1.5 gallon advice.

[Feeshrfriendsnotfood]

So I have this 1.5 gallon tank that I’m raising a mangrove in to “bonsai” it’s currently stocked with a few Asterina stars I grabbed from my main display, but I was thinking 1 maybe a slightly higher bioload would benefit my tree and 2 another visible critter would be cute. So any advice for a tank that small? Mustn’t be able to jump or cra

 

[ichthyogeek]

So I'm loving all of the healthy Caulerpa prolifera you have in that tank.

A "tiny predator" like a frogfish would work (it can't really climb out of the tank). And the added bioload would take care of a lot of the nitrogen needs for both Caulerpa and the mangrove. You might want to add a few snails though, to nip off any microalgae that starts to grow. And of course, you'd need to be mindful of testing for all water parameters especially after feedings just to make sure too much nutrients isn't gone.

Dwarf seahorses are another idea. As long as you're mindful of hydroids, the constant influx of baby brine shrimp would provide lots of nutrients.

Third, would be a colony of Endler's livebearers. They're not super jumpy fish in my experience, and they're also quite colorful.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Invertebrate wise, if you have the capabilities, a harlequin shrimp pair would be cool. Sexy shrimp or one of the Lysmata shrimp would also be an interesting look as well.

 

[Feeshrfriendsnotfood]

So I'm loving all of the healthy Caulerpa prolifera you have in that tank.

A "tiny predator" like a frogfish would work (it can't really climb out of the tank). And the added bioload would take care of a lot of the nitrogen needs for both Caulerpa and the mangrove. You might want to add a few snails though, to nip off any microalgae that starts to grow. And of course, you'd need to be mindful of testing for all water parameters especially after feedings just to make sure too much nutrients isn't gone.

Dwarf seahorses are another idea. As long as you're mindful of hydroids, the constant influx of baby brine shrimp would provide lots of nutrients.

Third, would be a colony of Endler's livebearers. They're not super jumpy fish in my experience, and they're also quite colorful.

Hmm you actually give me an idea... it’s too risky for me to be willing to try buuut. I wonder if Pygmy seahorses would eat Endler/guppy fry?

 

[ichthyogeek]

So I’ve heard that adult large seahorses (6”+, H. erectus and similarly sized species) will go after livebearer fry, but I’ve not heard of dwarves going after livebearer fry. Something makes me think that the fry might be too large for dwarves to go after.