30 gallon agressive what fish

not many aggressive fish can truly thrive in a 30 gallon tank.. i actually think of anything else...
 
Many damsels, inch for inch, are as aggressive as any fish we commonly keep. I'm not suggesting to stock them, though. Do you really want aggressive fish, or just fish that do well in a non-reef tank?
 
A small angler fish might work, I don't know how they are with urchins though. I could also suggest a Mantis Shrimp although its not a fish and it would kill your urchin and hermits, but it is a very cool predator.
 
Damsels, dotty backs, and some hawkish are aggressive, reef safe, and can live in a 30g. I don't think you can have more than one in that sized tank.
 
A mated pair of Pseudochromis steenei would be wicked. Huge teeth on those fish, nice coloration, cool body shape, as mean as it gets for a fish that size.
 
Not my choice.. but could you do a spotfin lionfish. My book by Scott Michael does say 30 gallons... but I am sure others will say he needs a bigger tank.

MY CHOICE would be a Valentini Puffer... Not aggressive but not a reef fish either.

Have fun!
Neptune
 
Not my choice.. but could you do a spotfin lionfish. My book by Scott Michael does say 30 gallons... but I am sure others will say he needs a bigger tank.

MY CHOICE would be a Valentini Puffer... Not aggressive but not a reef fish either.

Have fun!
Neptune
Tank size suggestions are often based on the footprint, not the capacity. A long 30 gal would be better for most fish than a 55 hex----just because of the increased lateral swimming space. This is the main cause of the tang wars that are so common on RC.

I think the some (not all) of the little puffers are more aggressive than lionfish. Lions (and frogfish, anglers, etc.) are just predators and won't bother anything they can't eat in one gulp. Little puffers can be very nippy. When tankmates have a semicircular bit of fin missing, that's the little puffer at work.

Just my long-standing gripe about including lions in the same aggressive category as triggers, etc. I think we need a new category: how about "passive predators" or "The Chicago Bears"?
 
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Not my choice.. but could you do a spotfin lionfish. My book by Scott Michael does say 30 gallons... but I am sure others will say he needs a bigger tank.

MY CHOICE would be a Valentini Puffer... Not aggressive but not a reef fish either.

Have fun!
Neptune

I. Live somewhere you can't import lionfish cause of the invasive lionfish and those get too big for my tank so next
 
There are reef safe aggressive fish that you could house in a 30 gallon, like some of the beautiful dottybacks -- Pseudochromis aldabraensis is probably my favorite of the ones that I would not own. Other colorful, small, belligerent fish (not so reef safe) include small angelfish like Centropyge argi. Or, following that shape, the scarlet hawkfish, Neocirrhites armatus. A smaller toby would be fine in that size tank. Even one of the very small eels -- there are maybe half a dozen that are 15" or under that may do well in that size tank.
 
Not really "aggressive", but you could do a Fu Manchu Lionfish in a 30 gal. Only thing is they mostly just lay around... until it's feeding time.
 
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