Whats your favorite nano/pico fish?

AaronFC

AaronFC

New member
I picked up a JBJ 3G Picotope a few weeks ago at AA. used live sand and pre-cycled water from my home reef. the tank is on my desk at work and has a bit of galaxia, xenia, 2 different shades of pink zoas, and some Nuclear green palys all on lace rock. Now i just need a fish or 2 that will work well in here.
what kind of small fish does everyone recommend for small tank like this that will be active and fun to watch?
IMG_4056.jpg
 
your tank might cycle even though you used water from an existing tank. I would be careful if you plan to add fish unless it already cycled.....
 
its been running for about 3 weeks now and i havent seen anything pointing to a new cycle. my tanks at home have always showed signs within the first week and a half or so. i think its ready to go. quick tests, though not super accurate show everything is in check.
 
I saw a 5g with a pair of nice clowns and a small bubble. I thought it was so cool bc it was like picture perfect.
 
I think some smaller gobies would look really cool in it. Tiger Goby, Red Head Goby, Banded Goby........
Cool little tank Aaron.
JP
 
I'd probably go with a yasha goby and randalli shrimp. 3g may be a little on the small side, but I think they would be OK.

Either that or a small clown goby, or trimma/eviota sp. are another choice.
 
EDIT: just saw this was a 3G, this guy needs a 20G minimum sorry!

My pick would be a stripped blenny...
blenny15.jpg


Stellar personality, always out and swimming even around my big fish. Sort of funny to watch, mine is so fat it is like watching a yellow, black and white stripped hotdog swimming around the tank as his body does not bend much but his fins go like crazy! My little guy is the one from the pets inc display tank, the smaller one in front of the coral tanks. They had that guy forever and I made darn sure I snagged him when the store closed as I always loved watching him!
 
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I would go with either a pink spotted goby/pistol pair or a pair of neon blue goby's and a barnacle blenny
 
I'll probably be getting a Rainford's Goby. I don't have one but have observed many and I really like how they hover around picking at the sand. Reef Culture has one in their huge Reef tank.
 
I think once you actually add a fish and that fish produces waste is when your going to run into issues. The limited amount of bacteria found on that live sand (live sand is a relative term that it sometimes misused) most likely will not be enough to convert ammonia & nitrite to nitrates. Using water from an existing tank has very minimal benefits in every case but, especially with that volume of water. If you already have an existing reef tank up I would highly encourage you to take a piece of quality, aged and cured live rock and replace that grotto lace rock that doesn't belong there and will cause even more issues as time goes on. If you replace the rock as suggested I think you will have a much greater chance of success. Please consider this as just suggestion from someone who has made many mistakes in my 30 years in this hobby and has learned a few things along the way. Good luck, Norm
 
I'd second the 86 on the lace rock. My GF keeps a 3 gal pico as well, and trust me, you need to do everything you can keep levels normal. The light is good enough for zoas and normal mushrooms. You'll likely need to upgrade the filter for not only better filtration but flow as well. A ball of chaeto in the tank should help with nitrates. She also has one hermit crab, one nass snail, one turbo, one of those little sea stars, and two cerith snails. No fish yet, but I suggest a clown goby. They are small, can be kept in pairs if round in pairs, they play in coral like regular clowns, they eat a various foods yet produce limited waste. Corals also produce waste! Something to keep in mind. Hence why my GF doesnt have a fish yet. She has about 60 Zoas, 15 eyes of a favia, a joker chalice, a blue chalice, some orange plate, 2 mushrooms, 2 heads of frogspawn, 2 florida rics, and a lemon sized chunk of purple macro. It's all about balance with these little tanks :)
 
If I HAD to have a fish in there: White Cap Goby

However, considering the tank's size, it'd be an invert only tank for me.
 
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