Tips needed in setting a nano reef for goby and pistol shrimp

nextfishtank

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Hello,

I am very excited to be here, I am setting up my 45 cm nano tank and was thinking of keeping 3 different types of fish from the following list:

Tank Size: L: 45 cm, W: 28 cm, H: 30 cm
Volume: 8.3 gallons

Livestock
1. Goby
2. Pistol Shrimp
3. Tailspot Blenny / Fire Fish / Clown Fish / Cardinal Fish

Q1. Which is the hardiest of gobies for the beginners and the ones that can pair with pistol shrimp?

Q2. Should I keep the rocks on the glass and then add sand around it to help goby and shrimp to stay safe while digging in the sand? I read somewhere that this way it is safe because pistol shrimp and goby dig all the time.

Q3. I'd like to keep 1 another fish with goby and pistol shrimp, according to your experience which one would you choose from the following:
Tailspot Blenny / Fire Fish / Clown Fish / Cardinal Fish

Q4. I have a spare canister filter and hang on back, which one you'd recommend using in my nano tank?

Thank you and exited to start my nano reef tank.

cubonano
 

Sharkbait19

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Welcome to the forum!
The only thing I would consider in a tank that small with a goby is another goby of sorts, ideally one that is more of a rock dweller as opposed to sand dweller. Look into the eviota or trimma gobies. Another possibility is the neon goby or the clown goby (if you are able to provide enough food). Tailspot, cardinal, and clown all get way too big (and clowns are pure evil anyway). Even a firefish needs more room than that tank offers imo.
Any of the stonogobiops species + Randall’s (candy cane) pistol shrimp will be good for that tank size. All are pretty hardy. Yasha and high fin banded gobies are both common stonogobiops species.
Generally rocks and then sand is the best for stability - I didn’t do that and haven’t had any problems with my pistol though.
Either of those filters would work, though canisters are largely considered nitrate factories. Either way you need to provide extra flow using a powerhead/wavemaker rated for that size tank.
 

xCry0x

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I don't think you would have issues with a firefish, clown, or a cardinal.

Cardinals aren't very active fish - they tend to just float around.

Clowns are more active but tend to stick to a spot in the tank.

Firefish, I can't speak much towards because I've never had one last in my tanks. If you put a screen top on the tank, and had no other fish besides the shrimp goby, would probably be fine.

If I was going to spin up a sub 10g nano tank, I'd probably put a neon goby and a pistol shrimp + yasha. Maybe an ornamental shrimp.

Would keep it lightly stocked to avoid nutrient issues and needing excessive equipment.

That said, if it's your first tank, it's really really hard to be discerning with the fish because of all the cool options.
 
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nextfishtank

nextfishtank

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Welcome to the forum!
The only thing I would consider in a tank that small with a goby is another goby of sorts, ideally one that is more of a rock dweller as opposed to sand dweller. Look into the eviota or trimma gobies. Another possibility is the neon goby or the clown goby (if you are able to provide enough food). Tailspot, cardinal, and clown all get way too big (and clowns are pure evil anyway). Even a firefish needs more room than that tank offers imo.
Any of the stonogobiops species + Randall’s (candy cane) pistol shrimp will be good for that tank size. All are pretty hardy. Yasha and high fin banded gobies are both common stonogobiops species.
Generally rocks and then sand is the best for stability - I didn’t do that and haven’t had any problems with my pistol though.
Either of those filters would work, though canisters are largely considered nitrate factories. Either way you need to provide extra flow using a powerhead/wavemaker rated for that size tank.
Thank you for the reply. I did check with my LFS, and they have plenty of different gobies, I am excited to pick one and a pistol shrimp to setup my 45 cm tank. So, I thought about keeping a pair of clown fish so that I believe it will also play a role of dither fish and keep the pairing active between the shrimp and goby. :)
 
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nextfishtank

nextfishtank

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I don't think you would have issues with a firefish, clown, or a cardinal.

Cardinals aren't very active fish - they tend to just float around.

Clowns are more active but tend to stick to a spot in the tank.

Firefish, I can't speak much towards because I've never had one last in my tanks. If you put a screen top on the tank, and had no other fish besides the shrimp goby, would probably be fine.

If I was going to spin up a sub 10g nano tank, I'd probably put a neon goby and a pistol shrimp + yasha. Maybe an ornamental shrimp.

Would keep it lightly stocked to avoid nutrient issues and needing excessive equipment.

That said, if it's your first tank, it's really really hard to be discerning with the fish because of all the cool options.
Thank you for your reply! I am pretty excited for this 45 cm nano tank. I am going to be cycling my tank for now and look forward to adding my first goby and shrimp!

Once I have it setup and livestock in, I will definitely share a picture! :D
 

Sharkbait19

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Thank you for the reply. I did check with my LFS, and they have plenty of different gobies, I am excited to pick one and a pistol shrimp to setup my 45 cm tank. So, I thought about keeping a pair of clown fish so that I believe it will also play a role of dither fish and keep the pairing active between the shrimp and goby. :)
Clowns don’t really play the dither role. One thing I’ve consistently noticed is that my goby is much more active whenever the clown isn’t there, so there appears to be a lot of intimidation happening.
Dithers are more effective when dealing with large fish. A small fish will see other small fish as a threat.
 
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nextfishtank

nextfishtank

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Okay, that is very interesting. I had wrong info with me on dither fish, thank you for clarifying it. Then, I will go with your suggestion of keeping another rock dwelling goby, I am not inclined towards neon as it looks great!

Thank you big time!
 
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