Just wanted to confirm 3 gallon reef stocking.

[Obsessed with fish]

Hi, i am making a 3 gallon reef, i will stock it with:

1 clown goby

1 or 2 porcelain crabs

1 zoas coral

1 leather coral

2 palys or mushroom corals.

I know it will be a lot of work, ill do daily water changes if needed. If i cant have the porcelain crabs are there any other crabs or other things that can be in the tank with the goby. Will those corals be fine. What maintenance will i need to do for it to thrive. Thankyou all! This is just a confirmation thing so i know what im getting, if i cant ill get something different.

 

[ahiggins]

You’re going to see a lot of mixed reviews on fish for tanks that small.
personally, I would be fine with the clown goby but you’ll see many people who say it should be crab/invert only at that small.
My biggest piece of advice is start with mature live rock. You do NOT want to battle the normal crap in a tank that small.
coral is all relative. Softies and leathers should be fine as long as theyre small. I’ve seen some gorgeous sps and lps pico tanks but those are “expert” level dedication haha

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I would suggest a Hippo Tang, Powder Blue Surgeon Tang, Sailfin Tang and a Blonde Naso Tang...of course now you have ceviche instead of an aquarium!!

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hi, i am making a 3 gallon reef, i will stock it with:

1 clown goby

1 or 2 porcelain crabs

1 zoas coral

1 leather coral

2 palys or mushroom corals.

I know it will be a lot of work, ill do daily water changes if needed. If i cant have the porcelain crabs are there any other crabs or other things that can be in the tank with the goby. Will those corals be fine. What maintenance will i need to do for it to thrive. Thankyou all! This is just a confirmation thing so i know what im getting, if i cant ill get something different.

im not sure the goby will be happy in that small of a tank, they need like 20 gallons at least

 

[Obsessed with fish]

You’re going to see a lot of mixed reviews on fish for tanks that small.
personally, I would be fine with the clown goby but you’ll see many people who say it should be crab/invert only at that small.
My biggest piece of advice is start with mature live rock. You do NOT want to battle the normal crap in a tank that small.
coral is all relative. Softies and leathers should be fine as long as theyre small. I’ve seen some gorgeous sps and lps pico tanks but those are “expert” level dedication haha

Thanks, this will be my 1st sw

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I would suggest a Hippo Tang, Powder Blue Surgeon Tang, Sailfin Tang and a Blonde Naso Tang...of course now you have ceviche instead of an aquarium!!

Sound cool! I love tangs.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

im not sure the goby will be happy in that small of a tank, they need like 20 gallons at least

OK, I'll research some other things.

 

[fluked]

OK, I'll research some other things.

A 3G is too small for any fish imo. I could see a clown goby working in a 5G (maybe). Not accounting for filtration of course, but a 5G is the minimum size for a betta, so i don't see why a CG would need much more space. Obviously ideal is 20+.

 

[Udest]

How about Paedocypris progenetica
BIt really main thing about 3g of water is it can be done yes but it won't be stable things can go wrong real fast on that little water.

i should know my 5 gal went bad real fast when I dropped too much phytoplankton in.

 

[polyppal]

A single clown goby will be fine in that pico, they mostly just sit around anyways. I suggest a single ball/block of biomedia to elevate bacteria colony and help keep perimeters a bit more stable

 

[WallyB]

Neon Goby's are neat small fish. You could probably get a couple, if they get along.

Here is what they look up close.

They are small and stay small.

They are also cleaner fish that will clean other fish. My Tang actually comes to the goby to get cleaned.
They will eat pretty well anything you feed them (small pieces).

 

[Udest]

You could also do a coral croucher as well they are tiny.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Neon Goby's are neat small fish. You could probably get a couple, if they get along.

Here is what they look up close.

They are small and stay small.

They are also cleaner fish that will clean other fish. My Tang actually comes to the goby to get cleaned.
They will eat pretty well anything you feed them (small pieces).

wow! I love neon gobys.

 

[TCoach]

I have a shark nose goby. Very similar to the Neon and also aquacultured. Like the neon, stays small, eats prepared food, and in my 92 gallon, performs cleaning duties.

 

[TCoach]

Also, if this is truly your first SW tank, I would recommend you go larger if possible. As has already been mentioned, small SW tanks can go south very quickly. "Cutting your teeth" on a 20-40 gallon tank will give you a chance to learn and make mistakes that you can recover from. The 3 gallon does not leave you that kind of room.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I have a shark nose goby. Very similar to the Neon and also aquacultured. Like the neon, stays small, eats prepared food, and in my 92 gallon, performs cleaning duties.

I like them! Hard desision. So many gobies.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Also, if this is truly your first SW tank, I would recommend you go larger if possible. As has already been mentioned, small SW tanks can go south very quickly. "Cutting your teeth" on a 20-40 gallon tank will give you a chance to learn and make mistakes that you can recover from. The 3 gallon does not leave you that kind of room.

i do have a 22 gallon FW tank with 5 swarts cory catfish, 8 neon tetras and a male dwarf gourami. I am going to make a 25 gallon pond in a few months, i know this sounds a bit silly, but could you make SW pond. With corals and fish in the SW pond. If SW ponds are possible, i could put the goby in the 3 gallon and when i make the maybye SW pond i could put the goby in it.

 

[TCoach]

i do have a 22 gallon FW tank with 5 swarts cory catfish, 8 neon tetras and a male dwarf gourami. I am going to make a 25 gallon pond in a few months, i know this sounds a bit silly, but could you make SW pond. With corals and fish in the SW pond. If SW ponds are possible, i could put the goby in the 3 gallon and when i make the maybye SW pond i could put the goby in it.

I would talk with some local experts. I suppose it is possible, but would be a lot of work, and if it is truly outdoor like a FW pond, it would be hard to keep stable between rain, sun, and possibly city pollution.

 

[tautog83]

I'd keep reading the sticky threads on here before you start anything .

 

[Obsessed with fish]

ok, thanks. Ill probably not do the SW pond thing. I live in Australia so its boiling out here. Its probably not a good idea, FW pond would be safer.