NEED SOME INSPIRATION AND IDEAS FISH LIST!

[dawi03]

Hi All!!!

Thanks for having me!!

I have just recently purchased a Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25 and am just finishing off the cycle.

I am wanting some ideas on what I should put into the tank, exctly what fish and CUC

Everyone says some clownfish which is fine but would love to see what others have done with their mini reefs and some ideas on exactly what fish go with others etc

thanks again all cant wait to share this amazing hobby with you all

 

[dawi03]

I dont want lots of fish and am happy to have 1 showpiece fish with some cool cuc and coral, happy to look at any ideas!

 

[i cant think]

What are the dimensions?
I have a Red Sea Max Nano (18”x15-16”x18”) and have 7 fish - Two are temporary but will eventually stick with 6.

 

[nereefpat]

How showy? Swissguard or candy basslet?

 

[New&no clue]

My 30 gallon has
(2)clowns
lawn mower blenny
yellow watchman goby
green clown goby
tuxedo urchin
tiger pistol shrimp
fire shrimp
assorted snails and hermits

 

[dawi03]

My 30 gallon has
(2)clowns
lawn mower blenny
yellow watchman goby
green clown goby
tuxedo urchin
tiger pistol shrimp
fire shrimp
assorted snails and hermits

Thanks mate this sounds similar to what I’m thinking . Does having two shrimp in the tank cause any issues or are they fine together?

 

[dawi03]

My 30 gallon has
(2)clowns
lawn mower blenny
yellow watchman goby
green clown goby
tuxedo urchin
tiger pistol shrimp
fire shrimp
assorted snails and hermits

Thanks mate this sounds similar to what I’m thinking . Does having two shrimp in the tank cause any issues or are they fine together?

 

[dawi03]

What are the dimensions?
I have a Red Sea Max Nano (18”x15-16”x18”) and have 7 fish - Two are temporary but will eventually stick with 6.

It’s 60 x 40 x40

 

[dawi03]

How showy? Swissguard or candy basslet?

Well I’m happy to look at anything that would fit in the tank

 

[New&no clue]

Thanks mate this sounds similar to what I’m thinking . Does having two shrimp in the tank cause any issues or are they fine together?

No issues they pretty much ignore each other.

 

[GARRIGA]

Just an idea I've had.

 

[dawi03]

No issues they pretty much ignore each other.

Fantastic that’s what I want to hear. I much rather shrimp than hermits that’s all

 

[i cant think]

Okay, sooo here’s some ideas:
Multiple different species of goby?
Pink streaked wrasse?
A blenny?
A basslet (Avoid dottybacks, aggressive and relatively reclusive)

I don’t recommend clowns since they’re aggressive towards most things in small tanks.
My tank is goby heavy (And will most likely have its final fish as another goby from Indonesia). Here’s my long term inhabitants and why I like them:

Koumansetta hectori (Hectors Goby)

I love this fish because he both sifts through the sand to get food and makes burrows in a mysterious way. He’s basically a much less destructive and calm jawfish. Here’s some photos of the sand piles outside the rock Hes living under:

Stonogobiops yasha (Yasha goby)

My main reason to loving this fish is how he perches between each rock instead of hides behind it 24/7. He’s also using my rockscape much like how a natural yasha would.

Gobiodon strangulatus (Black Clown Goby)

One look at this guy and I fell in love, he’s got a grouchy face but also perches both on rocks and in the water column.

Pseudocheilinops ataenia (Pink Streaked Wrasse)

This is one of the very few truly nano wrasses out there, the others are the wetmorella genus. It has the look of a six line but they don’t gain the aggressive behaviour.

Escenius lineatus (Linear/Dot-Dash Blenny)

He’s very reclusive and I love him for that. He also perched on the rocks a lot and the variation in this species is wild!! You never find one that’s identical to the other!

 

[dawi03]

Okay, sooo here’s some ideas:
Multiple different species of goby?
Pink streaked wrasse?
A blenny?
A basslet (Avoid dottybacks, aggressive and relatively reclusive)

I don’t recommend clowns since they’re aggressive towards most things in small tanks.
My tank is goby heavy (And will most likely have its final fish as another goby from Indonesia). Here’s my long term inhabitants and why I like them:

Koumansetta hectori (Hectors Goby)

I love this fish because he both sifts through the sand to get food and makes burrows in a mysterious way. He’s basically a much less destructive and calm jawfish. Here’s some photos of the sand piles outside the rock Hes living under:

Stonogobiops yasha (Yasha goby)

My main reason to loving this fish is how he perches between each rock instead of hides behind it 24/7. He’s also using my rockscape much like how a natural yasha would.

Gobiodon strangulatus (Black Clown Goby)

One look at this guy and I fell in love, he’s got a grouchy face but also perches both on rocks and in the water column.

Pseudocheilinops ataenia (Pink Streaked Wrasse)

This is one of the very few truly nano wrasses out there, the others are the wetmorella genus. It has the look of a six line but they don’t gain the aggressive behaviour.

Escenius lineatus (Linear/Dot-Dash Blenny)

He’s very reclusive and I love him for that. He also perched on the rocks a lot and the variation in this species is wild!! You never find one that’s identical to the other!

That’s interesting you say to stay away from clownies!

my must haves after doing some reaearch are

purple firefish
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Fire shrimp

 

[i cant think]

My inverts I own are:
- True Peppermint Shrimp
- Turbo Snail
- Nassarius Snail
- Bumblebee Snail

My planned inverts are:
- Clam
- Cerith Snail possibly
- Strawberry Urchin
- Other Indonesian native species

My main bit of advice is try stick with most thing coming from a similar area, it will make a piece of the reef become a literal thing. If you can’t tell with my tank I’m trying to go Indonesian only, this limits me to certain fish but also doesn’t at the same time. The more you research new areas the more fish you’ll find that are actually native to that area of the world.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Thanks mate this sounds similar to what I’m thinking . Does having two shrimp in the tank cause any issues or are they fine together?

ywg prefer 30 gals so you would need something smaller with a randalls pistol shrimp, maybe a red banded goby. Pistols and cleaners will not fight, Corals and cleaners will, cleaners and different cleaner species will, some cleaner species will fight all other cleaners.

strong candidates IMO are:

Hectors/Jester gobies (captive bred are best, they are basically the same besides color, picks algae off rocks and sifts sand)

Firefish (Active swimmer, eats nearly anything, hardy)

Sharknose Goby (Bold fish, cleaner, eats nearly anything, chill and helps other fish feel safe to come out)

orange tailspot blenny (colorful, active, hardy, very peaceful, eats algae)

since you like CUC, heres a few cool CUC/inverts:

Sexy Shrimp (hyper peaceful, can live in a nem (RFA is best) to live in to avoid getting eaten in slightly more agressive tanks)

Naccarius snail (must have, very active and fast snail that helps clean tank of any leftovers, lives in the sandbed and rises like a zombie)

Pom Pom crab (peaceful and small crab that eats scraps, has two anemones on its claws that it waves around to collect food)

Porcelain nem crab (cool crabs with big claws and are pretty peaceful filter feeders, they do not need nems, but sometimes live in them)

Giant Feather Duster (similar care to some non-photosynthetic corals, very cool looking, needs to be fed live phyto)

abalone (very cool snail that has lots of crazy tentacles)

 

[i cant think]

That’s interesting you say to stay away from clownies!

my must haves after doing some reaearch are

purple firefish
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Fire shrimp

Also yes I recommend against clowns unless in tanks of 3-4’ or bigger. My reasoning is due to how bitey a pair will get. I have a black photon in my 4’ tank and it doesn’t let me near her rock or even that side of the tank a lot of the time. And that’s just a single clown, not even a pair.

 

[SlugSnorter]

That’s interesting you say to stay away from clownies!

my must haves after doing some reaearch are

purple firefish
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp
Fire shrimp

Purple and red firefish are similar, its preference as to which is better

YWG need 30 gallons, better to go with a red banded or something simmilar that is fine with smaller tanks and will pair with a randalls/candy can pistol shrimp

 

[i cant think]

ywg prefer 30 gals so you would need something smaller with a randalls pistol shrimp, maybe a red banded goby. Pistols and cleaners will not fight, Corals and cleaners will, cleaners and different cleaner species will, some cleaner species will fight all other cleaners.

strong candidates IMO are:

Hectors/Jester gobies (captive bred are best, they are basically the same besides color, picks algae off rocks and sifts sand)

Firefish (Active swimmer, eats nearly anything, hardy)

Sharknose Goby (Bold fish, cleaner, eats nearly anything, chill and helps other fish feel safe to come out)

orange tailspot blenny (colorful, active, hardy, very peaceful, eats algae)

since you like CUC, heres a few cool CUC/inverts:

Sexy Shrimp (hyper peaceful, can live in a nem (RFA is best) to live in to avoid getting eaten in slightly more agressive tanks)

Naccarius snail (must have, very active and fast snail that helps clean tank of any leftovers, lives in the sandbed and rises like a zombie)

Pom Pom crab (peaceful and small crab that eats scraps, has two anemones on its claws that it waves around to collect food)

Porcelain nem crab (cool crabs with big claws and are pretty peaceful filter feeders, they do not need nems, but sometimes live in them)

Giant Feather Duster (similar care to some non-photosynthetic corals, very cool looking, needs to be fed live phyto)

abalone (very cool snail that has lots of crazy tentacles)

I forgot about the Pom Pom crab!! I also own one of them, it vanished for twenty days so I keep thinking it’s dead but I did see it a couple nights ago. I certainly agree with this list and if I said anything for advice it would be to look into the goby family more. They’re shrugged off WAY too often but after I have looked into them more, I have gained a love for that family and now have a goby dominated tank.

 

[SlugSnorter]

I forgot about the Pom Pom crab!! I also own one of them, it vanished for two weeks so I keep thinking it’s dead but I did see it a couple nights ago. I certainly agree with this list and if I said anything for advice it would be to look into the goby family more. They’re shrugged off WAY too often but after I have looked into them more, I have gained a love for that family and now have a goby dominated tank.

Gobies are great, lots of blennies are great, both often overlooked. Pom Poms can be hidey