Overpopulated Pico Reef? Yay or Nay.

heh. Well said.

I am certainly guilty of overstocking myself, but I agree with the others about the clowns. Find them a home, at least the Tomato.. they can be aggressive and can get quite large for a clown.

Nice nano though!

 

I 3rd Tangster (for the fist time...lol....jk), the only fish you could keep in there would be a pygmy version of an already small fish ......your going to crash the tank with bi-daily changes. Even weekly will eventually crash a tank that small. As there are far too many variables in the chem of your water and the LFS's "RO" to keep track of. Try a hifin ray goby, clown goby, a pygmy neon goby (3/4" max) or something under 2" . Those are the only long term options.

 

HAHAHAHAHA
Told you so!!!!
Just cause im younger dont mean im wrong!!!!!!
J/K
It was very easy i bet to set up a 2.5 gallon tank from you 5 year old main tank at home, thats why im guessing you skipped the cycle. But you have a minimum of 4 inches of fish right now in the tank. One piss of any of them fish, and your scared!!!!

 

2 different clowns in that size tank is too much. A livable overstocking option wouldve been 2 clown gobys and a rainford goby, or a clown and 1 clown goby or rainford goby. That being said I am guilty of overstocking according to some but I got almost as many gallons in my sump as I do my tank.

 

Tis the key my friends.....show the display, and hide the system..... I adopted this method about 1 1/2 years ago for all new clients. I match them whenever possible. I know we've beat it into Speedy that he has overdone it, but Ive done the same. Like keeping a 1.5" emperor angel in a 12 gallong tank for almost 2 years......: Just 86 the fish and get credit for new ones before a crsh occurs. you should only have to change water 2x's a month in a properly stocked 2.5 gallon. I tried to find pics of my old 2.5...maybe someone has one saved somewhere from the site pre facelift....

 

Guys, you all dont know speedy to well, hes the type of person that will make this happened. After being owner of a 10 gallon, a 20 gallon, a 65 gallon, and his latest addition, a 72 bowfront, and caring for all, sps, lps, soft corals, sandbed, no snadbed, i think hes capable of doing it!!

 

Thanks for tryin' to defend me there Turbo.

Nah, I'm not taking it as a beating. I was the one that asked....
I knew the tank was overstocked when I posted....
The reason I ask is because I'm looking to see if anyone shared my point of view on the impossible.

I thought I'd share a few appropiate quotes:

Things are only impossible until they're not.
Jean-Luc Picard, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - ), Clarke's first law

...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930), (Sherlock Holmes)

Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others.
Jonathan Winters

The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - ), "Technology and the Future" (Clarke's second law)

We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Vince Lombardi (1913 - 1970)


And my personal favorites....

Men are generally idle, and ready to satisfy themselves, and intimidate the industry of others, by calling that impossible which is only difficult.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), Life of Boerhaave

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
Walt Disney (1901 - 1966)

Additionally, think of the many accomplishments that have been called impossible, and now are not only possible, but we could never imagine our lives without them.

I personally used to make all my decisions by the book. 1" of fish per 5 gal, searching species compatibility lists, living by the rules of aquaria. After years of experience in the hobby, looking at many other hobbyists, and their tanks. Looking at wildlife in nature. I've seen that my perception on many rules of aquaria has been wrong. For example, I know hobbyists that have several Angel species in a small ( 72 gal) tank. By several species, I mean 6 different types of angels. I've seen non reef-safe fish, weaving in and out of corals and various invertibrates. We've seen nanos and picos with anemones and clowns. Not just that but I have seen them survive for years.

Is it the IDEAL environment? NO.

Is a bigger tank an ideal environment? Is the ocean the ideal environment?

I guess the correct answer is " It Depends."

I guess it depends on how far you are willing to go to make an environment Ideal. If changing water from an established tank every 2 days is a measure you are willing to take? 24/7 webcam monitoring is a measure you are willing to make? If adding a 25 gal sump to a half gallon display is a measure you are willing to make? If target fish feeding, target coral feeding, trace element supplementation, or 24/7 constant NSW changes are a measure you are willing to make? Then I guess just about any system would be an ideal environment. It just depends on what measures you are willing to make.

Just some food for thought.

 

We must think similiar. I didnt like the fish density that recommended stocking levels provided so I chose fish that fill my smaller tank with a key on limited aggression and then provided plenty of sump to get the stability I wanted. None of my choices will get big enough to require more swimming space or become a threat to one another and I have a full looking display with all the benefits of a tank twice as large.

 

To me, it's not about stocking levels. I'm not one who preaches the "inch per gallon" rule at all. To me, it's more about the species that you're mixing in that small of a space. If the clowns were the same species, I would say that it could work as long as you take steps to keep your water clean, however, they are not the same species. Either way, I wish you success and hope you'll keep us updated on your nano!