Stocking list for 15 gallon

[Common Blevil]

I have a 15 gallon macro softie which is now going through unexpected ugly stage 9 months after start. It would be ok, by my favourite fish, tailspot named Microelement, decided to grow a few tumors, have an infection on it's eye and stop eating. I think he will not last long, and he is pretty much impossible to remove. It is not caused by water or food, because my other fish are fine, and he developed his first tumor a few weeks after i bought him. I also have a clown goby Fat Yolk that i want to sell into a larger tank, because he is dumb and eats nothing but brine shrimp, baby or frozen adults, and i want to feed my animals dry and frozen, and not only brine. All in all I'm tired of having nano fish make my life harder in different ways when I'm spending so much time and money on them(I'm a student).

Bigger wheelers goby, that before getting in the tank lived in the shop for almost a year is big, hardy and does not discriminate between foods. And that got me thinking...

I think i want to get rid of nano fish, like my clown goby, even tho he is the cutest thing ever, and either euthanise the poor tailspot, or i can just wait (he is pretty much impossible to remove from the tank because of live rock).

But having only 1 goby and shrimp in the tank is boring, because i see them only half the time and they are really skittish. I want to replace my smaller fish with bigger fish that have different ornaments - bicolor blenny(lfs has a cute fat one that greets me every time i go to the tank, and it has lived for maybe half a year now in there, if now more) and clownfish/chrysiptera damselfish. Who can say something about these in 15 gallons? Especially about the 2 damsel variants, because i would rather pick a chrysiptera, than a clown, I'm very biased against them for reasons i don't know (probably their popularity, lack of interesting behaviour and asscrushing every coral remotely similar to anemones)

Will blenny and damsel fight if damsel will be small and introduced last?
Will clown erase my anthelia/xenia/parazoanthus from the rock with it's butt, because it will host them?
What else can i get in the tank that will be different enough coloration and ecology wise from blenny and goby, or should i stick to 2 fish?

 

[Cheese Griller]

Bicolor blended actually get much larger than tail spots, so I would not recommend one for a 15. A new tail spot and a yellowtail damsel would be the most I’d add to that tank.

 

[Common Blevil]

Bicolor blended actually get much larger than tail spots, so I would not recommend one for a 15. A new tail spot and a yellowtail damsel would be the most I’d add to that tank.

I got a bicolor and decided to pass on damsel (too little space - too much risk) and may get a cleaner shrimp in the future. If blenny will feel cramped i will rehome him, but for now he seems to enjoy my rescape with extra crevises, caves and arches + his shell in which i acclimated him. Bugger started exploring and eating algae 30 minutes after being added, and almost not afraid of me! Still scared of the phone tho, can't blame him.

 

[Tamberav]

Bi colors are coral nippers so just keep an eye on that if it’s something you care about.

 

[Common Blevil]

Also about fish size. Considering the behaviour of bicolors, mainly that they swim less then midas and tailspot(who are actually more closely related to eachother), spend a lot of time laying on the rockwork or sitting in crevices they could be kept in smaller tanks. The problem is mainly the aggression, because the whole tank is his territory, and getting a healthy eating blenny. My friend who has knowledge in fish zootechnics suggests that bicolor should be ok in such a tank, because of its slimmer body, to which i agree, because in my experience with cold water blennies, they have much less body mass per length then most of the fish their length. I also considered putting a baby lawnmower, like starry or segmented, but considering that they are much more active cruising the rockwork and do not spend a lot of time sitting in crevices, i decided not to. Maybe will try segmented in the future, if they will be available, but I'm not sure and hopefully will stick to my bicolor. Mainly because segmented blennies come 1 inch long scrawnies who do not react to frozen, they are not the best candidates to 15 gallon. Also it's another point, ecsenius blennies are much more carnivorous/omnivorous, then salarias, which helps with feeding finicky individuals, but does not help when people feed bicolors and tailspots mainly herbivore food, when they are opportunistic omnivores. Even lawnmowers are not true herbivores, but they need a lot of that fiber to pass through their gut.

 

[Common Blevil]

Bi colors are coral nippers so just keep an eye on that if it’s something you care about.

I care more about the whole tank ecosystem, if he targets one or two coral species i will be ok with that. Plus the only coral i have bicolors are known to eat are zoanthids. But now thinking about it, his shell is situated right beneath a colony which I've grown from 3 free polyps...

 

[Common Blevil]

I think he somehow guessed i was talking about him, because he swam to the side of the tank that is facing my bed(I'm here now). The lights are off, but ambient light is enough for him to continue foraging. I like this fish more than a tailspot, and i have him for 1 day...

 

[Tamberav]

I care more about the whole tank ecosystem, if he targets one or two coral species i will be ok with that. Plus the only coral i have bicolors are known to eat are zoanthids. But now thinking about it, his shell is situated right beneath a colony which I've grown from 3 free polyps...

They mostly can irritate corals if you get a sampler blenny. Sometimes to the corals demise. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Common Blevil]

They mostly can irritate corals if you get a sampler blenny. Sometimes to the corals demise. Your mileage may vary.

By "sampler" you mean it's behaviour of swimming above the rockwork and tasting everything it sees? If he starts to destroy my coral, i might as well sell most of it and get my dream macroalgae tank inhabitants - a group of camelback shrimp. But i think coral will be mostly ok.

 

[Tamberav]

By "sampler" you mean it's behaviour of swimming above the rockwork and tasting everything it sees? If he starts to destroy my coral, i might as well sell most of it and get my dream macroalgae tank inhabitants - a group of camelback shrimp. But i think coral will be mostly ok.

It will probably be fine, its just that these specific blennies have been known to nip at fleshly LPS and clams and in small tanks they nip the same corals over and over since it is a small tank. Mostly just saying to watch him :)

Blennies have fun personalities and I think he will otherwise do fine in the 15g.