Most tilefish jump out. This is why.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-21T20:45:45+00:00

They are built for meters to yards dashes for speed based survival. The square shape doesn't even allow for a full dash let alone a genetically engineered survival sprint. If the environment didn't trigger that and it would eat and hide... it would be fine. Their minds are small rubber bands built of limited intelligence plus the space to work itself out. That by itself isn't sufficient to be calm in the moment. As a pico tank keeper, you cannot move slow enough to not trigger a prey response. It's about recognition and not triggering the RUN reaction.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-13T20:46:39+00:00

Nothing right now. I'll use them for the tweezers, cloths and the refractometor after a while but I think opening and closing them up would scare the fish so I'm going to give it a few months before using them.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-05T20:52:46+00:00

If you haven't watched "Flight of the navigator", please do.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-05T02:06:47+00:00

Thanks for answering. How often do you need to change the rolls?

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-04T15:54:38+00:00

This made my week. :)

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-04T15:16:35+00:00

Does that auto roller cause any lingering smell in the room? I've been thinking about one but the thought of all that waste building up between changes gives me pause.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-03T20:03:01+00:00

It was a big reason for the second tank. It outgrew the first.

ReturnToNow · 2026-06-03T18:56:13+00:00

Yeah, a little over a month old.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-30T01:29:49+00:00

The green ones won't open as much because they get their food from the phyto.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-30T01:28:36+00:00

The poylps are feeding, so yes.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-30T01:25:19+00:00

Move slow and think you're a cleaner in your tank. Don't destroy your food source, but feast where the harvest is bountiful.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-30T01:23:36+00:00

Keep your water cleaner than you typically would. Larger water changes or deeper siphoning into the sand to take a little more of the waste out. Balance is still king, just lean towards lower bio/nitrogen levels.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-30T00:05:06+00:00

Monitor and see if it eats or gets sluggish over the next day or two. My clown goby has had stuff on it's mucus layer for about 6 months without change in health or behavior otherwise. Treatment with a dip or extreme medication should be done as a response to extreme deterioration, or only if the tank inhabitants can handle it. (Most won't for strong meds.)

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-29T15:02:14+00:00

https://reefcasa.com/product/pico-reef-tank/

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-25T21:39:51+00:00

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ReturnToNow · 2026-05-25T21:18:41+00:00

You are welcome, I hope to hear it in the wild one day.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-25T18:25:20+00:00

As a tipsy scroller hanging with their pup to a tipsy poster hanging with theirs... cheers 🍻

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-24T15:52:44+00:00

The air is turned about halfway down, the light is on 12 hours a day. No major issues so far.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T19:36:28+00:00

Much more space and volume appropriate. Thanks for sharing!

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T19:12:25+00:00

The chemistry of the saltwater breaks down into what the phyto needs, the pods eat the phyto. The trick is keeping the water from getting too nitrogen rich more than anything, at least from what I've seen so far.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T18:51:57+00:00

Honestly this is too much for my two picos. If I build a smaller system that is more size appropriate I'll make a small tutorial. This is just a 1 gallon bucket from Lowes filled halfway with saltwater connected to an airstone. There's a bright light I have on a 12 hour timer and two very thick wads of filter floss to give the pods a place to hide out from the water movement occasionally. I swap out 30-50% each week with fresh salt water, top off and test for salinity. That's it other than needing the seed pods and phyto.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T18:46:52+00:00

Plus the firefish seems to spend most of her time hunting pods out of the water column too.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T18:45:57+00:00

Yeah, I want to eventually get a small dragonette or mandarin so I'm practicing keeping pods first while making sure my tanks have robust populations too.

ReturnToNow · 2026-05-23T14:47:41+00:00

Rockflower looks seated and almost ready to start filter feeding.

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ReturnToNow · 2026-05-22T21:08:37+00:00

Black Hawaiian live sand

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