Is there such a thing as too small for a reef?

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by sigmoid, Jun 22, 2013.

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  1. DBOSHIBBY

    DBOSHIBBY Sleeper Shark

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    I have a 4g running on my work desk.
    Hob filter and a nano powerhead and weekly 1g water changes are doing the trick. I have roughly 30g of premixed salt water on hand for my 100g so its easy to grab a gallon every friday and take it to work.
     
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  3. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    that's right!! Drew does!! I knew there were a few! Man, this old brain has trouble with names :(
     
  4. Boywithafishtan

    Boywithafishtan Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Clown Goby is a fish that i can reccommend. They are relatively hardy, just like most other species of gobies. Its also very colorful. You can get a yellow, a black, a brown and a green species :) Cool little fish. They are really tiny and reef safe. They will sit on corals too!
     
  5. sigmoid

    sigmoid Astrea Snail

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    Wow these are cute.
    Hm would it be happy in a 4G system with zoas? :) Also, what kind of cleaner inverts should I look at?
     
  6. 1.0reef

    1.0reef Giant Squid

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    Some people have a hard time feeding them due to their small mouths. Also two in a tiny tank will end up with one.
    And they eat sps, ora breeds some neat species. Usually pretty easy to keep and they are captive bred.
    There are quite a few people on NR who have small <5 gallon reefs.
     
  7. 1.0reef

    1.0reef Giant Squid

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    Here are some shrimp to consider:
    Thor amboinensis- Often resides in small nems plus corals IIRC, may pick at corals
    Periclimenes brevicarpalis- A neat species that also resides in nems and similar corals
    Anclyomenes venustus- Same as above
    Urocaridella sp. C- very small cleaner, more expensive than the other however
    Here's some gobies to look into:
    Elacatinus sp. (oceanops, figaro, evelynae, macrodon, multifasciatum, puncticulatus)
    Priolepis sp
    Astrabe sp
    There are two genus of mico gobies but I didn't list them because of their super short lifespans (5 months-2 years
     
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  9. sigmoid

    sigmoid Astrea Snail

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    What do clown gobies eat by the way?
     
  10. Boywithafishtan

    Boywithafishtan Coral Banded Shrimp

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    They can be challenging to feed, but they are really fun creatures, and perfect for a small nano.
     
  11. sigmoid

    sigmoid Astrea Snail

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    Yea from what I read up on them, they either
    a. are really challenging to feed anything but free-swimming live food
    b. never eat anything but free-swimming live food
    c. never eat anything but SPS coral polyps (***!)
    Also, it seems most people recommend having a branching SPS in the tank for them, and some places I read that they may be stung by softies they accidentally try to sit on.

    What are your experiences? Is stinging an issue with paly / zoa colonies?
    As for food, I'm thinking I'd try culturing rotifers using the aereated soda bottles method, and free-swimming pods in a HOB fuge... I wonder if that should be enough to keep one of these fed.

    I guess the palys and zoas would also be super happy about the rotifers.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2013
  12. 1.0reef

    1.0reef Giant Squid

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    I wouldn't think a coral would be happy with the fact that a fish is sitting on them, but sps are the only ones that are actually eaten.
    I've seen many eat prepared, it's just kinda hard, especially with such a tiny fish.
    JMO Culturing rotifers and pods is a waste of time with these fish.