20 gallon - what inverts/fish?

[sammydee]

Ok, my 20 gallon long is nearly finished so I am allowing myself to start thinking about what livestock to put in it now.

I was thinking of getting a Yellow Watchman Goby and pistol shrimp partner, and a firefish, but apart from that I am lost. I don't know anything about inverts, so if anybody could help me out with the clean up crew I'd appreciate it. They would have to be compatible with the fish already stated obviously.

Thanks

 

[chkltcow]

Personally, I'm fond of peppermint shrimp. They're inquisitive and will come to clean your hand if you reach down in there. Good scavengers, too.... and they sometimes eat Aiptasia which is a HUGE plus.

You could also go with a normal cleaner shrimp. They're usually easier to find in stores, and just as brave and inquisitive.

As for hermit crabs and snails... you're gonna need some. I'd avoid turbo snails in a 20g tank, as they can get large, and they're clumsy and knock small rocks down. Big snails in small tank = no fun.

And finally, you could do a feather duster if you wanted. I'd wait a while for the tank to mature first, though. Give it 3-4 months... and remember that you'll still need to feed some type of liquid food like marine snow, phytoplankton, zooplankton, etc.

Those are just my thoughts based on what I've had experience with.

 

[parker313]

I'd add a pair of perc or ocellaris clowns, but that's just me

Hermits & snails - definitely

In my 10g, I have:
Snails:
3 Cerith
3 Nassarius
1 Margarita
1 Astrea
1 Bumblebee

Hermits:
3 Dwarf blue-leg
1-2 Dwarf red-leg

I never see all my hermits and they are all big time shell-swappers so it's hard to keep track of who's who

They all do a pretty good job at cleanup, I still have to clean the glass about once a week and I don't have anything that touches hair algae, but there's not many options for that in a 10g!

 

[sammydee]

I thought about lawnmower blennies for a bit but then found out that they can die without warning when they suddenly stop eating. Anything else that takes care of algae?

Will the peppermint shrimp get along OK with the pistol shrimp? Did some research on Aiptasia and it looks nasty, so anything that eats it is a definate plus.

I need a fish with loadws of character... maybe one that doesn't dwell in a hole like the other two... any ideas?

 

[Navarre]

Peacock Wrasse (Leopard wrasse) or 6 line wrase. both very active and loads of character.

Peppermints should be ok with pistols, they will just keep well out of its way.

 

[sammydee]

Thanks Navarre, I'll do some research on them now.

 

[sammydee]

Ok, after reseacrh I can conclude that a Six-line wrasse maybe too agressive for the other fish.

Also, it appears that the leapard wrasse eats micro-organisms off the live rock, so I don't know if there would be enough live rock in my 20 gallon to feed him. What about another goby or maybe a royal gramma?

 

[sammydee]

Royal grammas are territorial so maybe that's not a good idea in such a small tank. While it is true that I might get one that isn't aggressive, I would rather stick with fish that are known to be passive and friendly, that way I will not have any problems.

So perhaps a firefish, watchman goby, some other type of goby and a clown? Or two more clowns? Or just one? Choices choices...

 

[Navarre]

I have kept all these fish and they are perfect for a nano reef.
My friend as a 6line in a nano with 2 clowns and a yellow goby. It ignores the other fish and just rushes around the rocks all day minding its own business.

Leopard wrasses do exactly the same as any other small wrasse. check liverock for food. this doesnt mean its their sole sourse of food much like mandarins are. Aquascaper has one in his 10 gallon setup and its a greedy little pig! Perfect and colourful.. far moreso than a goby that sits staionary for hours at a time IMO.

Royal Gramma are territorial but only get aggressive to dottybakc and other gramma. they are also a fish with an "All show" attitude so they will rush fromtheir hole with mouth agap and if this doesnt work they realise that their bravado doesnt work and they scurry off back in their holes terrified of any repercusions.

If you want an open water swimmer than another perfect addition is the poison fang blenny. its one of the few blenny/gobies with a fully functional swim bladder so its an open water swimmer. they are poisonous though and if they bite they canbe painful.

If you choose a firefish, goby or blenny then yes these will work in a nano but you are comprimisng on movement as these fish simply... err.. do very little. IMO what you need is an active swimmer to catch people eyes from distance. make them come closer and drawn their atention. then the real show starts as they see the less obvious lifeforms going about their daily business in the tank.

 

[sammydee]

Ahh that clarifies things a lot... Yes I see your point about firefish and gobies not doing much.
Looks like the six-line wrasse CAN BE aggressive and royal grammas CAN BE too.

But I think it depends very much on the individual fish. So my list of possible fish so far includes (I'm, obviously not going to try and cram all of these fish in):

Royal Gramma, Watchman Goby, Firefish, Leopard Wrasse, Six-line wrasse, Poison Fang blenny.

I can choose maybe three or four of the smaller ones max from this list. They are all compatible (not sure about the poison fang blenny) according to the www.liveaquaria.com compatibility chart. However, potential issues include:

Royal gramma being territorial and the Sixline wrasse being aggressive. Also, the poison fang blenny has limited information available on the net that I could find out about it. If you could please give me some more information about these fish, Navare, I would be very grateful. If they prove unsuitable I need to look for a different kind of open water swimmer.

Thankyou everybody for your help

 

[Navarre]

This is a Blue Headed Poison Fang Blenny

They are peaceful, readly take food. Most fish leave them well alone because they have a nasty bite!

Very peaceful although i am not sure how they would react to another blenny or goby in the tank.

Lastly.. dont keep 2 wrases in the tank. a leopard and a 6 line will fight to the deaht just in case you didnt realise.

 

[Ed4567]

As far as I know there are two types of gramma commonly imported- the royal gramma and the brazilian gramma which looks similar but is lacking part of the stripe through its eye. From what I've heard the Brazilian gramma is more aggressive.

 

[Navarre]

Yes thata right. if you choose the royal gramma make sure there is a stripe through its eye

 

[sammydee]

Ok I'll bear that in mind with the Royal Grammas... I want the one WITH the eye stripe...

The poison fang blennies look awesome. I would have thought that it wouldn't bother a watchman goby as they hide in their hole at the bottom a lot of the time, and wouldn't really cross paths with the poison fang blenny. I will see if my LFS has some of them, it looks nice.

So far:

Poison fang blenny:

Leopard Wrasse:

Royal Gramma:

Yellow Watchman Goby:

Firefish:

I definately want the goby, so which fish out of the remaining options?

 

[sammydee]

Navarre your blenny is a "Meiacanthus atrodorsalis" also known as a Forktail Blenny.

Other scientific names are: Petroscirtes atrodorsalis, Meiacanthus atrodorsalis atrodorsalis, Petroscirtes herlihyi

Here is some info on it.

More info here.

Looks nice, and expecially important, here is an extract from the above source:

Considerations: Meiacanthus atrodorsalis is a good candidate for beginner aquarists with smaller tanks (<20 gallons) because they are hardy and ignores other species.

Another extract:

Its evolved immunity from predation rendered it unnecessary to hide. It is bravely present in mid-water, hovering near its favorite rock crevice.

Looks perfect, as long as I can get a tank-bred one. Thanks for the idea Navarre.