3 Gallon Picotope

kramer172000

kramer172000

New Member
I am going to be setting up the new JBJ 29 gallon HQI tank once I get the money. I thought in the meantime I might set up a 3 gallon picotope just for fun. It'll have 6 watts of PC per gallon, so I was just wondering what everyone thought about this. I'd like to get some small corals, an emerald crab and maybe one tiny fish??
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
maybe a tiny goby.
But by the time you put in some flow and a heater, there will be very little room for livestock. I think it would be too small for any fish to really be happy, but you can set it up for some zoo's or so on.
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
A lot of people keep small gobies in their picos. And while 3 gallons doesn't sound like a lot, the dimensions of the pico actually allow for quite a bit of aquascaping.
 
kramer172000

kramer172000

New Member
Great thanks for the good advice! Keep it coming if you have any! I figure that once I get the 29 nano cube, water changes will be easy for the pico: just take water from the bigger tank and throw it in the pico (once they are both established of course).
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Originally Posted by KRAMER172000
Great thanks for the good advice! Keep it coming if you have any! I figure that once I get the 29 nano cube, water changes will be easy for the pico: just take water from the bigger tank and throw it in the pico (once they are both established of course).
I wouldn't take "used" water from the main tank and put it in the pico when you do water changes. Just make a little extra saltwater for your pico every time you do a water change. Also, evaporation in the pico is kind of a pain, so keep some freshwater on hand for daily top offs.
 
smork81

smork81

Member
I have had a pico 3g for a while now but have not set it up yet due to the fact that I still am unsure on what 1 fish i want and also I moved desk recently and had to wait to get moved to my new desk. So I will be watching this thread and asking questions too if thats cool with you Kramer172000. I don't want to hijack this thread but I need the same info you do.
Maybe we can get some nice people to help us! heh
 
kramer172000

kramer172000

New Member
Smork, feel free to use this as you need it, it's not hijacking! :) We'll learn some good stuff together. A person at my LFS said a clown will work in the 3g pico but I think she's crazy and just wanted to sell a fish
 
nygel

nygel

Active Member
small shrimpgobies (small! no watchman type) and clown gobies. or if you wanna go with a cold water tank a catalina, they're some of the most stunning fish.
 
autofreak44

autofreak44

Active Member
Originally Posted by KRAMER172000
Smork, feel free to use this as you need it, it's not hijacking! :) We'll learn some good stuff together. A person at my LFS said a clown will work in the 3g pico but I think she's crazy and just wanted to sell a fish
yeah probably
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Originally Posted by autofreak44
yeah probably
Actually, on another forum I've seen pics of a guy's pico with a false perc clown in it that he's had running for quite a while.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
The chance of a fish living in a 3 gallon long term is very very low.
Try a pair of Cleaner Shrimp or some other small invert.
 
clay12340

clay12340

Member
I have to agree with Bang Guy. Keeping a fish in a 3g tank seems inhumane to me. Even a 1 inch fish has very little space and the water parameters are going to shift constantly in such a tiny space.
Get a small colony of colorful zoas and maybe a few other small soft coral frags that interest you. Add a nass snail and a brightly colored shrimp or crab and you should have an interesting display that isn't torturous to the inhabitants.
A dog can live for years in a tiny kennel, but it isn't exactly what I'd call humane. I personally wouldn't keep any fish in a tank smaller than 10 gallons.
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
I have a picotope also. I am running a 24W Odyssea as well as the 9W stock lighting. On the back I have an AC30 and the stock picofilter for flow and circulation. I have a hydor 7.5W heater that keeps the tank between 74-78.
As some of the others said, evaporation is a huge issue. I topoff in the morning and at night. I only have about 4lbs of live rock (almost rubble) so there is room to aquascape. I have 3 astrea snails, 1 blueleg hermit, several zoos, GSP, ricordea and frogspawn all living happily. I plan on adding a few sexy shrimp soon, but a fish would add too much bioload in my opinion. A clown goby Might have enough space but it is pushing it. You will have to put some pictures up when you get it set up though.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I was thinking about this a bit lately.
I don't think the Clown Goby is a good idea but i believe a mated pair of Neon Gobies could work. I say this only because they can be found in small tidal pools occationally and therefore must be versitile enough to withstand huge changes in parameters.
I'm still not suggesting a fish for that small of a tank but if you must have a fish then Neon Gobies may have a chance. They have a low activity level so their bioload is fairly small.
Feeding is a huge problem in a tank that size though. You'll need to keep them fed but always hungry.
 
smork81

smork81

Member
I was thinking zoas and shrimp stuff like that...ive posted on this before and everyone flamed me for wanting to keep a fish in a 3g..I do not think it is inhumane if you take care of it and its small enough..the neons would be cool i think..Just my opinion...Someone had mentioned a fire or flame goby not sure on the name but its white and has a long fin on the top...They said htey had kept that in their pico for a while now and said the fish seemed fine and hasnt been Ill affected as far as he knew. I still haven't set up my pico...I just moved desk at work so i was waiting to do that plus i cant bring cameras in to work its not allowed..SO i won't even be able to post pics unless i sneek a camera in...for which i could get fired! :scared: So maybe i can get a decent shot with my phone heh..But id like to hear from some more people that have pico's with a fish in it...Anyone willing to let us know??
 
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