Panda Goby in a 0.7L Aquarium - Tell me it's silly...or am I getting this right?

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello

Firstly before you jump at me, I have not done this. I have a 0.7L pico reef which is going fairly well and as time goes on, I am considering what is plausible with these 0.7L to 5L Pico aquariums.

I recently read about @Jay Hemdal and both his deep experience and his 'estimating the need for swimming space of Aquarium Fishes"

Estimating the Need for Swimming Space for Aquarium Fishes

I had previous ruled out the concept of any fish at all in such a small aquarium, but I did the maths:

Panda Goby on Fishbase = 3.0cm
*0.8 = 2.4cm
10 + 10 = 20cm

20cm / 2.4cm = 8.33

The article states 8 as a minimum, but later states Gobies as a more Sedentary fish which I agree from experience, which is a preferred ratio of 1:5 which this would be way within this target.

I am 3D printing the rockwork, so designing something with a cave and ledges in one corner, and open space otherwise is not a issue.

So yeah, I would love Jay's own opinion and also other peoples. My long term head says no way, but I also have a yellow goby in a 15cm cube for a few weeks before with Ich and he loved his own little place.

The aquarium is question has its own circuit board, heater, pump and light. It is maintaining a temperature of 26c +/-0.3c and a tight sealing lid, making salinity swings a non issue.

I want this to be a debate and not a argument thread if it becomes one.

IF I did this, I also have a 34L established aquarium which could take them no problem, and would naturally observe behaviour and judge, along with water parameters.

What do you think!?

- Paul

That article has the caveat that the tank in question is one of "typical" size. Really small tanks and really large tanks (like millions of gallons) may not work out with the factoring.

I have kept red Trimma nano gobies in tanks as small as one gallon, but I never tried them in a tank this small. Panda gobies are pretty sedentary, but your tank is REALLY small.

 

[Polymate3D]

We've kept the small eviota gobies in the PNW tanks and they seem to do pretty fine. In the wild they rarely venture far from their small slice of territory. Possibly with clown gobies they sometimes hop from branching colony to branching colony but I couldn't imagine it's that large of a space.

Main thing is you want to put them in an environment where they won't just survive but also thrive and have great behavior and health. So you probably could keep one in that size tank feasibly but maybe doubling the sizing may make for a bit more comfort and stability while also being a pretty cool species only micro tank.

Thanks for the feedback!

I completely agree that we should be given all inhabitants a place they are happy. I appreciate this information.

- Paul

 

[Polymate3D]

none,

they need minimum 10 gallons, they hiding spots, pocilipora coral(idk lol) and swimming space.
but, I think u could pull it off since of the size! maybe in the bigger one? just try and see the smaller ones too, see how he does?

I appreciate your opinion on this.

I'm not set on doing it, nore completely against it. Everyone's feedback is super helpful in thinking this through.

At the moment, my head is saying if I give it a go, I will off course have my 34L tank ready, but I would create a thread and document the process, take video etc so it can stay as a record of what happened, and can be a study for others to learn from.

It won't be for at least a month though as I have new boards to test and I need to get more time on them.

- Paul

 

[Polymate3D]

I personally would not recommend anything smaller than a gallon for a fish.

I would probably scowl a bit if a company was marketing that tiny tank for fish. It Can be done but average person would kill the fish.

It’s a bit different if it’s just for your self as I would assume you have the skills needed to address issues and experience.

I think the tank is super awesome btw. There used to be little jars you could buy, pj? Kind of reminds me of that.

Thanks for the feedback!

As I have mentioned, it would be at least a month away and I would document things for everyone else to learn / observe from. The viewpoint that others may not be able to do it however is not a perspective I had considered, so thank you. Have been so focused on making a small setup easier that I had not thought about it from a completely new perspective. Just from someone who already has larger tank and maybe wants a office aquarium where there working.

- Paul

 

[Polymate3D]

That article has the caveat that the tank in question is one of "typical" size. Really small tanks and really large tanks (like millions of gallons) may not work out with the factoring.

I have kept red Trimma nano gobies in tanks as small as one gallon, but I never tried them in a tank this small. Panda gobies are pretty sedentary, but your tank is REALLY small.

Thanks for chiming in Jay

Yes it is extremely small, I agree and the Yellow Goby before was in 2.5L in comparison. As mentioned, if I try and I will document it on the forum with my other tank ready and go from there. The info on the Trimma gobies in a 1 gallon at least gives the 5L size some hope.

May I also say thank you to everyone for there input. I genuinely really appreciate it.

- Paul

 

[McPuff]

Wow, that's really cool you created your own pump! I assume there is a mesh on the input?

 

[Polymate3D]

Wow, that's really cool you created your own pump! I assume there is a mesh on the input?

Thanks!

Yeah it has a small mesh, but the plan is to use the threaded end to add a small capsule with mechanical filtration. Maybe even a sprinkling of carbon too!

This is the next circuit board ready to go. I will be setting this up on a bigger 2.7L or 5L variant to test this board harder.

This one has P_override which whacks the pump to full briefly for use when you are about to do a water change too.

Any opinion on a goby and aquarium size?

- Paul

 

[McPuff]

Thanks!

Yeah it has a small mesh, but the plan is to use the threaded end to add a small capsule with mechanical filtration. Maybe even a sprinkling of carbon too!

This is the next circuit board ready to go. I will be setting this up on a bigger 2.7L or 5L variant to test this board harder.

This one has P_override which whacks the pump to full briefly for use when you are about to do a water change too.

Any opinion on a goby and aquarium size?

- Paul

Awesome! As for the goby, not sure I would add one. I would probably add a small shrimp instead.

 

[Polymate3D]

I have decided that the 0.7L aquarium is running really well and is easy to maintain, so I will be moving up to a 1.7L IKEA Jar for the next test:

IKEA 1.7L Jar

^^^ Current design for the IKEA 1.7L Jar Pico Reef Aquarium

This is 14cm diameter and 16cm in height. I will be putting a yellow goby in there with a 3D printed rock which will have branches for them to perch, along with a cave or 2 to hide in. The idea being I will use the additional height as well to give them some additional places to go.

I will be using a new control board and it won't be straight away, but in the next couple of weeks I would imagine. Need to get the parts made and tested first!

- Paul

 

[Tamberav]

Will you have some regular rock too for biological filtration?

Curious to how it would look. I would have just attached rubble together to make a "tree" of sorts.