looking for fish ideas
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Fish
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about fish.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79973
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Topic: looking for fish ideas
Posted By: reefer86
Subject: looking for fish ideas
Date Posted: May 08 2016 at 12:07am
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Hi All, I'd like to add some additional fish to my 28 gallon nano. My tank has been running for ~2 years. it has SPS, zoanthids and a few LPS. Currently the only fish in the tank are a clownfish and a bicolored blenny. Here are some of the fish that I'm interested in: -court jester goby -yellow clown goby -green clown goby -sixline wrasse -purple dottyback -orchid dottyback Are any of the fish on this list unsuitable for my tank? I'm definitely interested in the court jester goby....are these tough to take care of? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on these fish. Feel free to suggest other fish as well that you think would be good additions to the tank. Thanks!
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Replies:
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 08 2016 at 9:15am
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The Clown Goby just sits there, if you like that sort of thing. A good article, "Let's Clown Around..." is here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/hcs3/index.htm" rel="nofollow - http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/hcs3/index.htm The Court Jester/Rainfordi's I've had were reclusive and didn't do well, perhaps because they like thicker fields of Hair Algae and my tanks typically have enough snails to keep algae mowed down to invisible nubs. Besides, the Bicolor already claims every spot of algae in the entire 28. I would not add a Koumansetta rainfordi. If some kind of funny fish (clown, court jester  ) is wanted, why not add two small mates for the lone clownfish. A Reef Oasis has many clownfish from which to choose. Older clownfish readily accept any number of young clownfish and eventually choose one for a mate, at which time the rejected clownfish(es) can be removed from the top back corner where it/they are cowering out of respect for the new pair.While we're in the Damsel family(clownfish are damsels) have you thought about a Yellow Tail Blue Damsel or two? Peaceful, very active and hardy, these are great fish for any size aquarium. If a child is in your home, a YT Blue Damsel can be their "Dori". The Dottybacks are beautiful but will aggressively take over and defend new territory, the entire 28 gals.  On the other hand if, like me, you like the purple/yellow color combo, the Royal Gramma is beautiful, peaceful and a far better choice than the Bicolor Dottyback, IMO. I can confidently say that almost any small Wrasse is a great choice. I love the Six-line's green tail and horizontal red stripes, but stay away from the other "lined" Wrasses because they may eventually eat Hermits and Shrimp. I assume there is a Peppermint Shrimp in this tank. If not, I would recommend adding one. The Six-line Wrasse is beautiful, active and usually very peaceful. It is also utilitarian in that it eats little pests, like unwanted flatworms and bad bugs, along with good bugs of course. There are a great many Wrasses from which to choose. The Flasher Wrasse are gorgeous. After initially wiping out the bug population, a Wrasse needs to be fed well with supplemental frozen shrimp. Also, more snails will need to be added to the aquarium to keep algae in check that was previously eaten by the bugs. Scott Michael is a great fish book author. We've had him here as a guest speaker. Have you seen his book: The 101 Best Nano-Reef Species: How to Choose & Keep Hardy, Brilliant, Fascinating Species Perfect for Small Aquariums It's $11.99 at Amazon Kindle ($13.22 paperback) or maybe someone here could share their copy.Hope this short  writing helps a little.Aloha, Mark
 ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 09 2016 at 6:47am
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Not that it matters, but my personal choice for this tank would be two fish; first a young clownfish and a week or so later a small YT Blue Damsel. Why? Because Clownfish are tank bred and raised and YT's are very plentiful in the wild. They are hardy fish and the YT eats Flatworms. In my old age, I'm more environmentally responsible than I ever was.  Aloha, Mark  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: 1stupidpunk
Date Posted: May 09 2016 at 9:10am
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Personal preference here but I love the clown gobies. I had a few in my biocube and loved their personalities, the war paint (green) clown goby being my favorite. Unlike Mark I dislike the Damselfish... everyone I ever owned was an asshole. But I do agree with Mark on the Six-line and the Royal Gramma, beautiful fish with great personality.. will often (but not always) eat unwanted bugs/pests. Other great candidates would be any of the prawn gobies, a pistol shrimp/watchman goby, firefish. My wifes favorite fish the pearly jawfish/yellowheaded jawfish would do well also. |
Posted By: reefer86
Date Posted: May 09 2016 at 1:46pm
| Thanks for the feedback and ideas, I appreciate it! |