Single specimen ideas for 29 gallon reef tank

[CaliCO]

The Bobbit worm is super creepy haha

 

[DSEKULA]

Noone said it yet Soo mantis shrimp

 

[sas226]

Haha I figured a harem wouldn't work. A few small fish is how I might end up going but I'd prefer one slightly bigger specimen fish/creature. At this point I'm thinking either a single dwarf lion, or dwarf angel, or a mix of small fish.

Eh, a anemone tank even with two clownfish is something truly great looking. Don't write it off!

 

[Zionas]

Maybe a Lionfish of some kind?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmmm....a single species tank that only has a pair of fish in it at maximum...my breeder senses are tingling...and 18" is a very decent spawning height as well...

Probably any fish that is 5" or less, kept in a breeding pair ((I believe that most fish should have a max size of 1/6 the tank length in order to allow for swimming room). I've compiled a list for ya, with the bolded ones being the top of my top picks, and the underlined ones being subjects of contention probably:

• Any of the angelfish, although if you're going for a species tank, might as well go for the gold and get a pair of the more lucrative ones like flame angels, or...abei angels...
• One can't go wrong with a pair of cardinalfish, clownfish, grammas/assessors, or dottybacks. But I find the banggai cardinalfish, Macneilli's Assessor, and Elongate dottyback to be prime candidates.
• People sleep on them for some reason, but if you're looking for a pair of small personable fish, then damselfish (especally the yellowtail demoiselle) may be for you. But then again I'm heavily biased, since these were the first fish I ever formed a pair of, or kept in the hobby.
• For a more stately fish, the dragonets can't be beaten. You just have to educate yourself on how to supplement their diet with cultured worms and artemia (hint: look up PaulB)
• A pair of longnose hawkfish are slightly more active than your typical frogfish, but still have an interesting dynamic in the aquarium.
• A pair of Fu manchu or dwarf lionfish would be a wild aquarium. But I've heard of the dwarf lionfish being hard to get to feed on dead foods, so be prepared to do some training/taming.
• Like others have said, a single species seahorse aquarium (probably H. erectus or H. reidi) would look cool. But I'm a bigger fan of reef pipefish, like the blue-lined pipe
• If damsels aren't your jam, a single Canthigaster toby (or maybe a pair!) may be what you're looking for. They're a very good "pet" fish, and very smart as well. Just make sure to feed them enough clams.
• Finally, if you're into cryptic species, possum wrasses may be for you. They're shy, and rather unlike their cousins, the sixline and yellow/banana/chrysus wrasses.

 

[elysics]

If you have the budget for it, a large group of Discordipinna griessingeri (flaming prawn goby) would look awesome and with no other species and enough of them they might not be so shy. Not cheap though.