Need help deciding on fish stock for a 29 gallon lagoon-style macro reef.

[ferndog]

Hello R2R,

Don't know if this is the right place to ask for stocking advice but I figured it was worth a shot.

I'm starting my first reef tank and I have posted previously about my plan so you can take a look at the equipment there.

My experience with aquariums come from planted aquariums so I was naturally drawn to macro algae in the display, mixed in with some lps and soft coral.

I saw some cool tanks on some build forums that had a similar approach and I decided it was right for me.


My problem has been determining a viable stocking plan that has some unique fish that fit with the whole lagoon theme.

I like a couple a fish especially but I'm not sure if they would work or not.

They are:

Midas Blenny
Bicolor Blenny
Various Jawfish
longnose hawkfish
tailspot blenny
Marine betta (had to put it on the list because I love the fish but I know it probably won't be happy in a 29 but let me know if I'm wrong)
dilectis dottyback (worried about aggression)
Splendid dottyback ("")
sleeper goldhead goby
banggai cardinalfish

I'm really only looking to stock 2-3 fish and no more. The real beauty will be in the other organisms of the tank. But if any of you guys could come up with some viable stocks involving some of the above fish it would be much appreciated.

I apologize for the broad nature of my question, but I hope to get pointed in a good direction for future research.

Thanks in advance!

 

[sundog101]

Welcome to R2R!

- Ya the marine Betta would be too large
- Dottybacks are known for getting aggressive. Orchid dottybacks are supposed to be a little nicer.
- Sleeper gobies really dig up the sand, so just keep that in mind.
- I believe jawfish usually do better with deeper sand beds, another thing to keep in mind

Sounds like a fun tank!

 

[ferndog]

Thanks for the advice!

I think I’m just going to avoid the dirty backs altogether after doing some additional research.

Right now I’m thinking of a stocking that somewhat resembles this:

1x bicolor blenny
1x sleeper goby
1x banggai cardinal fish

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thanks for the advice!

I think I’m just going to avoid the dirty backs altogether after doing some additional research.

Right now I’m thinking of a stocking that somewhat resembles this:

1x bicolor blenny
1x sleeper goby
1x banggai cardinal fish

Depending on the species, many sleeper gobies can get too large for a 29g.

Some other lagoonal/macroalgae assosciated fish that would work in that size tank include: rhino or paraclinus blennies, dragon pipefish, bristletail filefish, and if you can find one, a Xenojulis margaritacea, it is a type of wrasse that is inexpensive, but not encountered often, that lives in seagrass beds.

 

[ferndog]

Thanks so much for the lagoon themed fish!

I've heard that dragon pipefish and pipefish, in general, are really hard to take care of. Is this true? If not I absolutely love their look. I didn't put them on the original list because liveaquaria listed them as difficult.

Also the filefish looks really cool, have you had any experience with them? I've heard they can be bad with coral.

The wrasse looks awesome! Very unique. I'll probably ask my lfs if they could get one from somewhere, just to see if I would have access to one.

Btw here is the sleeper goby I was looking at : https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/213/?pcatid=213

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thanks so much for the lagoon themed fish!

I've heard that dragon pipefish and pipefish, in general, are really hard to take care of. Is this true? If not I absolutely love their look. I didn't put them on the original list because liveaquaria listed them as difficult.

Also the filefish looks really cool, have you had any experience with them? I've heard they can be bad with coral.

The wrasse looks awesome! Very unique. I'll probably ask my lfs if they could get one from somewhere, just to see if I would have access to one.

Btw here is the sleeper goby I was looking at : https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/213/?pcatid=213

Pipefish can be difficult. They don't always compete well for food. But in a lagoonal type tank they would fare much better, once the setup has matured.

That species of filefish is mostly reef safe. It may nip at fleshy brain corals.

That tank estimate seems a little small for the gold headed sleeper.

 

[ferndog]

Okay thanks for letting me know about the sleeper goby! I was just going off the tank suggestion, and I'm glad I found that out.

Maybe would this look like an ok stock:

Bicolor Blenny
Bristletail Filefish (looks so cool)
Xenojulis margaritacea (as my lfs said they could get one for me if I wanted)



I'm a bit nervous about pipefish still, so I'm going to leave them out of the plan, but who knows.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Okay thanks for letting me know about the sleeper goby! I was just going off the tank suggestion, and I'm glad I found that out.

Maybe would this look like an ok stock:

Bicolor Blenny
Bristletail Filefish (looks so cool)
Xenojulis margaritacea (as my lfs said they could get one for me if I wanted)



I'm a bit nervous about pipefish still, so I'm going to leave them out of the plan, but who knows.

That list looks good.