Picos (marine But Not Reef)

[Donya]

Has anyone out there done a non-reef pico for something along the lines of near tidal/estuary animals? I've wound up in that department with the snails I've got and didn't realize I'm dealing with something in the pico department until reading stuff here...and my little ecosystem has a lot of holes in it as far as janitors go. I've read up on reef stuff, but I am gathering that reef and estuary are two different worlds. I really don't know what sorts of animals I should be dealing with or considering. Right now the setup is: 5gal, ~35xgph, LR, a few very small Nerite snails (what I'm trying to study), 1.020sg, 8.0pH, 72-74F. The snails are making a mess out of the rocks by digging up substrate, so I'm having to "dust off" the rocks each morning and evening. I don't really want something pretty, just a functional ecosystem. But, I don't want to overload the system with too many living things since it is only 5 gallons...is there a good way to stop the rocks being burried, or some compatible animal(s) that would help me out? Any algaes of the kelp sort do well with those conditions?

I do realize that I picked the absolute worst place to start out given that I'm doing both inverts and a pico, but I'm stuck with it now and would rather put out more effort and move forward than quit and start out with something easier. I did have a pet blenny for a couple years as a kid so I have a bit of saltwater exp, but that was a 20 gallon FOWLR with exactly 1 fish...a little less complicated.

 

[bunjiweb]

You could have hermits or shrimp in there with the snails, also things like fanworms work in a pico fine.

Most Picos that I have seen have been reef, although this is probably because you cant have many fish in tiny tanks so people tend to stick to corals and shrimps.

Yours sounds like an interesting project, be sure to keep us updated.

Ben

 

[steelhealr]

Agree with bunjiweb...shrimp would be OK as they are low bioload. Avoid a fish in there. There are some seagrasses that survive in estuary type environment, but, some plants may take over the tank. SH

 

[Donya]

Given that my sg is on the low side, does that put a constraint on which species would do ok, and are there any I should avoid for aggression/snail-eating reasons? I'm a bit confused from reading about those guys and some sites say hermits will go after snails, others say not.

I was also wondering about adding 1 or 2 small (1/2" or less) Nerita genus snails in if I can find them...I was hoping to compare behavior between fully marine Nerites and the ones I've got currently that can survive in fresh as well. But, I don't want to go overboard and have a nitrate spike or something nasty because I got carried away adding stuff.

 

[steelhealr]

I think most livestock are pretty much adaptable to that s.g. Some corals might not prefer it tho'. From my own experience, I HAVE seen aggression from my blue legged hermits towards snails. Scarlets are usually less aggressive. Keeping enough large shells in the tank may help to reduce this. SH

 

[Donya]

Pulled out some of my shell collection:

Is that range/shape ok? I think that one on the far right might actually be a land snail shell from the growth pattern so I might not be able to use it for marine hermits.

 

[bunjiweb]

the smaller of those ones would be ok. I would rais the S.G to 1.023/4, very easy to do and would probably work better for corals or inverts.

Ben

 

[Donya]

I'll have to watch the sg closely and see how the Nerites react if I raise it a bit. They have gone from full fresh to marine, and I stopped raising sg when they quit trying to evacuate the tank ever few minutes. They may be ok with it higher but I don't know yet.

I didn't see anything that looked like the right kind of plant at the LFS...they have great macroalgaes but it didn't look like it would stand up to the current I have. This is the stuff I should be looking for as far as tidal/estuary goes right?

I remember seeing that stuff in saltwater marshes when I lived in Virginia...but I don't think any place locally will be carrying it. It's possible I could ask a family member to ship me some from near the Chesapeak. Would that run the same problem as using beach sand? ("stepped on cheese doodle" and "doody diapers" are what stuck in my head from the other thread)

 

[Donya]

LFS was keeping these hermies at an sg pretty close to mine (which is now 1.021, going up very slowly):

that guy is awsome...cleans the rocks like there's no tomarrow, so that's one problem solved. Sorry for the rotten pic quality, it's an old camera that doesn't do close photos well. I'm not sure of the species but I know it's not a blue-leg. Now I just need to get a hold of some vegetation...