Advice on fishee wish list please

PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Hi everyone,
I would be grateful for your advice regarding the stocking of my modified nano tank that I am setting up.
I have a major problem with impulse buying and to prevent this I want to decide what I will have in the tank in advance.
Let me give you some background:-
I had a 24 gallon nano cube - approximately 100 litres, with a broken hood. This was my first marine tank when I took the plunge in 2009.
I cut out 2 of the 3 back compartments and added a Tunze overflow to the remaining one.
I have a sump which can contain upto 65 litres ( will probably be 50 to 60 litres)
This tank is more for corals and invertebrates, but I do want a few fish.
They need to be small, peaceful, reef safe and very colourful.
There are some fish I have wanted but cannot have in my main tank.
Sorry for the long intro

My current wish list is as follows ( advice always welcome)
1.Elegant fire fish
2. Shrimp/ goby pair
3. Royal Gramma
4. Possibly a small clown
5. In about a year- I would love to add an unusual dragonet (eg red)

I had considered a magenta dottyback but I understand they can be bullies in smaller tanks.

Also do you know what other shrimp I can add together?
Thank you in advance
P.s - the tank will be covered- I don't want suicidal jumpers
:crab4:
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Looks nice but pricey. I've not seen one in any of my local fish shops. Thanks for the input.:cheers:
 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
These three fish would be good in a 24g nano.
1. Elegant fire fish
2. Shrimp/ goby pair
3. Royal Gramma
I wouldn't add any more then that.

You can get one or two cleaner shrimp. They mate and spawn which is always interesting. And then an assorted mix of snails: neriites, ceriths, Astraea, Trochus, and 1 or 2 nassarius.

This would make for a nice nano tank.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
PCDS said:
...

My current wish list is as follows ( advice always welcome)
...
5. In about a year- I would love to add an unusual dragonet (eg red)
...
Click to expand...

dragonets can be fantastic fish, but they are in the rather difficult to keep category. Like mandarins, they consume pods, and some will not take other foods. You just never know. Make sure you see the fish eat foods other than brine shrimp before you buy.

@Oxylebius has an excellent point. Limit your fish. 2 or 3 small fish as a max. You are going to find that your tank will hold a lot less than 24 gal of water by the time you add live rock, a sandbed and so on. The same thing applies to a sump. It holds a lot less than you think.
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Thank you. I won't plan for a dragonet yet. I have a beautiful mandarin in my main tank who over the last year has become quite fearless and friendly. I have only seen those red mandarins online not in any of the fish shops around here so rather than wish list, it is on my wishful thinking list! ;)

Most of the shops don't have a good supply of fish suitable for nano tanks. I don't think I could order fish on line- have any of you ever done that? Just curious .....:grouphug5:
 
DaveR11

DaveR11

Well-Known Member
I have a Wheeler's shrimp goby and pistol shrimp and they are great to watch. They are real characters.

You will get plenty of digging from the shrimp so make sure your rocks are secure and you don't mind the sand getting moved about.
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Thanks Dave,
I will be crafting the live rock partly to plan for coral placement, swimming around and through, and lastly to allow dug passage work for the shrimp. The rocks will sit on the bare glass and the sand will be added after. I may take quite a long time over this as I want to get it right.

Any suggestions for good diggable substrate/ sand for the shrimp?

What type of pistol shrimp do you have? I was thinking of a tiger pistol shrimp and have been wondering about a yellow watchman gobie. Of course when I'm ready for them I'll have to see what I can get hold of.
I may go and raid your local shop!
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Popped into my local fish shop on my way home ( it was on the way- honest!), I was a bit annoyed to see that they had labelled several false Grammas as Royal Grammas! Who can you trust eh?
A royal gramma is on my wish list when my tank is ready, which is why I was more concerned- if nubies looking for a relatively peaceful fish got tricked to buy one of these..... There were only young Sunday staff around so I left without making a fuss. ..... Lesson is when researching which fish you want make sure you know what it looks like! And trust no one! ( well, not at the lfs).
False gramma:-
image.jpeg Not a good nano tank fish.


Royal Gramma:-
image.jpeg Gradual colour change. Reasonable nano tank fish.
 
DaveR11

DaveR11

Well-Known Member
PCDS said:
Thanks Dave,
I will be crafting the live rock partly to plan for coral placement, swimming around and through, and lastly to allow dug passage work for the shrimp. The rocks will sit on the bare glass and the sand will be added after. I may take quite a long time over this as I want to get it right.

Any suggestions for good diggable substrate/ sand for the shrimp?

What type of pistol shrimp do you have? I was thinking of a tiger pistol shrimp and have been wondering about a yellow watchman gobie. Of course when I'm ready for them I'll have to see what I can get hold of.
I may go and raid your local shop!
Click to expand...

My substrate is a mix of different grades of coral sand. I got some coarse gravel for the front corners when I set the tank up where the return pump was blowing the finer sand away, then lots of Red Sea branded sand plus a couple of bags of really fine stuff. The shrimp seems to cope well with any grade though all fine might be less stable for good burrows. Check out my thread for some pictures:

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/...ea-s-650-daves-marine-adventure.94320/page-20

I think my shrimp is a common tiger pistol Alpheus bellulus. There are lots of different gobies that will host with them so check out the internet for one you like. I would then speak to your LFS and see what they will order in for you. That is what I did, I wanted Wheeler's shrimp goby and they managed to get me one. Always worth asking the LFS. I think most buy from the big UK wholesaler TMC anyway.
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
Thanks Dave, I will. Just picked up some solvent weld for the plumbing. If I can get home at a decent hour I might start on the plumbing- but it might be better to wait until the weekend- I've waited this long , I suppose a few more days won't matter.
:ofr:
 
terriertype

terriertype

New Member
I have 3 fish in my 30gl long. 2 blue/green chromis and 1 salfin/lawnmower blenny. The chromis were cheap and hardy. They add wonderful colour to the tank and are often swimming about. I have one cleaner shrimp which the chromis hate when it tries to clean them. I know my fish aren’t sexy but they play nice, don’t eat the coral and seem very hardy to my beginner efforts. As time goes on I am going to more than likely add more chromis as I love their schooling behaviour and the metallic blue-green colour.
 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
I'd take a look at nano-tank options. Fish that swim around are firefish, Basslets, and Grammas, by clicking on the fish provided you can read more about them, the site I linked to provides lots of great info. Some of these can add great color to your tank. Watch out for aggressive behavior w/the basslets - Always check out compatibility charts to see who may play well together and who won't.
 
PCDS

PCDS

Active Member
I'm sticking with just my Royal Gramma for now. Over feeding the corals ( trying to target feed a bit too much) has caused a bit of a nitrate issue which I hope a few water changes and holding back on the food will help.
(I am an Asian woman and feeding things till they burst is in my genes!!!)
:p

I've gone off the idea of the exquisite fire fish for now. Once I am happy with my water and my corals are all settled, I will start looking for my shrimp/ gobie pair.
I think a tiger pistol shrimp might be too big for this tank so I want to get a Randall's pistol shrimp ( candy cane).
Dave's Mr Grumpy looks cute so I may go with a Wheelers shrimp gobie.
 
DaveR11

DaveR11

Well-Known Member
PCDS said:
I'm sticking with just my Royal Gramma for now. Over feeding the corals ( trying to target feed a bit too much) has caused a bit of a nitrate issue which I hope a few water changes and holding back on the food will help.
(I am an Asian woman and feeding things till they burst is in my genes!!!)
:p

I've gone off the idea of the exquisite fire fish for now. Once I am happy with my water and my corals are all settled, I will start looking for my shrimp/ gobie pair.
I think a tiger pistol shrimp might be too big for this tank so I want to get a Randall's pistol shrimp ( candy cane).
Dave's Mr Grumpy looks cute so I may go with a Wheelers shrimp gobie.
Click to expand...

Yes get a Mr Grumpy!

 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
PCDS said:
Most of the shops don't have a good supply of fish suitable for nano tanks. I don't think I could order fish on line- have any of you ever done that? Just curious .....:grouphug5:
Click to expand...

I order all my fish and inverts online. I rarely go to the lfs(s). I can elaborate in a bit, sorry, gotta go right now.
 
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