Poll: which new fish for my nano tank?

LuminousAphid 2013-09-01, 13:35

Hello,
I have what I would call a "nano" tank (3 gallons or so) that I got at a thrift store, and have recently set it up in my room (because the 10 gallon which was there sprung a leak). I have been slowly setting it up with a few fishes, but I think it would still use something to give it a little more interest.

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Right now, in this tank:
1 large blue mystery snail (might take him out)
9 Corydoras pygmaeus
1 longfin albino bristlenose pleco (s/he's a baby, I will move him whenever needed)

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Here are the Cories having fun

I would like to add one more species to this tank, preferably something which could inhabit the middle parts of the tank and add a little more interest. Something colorful would be ideal. I'm leaning toward something shrimpy, who could crawl around on the manzanita wood, but the prices for many of those are a bit steep for me at the moment. I'm also considering neon greeen raspboras, as Aquarium Co-Op has them right now, but I just came across the "mosquito rasbora" which is absolutely stunning. I have seen some awesome killies around, so if anyone knows a good source of some small, colorful killies, that would be the best.

I wouldn't be opposed to doing a little planting either, if a species really needed/liked it, although that would further limit the space.

are pea puffers agressive? Those might be cool, and I could move the cories to my 20gal

Also, any suggestions for PAIRS of larger fish that would do ok in a small aquarium (killies again?)

Take the poll, and respond with your suggestions. Properly stocking a smaller tank is much harder than I thought it would be

**lloyd378** 2013-09-01, 14:07

I'd go puffers all the way. I have always wanted one. I love the way the scoot around the tank.

**Madness** 2013-09-01, 14:09

I think a beautiful pair of Killies in that tank would look amazing once all the plants and grass grow. (assuming you have the plants and grass in your plans. Smile

)

LuminousAphid 2013-09-01, 14:13

madness wrote:I think a beautiful pair of Killies in that tank would look amazing once all the plants and grass grow. (assuming you have the plants and grass in your plans. )

I don't know, I have recently gotten into the planted tank, but there is something to be said for the simplicity of hardscape....

I think what I will do, is cut a runner off my greenhouse val and stick it in here, see if it actually grows. I don't have a great light for this tank, it's just a little display LED that came with it, so I don't know how well plants will do.

lloyd378 wrote:I'd go puffers all the way. I have always wanted one. I love the way the scoot around the tank.

They would be awesome, but I need to look into whether they would be aggressive to my little cories

**Madness** 2013-09-01, 14:23

OK, I have an idea. Bag the Killies and the Puffers. Add some nice looking tetra, something small and active like that, and then pick yourself up say 6 rarer Corys, and try and breed them. I have always wanted to get me a colony of the Lazer Greens or Lazer Orange.

LuminousAphid 2013-09-01, 14:33

This is only a 3 gallon tank, about 1ft cube... That's why I'm looking for extremely small species to add. Not that I don't appreciate the feedback, I do. But I'm not really at the stage where I'm looking into breeding yet, still mastering the basics pretty much. Plus, I think I would need a much bigger area for full-sized cories to breed.

The ones I have in there are corydoras pygmaeus, and these are only about 5/8 of an inch long. That pic may have made you think those were normal sized cories, but they are tiny

**Madness** 2013-09-01, 14:39

Thanks for bursting my bubble. Then what are you waiting for, get a larger tank, and do that. Smile

Do you need some MTS injections? Your not moving fast enough.... jocolor

LuminousAphid 2013-09-01, 15:25

Well, I'm in slow-mo right now because I am out of a job, but once I fix that I shall be getting at least one more tank.

I do have a way to earn store credit, so that's mostly how I have been surviving lately

DMD123 2013-09-01, 15:27

I voted pea puffer. They are so cool!

LuminousAphid 2013-09-01, 15:31

DMD123 wrote:I voted pea puffer. They are so cool!

Do you know if they are aggressive toward lots of other fish? i heard somewhere you want a species tank for them, not sure why...

DMD123 2013-09-01, 15:34

They can nip fins and they may eat other small inhabitants. Best as species only from my research.

Guest 2013-09-01, 18:35

LuminousAphid wrote:
DMD123 wrote:I voted pea puffer. They are so cool!
Do you know if they are aggressive toward lots of other fish? i heard somewhere you want a species tank for them, not sure why...

That only depends on the individual puffer. I have had 4 all in 35 gal planted. No nips only food aggression towards each other. Not enough snails. One died got suck in the inlet of canister filter and gave one to Gryphon. Now only have 2. Still having issues with food (snails). Good luck.

DMD123 2013-09-01, 19:04

With a 35g there would be tons of room. I just realized the OP was talking 3 gallons, so really only one puffer and then lots of work to keep water parameters up to snuff. (Should be a bit bigger....)

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 13:29

So, I have decided to do a little bit of planting in this tank, I have some vallisneria which has been chaining off babies like crazy so I cut 3 off and put them in here. I will see how they grow under low light.

I think I am going to take the big mystery snail out of this tank and put it in my 10 or 20 gallon, it is just too big and needs too much food (and makes too much poop, it's like a dumptruck when it *****) for that tiny tank.

I can't decide which to put him in, but that leaves me with just the 9 pygmy cories now. I'm leaning toward a pair of killies if I can find them, since the cories seem to be a decent cleanup crew... I dunno

pbmax 2013-09-02, 13:46

I'm going to be the wet rag again. Neutral

I think 9 pygmy corys have your 3g tank absolutely slammed. They may be 5/8" right now, but they'll grow to 1" and that's a lot of fish for such a small tank.

I think it was an excellent decision to remove the mystery snail - they're a lot of bio load and are tough to keep in tanks smaller than 10g (in my experience).

If you add anything at all, add shrimp. They'll keep the tank clean and they don't require additional food.

Definitely keep an eye on PH in a tank that small and keep the feeding minimal (or remove uneaten food promptly).

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 13:56

Yeah, I have been feeding as little as I can, and the snail keeps eating most of it... I will take him out today.

Yeah, I know I will eventually have to move them out into a bigger tank, and probably it will be my 20 gallon... but for now they look so cool in there, swimming around in their little school.

I have been doing daily ~20% water changes due to the load in there, and since I'm sure there was a mini-cycle when I brought it inside and changed everything, but surprisingly everyone seems happy.

I might try today to net the cories and put them in the 20gallon, I just re-did the layout and I'm much happier with it now. Maybe I will be able to enjoy the cories in there, and just have the snail in the small tank.

I dunno, lots of options but I will keep you posted.

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 14:56

Ok, so new development... I though I posted a thread about this yesterday, but apparently forgot to actually post it. Or it got deleted?

Anyway, I have tubifex worms in the substrate in here! At least that's what I think they are...

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Are there any small critters which would root around in the substrate and make a meal out of these? I have tried gravel vac and they are really good at sucking themselves back down under the substrate. I have gotten a few of them and fed them to my guppies, but I'm afraid I will have a bunch of them dying and rotting if I don't get something to eat them. The cories don't seem interested.

Are there any micro loaches or anything like that?

pbmax 2013-09-02, 15:28

I wouldn't worry about them, personally. They're probably not big enough or in decent enough numbers to do any damage to the tank if they die. Did the gravel come from an established tank, or was it added dry?

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 15:46

It's from my 20 gallon, which isn't really that established, but I think they got in there with some live blackworms or on some plants. For the first couple months of this tank, I had it in the greenhouse and didn't clean it much at all, had ghost shrimp and that snail in there, so I think it got pretty gunked up and these were able to multiply

Maybe I will just use it as my own little tubifex farm Smile

I just noticed some in the 20 gallon as well, just a couple. I know I overfeed a lot, so I should really try to control my feeding. I always feel like someone in the tank isn't getting enough though, you know what I mean?

pbmax 2013-09-02, 16:01

They do thrive on over-feeding. Wink

That's where plants come in for me - every handful of floating plants pulled out of the tank is a ton of processed fish waste.

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 16:17

Yeah, I think I will get something to float in there... Aquarium Co-Op has some good stuff, and I'm gonna head down there soon

nick_76 2013-09-02, 18:42

grouper.....I don't see a block for grouper

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-02, 19:23

SHRIMP ALL THE WAY!!! Very Happy

There's just something about nano tanks and shrimp. I'm actually coming up with a line of super nano tanks, that will only contain shrimp, granted, I'm only testing them right now with Cherry Shrimp, I seem to be having some pretty good luck with them at the moment. Very Happy

I will upgrade to other shrimp if I know that the shrimp are thriving (making babies)... so far, so good. Very Happy

Having a shrimp tank is possibly the most maintenance free tank you will have (unless you're taking care of other shrimp like crystals, or something like that. Hehe)

I think I'm going to limit these super nano tanks with 5-10 shrimp. Or maybe max them out at 5 shrimp per container, as these containers are skiiiiiiiinny. Like, 2"inches in depth. They'd make awesome shelve centerpieces though. Smile

pbmax 2013-09-02, 20:50

Looks good! I hope they do well for you Smile

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-02, 20:53

May they continue to breed like rabbits! Very Happy

hahahaha

pbmax 2013-09-02, 21:22

PokeSephiroth wrote:May they continue to breed like rabbits! :Dhahahaha

Your tanks BREED!? affraid

I'm glad mine don't; I'm out of room! Suspect

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-02, 21:42

I found a berried female in one of the super nano tanks (I have about 5 super nano tanks at the moment, under close observation lol)

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 22:51

Ok, well I decided... I think it turned out well.

I actually moved everything out of the tank, and it has all new inhabitants! Fun times!

I got 5 Malawa shrimp, 1 trumpet snail, and 1 Sparkling Gourami. They seem to be doing well together so far, no sign that the gourami doesn't like shrimp or anything, and I think the load is more appropriate for the size of the tank and filtration. The shrimp seem happy with the higher PH I have been running (just crushed coral in the substrate, no additives), not sure about the Gourami but s/he is eating and everything, no signs of stress.

I'm very happy, thanks for the suggestions and for participating!

pbmax 2013-09-02, 22:57

That sounds like a great fit! Smile

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 23:02

Yeah, and as soon as I moved the cories over to the 20 gal, they started swimming around and schooling much more actively than they were. I think they appreciate having some tankmates Smile

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-02, 23:07

Pictures! WE MUST SEE PICTUUUURES!!! lol =P sounds like a nice combination!

LuminousAphid 2013-09-02, 23:26

Ok, here you go sir! These are not high quality, sorry about that:

Hello Shrimp!
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Mr/Mrs Gourami is still shy
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Tank looks the same, except a bit of val and some heather twigs
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I might take some pictures with a better camera tomorrow

By the way, those nano tanks look pretty cool. Perfect for shrimp, since most won't mind the lack of swimming space. Is there any filtration on them?

pbmax 2013-09-02, 23:41

Looks great! Smile

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-03, 00:22

Lookin' nice! Smile

I'm excited to see that tank fill up with a bunch of shrimp!! Very Happy

LuminousAphid 2013-09-03, 02:12

Do these reproduce fairly quickly? I haven't paid attention to whether I have any males/females or whatever, but I heard they make babies like crazy.

pbmax 2013-09-03, 09:37

Malawa shrimp are quite prolific. Smile

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-03, 12:03

Just make sure you give them adequate amounts of food, pbmax has had good luck with Malawa shrimp out competing his Chery shrimp for food.

I, on the other hand, have had opposite results, with the Cherries out competing THEM for food. LOL!

pbmax 2013-09-03, 12:07

In a tank that size I would argue the opposite - keep food minimal. The shrimp will have little to no competition for food in that tank, so they should be fine. Dwarf shrimp can survive just fine on bio film alone in many cases. You can always add dried leaves - like nettle leaves or something like that. These don't foul the water and the shrimp can munch on them for quite a while.

I need to go collect a bunch more nettle leaves before the nettles are all gone...

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-03, 12:19

I've added catappa leaves in my tanks, and they go crazy over them once the leaves have developed a bio film. Once the catappa leaf has been eaten away, it leaves this really cool looking "framework" of the leaf, that I plan on using for crafts, some day Very Happy

pbmax 2013-09-03, 12:20

Nettle leaves generally get consumed entirely, but maple and alder leaves leave behind nice skeletons. Smile

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-03, 12:21

yeah! I want to try maple leaves as well, although, I haven't had much luck finding good sized maple leaves (about the size of your hand)

pbmax 2013-09-03, 12:30

How about maple leaves bigger than your head? I'll have more of those than I know what to do with in a month or two Wink

Guest 2013-09-03, 13:39

LuminousAphid wrote:Ok, well I decided... I think it turned out well.

I actually moved everything out of the tank, and it has all new inhabitants! Fun times!

I got 5 Malawa shrimp, 1 trumpet snail, and 1 Sparkling Gourami. They seem to be doing well together so far, no sign that the gourami doesn't like shrimp or anything, and I think the load is more appropriate for the size of the tank and filtration. The shrimp seem happy with the higher PH I have been running (just crushed coral in the substrate, no additives), not sure about the Gourami but s/he is eating and everything, no signs of stress.

I'm very happy, thanks for the suggestions and for participating!

LuminousAphid 2013-09-03, 16:33

A few leaves might be a good idea... they RCS in my 10 gallon are starting to eat of the catappa leaf I put in there, and my longfin albino bristlenose likes to hide under it... although I fear for his fins, the substrate is kind of rough in there

I'm going to be down in the area helping my aunt move today, so if you are in the shop, I might see you there.

**PokeSephiroth** 2013-09-03, 18:01

pbmax, oh man those maple leaves would be great! Any way you could perhaps mail them and I could pay for shipping and handling? As many as you can cram in a box without breaking them, so to speak? In the meantime, I will keep my eyes peeled for some giant maple leaves here =P

LuminousAphid, I don't work today, Cory usually has me working on Tuesdays, except this week. That's why I'm working tomorrow instead. hehe

nick_76 2013-09-03, 20:27

I chose shrimp here because I think a 3 gallon really is to small for pretty much any fish. I usually cringe inside when I see fish inside a sub-10 gallon tank..

LuminousAphid 2013-09-04, 19:31

Yeah, I'm not sure the gourami is super happy, but I will give him/her a couple more days to adjust and start eating.

I might go with just the shrimp in the end, they (malawa) are apparently low maintenance too which is nice.

pbmax 2013-09-04, 19:46

PokeSephiroth wrote:pbmax, oh man those maple leaves would be great! Any way you could perhaps mail them and I could pay for shipping and handling? As many as you can cram in a box without breaking them, so to speak? In the meantime, I will keep my eyes peeled for some giant maple leaves here =P

Why do you need huge maple leaves? I would think smaller maple leaves would work better, personally. If you really want I can dump a huge load of soggy yellow, orange, and brown maple leaves from my lawn / neighbor's yard (should be pesticide / herbicide free) in a trash bag and jam them into flat rate box when the time comes, but I think your're better off hunting locally. I have a dwarf maple in my front yard that dumps leaves that break down quite well once dried - not as much as nettle leaves, but well enough. I don't harvest nettle leaves for free because those require a lot of my time.

pbmax 2013-09-04, 19:47

nick_76 wrote:I chose shrimp here because I think a 3 gallon really is to small for pretty much any fish. I usually cringe inside when I see fish inside a sub-10 gallon tank..

I agree. Good for shrimp, not so much for fish.

LuminousAphid 2013-09-04, 20:05

pbmax wrote:
nick_76 wrote:I chose shrimp here because I think a 3 gallon really is to small for pretty much any fish. I usually cringe inside when I see fish inside a sub-10 gallon tank..
I agree. Good for shrimp, not so much for fish.

Yeah, I'm beginning to see the light here. I only have the 1 sparkling gourami in there, but s/he seems stressed, not sure if it's the small size or if my water parameters aren't perfect (I know they aren't yet, I should have paid more attention and waited), but s/he doesn't seem to want to eat. I think I will hold off feeding for a couple days to avoid any extra ammonia, and then see how feeding goes.

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