3 gallon stocking

[spec33]

does this sound like a good stocking plan for a 3 gallon
1 nerite
1 cerith
1 astrea
5 very tiny blue legged hermits
1 clown goby or neon goby. Or possibly a very small yellowtail damsel
Would I be able to add a pompom crab?

 

[Joeganja]

I wouldn't do a damsel just because it may be aggressive towards the goby since it would only be 2 fish in the tank. Be careful some nano gobies eat sps coral. They can have teeth.

 

[Mele__Reef]

I currently have a 3 gallon pico running for 3 months now and I have
2- red leg hermit
1- blue leg hermit
1-trokus snail
1- turbo snail
1-nano clown
1-green chromis damsel which will grow out of the 3 gallon in 2 months or so...

And I don't have any aggression or water parameter issues. Just keep up with your water changes, and keep testing water levels. Hope this helps.

 

[spec33]

I currently have a 3 gallon pico running for 3 months now and I have
2- red leg hermit
1- blue leg hermit
1-trokus snail
1- turbo snail
1-nano clown
1-green chromis damsel which will grow out of the 3 gallon in 2 months or so...

And I don't have any aggression or water parameter issues. Just keep up with your water changes, and keep testing water levels. Hope this helps.

what kind of clown is it? Do you plan on moving it eventualy?

 

[Mele__Reef]

It's an ocellaris clown. I have plans to upgrade to a 45 gallon jbj rimless all in one . But not because of the tank mates. I want more room to Aquascape and load it up with corals.
My advice is whatever fish you go with just make sure that you choose the smallest one and feed every other day to keep it from growing to quick and maintain healthy water paramaters.

 

[SandJ]

My advice is whatever fish you go with just make sure that you choose the smallest one and feed every other day to keep it from growing to quick and maintain healthy water paramaters.

Stunting a fish's growth by not feeding enough may not be the healthiest way to stock a nano tank :0/

 

[spec33]

okay how does this sound
5 hermits
1 cerith 1 astrea 1 nerite
I think im going to go with a clown goby since they stay really small. But ive heard they can be picky eaters? Has anyone been able to get them to eat pellets?

Would I be able to add a peppermint sheimp or would it be overstocked

And finally just a bunch of random soft corals

 

[Mele__Reef]

From what I have researched, seen on these forums, and information given by other friends in the hobby as well as LFS. Lots of people feed every other day.

 

[SandJ]

From what I have researched, seen on these forums, and information given by other friends in the hobby as well as LFS. Lots of people feed every other day.

From what I have researched, small frequent meals are more natural for the fish. We feed twice a day.

And there may be benefits to feeding every other day (off to do some more research). The only time we feed every other day is when we are gone and someone else is feeding. But saying not to feed to keep the fish from growing does not seem healthy for the fish.

 

[Chrisfish]

okay how does this sound
5 hermits
1 cerith 1 astrea 1 nerite
I think im going to go with a clown goby since they stay really small. But ive heard they can be picky eaters? Has anyone been able to get them to eat pellets?

Would I be able to add a peppermint sheimp or would it be overstocked

And finally just a bunch of random soft corals

My first SW tank was a 3 gal. That was FW and I converted it, very quickly I got hooked and went to a 8 gal. And now have a 30 gal. Reef tank I had live sand, live rock and a very small clown fish and few snails. A hob filter, aqua clear, heater and a hydor wave maker(smallest one they have)and a few very small soft corals.

 

[LetItReef]

PomPom crab tends to hide a lot.
I have 3 Sexy shrimps, a red Hermit, a Nerite and a banded Serpent sea star on a 3g.
I just could not do it adding a smallest fish on a 3g.

 

[Mele__Reef]

I don't see anything wrong with feeding small amounts twice a day every other day for a tank that small and that many tank mates. It is also a good idea because it is healthy for their digestive system. These fish are domesticated and we feed them manufactured foods. Which is not the same quality diet they consume in their natural environment. Feeding twice a day every day for a tank that small is not healthy because of the excess waste they will produce which means multiple water changes weekly. I test my parameters constantly and when I feed every day nitrates go up. Every other day nitrates are in check. And by feeding them every other day as I suggested will not fatten them up which will slow their growth in the process. I know because I have a solid running 3 gallon.

From what I have researched, small frequent meals are more natural for the fish. We feed twice a day.

And there may be benefits to feeding every other day (off to do some more research). The only time we feed every other day is when we are gone and someone else is feeding. But saying not to feed to keep the fish from growing does not seem healthy for the fish.

 

[spec33]

PomPom crab tends to hide a lot.
I have 3 Sexy shrimps, a red Hermit, a Nerite and a banded Serpent sea star on a 3g.
I just could not do it adding a smallest fish on a 3g.

I would get sexy shrimp but they are fairly exspensive at my lfs

 

[spec33]

I think im going to give a couple of the hermits to the lfs. Also im probably going to give the cerith to the lfs because its huge and I didnt realize just how out of place it looks in the 3 gallon. Finally ill probably be getting a clown goby. The lfs has a really cool black one there that seems very healthy.

 

[DeniseAndy]

5 blue legs are asking to be down to one and no snails. I have had nothing but trouble with those guys. Then again, maybe I got the wrong species.

I would stick to the snails and a scarlet hermit. Should have sand with a cerith, but not necessary. Atreas are good, but if they fall over they will die. Dumb things. Kind of like sheep. heehee

Personally, I would only keep a nano fish in a 3gal. Maybe a shrimp goby pair to make if fun. There are tons of choices in the smaller size. Neon goby pair or masked goby pair would be cool too. Could depend on coral you keep.

 

[spec33]

im hoping the hermits dont kill the snails. The hermits are realllyyyyy tiny like less than a quarter the size of each snail. Plus I drop a shrimp pellet in for them every now and again. I was thinking a clown goby aince thats the smallest nano fish ive seen. Every neon goby Ive seen seems rather large compared to a clown goby.

 

[rlman41299]

It's an ocellaris clown. I have plans to upgrade to a 45 gallon jbj rimless all in one . But not because of the tank mates. I want more room to Aquascape and load it up with corals.
My advice is whatever fish you go with just make sure that you choose the smallest one and feed every other day to keep it from growing to quick and maintain healthy water paramaters.

I am not saying your advice is wrong but misleading. Choosing the smallest size fish to your liking is not a good advice IMO. What if I have a 5 gallon tank and I want a naso tang? Should I choose the smallest one and feed 2x a day so it will not grow?
I am sure what you are trying to say was "choose the smallest fish appropriate for your size of tank".

 

[spec33]

does 5 hermits 3 snails and a small goby seem like too much of a bioload for this tank? Has anyone managed to get clown gobies to eat pellets? I feel like a small perc or oc clown would outgrow this size tank fast. I would love to get one but I would feel kind of bad.

 

[DeniseAndy]

The green clowns or the yellow clowns stay little. The citrons get much larger. Panda gobies are little too. That load should be fine. Just make sure to keep up on maintenance. Keep an eye on algae growth. If it is out of control or lots of detritus, you have too much. Did you say you were doing corals?

 

[Mark75]

Choosing fish based on their size when young or grown is antiquated and incorrect.

Some relatively large fish are not "roamers" and would be perfectly happy living out their life traveling just inches from their home rock while other smaller fish are happiest swimming constantly exploring. You must consider size and the effect it will have on your tanks bio load but just because a fish is small does not mean it is a good candidate for a small tank.