60g cube, need ideas please

[jayinh]

So i tore down my 125 and will be setting up a 60 cube (2'x2'x2') i am at a loss on what to stock with for fish..... I really liked having tangs in the 125 and 210 but dont know if its a great idea to put even a small one in the cube? any thoughts. also what other cool fish would you stock?

 

[sponger0]

No tangs in a 60 cube. Not enough swimming room, length wise.

 

[rssjsb]

No tangs, but you could do a number of different things.

What kind of tank are you envisioning? And what corals do you intend to keep? If you don't have a "fish wish list," you can start with that and figure out what's compatible.

The footprint of this tank will restrict your options a little. Smaller fish will make your tank look bigger. Unfortunately, many open-water swimmers will be cramped in there.

Clowns would be good, along with gobies, cardinals, a midas or tailspot blenny, smaller wrasses (like possum or pink-streaked), assessors, a leopard or blue-spotted toby (if you're not planning to keep shrimp or crabs), scarlet hawkfish (same), a pair of filefish (harlequins if you can find a pair on Divers Den). You could do a small colony of barnacle blennies - they're a hoot as long as there's nothing in the tank that will eat or scare them into jumping.

You could do a smaller dwarf angel if you're not planning to keep LPS.

 

[small alien]

Some ideas to add to Robin's: scooter dragonet, jawfish if you have the right sandbed and lid, rainfords or hectors goby. Good luck.

 

[sponger0]

Scooters....still questionable on the size and if you can incoorporate a big enough refugium with pods. They are still dragonettes even though the common name says blenny. Their real name and name stores should call them is occelated dragonete.

Dwarf angels dont only nip at SPS. Some are more prone to eat meaty corals such as LPS.

 

[rssjsb]

Sponger, I'm not sure what you're responding to here. While you're correct that scooters have special needs, Paul correctly identified scooters as dragonets, not blennies.

And no one said that dwarf angels "only nip at SPS." In fact, I told the OP that these fish would be contraindicated if he is planning to keep LPS. And even that's really overbroad (I have 5 angels in my DT with euphyllia, for example, with no issues) but I'm trying to elicit some information from him about what his goals are from this tank so we can give more targeted advice.

The OP has been around for a while now, and probably does not need the same advice as the usual "I have a 20 gallon tank and think mandarins are the coolest" that you see on this board.

It's fine to critique advice given by others, but you should at least respond to what's actually been posted.

 

[sponger0]

But to assume he knows it is one thing. I assume people know nothing so imformation is not missed. Which is fairly easy to do.

I misread your post and thought it said SPS not LPS. But dwarfs can nip at both and softies, if they chose to do so. If yours havent, then thats good. But thats not all dwarf angels are like that, hence why they put the reef safe with caution warning. If they all didnt eat corals, that wouldnt be needed and you would find flame angels in every reef tank around.

 

[tbettis]

My tank is a 60 gallon but I'm upgrading now to a 155 because the animals have outgrown it. I have a yellow tang. Picture of tank is my avatar

 

[tbettis]

Tank stand sump skimmer will be for sale in the coming months also

 

[tbettis]

Not to mention I have a ritteri that I purchased 4 months ago at 5 inches that has ballooned to over a foot across

 

[small alien]

Scooters....still questionable on the size and if you can incoorporate a big enough refugium with pods. They are still dragonettes even though the common name says blenny. Their real name and name stores should call them is occelated dragonete.

I completely agree on the name. I've kept a number of these guys and gals. Scooters are easy in small tanks with twice daily mysis/cyclopeeze feedings and will occasionally ween to pellets. They adapt to frozen waaaaaaaaaay more readily than the other dragonets and are a good choice for smaller tanks. I've had a pair do fine food-wise in a 10 gallon though I wouldn't neceessarily recommend that. I'd do a single in a 10. Finally, I'd recommend a single or m/f/f trio. Pairs seem kinda fighty with too much attention "bestowed" on the single female. I currently have a female in my 75 and I don't think I'll ever have a tank without one. :clown:

 

[jayinh]

lots of good info coming in, thanks to all who posted.

I should have added this will be a mixed reef and have no canopy and open air, also a 2-3" sand bed.

 

[Winwood]

60 cubes are great for a lot of smaller reef occupants. Clown/nem situations, hawkfish, pipefish, shrimp goby/shrimp combos, leopard and tamarin wrasses, even pygmy angels do pretty well as long as they are mild mannered such as coral beauties/potters etc.. You can even mix and match a lot of what I've mentioned above if you're careful and have a very fascinating and interactive tank. The one thing I would not mix together are any of the big stinging nems/aggressive clowns with the others. If you choose that route stick with the nem and clowns and maybe a few angry small damsels.