2.5 Pico

[Ecilart]

Hi everyone I just had a couple of questions regarding a 2.5 pico, sorry if they're kind of basic. First, I was wondering if a yellow clown goby, cleaner shrimp, and possibly a dwarf hermit would be pushing it in a 2.5g tank? I'm not necessarily worried about the bioload, more about having comfortable space for them. Or would I be better off keeping a pair of shrimp or something? Also, as a student I am often up late at night. I plan on keeping my tank in my room, so if I have my lights on at night will it bother the night/day cycle of the fish? Thanks

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You could set the lights to come on at noon or so, and then turn off at 11 or midnight or whatever... the length of time they're on is more important then when during the day it is (unless the tank is in a window or something...). I've got mine set from 11:30am-10pm, roughly.

Not sure on the stocking, I've heard no fish in anything under 10g, but I've also heard of lots of people with a clown or goby or something in an 8g. There are also some really tiny gobies, max size 1-1.5 inches that you could check out. No problem with a hermit, and probably not depending on the shrimp (someone else can probably help you more with the shrimp, too).

Keep in mind that you'll have to do nightly top-offs, saltwater evaporates more quickly than freshwater, and the evaporation in even my FW 2.5g is incredibly fast. You wouldn't really be able to leave it much more than a night or maybe two without topping it off (this is slightly less important if you've only got fish/shrimp/snails/hermits instead of corals, but still something to consider).

 

[Ecilart]

Hey thanks for the lighting and evaporation tips, I'll definitely keep them in mind. I do believe that clown gobies grow to 1.5 inches, so they would be alright?