fragments commonly, I don't use them anymore
#1 alltime favorite is Lybia Tesselatta, marquesan boxer crab. Long lived, easy to feed, molted regularly and loved his 8-inch territory until he was murdered by a malfunctioned home AC
-juvenile stenopus boxer shrimp, love him too. Had him in my 8-inch pico for 1+year now. He will be the focus of a size-conformity thread in the making...
-what I really want, but haven't seen yet, are the Hawaiian red shrimps found in those ECOSHPERE setups. Heck, if they can live in that setting for 1-3 years then a pico should be like a castle with all the furnishings!

 

[Mihai]

i've kept some very questionable fish loads in <3-gal. ranges. :roll: it's up to you to want to keep up with the maintenance tho. the constant monitoring and adjustment (e.g. keeping salinity within a tolerable range) became 'work' instead of 'hobby' for me and i backed out of the really tiny reefs. :wink:

I see. I don't want to push it with the tests and maintenance. Actually if it ends up in my office it will have to make it through a weekend unattended. I think I'll pass on the fish. However, it seemed to me that salinity is the last thing I need to worry with the fish, and it's more of an issue for the inverts (and corals) than with the fish...

I thought that with a fish the main problem is the waste they produce as well as the well-being of a fish in such a small container.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't put a Gobiodon spp. in a 1 gallon bowl. They get pretty big, and are "chunky" for their length--a 1" Gobiodon is much more biomass than a 1" Trimma or Eviota goby. They also are much more active than either of these gobies. Having said that I would put either an Eviota or Trimma in there, and wouldn't be surprised if it could spend its whole life in a 1 gallon bowl.

Other good candidates, IMO:
Sexy Shrimp, as mentioned.
Bumblebee Shrimp
Small hermits


Possibilities if you didn't mind doing frequent water changes:

Some Stonogobiops spp, particularly S. nematodes and yasha
Diademichthys lineatus
Some Gobiosoma spp.


But my very first choice would be an Eviota goby. This guy hangs out in my 20 gallon, and probably could be caught by a large amphipod When I had to catch him recently I used a turkey baster to suck him up. Probably 1/2" from head to tail.

Not my pics, btw.

Eviota pellucida

 

[Mihai]

I have used with success in my picos:
bumblebee conchs, like them very much
hermits, although they bulldoze precisely-glued fragments commonly, I don't use them anymore
#1 alltime favorite is Lybia Tesselatta, marquesan boxer crab. Long lived, easy to feed, molted regularly and loved his 8-inch territory until he was murdered by a malfunctioned home AC
-juvenile stenopus boxer shrimp, love him too. Had him in my 8-inch pico for 1+year now. He will be the focus of a size-conformity thread in the making...
-what I really want, but haven't seen yet, are the Hawaiian red shrimps found in those ECOSHPERE setups. Heck, if they can live in that setting for 1-3 years then a pico should be like a castle with all the furnishings!

Thanks, sounds like crabs and shrimps are nice options if they stay small. I'll keep an eye on the LFS stock and order one online if I can't find one local.

Thanks,
M.

 

[Mihai]

Matt, that looks like a very cool and small fish!
It must be quite a sight to see one sucked up in a turkey baster .

I'll keep my eyes open for one,
Thanks,
M.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a camel shrimp in mine <1gal with one hermit and two snails and an assortment of corals...