What creatures *can* be put in under 5 gallon Nanos?

[icebear]

Just looking for a list of things that can be kept in nano tanks smaller than 5 gallons, and down to say- 1 or 2 gallons- without it being cruel.

The one i'm in the middle of building won't be more than 2 gallons- being a main tank thats just under a gallon and a sump that looks even smaller, then there's the water that will be in the tubing which will ammount to no more than a 1/4 cup i'm sure. and then deduct for sand and rock...

I thought i'd like to stick in a shroom or two and see how it goes, but i would want more movement, like put in a pair of shrimp too, but i don't want to cram them in just so i can stare at them. so what are good fish or crusties that can be happy in less than 5 or 3 gallons?

[tricksterpup]

hmmm..
There are many things you can place in a tank this small, but what works best are inverts. I would go with some zoos , mushrooms and small softies like those.
How about these critters?
Mysid Shrimp
Spaghetti Worms (love how the just grap for food)
Amphipods
Hawaiian Reef mini Brittle Stars
opisthobranch (sea bunnies from IPSF)
A small Mantis shrimp (would make a great species only tank)
small shrimp also work fantastic too.
and various snalls and small hermit crabs.

jim

[icebear]

so it wouldn't be mean to confine two small shrimp in a 1 gallon container?


i looked for info on camel, coral banded, blood, peppermint, postol and anemone shrimp, seems any of them could live there well enough, but what about if they were in pairs? The info on commercial sites dosen't take compatibility in a small space into account in their descriptions.

[Jeremy1973]

I am coming up to this as well. I am going to set up a small 3 gallon nano at work, and I am having a dilema of what I can put in that won't be cruel to the critter. Was thinking of a yellow clown goby since they stay small, but I would just feel bad that he would be all lonely. So, thought two..but then didn't know if that would be a bio load.

[ckreef]

How about a mated pair of Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus scutellatus). They stay smaller than the regular CBS so you could get a mated pair for about the same bio-load of a single regular CBS. They do cost a little bit more and would have to be purchsed as a mated pair. At a LFS in Atlanta last weekend they were selling mated pairs of these for $50.00.

[tricksterpup]

I think a tank this small would be way to small for clown gobies. I wouldn't want to but any reef fish in a tank smaller than 7 gallons but that is just me. As for the shrimp in a setup like this, i would go only with the really small breeds, such as peppermint shrimp. I think a pair of banded coral shrimp would be way to big and to much on the bio load. But any fish or shrimp that is kept in there and grows large should be moved to a new tank when that happens.

jim

[ckreef]

Originally posted by tricksterpup
I think a pair of banded coral shrimp would be way to big and to much on the bio load.

Just to clarify --- I was not talking about regular Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) size listed as 1 1/2 - 2 inches -- I agree a pair would get large.

I was talking about Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus scutellatus) size listed as 3/4 - 1 1/4 inches

Although both shrimp are from the same genus they are different species.

[biomekanic]

I had a pair in a 7g AGA and they did very well. nice little shrimp, I'm really sorry I took down the tank and moved them to my main setup and lost them. I got them at FFE, back before they got bought out. Good luck finding them now, the "new and improved" FFE doesn't carry them, or mantis shrimp anymore.

[icebear]

Originally posted by biomekanic
FFE doesn't carry them, or mantis shrimp anymore.

they do at their LiveAquaria afiliate ~when you go the the *new* FFE site and click on "inverts" it takes you to the liveaquaria site and they are all there in the "shrimp" category.

They have Clown mantis, yellow, blue and regular coral banded shrimp, three types of pistol, scarlet cleaners, bloods, harlequins, saron, peppermint, camel, and anemone shrimp... wish they had the sexy shrimp, i'd like to keep a pair of those, i guess they are teensy.

[biomekanic]

I got discouraged and hadn't been to their liveaquaria siter in a long time, thanks for letting me know. I do remember seeing sexy shrimp there, so keep you eye out for them.
In their native habitat, they're symbiotic with anenomes, I'm not sure how much they would need one. You might be able to get away with a Florida flowerpot anenome in a 5g.
As for mantis shrimp, check out Gatorade, this little guy is in a 2.5 desktop and is very cool: http://www.extremefx.com/gallery/mantis

EDIT:
They have sexy shrimp right now as a matter of fact.
They do have golden coral banded, but not mated pairs, those are hard to find.
Woof! $40 for a mantis, I got mine for $18. Sheesh.

[icebear]

Cool, Gatorade looks like Mountain Dew or old Mello Yello!

Dang, how's he get so green?

I think if i got one i'd want one that color, very neat!

[biomekanic]

Yeah, he's a ham too. I'd love to have a nano like that for my desktop at work, better company than most of the people I work with.