4 gallon Pico & Fish

[Tron_954]

I have no experience with pico tanks and we set up the Cadlights 4g Pico for my daughter.

She picked out a small perc clown pair...

Will two clowns be sustainable in this tank?

Carbon, dragons breath macro, and water changes as the export...

 

[imkelz]

I would say no, I wouldnt put any fish in a 4g all in one. If you absolutely have to have a fish perhaps a clown goby.

I think you would be better off with some sexy shrimp

 

[Tron_954]

Well the whole point is she is 5 and she appreciates having her own "Nemo".... kids....

Perhaps one clown?

 

[imkelz]

I wouldnt do it tbh, 4g is just too small for a fish. Remember the actual swimming room would be even less then 4g if it is an all in one.

Maybe ask on the Nano forum? They would have more experience in this arena then I do

 

[sugardaddy1979]

Definitely too small for a pair. I had a pair in a 10 and they did very well. They are much happier now though in my 40. You might get by with one in there, but I'd either do a clown goby or no fish at all in a 4g.

 

[Rybren]

I have a 3G pico and have tried a small clown goby and a small azure damsel (at different times) neither lasted more than a year. I've been fishless for the last couple of years.

There's no way I'd consider a clown.

 

[Betta132]

If she wants to keep her clowns, you need at least 30g. The only thing you can have in a 4g is shrimp or maybe a single neon goby. Neon gobies don't move too much and are tiny, but that's still kinda pushing it.

 

[andrewkw]

A Clown goby may work, the problem isn't so much the fish doesn't have enough room its feeding it enough so the water quality doesn't degrade.

I have a 2 gallon and about 6 weeks ago I added a flaming prawn goby. These guys max out at like 3/4" I actually have him eating cyclopeeze but besides the fact he was $100 not worth adding. I've seen him a total of 6 seconds other then when he was initially dazed when I put him in the tank. Now I HAVE to feed the tank a few times a week which means I HAVE to keep up with water changes.

A pico tank is much more fun fishless. I've been running my pico for almost 4 years now too. Well 3 and a half so I speak from experience.

 

[Tron_954]

How about one of these, the LFS has em

Untitled by J.L Photography, on Flickr

 

[Betta132]

No. That fish is a purple firefish, and he'll get 3" long.
Your options are:
Clown goby
Neon goby
Flaming prawn goby
But they'll all require more care than just a nano with shrimp.
If you want fish, get a bigger tank.

 

[Tron_954]

I have a bigger tank, don't try and be smart. This is my daughter's bedroom tank, and I have no experience with Pico tanks, as to why I am asking, thanks for the help.

 

[Fish Biscuit]

I would go with a clown goby or set up a bigger tank for the pair of clowns. Maybe find a used biocube or one on sale somewhere.

 

[Betta132]

Sorry, that came out differently than in my head.
I second the Biocube thing. I bet you can get a used 29 pretty cheap, and that would be a great size for your daughter's clown pair.

 

[andrewkw]

Since is for your daughter how about a trio of sexy shrimp? They dance dance dance and will likely captivate her. They are however not so reef safe and will slowly eat away at your corals. They're small so they can't do that much damage but in a pico you may notice things being eaten.

 

[accordsirh22]

since when do sexy shrimp eat corals??? mine never have.

but as others said. that tank is too small for any fish other than the 2-4 listed.

 

[Betta132]

Ooh, I'd forgotten that the sexy shrimp dance... I know I like watching them! You can get them a couple of those fuzzy mushrooms to host, that's cool to watch. And you could easily put 3-5 in there... They're teensy.

 

[CedzAquAddictio]

Throw a clown goby in there, and tell her it will only grow it's white stripes in the wild. It worked for a tank I set up for my niece...

 

[imkelz]

Maybe a cleaner shrimp? Jacques is pretty awesome too lol.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I wonder what has killed more clownfish: not using a QT or the cartoon "Nemo". I actually saw a woman buying a clown and a goldfish bowl for her kids (Petco) after seeing the movie. I found out in a hurry that she sure as hell didn't want my opinion or advice.

 

[CedzAquAddictio]

I wonder what has killed more clownfish: not using a QT or the cartoon "Nemo". I actually saw a woman buying a clown and a goldfish bowl for her kids (Petco) after seeing the movie. I found out in a hurry that she sure as hell didn't want my opinion or advice.

I'm sure that poor fish didn't make it 48 hours (if it survived the move to the bowl at all)...