Fish Stocking Challenge

[fishoholic]

We have just started up a 28g long nano tank. This tank is BB with lots of zoo corals and some LR in it. I would like to get some small fish for this tank.

My challenge is what small fish that don't jump would be ok in a BB (bare bottom) tank, other then clown fish and damsels.

Any ideas? Thanks :biggrin:

[Drock169]

Royal grammas, blackcap basslets, cardinals, blennies, dwarf angels, many types of gobies, i'm sure there are others these are just the first that came to mind

[Pier Pressure]

What is the minimum tank requirements for dwarf angels? I thought they needed more space or I would own one!

[dsaundry]

A rusty angel would be ok...pistol shrimp and goby too, some small yellow tail blue damsels..although they can preasent a challenge in some cases. Mine havent though...

[fishoholic]

Some good ideas everyone :biggrin: Some of this decision was made for me today when my boyfriend came home with a wonderful surprise of a very cute little yellow clown goby :mrgreen:

I will try to post pic.'s later. So far this silly little guy likes to perch on top of the edge of the plug at the back of the tank :confused:

[noirsphynx]

Some good ideas everyone :biggrin: Some of this decision was made for me today when my boyfriend came home with a wonderful surprise of a very cute little yellow clown goby :mrgreen:

I will try to post pic.'s later. So far this silly little guy likes to perch on top of the edge of the plug at the back of the tank :confused:

I was going to say a yellow clown Goby :smile: I have two in my 24g. Aren't they super cute!

[fishoholic]

I was going to say a yellow clown Goby :smile: I have two in my 24g. Aren't they super cute!

I pm'd you, I was wondering how your 2 gobies get along with each other.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

My Rusty Angelfish swims the entire breadth of my 55G. I might feel guilty confining it to something half the size!

How about a Mandarin Dragonette (if it's eating frozen/mysis) and/or a Six Line Wrasse? You could also spice it up with some interesting inverts (linkia starfish, shrimp, etc.)

[fishoholic]

I was thinking about a 6 line wrasse (I really like them) but my concerns are: 1) do they need a sand bottom to sleep in? 2) is it likely that one will jump out or not? and 3) Will a six line pick on a yellow goby? Generally speaking of course.

Anyone know?

[michika]

1-3) no, or at least not so with my previous six lines.
Rainford gobie might be a good choice, stays small, somewhat colourful, and generally pretty sociable.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I was actually going to suggest that, Catherine, but I'm not sure about keeping multiple gobies in such a small space? I have no experience with it, so it's all really speculation on my part.

I have a Six Line in my open-top, barebottom aquarium. He zips in and out of the rocks/corals and has a great ol' time. Or so it seems. No problems so far. And it's so cute, active and interactive.

[fishoholic]

Thanks Catherine and Drew. I thought a rainford goby needed a sand bed?

[michika]

I don't totally remember. What I do know though is that they are small, and stay small, I don't think they grow any larger then 1" or 1.5".

Have you look at the nano fish list on some of the nano websites?

[fishoholic]

I don't totally remember. What I do know though is that they are small, and stay small, I don't think they grow any larger then 1" or 1.5".

Have you look at the nano fish list on some of the nano websites?

Yes, I was looking at a few different websites about nano fish. The problem I was having was that all the small fish that I really like either are known to jump out (BTW we are not using the canopy, the open top makes it easier to frag zoos) or they need a sand bed to eat from and/or sleep in. I'm pretty sure that a rainford goby eats by sifting through the sand for food. If one would be ok in a BB I would love to get one because they are a very cool looking fish.

I was thinking that a six line wrasse would be good to add. Then I remembered that we just added nudibranchs to our tank to help get rid of the aptasia, and I believe a six line would eat the nudi's right?

[michika]

Not sure on that one. I've only ever had one lettuce nudibranch.

You could always try unconventional fish and inverts like say a ribbon eels or maybe even a frogfish. However, those two aren't compatible with your new little clown goby. Depending on how you are going to be doing the flow you could also look at seahorses and pipefish.

[Drock169]

Rainfords/Hectors need sand, ribbon eels would escape,frogfish is a good choice for something different if your willing to feed it 3x a week, seahorse/pipefish will require a hitching post and low flow.

[fishoholic]

Thanks for all the ideas and advice everyone. We have a pipefish in our refugium, so we won't be getting another one. We thought about a frog fish but we don't know much about how to take care of one, so we got a yellow clown goby instead.

I think I'm going to get a red scooter blenny (lots of pods and live mysis in our system) and a black cap basslet (if I can find one) or (if I can't find one) maybe a royal gramma.

[fishoholic]

I went to the LFS today and I didn't know that black cap basslets cost so much! I couldn't find a red scooter blenny so...

After talking to the guy at the store (AI) he was fairly certain that the only thing that eats nudi's are powerheads so... a six line wrasse and a cute little bi-colour blenny followed me home :mrgreen: