owndcheif

I had been thinking about venturing into the saltwater side of the hobby for a while now but was unable to because of cost, so when i came across a small all in one setup that looked to be of good quality i jumped at the opportunity. it is a very small, 3g, acrylic with a decent filter and an 18w compact fluorescent 50/50(http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...4&pcatid=15494). I currently have 3 pounds of live rock, 5 pounds of live sand (maybe too much?), and 1 small-ish (3 inch) ocellaris clownfish. the tank has been up and running with live sand for 3-4 weeks and live rock for 2-3, the clownfish was added days ago. Now to my question! CAN I GET A CLEANER SHRIMP? i'm hoping to make this into a pico reef tank in the near future and i want something to clean up after my clown, also i think decapods are really cool :P, can i fit ANY kind of cleaner shrimp into such a small setup without compromising water quality? if not what could i put in?

nemo addict

a 3g is 10 xs to small for a clown its ment for corals only you cant put fish in a 3g from the s/w

owndcheif

a bit late for that now, and i also disagree. i've seen plenty of tanks this small (and smaller) with fish in em. to be fair they were neon gobys, but i think a clownfish will be ok, so do the people at big als, although they might just be trying to make a quick sale.

sgould

I agree with nemo adict. 3 gallon is too small for any SW fish I am familiar with. Ocellaris are recommended for 20 gallons, and even neon gobies are recommended for 10 gallons. I know folks have them in smaller setups, including some store displays, but that doesn't make it right.

On some of your other questions...the amount of sand is really personal preference. If you like the look you get with 5 lbs, then it is just right! Are you thinking of corals at some point? I have not found anything on tank size recommendations for the cleaner. I know they don't necessarily require a large tank, but I can't say what the floor is either with any certainty.

owndcheif

it appears i was a victim of salesmanship, they told me what i wanted to hear with no regard for the fish. he's small right now but if he gets much bigger i'l buy a bigger tank (i have a few 10g around that could easily be converted to FOWLR detups). as for the floor space of the 3g, it's not much, the tank dimensions are 12-1/2" x 9-5/8" x 7-1/4" high, and it has one solid peice of live rock in the midddle here are some pics



edit: photos should work now

AJ51

A small tank keeps the fish from growing and stresses them out too. you definitely need a bigger tank, or your clownfish might not last very long

cerianthus

Although would not recommend, but you already have set up and running. Since you acknowledged that you may need bigger tank and willing, it should be ok for now. Who know?, he may be safer in your hand than Big Al's.
Yes, I think you can add 1 Cleaner Shrimp as well as Citron Goby or Candy Cane Goby and other small CUC down the road when tank is well established even some coral frags provided lighting is sufficient BUT better off in 10G.
Are you using 2 x 9W? I am using 1 x Day + 1 x Act on my 2-1/2G Seahorses tank. Aging and maturing 10G, trying to grow as many different algae for baby seahorses down the road.
I had same light running on 5-1/2 nano reef for while with good result but only issue was that in hot summer, must have A/C running in a room F/T just to keep the tank from boiling.

btw, Is your tank cycled already? I see you have some rocks, LR perhaps!
Still monitor water closely since such small volume wont give you much room for an error.

au01st

Ummm, my cleaner shrimp's antennae are probably 8" tip to tip...

Why not some sexy shrimp? Pistol shrimp with goby, that'd be cool.

A clown is too big for that tank. Many fish, even gobies, may jump looking for more room, it's just really small.

AJ51

Ive always wanted a Fire (or blood) shrimp, but they cost $50 and they're better if they come in PAIRS!!!! Thats $100!!!!

JohnnyOcean

Just a reminder, that when dealing with smaller tanks (pico) the water chemistry will change very quickly. You have to really be on top of things to maintain ideal conditions.

cerianthus

Ouch!! Look around, FS should be around $25. It does not need to be in pairs either.

cerianthus

How long you had skunk? 8"? Kept good amt but never that big tip to tip even in 150G.

au01st

I bought him big. I've only had him for about 4 months. Not too bad since I paid $20 for him, same price as if I bought a baby.

cerianthus

Any pics?

au01st

cerianthus

I guess you meant tip from end of antenna. I thought you meant body size 8" (Jumbo, Jumbo, edible size,lol). but still I have not grown one to 8" including antenna.
btw, What is that left & top of shrimp?

au01st

Top left of the shrimp is a green Pocillopora, SPS coral doing great under the T5. The green is virtually fluorescent under day lighting, not to mention under actinics.

cerianthus

Nice Bird's Nest (though odd configuration) with lime green zoos, I gotta seriously look into T5 since could not have polyps to extend that much under PC. It does looks like Cauliflower as their common name suggests. Lots of open space for more corals though.
Nice decora too.

au01st

What? I do have an ORA green birdsnest frag in there, but I didn't think you could see it very well, unless you're looking at my photobucket album...

cerianthus

Although uses reading glasses, i think I could see decent. all I saw was BN, Xenia, Feather duster and decora. Oh another green frag on 2nd pic. Is there more in those 2 pics?

Matt

au01st nice shrimp man and i love the fish that is looking at it in the first pic

-Matt