I researched then added a fresh live grocery store oyster to my pico.

[steven_d_blanshan]

My studies say pacific oysters take more nitrates and nitrites then they give, I currently have 2 small blue green chromis, 1 watchman goby, 1 turbo snail, 1 pacific oyster 4.5 inches with 2 barnacles and 3 young oysters attached to shell with 1 LB. of cultured live rock above 2 lbs. of crushed calcium carbonate substrate. I have used a bottle of live bacteria 2 nights ago up to 30 gallons; in a 3.5 gallon Pico tank in my RV and currently change and reuse water as a single gallon becomes unsafe or unsuitable for recycling after nitrogen cycle is controlled. I added my fresh live grocery store pacific oyster today immediately after received from the shipping company with all wanted and unwanted species attached, brushed all mud and detritus carefully from the shells/valves into my tank while preserving the spat and barnacles. After a short time I changed 1 gallon of water due to ammonia and nitrogen, and observed as the new life forms began to express and display. I also agitated the substrate to bury the native mud and micro-biome from the oyster into my Pico which was started less then a week ago. I fully expect my nitrogen cycle to complete within 3 more days using bottled denitrifying bacteria.
I welcome any and all comments and thoughts as R2R seems to be an educated and enlightened community. I haven't had a marine aquarium in almost 5 years, however my freshwater planted aquariums are exceptional and last marine tanks were for breeding and swapping with the LFS, including breeding 32PPT black lyretail mollies for cleanup crew with ZERO loss.

 

[Saltyreef]

I like it.
You may need more oysters though

 

[sde1500]

You have 3 fish in an uncycled 3.5G tank?

 

[JSchwarz]

I think chromis are too active for a 3.5 gallon. They could get really stressed and die even if the bottled bacteria manages to keeps up with the ammonia.

 

[dvgyfresh]

3 fish in a 3.5 gallon may be hard, I’d think it would require almost daily water changes, and the chromis don’t belong/ too active ,I would think a goby / pistol shrimp combo would be cool and maybe a clownfish

 

[Aclman88]

3 fish in a 3.5 gallon may be hard, I’d think it would require almost daily water changes, and the chromis don’t belong/ too active ,I would think a goby / pistol shrimp combo would be cool and maybe a clownfish

A clownfish in a 3.5 gallon...?

 

[iMi]

I love oysters. To eat. Not to keep in the tank though.

 

[schuby]

Do your studies show the nitrate/phosphate removal rates of oysters vs macro-algae?

 

[brandon429]

need pics

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

My studies say pacific oysters take more nitrates and nitrites then they give, I currently have 2 small blue green chromis, 1 watchman goby, 1 turbo snail, 1 pacific oyster 4.5 inches with 2 barnacles and 3 young oysters attached to shell with 1 LB. of cultured live rock above 2 lbs. of crushed calcium carbonate substrate. I have used a bottle of live bacteria 2 nights ago up to 30 gallons; in a 3.5 gallon Pico tank in my RV and currently change and reuse water as a single gallon becomes unsafe or unsuitable for recycling after nitrogen cycle is controlled. I added my fresh live grocery store pacific oyster today immediately after received from the shipping company with all wanted and unwanted species attached, brushed all mud and detritus carefully from the shells/valves into my tank while preserving the spat and barnacles. After a short time I changed 1 gallon of water due to ammonia and nitrogen, and observed as the new life forms began to express and display. I also agitated the substrate to bury the native mud and micro-biome from the oyster into my Pico which was started less then a week ago. I fully expect my nitrogen cycle to complete within 3 more days using bottled denitrifying bacteria.
I welcome any and all comments and thoughts as R2R seems to be an educated and enlightened community. I haven't had a marine aquarium in almost 5 years, however my freshwater planted aquariums are exceptional and last marine tanks were for breeding and swapping with the LFS, including breeding 32PPT black lyretail mollies for cleanup crew with ZERO loss.

With all those fish, any pictures. As they say, no pictures, never happened. Sorry

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

Its been 18 days I replaced the oyster 3 days ago from an identifiable source, the Pico has survived 2 moves in the RV, the nitrogen cycle completed in a total of 8 days like the bottle said, I no longer need to keep an artificially larger supply of recycled water in jugs.

I'm pleased to say after I had more grocery store oysters for lunch the other day, while I was cleaning them I found 2 live anemones on an oyster shell, as well as a garden of plant life on another, I kept my soon to be lunch in a "cut in half" 1 gallon jug with an aerator and cleaned all their shells removing sand and detritus which I collected and moved to a 4 week sealed biome to observe any growth of microscopic critters such as crab or oyster larvae, any copepods or other macros which might have survived to the grocery store.
In the last 3 days since I added the 2 Diadumene paranaensis "I think" all inhabitants are still happy and the 2 anemones are happy to eat flake food as well as frozen mix.
I have also identified this oyster as a farmed pacific oyster based on shape, size, and condition lacking spat or even barnacles. It is most likely from the "pacific oyster" farms in Chesapeake bay on the Atlantic coast of the eastern USA which also helped me identify the Diadumene paranaensis which share the same waters making identification easier. Diadumene are closely related to Exaiptasia Pallida, however they are 4 branches over on their family tree so I'll be watching those closely to determine if they may become pests.

Ill toss in pictures of the diadumene anemone, Miyagi oyster (pacific oyster), and other critters, plus the biome from the detritus I collected.
I am very excited to see what, if anything, appears inside this grocery store "sealed marine biome"! I follow lifeinjars? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0XNssyypOLiq4vVgXm9NtQ
on YouTube! It's surprisingly entertaining

An interesting note, adding the oyster seems to have reduced my buffering ability resulting in a very slightly lower PH, perhaps repairing its shell from harvest damage and growing it back is reducing the available calcium carbonate in the water causing slightly more acidity which may help break down the substrate to provide more calcium carbonate?
My hand was in there about an hour ago.

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

You have 3 fish in an uncycled 3.5G tank?

yes, and I'm using a "cycle in a bottle" product to establish all the bacteria needed, as well as using quite a few 1 gallon jugs numbered for recycling back into the tank (artificially increasing overall water capacity to 10.5 gallons ). Also dont forget the additional bio load of the oyster, and the phytoplankton it eats, and the nutrients added to the phyto-feed to keep it alive in the refrigerator.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Its been 18 days I replaced the oyster 3 days ago from an identifiable source, the Pico has survived 2 moves in the RV, the nitrogen cycle completed in a total of 8 days like the bottle said, I no longer need to keep an artificially larger supply of recycled water in jugs.

I'm pleased to say after I had more grocery store oysters for lunch the other day, while I was cleaning them I found 2 live anemones on an oyster shell, as well as a garden of plant life on another, I kept my soon to be lunch in a "cut in half" 1 gallon jug with an aerator and cleaned all their shells removing sand and detritus which I collected and moved to a 4 week sealed biome to observe any growth of microscopic critters such as crab or oyster larvae, any copepods or other macros which might have survived to the grocery store.
In the last 3 days since I added the 2 Diadumene paranaensis "I think" all inhabitants are still happy and the 2 anemones are happy to eat flake food as well as frozen mix.
I have also identified this oyster as a farmed pacific oyster based on shape, size, and condition lacking spat or even barnacles. It is most likely from the "pacific oyster" farms in Chesapeake bay on the Atlantic coast of the eastern USA which also helped me identify the Diadumene paranaensis which share the same waters making identification easier. Diadumene are closely related to Exaiptasia Pallida, however they are 4 branches over on their family tree so I'll be watching those closely to determine if they may become pests.

Ill toss in pictures of the diadumene anemone, Miyagi oyster (pacific oyster), and other critters, plus the biome from the detritus I collected.
I am very excited to see what, if anything, appears inside this grocery store "sealed marine biome"! I follow lifeinjars? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0XNssyypOLiq4vVgXm9NtQ
on YouTube! It's surprisingly entertaining

An interesting note, adding the oyster seems to have reduced my buffering ability resulting in a very slightly lower PH, perhaps repairing its shell from harvest damage and growing it back is reducing the available calcium carbonate in the water causing slightly more acidity which may help break down the substrate to provide more calcium carbonate?
My hand was in there about an hour ago.

Thanks for sharing

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

Do your studies show the nitrate/phosphate removal rates of oysters vs macro-algae?

I'm sorry, not yet. I imagine soon with the addition of a pistol shrimp to enjoy the oyster's psudofeces, and therefor more completely break down and biologically lock up some of the extra nutrients, I know 4 days ago the nitrates and nitrites were near 0! and after a week for the bacteria to adjust to the increased bio load I will compare and note. I do expect an increase from nearly 0 to slightly nearly 0. lol

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

I think chromis are too active for a 3.5 gallon. They could get really stressed and die even if the bottled bacteria manages to keeps up with the ammonia.

They seem to be fine, they come up to me when I am close and they love hovering above the structure the same as they would above antler or stag corral in Fiji. I also admit I just like looking at them and watching them dart around and even sit still like in the reefs.

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

A clownfish in a 3.5 gallon...?

No, but I considered a 12 inch bubble tip to cover the round bottom substrate, with a clown or 2, and decided I didn't have quite enough time for that. lol
its not how many gallons, its how much time and effort.

 

[mike550]

@steven_d_blanshan this is really interesting. Two simple Qs. Why did you replace the original oyster? What is the water temp of your tank?

 

[LgTas]

I have two pacific oysters in my macro algae display. They are invasive along the Tasmanian coast so I collected them from my local bay.

I didn't realise they could potentially reduce nitrates so I'll start monitoring. I'm really interested to see what comes up in your closed systems!

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

@steven_d_blanshan this is really interesting. Two simple Qs. Why did you replace the original oyster? What is the water temp of your tank?

I replaced the original oyster first because he was sluggish, I don't think I was feeding him enough and you can see in the first photo I have since made a make shift tube for spot feeding the replacement, and second because the second oyster had an identifiable source, and since I'm using his shell to transport biodiversity like live rock does, I wanted to know where both he and his hitchhikers were from. I will likely add other oysters or shells or shell fragments in the future based on what critters they possess or based on looks, as I regularly consume them and revive them in containment before eating or adding them. does this go in the BBQ section?

 

[steven_d_blanshan]

@steven_d_blanshan this is really interesting. Two simple Qs. Why did you replace the original oyster? What is the water temp of your tank?

also the temp is a bit low at an average temp of 70 from 68 to 72 F.