Which fish next for my 29G

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

I have a 29G Biocube. Currently it has Neon Dottyback & clarki clownfish. Both of them are friendly to each other with no nipping or any other aggression.
If I wanted to add more fishes, which fish do you suggest that will not be bullied by these two....?

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

I have a 29G Biocube. Currently it has Neon Dottyback & clarki clownfish. Both of them are friendly to each other with no nipping or any other aggression.
If I wanted to add more fishes, which fish do you suggest that will not be bullied by these two....?

What are you looking for? Color, active, utility?

I would add a lawnmower blenny as they are great Algea eaters. But maybe not if you don’t have any Algea as you would need to feed.

If the tank is well established, and you have or are willing to get copepods, my wife and I think the mandarin goby (psychedelic) is one of the most beautiful fish. I’ve never seen any of our fish bother it, and think they have a bitter or noxious slime that keeps them safe from predators.

Cardinal fish school of about 3 could be cool as well. I have pajama’s in one tank and Bengia in another. I have larger tanks so there hasn’t been any issues with my clowns, but I don’t have dottybacks.

Not sure if the dottyback would cause a problem, but fire fish are super cool as well.

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

I do not have sand bed so not sure if blenny are good option. How about wrasse?

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

I know mandarin are high maintenance and hence not sure if I can sustain them.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

Fairy and flasher wrasses are really cool but many are cruisers and need space to move. You would have to check minimum tank size to be sure. Even smaller ones sometimes need more room to move. Is this a reef or fish only?

The other issue it the dottyback. Because of their reputation for aggression I have never had one. That being said, do you quarantine your fish? If so, you could place the dottyback in qt so you can then return it to the main display after adding a wrasse, this could lessen the dottybacks territorial aggression as the are often suggested to be added last to a tank.

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

This is a reef tank (have some LPS & softies). I do not QT, but I have another 29G long tank which hosts a pair of clownfish & coral beauty angel.
I had tried to introduce molly fish to my biocube and the dottyback went for it right away.
I want to have a bicolor angel, but not sure if dottyback will let it live peacefully.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

I was reading that wrasses and angels could be ok. But the dotty back needs to be added last. Again, because of their rep it’s toon I have avoided them. I do the Royal Grammas instead. And I have 200 gallon reef. I would imagine he will be pretty dominant in a 29.

 

[vlangel]

I also would be afraid of the dottybacks aggression. If you don't have ornamental shrimp, maybe a small predator fish like a flame hawk could hold its own until it gets established?

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

That is a good suggestion. I will look into it. How about dwarf angelfish?

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

So I have searched but cannot find an answer online. Would like to correctly diagnose this, and then move into one treatment or the other.

Before lights out last night the juvenile emperor was definitely breathing fast, hard to say if they were swimming into a power head as I have 2 Nero’s on the back, but Maxspect on each end so flow is everywhere.

At least on the French the white dusting is also on the eyes. None of the spots are large. All smaller than salt and the emperor looked to have areas of its body appearing faded.

I think probably velvet, @Jay Hemdal says later stage ich can look like this. Someone said hope it’s not brook, which I thought was only clowns, but find out it can infect anyone and lists angels. The larger angels and the smaller xanthrus didn’t appear to be breathing hard but tough to tell will try to video and count as Jay recommended. All fish ate aggressively last night.

 

[vlangel]

That is a good suggestion. I will look into it. How about dwarf angelfish?

Dwarf angelfish can be feisty and might be ok. I have actually never had a neon dottyback because of their reputation, so I am just not sure how it would go.

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

Hmm... I am so fascinated by the bi-color angel. I have coral beauty in my other tank

 

[vlangel]

Hmm... I am so fascinated by the bi-color angel. I have coral beauty in my other tank

I also have a Coral beauty. This is my 3rd coral beauty and the most feisty of the 3 I have kept. Bi colors seem like they get a wee bit bigger which could be a help. Flame angels seem like they may be a bit feistier than some.

If you could catch the dottyback and keep it in an acclimation box or a baby fish net cage, then your new fish could settle in without constant harassment. That does not always work however, plus catching a fast fish in a reef tank can be challenging.

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

Thanks for all the advice. This definetly helps.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I would be weary of adding anything with the dottyback. I had a neon dottyback kill a firefish and try to kill my urchin. Depending on how much you like the dottyback, if you really want more fish you may have to return it to the store. An angelfish might be able to hold its own, but some of the bigger dwarf angels might get a bit cramped.

 

[vlangel]

With a 29 gallon, to catch a renegade fish without tearing the tank apart, you can syphon the water down to about an inch and then it's easier to catch anything. I have done that with my 56 gallon tank and a brute can.

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

I actually love this neon dottyback.... It is very active. The other fish is clarki clownfish... Maybe, i will add more clarkis...

 

[GHOSTLY]

There's some really nice gobies and blennys you could add. Watchman and bicolors are my personal favorite but a well fed and trained coral beauty could work but might be overstocked

 

[fishkeepersaltnfresh]

I do not have a sandbed...

 

[vlangel]

Could you catch the neon dottyback, keep it in your other tank in an acclimation box? Then rescape the tank that you want to add the bi color angel and maybe add another fish or two as well, like a watchman goby and some sort of hawkfish. That way when you put the neon dottyback back into the tank, not only will the hiding places be different but so will the roommates. And those roommates will have already chosen their areas of habitation.