Suitable nano reef fish

[Anonymous]

Hi all,
I'd like to start a reference list of suitable fish for nanos, in different size categories: 5 gallons and under, 5-10 gallons, and 10 gallons and up.

I would REALLY like this to be a source of good information and experience, rather than people's opinions on a certain species. If you have experience with a particular species in a tank that fits in these tank ranges, please post and let us know your experience, how long you've had the fish, what it eats, what size tank it's in, a picture, and anything else you feel is relevant to helping others keep this fish successfully.

If you'd like to ask someone questions about their fish, or anything else off topic, please feel free to start another thread or use private messages.

Thanks!!
Matt Wandell

 

[Anonymous]

LOTS of gobies, in particular neon gobies. I have yet to run across a fish that presents a smaller bioload. I would also toss out for you (YES) the ubiquitous black molly. Also, take a look at the many very small Apogoniids, some reaching only 4cm at maturity.

 

[Anonymous]

First example:

Red Firefish, Nemateleotris magnifica. I've had this fish in a 6 gallon tank since June 14th, (2 1/2 months). It's only tankmate is a goby. It hovers in the water all day long, and picks floating food. I feed it Omega One flake twice a day, and occasional feedings of live baby brine shrimp. It will not eat off the substrate. This fish will jump out of open topped tanks. It has never harmed corals/clams. I consider this fish to be very hardy.

 

[Anonymous]

Yasha or Whiteray Goby, Stonogobiops sp. (Sometimes described as S. yasha, a misnomer). I've had this girl in my 6 gallon tank since May 14th (3.5 months). She was reluctant to eat anything but live baby brine at first, but soon ate Omega One flake after she saw a firefish eating it. I feed her twice a day, and occasionally feed live baby brine. She digs a little burrow, so a suitable substrate is probably necessary. She has never harmed corals/clams. She hid for a week or two before becoming used to the tank. Once established, though, she was almost always visible just outside her burrow.

 

[Anonymous]

Caribbean Pygmy Angel, Centropyge argi.
I had this fish in a 10 gallon tank for a year, before moving it to a larger tank. It is one of the smallest dwarf angels, but 10 gallons is about the bare minimum for this species IMO. This species is fairly hardy and will accept just about any type of flake or frozen food. It will also graze microalgae off the rocks and glass. I fed this fish once a day with a combo of Formula One and Forula Two frozen cubes from Ocean Nutrition. It was constantly visible, going through the rockwork searching for food. It never harmed soft corals, but it occassionally nipped at LPS corals when I moved it to a larger tank.

Sorry no pic
This pygmy angel is blue overall with a yellow face.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got an algea blenny (malacoctenus tetranemus ?) in my 15 gal High. He's great, but he doesn't eat algea, he eats the pods. But I saw him attack a snail that fell over. I don't know why, and I haven't seen him do it since. I feed him marine pellets once a day, and he also eats when I feed my corals twice a week.

B

 

[shalegac]

Tank Raised Percula clown (Amphiprion Percula). I have had two of these in my ten gallon since 1 year ago. They accept minimal feeding consisting of flake food once every two days, and a frozen blend of my own design once a week on Sundays (tank maintance day). It is probably the most recognizable fish in this hobby. Every time I have a girl over they say "ohhh, look a little Nemo! :roll: I don't know if thats good or bad but it has been scoring points
Shaun Legacy

 

[Snoozer]

Red Scooter Blenny/Dragonet

20g High

Fed the Scooters at the LFS and got the one that ate prepared foods the most. (most people say that scooters only eat pods, so I did this)

In tank for close to 8 months now.

Spot fed 3 times a day as it doesn't eat allot of food at once, but likes to eat little portions throughout the day.

Eats - Frozen (small) Mysis, Frozen Brine, Pellet foods (formula1), Bloodworms. And of course copepods. Haven't seen it eat any amphipods since they only come out at night in my tank, and the scooter burys itself in the sand at night.

Seems to prefer smaller grained sand, as it sucks it up in it's mouth and sifts through it looking for pods and then blows the sand out of his mouth and/or gills.

It also burys itself in the sand up to its eyes at night to sleep, also does this when it is scared.

Doesn't poop allot.

Always on the move and goes just about everywhere in the tank all over the rocks, sand, caves and crevices

Is very docile and is friendly towards other fish (false perc clown)

It is kind of skittish when you approach the tank, The faster you walk towards the tank, the faster it swims away towards the back. It comes back out after you are at the tank for a few seconds.

No picture of it, but here is a video of it I took maybe a month ago,
http://home.socal.rr.com/kiridapaw/eatingnorn2.mpg

 

[BecomesOcean]

First, the neon goby is the all-purpose, all-tank resident. Mine (one yellow and one blue) eat Formula One, brine, small pieces of mysis. Docile to boot, but be aware that they will jump (like my blue neon).

Clown goby (Gobiodon atrangulatus). Requirements are similar to the neon, but with more personality. I had a green clown that was super rad. F1 and brine.

Pajama cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera). So far, it has been a good resident of my 6 gallon Eclipse. I've seen minimal growth in the six months I've had it. At present he is 1.75 inches. With their super swim bladder they hover more than they swim, so I've not seen him display cramped behavior. Eats F1, mysis and such.

I second the firefish nomination. However, I attempted two firefish in a 5 gallon which resulted in one stressed to death in just two days by being picked on by the larger firefish. Having satisfactorily killed his tankmate, the remaining one jumped to his death (out of a two inch hole in the back of the lid). So don't try two in a five gallon.

Atlantic pygmy angel. I kept mine in the six gallon for 6 months. He ate very well and was a great addition. HOWEVER, as he got slightly larger he displayed cramped behavior, swimming up and down the side of the tank for a sustained period of time. He died at the end of 6 months, perhaps due to stress, but also I believe because I did not get him enough algae (F2, Pygmy Formula) in his diet. I feel very bad about harming such a rad fish, and would agree that they should be housed in MINIMUM 10 gal.
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[reefann]

My choice for small nano's below 6g would have to be the Fridmani Pseudochromis tank raised. They stay small have great color. Mine is not afraid to come out when people are around.
I also think seamaidens choice for the neon goby is good they stay so small!
JJ
BTW I have had my pseudochromis for about three months give or take. I feed him thawed squid, brine shrimp, formula one, pellets, sometimes flakes. I usually skip a day through the week to help keep the bioload down on the tank.
Pics of him are here http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34760
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[Anonymous]

Just thought I'd mention that the smallest dottyback is Pseudochromis springerii at 1.6 inches.

Great posts folks, thanks for the help and keep it coming!

 

[robitreef]

I have a tank raised ocellaris clown, a Fiji damsel and a bicolor dottyback in my 16 gallon. Quite a fiesty bunch. I know I am stretching it with fish bioload. Each of these fish can be territorial, so you have to be careful with less aggressive species. They pretty much accept all kinds of meaty foods. I don't feed flake, but I know that damsels (and the clownfish subfamily) do accept it. Other fish I have had are sixline wrasses (though they seem to waste away if they don't have enough fauna on the live rock or need to be feed every day). Also had a midas blenny once which is a great fish. I would watch out for bicolor blennies as I had one nip at my lps corals.

 

[reefann]

Thought I'd mention, I use a eyedropper to feed mine and he has learned to eat right from the eye dropper. This is great because I have little waist to worry about. Although last night he took a good sized piece of squid and I saw him spit it out under a rock. I could not get to it, so I figured he or one of my two hermits will have a good meal. I'll try and get a pic of him doing it tonight.
JJ
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[Anonymous]

BecomesOcean,
Regarding C. argi. It is a detrivore in the wild, and depriving it of algae will not kill it. It's diet is significantly different than some other dwarf angels. While it may consume algae in small amounts during it's grazing, it's not a primary component of it's diet. Having said that, most prepared foods will suit it just fine. Look elsewhere for the cause of it's demise.
I wouldnt' put one in anything smaller than say a 7 gallon bowfront. Despite their diminutive size, they are very active and need space. C. acanthops is in the same category. A tank in the 10 gallon or larger range is best for these two fish.

I second the nomination for P. fridimani! What a GREAT little fish! Hardy, colorfast, and very outgoing. Mine lived in my 7 gallon I have at work for a year and a half before I finaly put him in my 150 gallon in-wall tank. Not because I needed to, but because I got tired of leaving him at work every day!
My clarki clown also did very well for many months, and never outgrew the tank in over a year. I eventualy moved him as well for the same reason I moved the fridimani. Many clowns will do just fine, with a few exeptions.
Damsels of the genus Chrysiptera (talboti, etc) are good candidates.
The royal gramma (G. loreto) and the brazilian gramma (G. brasilliensis) both do well in nanos. Most dottybacks are good choices if kept by themselves.
If kept by themselves, frogfish, anglerfish, and small scorpionfish make great nano inhabitants in tanks down to 5 gallons. Even dwarf lionfish in tanks in the 10 gallon range are great fish for nanos.
Small basselets, Serranus sp. (especially S. tortugarrum) are wonderful little nano fish!
I've kept individuals, or representatives of the above species or genus' in a nano at one time or another. I tend to use nanos as quarantine tanks for my larger systems.



Cheers
Jim

 

[adam - london]

it makes me sick reading about unnecessary fish deaths due to putting them in blatantly to small tanks it is similar to solitary confinement how would u like it

 

[adam - london]

it makes me sick reading about unnecessary fish deaths due to putting them in blatantly to small tanks it is similar to solitary confinement how would u like it

 

[Bleeding Blue]

Adam,

I think everyone here agrees with you. It just helps prove the need for threads like this in places like rdo, so we can eliminate such needless waste.

P. fridimani huh? I've been looking for a fish to put in my eclipse six. How are they on personality?

M

 

[Anonymous]

Just a reminder....
If you'd like to ask someone questions about their fish, or anything else off topic, please feel free to start another thread or use private messages.

Thanks
BTW, fridmanis have tons of personality Mike. Remember seeing Shawn's pair?

 

[TheZooFarmer]

Actually Dwarf Lionfish make HORRIBLE fish for nano tanks. They eat and produce waste WAY TO MUCH therfore the water becomes polluted WAY TO QUICKLY.

Dwarf Lions will do better in a 29 or larger.

 

[Anonymous]

Once again, a reminder: I want this thread to be a testimonial of experience, not a discussion of opinions of other people's fishkeeping habits. If you've kept a fish in a nano, please reply to the thread with information about that fish that you think others will find useful. I think we can all benefit from a sharing of information. If you want to discuss other topics, such as the ethics of fishkeeping, nano tanks in general, or anything else off topic, please feel free to start another thread or keep your replies to private messages.