Unique fish for 20 gallon long?

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Maybe tilefish as there are many kind and are in the gobidae family

Maybe a cleaner wrasse as they can survive in smaller tanks

Stay away from coral gobies and tail spot blennyies if u like coral to be prime as chunks will appear dead and ull be stuck wondering why(mostly lps sps softies will remain unscathed)

Instead go for a dwg or ywg and try to replace him

Or like stated above a starry blenny or lawnmower
1. The first thing that’s incorrect here is the Tilefish, these will never be a good fish for a nano tank IMHO. They aren’t part of the family gobiidae and are intact of the family malacanthidae both of which are believed to be closely related but not exactly the same. They need a very peaceful tank and with clowns in there it won’t be peaceful. Their overall care is much more different to the True Gobies are.

2. Cleaner Wrasses are also a bad recommendation IMHO. This is due to their activity and specific dietary needs. They also get rather large for “nano” fish, temporarily it isn’t impossible but permanently the wrasse will stress and die in the short term.

3. Coral (Clown) Gobies only nip the bottom of the SPS corals. I have found they only do this when in pairs and are nesting. If you have decent colonies of SPS then these guys will not affect them and they should just regrow. A YWG is a good recommendation as they can be boisterous and deal with small spurts of aggression. DWG however is a bad recommendation IMHO, this is also due to activity, sand requirements and diet requirements. For further depth, I have a post on I think the 1st page of the discussion of my article explaining this.

4. Salarias is also a great recommendation :)
They’re easy once established and can have some of the dumbest yet cutest personalities

I hope this doesn’t sound like it’s an insult, it’s purely my opinion of those fish.
 
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doubleshot00

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Leopard wrasse or Mccoskers wrasse. Are really cool.
AF61F8E0-C530-46E2-9470-CAEDD180DE1B.jpeg
 
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Pink streaked wrasse! They are awesome, have interesting personalities, and add some nice pinkish-blue color.

A yellow banded possum wrasse would also be cool. Mine is much more shy then my pink streaked. But both fish are peaceful as can be, and most of the other fish completely ignore them.

C30270E6-CC24-4A6F-AF2D-30C168A28911.jpeg
thanks the pink streaked wrasse looks very cool, but i was looking into a captive bred mandarin dragonet and I didn't want them to get in a fight over a snack :grinning-face-with-sweat:. But i will look into the pom pom crabs.
 
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1. The first thing that’s incorrect here is the Tilefish, these will never be a good fish for a nano tank IMHO. They aren’t part of the family gobiidae and are intact of the family malacanthidae both of which are believed to be closely related but not exactly the same. They need a very peaceful tank and with clowns in there it won’t be peaceful. Their overall care is much more different to the True Gobies are.

2. Cleaner Wrasses are also a bad recommendation IMHO. This is due to their activity and specific dietary needs. They also get rather large for “nano” fish, temporarily it isn’t impossible but permanently the wrasse will stress and die in the short term.

3. Coral (Clown) Gobies only nip the bottom of the SPS corals. I have found they only do this when in pairs and are nesting. If you have decent colonies of SPS then these guys will not affect them and they should just regrow. A YWG is a good recommendation as they can be boisterous and deal with small spurts of aggression. DWG however is a bad recommendation IMHO, this is also due to activity, sand requirements and diet requirements. For further depth, I have a post on I think the 1st page of the discussion of my article explaining this.

4. Salarias is also a great recommendation :)
They’re easy once established and can have some of the dumbest yet cutest personalities

I hope this doesn’t sound like it’s an insult, it’s purely my opinion of those fish.
aren't the salarias too big for a 20L? I just don't think its big enough
 

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Similar to the firefish suggestion, you could do a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis), but it might not get along well with the tailspot.

You could also do barnacle blennies (not sure how they would do with the tailspot, but I haven't heard of these guys being aggressive, so I'd guess it would be fine - they generally just sit with their heads poked out of the barnacle caves until feeding time, when they dart out and back super fast).

Other than that, as has been mentioned, clown gobies and the tiny gobies (Eviota, Trimma, etc.) are good options. The Yellow Banded Possum and Pink-streaked Pygmy Wrasses, which have also been brought up, and the Pygmy Possum Wrasse may also be good choices.
 
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Similar to the firefish suggestion, you could do a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis), but it might not get along well with the tailspot.

You could also do barnacle blennies (not sure how they would do with the tailspot, but I haven't heard of these guys being aggressive, so I'd guess it would be fine - they generally just sit with their heads poked out of the barnacle caves until feeding time, when they dart out and back super fast).

Other than that, as has been mentioned, clown gobies and the tiny gobies (Eviota, Trimma, etc.) are good options. The Yellow Banded Possum and Pink-streaked Pygmy Wrasses, which have also been brought up, and the Pygmy Possum Wrasse may also be good choices.
thanks, i might be reconsidering the tailspot because they sometimes eat corals. That might mean i can try the hawk because i love how they look
 

i cant think

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Mccoskers only gets to like 3”.
You will end up getting a bigger tank anyway :face-with-tears-of-joy:
Still a big no.
These fish NEED 4’ of tank to be happy, have you seen how hectic they are when flashing?
These are a fish that although they stay small still need a medium to large tank. I really think the smallest Paracheilinus species need 4’ tank and the larger ones need 6’ to 8’ depending on size. These are also a fast growing species, they may be 1” when you get them but within a few months they will get

As for the leopard, that’s another one that temporarily can work however long term they get too big and active IME.
Leopards don’t decimate a pod population as they can wait for food (Mandarins can’t wait to be fed and actually in most cases they all just go back to their wild diet).

Here’s my biggest advice to the OP;

Don’t get a fish expecting to upgrade. Life gets in the way and stuff can happen. I have had times where I had to downgrade and work my way back up to a medium tank (I don’t plan to go much larger than a 4’ tank).


aren't the salarias too big for a 20L? I just don't think its big enough
They can get rather big however they aren’t too active. Unlike larger wrasses, tangs ect. Also it’s a 20G, equal to 75l.
 

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I would dump the clowns and gramma. I like the idea of the pygmy and pink streak wrasse. Trio of scissor tail gobies. Yellow asseser. Green clown goby.
 

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Pink streaked wrasse! They are awesome, have interesting personalities, and add some nice pinkish-blue color.

A yellow banded possum wrasse would also be cool. Mine is much more shy then my pink streaked. But both fish are peaceful as can be, and most of the other fish completely ignore them.

C30270E6-CC24-4A6F-AF2D-30C168A28911.jpeg
I wish I could find one in stock. I’ve been looking
 
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I would dump the clowns and gramma. I like the idea of the pygmy and pink streak wrasse. Trio of scissor tail gobies. Yellow asseser. Green clown goby.
i thought pink streakeds needed a lot of space to swim? though the scissor tails are cool.
 
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i know i want to get the pink streaked wrasse and the tailspot. Do dwg need a pistol or not? I was also thinking about something that swims a lot and adds movement, and I think ill drop it at those 4 fish.
 

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i know i want to get the pink streaked wrasse and the tailspot. Do dwg need a pistol or not? I was also thinking about something that swims a lot and adds movement, and I think ill drop it at those 4 fish.
Diamond goby is not a shrimpgoby. It also gets way to large for a 20.
Look into amblyeliotris guttata, the orange spot shrimp goby. It has a similar look to the diamond goby but is smaller. This does pair with a shrimp.
 
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Diamond goby is not a shrimpgoby. It also gets way to large for a 20.
Look into amblyeliotris guttata, the orange spot shrimp goby. It has a similar look to the diamond goby but is smaller. This does pair with a shrimp.
ok thanks, i was also wondering for a 4th and final fish, do you know of a peaceful fish that adds a lot of movement by swim a lot because rn i just have some things that hang at the bottom or near the rocks
 
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Diamond goby is not a shrimpgoby. It also gets way to large for a 20.
Look into amblyeliotris guttata, the orange spot shrimp goby. It has a similar look to the diamond goby but is smaller. This does pair with a shrimp.
ok i really like the amblyeliotris guttata, but will there be any conflict between the tailspot and it because they are both bottom dwellers? Also does it matter which pistol shrimp i choose?
 

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ok thanks, i was also wondering for a 4th and final fish, do you know of a peaceful fish that adds a lot of movement by swim a lot because rn i just have some things that hang at the bottom or near the rocks
Firefish hands down. They are skittish at first, but once they settle in are always out. One of mine greeted me at the front of the tank.
 

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ok i really like the amblyeliotris guttata, but will there be any conflict between the tailspot and it because they are both bottom dwellers? Also does it matter which pistol shrimp i choose?
Tailspot is typically more of a rock dweller.
Amblyeliotris can pair with tiger or candy cane pistols, but you’ll have better success (and less of a mess) with a candy cane.
 
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