Suprise 30g Stocking Ideas

[Wandering Albatross]

Oooh, this is my type of thread :D
Here are a few I haven't seen mentioned yet.

Pygmy Rooster Waspfish - I got one of these guys and he's great. He's related to lionfish, so he's got venomous dorsal spines, but other than that he only grows to about 3 inches and is super chill with other small fish tankmates. I have kept mine with a Royal Gramma, Firefish, Yellow Clown Goby, Springerii Damsel, Possum Wrasse, and Pink Streaked Wrasse at one time or other without any issues.

Speaking of wrasses, both of those wrasse listed stay small enough they'd do well in a tank that size as long as they've got enough rockwork. You can check out my build thread, but I currently have both my possum wrasse and pink streaked together in a 25gal peninsula along with my Waspfish, a Firefish, and a Royal Gramma.

EDIT:
Waspfish tax :P

He’s a handsome fish no doubt, and he fulfills the ‘not as common’ requirement. I’m liking the idea that a firefish or 2 might fit alright with him. They’d be the purple firefish, as a pair, and established before he was added. My dart fish pair in the 150 like burrowing at sand level, I’d expect the firefish to behave similarly. Is the wasp a rock or sand percher?

Think any other fish could go in there with these hypothetical 3? Do you know if the wasp fish are sex-changers or if they can be sexed like mandarins? Would a pixie hawk be too much? Is the pink streak a sand or rock sleeper? Thought a clown goby would be too small and get eaten.

 

[Wandering Albatross]

I kept mine in a 70 gallon then moved her to my 125 when I got that up and running. She seemed to like the extra space to swim around.

Unfortunately 60-75 4ft is the highest I can go for the third tank, and it has certain non-negotiable fish that I don’t think would survive a lion. Was really hoping a dwarf lion would fit solo in here.

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

He’s a handsome fish no doubt, and he fulfills the ‘not as common’ requirement. I’m liking the idea that a firefish or 2 might fit alright with him. They’d be the purple firefish, as a pair, and established before he was added. My dart fish pair in the 150 like burrowing at sand level, I’d expect the firefish to behave similarly. Is the wasp a rock or sand percher?

My waspfish kinda chills all over, just depends on the rockwork. There was a spot on the sand he liked to chill at a lot of the time, and then I changed the rockwork a bit and he's found other spots I've seen him in more now that are up in the rockwork. A lot of the time he just finds a kind of sheltered perch that's in a cave or under an overhang and hangs out there. My guess is that this is due to them being ambush predators. However, when he's hungry he'll actively swim up to the glass when he sees me coming over to the tank. It's pretty cute. To feed him I just take frozen food and thaw it in the tank and then use a pipette to suction a chunk of food to the end of the pipette and offer it to him that way. I can actually see when he notices it near him because he'll get brightly colored and his dorsal fin sticks up before he swims over and snatches the food off the end of the pipette.

Think any other fish could go in there with these hypothetical 3?

I keep a waspfish, royal gramma, firefish, pink-streaked wrasse, and possum wrasse together in an AIO 25gal tank (so not even 25gal display size) and they all get along just fine together as far as I can tell. Granted, this is probably on the higher end of bioloads you want to put in this size tank, but it's definitely doable. I'm not familiar with how aggressive firefish are when they are a pair, but I expect you could add a few other small fish if you wanted.
I will make one note on aggression. For a bit I had a springerii damsel instead of the pink-streaked in my main tank and I noticed that I almost never saw the firefish. As soon as I swapped the pink-streaked and damsel I started seeing the firefish again. So I'd caution against adding a damsel in a tank that size.

If you are looking for variety, you could also look into inverts. I keep a wide variety of inverts in my tanks as well so there's tons of options there for fun stuff. Some of my more interesting inverts right now are:
- tigertail sea cucumber
- pitho crab
- pom pom crab
- porcelain crab (lives in my anemones)
- banded serpent starfish (this one currently lives in my lagoon with the damsel but my understanding is that they are fairly reef safe. Do be aware these can grow large. Mine is still pretty small at the moment, but I fully expect to have to upgrade tank size or rehome it eventually as they can get to something like 8inches in diameter)

Other fun inverts I have not had the opportunity to try yet:
- Staghorn hermit crab
- Sponge decorator crab

Do you know if the wasp fish are sex-changers or if they can be sexed like mandarins?

To my knowledge waspfish do not change sex and you can sex them buy looking at their dorsal fins.
Here's a great thread on them from another member with pics of the differences. This was actually the thread that got me interested in getting one.

Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever...

www.reef2reef.com

Would a pixie hawk be too much?

A pixie hawfish would probably be fine with a waspfish, but I've never kept one so I'm not 100% certain what their personality is like.

Is the pink streak a sand or rock sleeper?

My pink streaked sleeps in the rocks, same with my possum wrasse. Both of them need lots of caves and hidey holes to feel safe. My pink streaked was originally in my lagoon tank with a couple rocks and I think I saw it on average once a month for a split second. For the most part it just hung out in the only cave/safe area in the tank. As soon as I moved it over to my main tank with other fish and lots of tunnels and passages throught the rocks I could tell it instantly felt better and I now regularly see it cruising around the rockwork.

Thought a clown goby would be too small and get eaten.

For the clown goby, mine was fully grown already when I added the waspfish. I probably wouldn't add a baby/young yellow clown goby with a full-grown waspfish. I think that's about the smallest fish you could safely keep and not have to worry about it getting swallowed.

 

[Wandering Albatross]

My waspfish kinda chills all over, just depends on the rockwork. There was a spot on the sand he liked to chill at a lot of the time, and then I changed the rockwork a bit and he's found other spots I've seen him in more now that are up in the rockwork. A lot of the time he just finds a kind of sheltered perch that's in a cave or under an overhang and hangs out there. My guess is that this is due to them being ambush predators. However, when he's hungry he'll actively swim up to the glass when he sees me coming over to the tank. It's pretty cute. To feed him I just take frozen food and thaw it in the tank and then use a pipette to suction a chunk of food to the end of the pipette and offer it to him that way. I can actually see when he notices it near him because he'll get brightly colored and his dorsal fin sticks up before he swims over and snatches the food off the end of the pipette.


I keep a waspfish, royal gramma, firefish, pink-streaked wrasse, and possum wrasse together in an AIO 25gal tank (so not even 25gal display size) and they all get along just fine together as far as I can tell. Granted, this is probably on the higher end of bioloads you want to put in this size tank, but it's definitely doable. I'm not familiar with how aggressive firefish are when they are a pair, but I expect you could add a few other small fish if you wanted.
I will make one note on aggression. For a bit I had a springerii damsel instead of the pink-streaked in my main tank and I noticed that I almost never saw the firefish. As soon as I swapped the pink-streaked and damsel I started seeing the firefish again. So I'd caution against adding a damsel in a tank that size.

If you are looking for variety, you could also look into inverts. I keep a wide variety of inverts in my tanks as well so there's tons of options there for fun stuff. Some of my more interesting inverts right now are:
- tigertail sea cucumber
- pitho crab
- pom pom crab
- porcelain crab (lives in my anemones)
- banded serpent starfish (this one currently lives in my lagoon with the damsel but my understanding is that they are fairly reef safe. Do be aware these can grow large. Mine is still pretty small at the moment, but I fully expect to have to upgrade tank size or rehome it eventually as they can get to something like 8inches in diameter)

Other fun inverts I have not had the opportunity to try yet:
- Staghorn hermit crab
- Sponge decorator crab



To my knowledge waspfish do not change sex and you can sex them buy looking at their dorsal fins.
Here's a great thread on them from another member with pics of the differences. This was actually the thread that got me interested in getting one.

Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever...

www.reef2reef.com

A pixie hawfish would probably be fine with a waspfish, but I've never kept one so I'm not 100% certain what their personality is like.


My pink streaked sleeps in the rocks, same with my possum wrasse. Both of them need lots of caves and hidey holes to feel safe. My pink streaked was originally in my lagoon tank with a couple rocks and I think I saw it on average once a month for a split second. For the most part it just hung out in the only cave/safe area in the tank. As soon as I moved it over to my main tank with other fish and lots of tunnels and passages throught the rocks I could tell it instantly felt better and I now regularly see it cruising around the rockwork.


For the clown goby, mine was fully grown already when I added the waspfish. I probably wouldn't add a baby/young yellow clown goby with a full-grown waspfish. I think that's about the smallest fish you could safely keep and not have to worry about it getting swallowed.

I think a pom Pom crab would be a cool addition if nothing will eat it. Many of the hawkfish are listed as aggressive and invert eaters, but it seems to depend on who you ask. Pixie is supposed to be one of the smallest at 2-3 inches, but there aren’t any charts as to what sized fish/inverts are not safe with it.
I’ll look into the pink line, see what I need to make him comfortable if I choose to add him.

Any other uncommon fish you can think of that might go with the wasp?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

My 32 gallon has 4 seahorses. If your willing to put in the work to feed them and keep up with the maintenance, that would make an interesting (and challenging) tank. Good luck whatever you do.

 

[littlefoxx]

Unfortunately 60-75 4ft is the highest I can go for the third tank, and it has certain non-negotiable fish that I don’t think would survive a lion. Was really hoping a dwarf lion would fit solo in here.

Yeah it would really be too small. After having several spices of dwarf lions the smallest I would go is a 70 gallon

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

I think a pom Pom crab would be a cool addition if nothing will eat it. Many of the hawkfish are listed as aggressive and invert eaters, but it seems to depend on who you ask. Pixie is supposed to be one of the smallest at 2-3 inches, but there aren’t any charts as to what sized fish/inverts are not safe with it.
I’ll look into the pink line, see what I need to make him comfortable if I choose to add him.

Any other uncommon fish you can think of that might go with the wasp?

I can't think of any others at the moment. I think that as long as the other fish aren't too small and aren't overly aggressive, then they'd do just fine with a waspfish.

 

[Wandering Albatross]

What about a pistol shrimp with a pair of watchmans? Maybe even a pair of the shrimp? Would the wasp go after the shrimp, or would the shrimp be big enough to not be seen as food?

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

What about a pistol shrimp with a pair of watchmans? Maybe even a pair of the shrimp? Would the wasp go after the shrimp, or would the shrimp be big enough to not be seen as food?

I keep a randall's pistol shrimp in the same tank as my waspfish and haven't had any issues though it was already grown by then. If it's not a baby pistol shrimp it'll be fine. I only really see mine when it pokes it's head out during feeding time to grab a snack and occasionally when it's adjusting it's cave entrances, so even a younger one might be ok. I don't have a goby paired with mine currently, I might see it more if I did. They're fun, just plan on putting your rocks down before adding sand (special grade recommended as it's a good size for digging but not too course for sand-dwellers) and don't plan on any corals that have to sit on the sand. Pistol shrimp will move large quantities of sand around if they so desire. Mine moved stuff around a lot at first but it's settled down now that he's got his tunnels mostly how he likes it. Though he still changes things up every now and then.

 

[Wandering Albatross]

I keep a randall's pistol shrimp in the same tank as my waspfish and haven't had any issues though it was already grown by then. If it's not a baby pistol shrimp it'll be fine. I only really see mine when it pokes it's head out during feeding time to grab a snack and occasionally when it's adjusting it's cave entrances, so even a younger one might be ok. I don't have a goby paired with mine currently, I might see it more if I did. They're fun, just plan on putting your rocks down before adding sand (special grade recommended as it's a good size for digging but not too course for sand-dwellers) and don't plan on any corals that have to sit on the sand. Pistol shrimp will move large quantities of sand around if they so desire. Mine moved stuff around a lot at first but it's settled down now that he's got his tunnels mostly how he likes it. Though he still changes things up every now and then.

My rocks always go before sand and on egg crate so no worries. Did it ever go after other inverts (other shrimp, crabs/hermits, snails, clams)?

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

My rocks always go before sand and on egg crate so no worries. Did it ever go after other inverts (other shrimp, crabs/hermits, snails, clams)?

To my knowledge it hasn't gone after anything. I've actually seen it snap at some of my nassarius when they fell into it's cave entrance and then pick them up and shove them away. I also suspect that my firefish might live in it's tunnels along with my sea cucumber. Tiger pistol shrimp get a bit bigger, but the Randall's is pretty small and prettier in my opinion. I think mine is probably full-grown and it's maybe 1.5" to 2" long. He comes out to his cave entrance sometimes at feeding time and I like to try and use a pipette to give him a chunk of food just to make sure he's well fed.

 

[Mickle]

Here is a crappy put together list of uncommon/unique fish.
A couple of cool species I wish to keep are Red Soapfish, Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish and Barred Spiny Basslet.
If you want a very aggressive predator that is also attractive you could do a Redspotted Sandperch (Parapercis schauinslandii)
For Scorpions you could do a Pygmy Waspfish pair or Yellowspotted Scorpionfish could also work, they are way more active than the waspfish. Mine begs for food while I hardly ever see my pair of waspfish.
Another weird fish is the Marbled Blenny, hobby name is Rhino Blenny. That one is not shy at all and also personable but will eat whatever is smaller than it. Theres also tons of underrated/uncommon dottybacks if youre interested in those. Marshall Dottyback, Ringeye Dottyback, Jaguar Dottyback, Lyretail Dottyback, Damperia Dottyback, and Red Spotted Dottyback are some examples.

​

 

[Wandering Albatross]

Here is a crappy put together list of uncommon/unique fish.
A couple of cool species I wish to keep are Red Soapfish, Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish and Barred Spiny Basslet.
If you want a very aggressive predator that is also attractive you could do a Redspotted Sandperch (Parapercis schauinslandii)
For Scorpions you could do a Pygmy Waspfish pair or Yellowspotted Scorpionfish could also work, they are way more active than the waspfish. Mine begs for food while I hardly ever see my pair of waspfish.
Another weird fish is the Marbled Blenny, hobby name is Rhino Blenny. That one is not shy at all and also personable but will eat whatever is smaller than it. Theres also tons of underrated/uncommon dottybacks if youre interested in those. Marshall Dottyback, Ringeye Dottyback, Jaguar Dottyback, Lyretail Dottyback, Damperia Dottyback, and Red Spotted Dottyback are some examples.

​

How’d you end up with a pair of wasps? Did they pair for you, was it luck, or were they sold as a pair? Would the hawkfish be safe to be around Pom Pom crabs or hermits? I wasn’t sure if a dotty or dotty pair would fit in something this small with other fish…

 

[JumboShrimp]

I loved my Fang Blenny. Acted pretty chill in a 20-gallon, and the colors were even better than in this photo.

 

[Wandering Albatross]

I loved my Fang Blenny. Acted pretty chill in a 20-gallon, and the colors were even better than in this photo.

Grazer or omnivore? I had a flametail blenny that was supposed to be a grazer, and he ended up shredding my snails like a tiny shark...

 

[JumboShrimp]

Hmmmm. Good question. It was a while ago, but I assume I had at least one ornamental shrimp and probably a few small snails.

 

[The Ugly Phase]

My 32 gallon has 4 seahorses. If your willing to put in the work to feed them and keep up with the maintenance, that would make an interesting (and challenging) tank. Good luck whatever you do.

i remember crying my eyes out when i was 4 cause my dad would not let me get a sea horse i seen in the shop for my fresh water pond

 

[Mickle]

How’d you end up with a pair of wasps? Did they pair for you, was it luck, or were they sold as a pair? Would the hawkfish be safe to be around Pom Pom crabs or hermits? I wasn’t sure if a dotty or dotty pair would fit in something this small with other fish…

I requested my male and female from @Eric Cohen at Tankstop. The hawkfish should be fine with Pom pom crabs and hermits. Yeah, the dottyback would probably have to be solo in that tank, most the ones I listed are very aggressive and even have teeth

 

[Wandering Albatross]

I requested my male and female from @Eric Cohen at Tankstop. The hawkfish should be fine with Pom pom crabs and hermits. Yeah, the dottyback would probably have to be solo in that tank, most the ones I listed are very aggressive and even have teeth

Good to know, I’ve ordered from Eric before, he’s actually where I got my garden eels from. Second set of fish in the 150 started over 6 months ago and still strong and healthy.

So potentially a pair of wasps as the main predatory fish, at least one hawk (would rather a pair if they’ll fit) couple Pom poms, hermits, few snails, maybe a star, and either a pink streak, purple firefish pair, or watchman pair with a shrimp…? Out of the last 3, what would be the best combo? I know 2 of those are sand dwellers.

While I’d be fine with a solo angler, this allows a couple extra fish. And in the event of someone not getting along, they can go to the 150 if they’re getting bullied, or the 60 if they are the bully.

 

[littlefoxx]

I loved my Fang Blenny. Acted pretty chill in a 20-gallon, and the colors were even better than in this photo.

How did you find one?? Been looking for that blue one forever!