8 gal tank stocking

crazyfishgirl

New member
set up my second tank a while ago and today put in the first fish, a tailspot blenny. love that fish already :) anyway, looking to add a second fish in a couple weeks, but so far haven't found anything that I was head over heels about. And since it's going to be the last fish added, I want to really want it in my tank. any ideas?
 
I'm a big fan of the yasha goby when it comes to nanos. Either that or the rainfords goby, probably the neatest little sand sifter ever haha.
 
Yellow Assessor basslet. Will live in peace with your blenny, beautiful colors, interesting swimming behavior, vey hardy and doesn't require or use much space.
 
I have a yellow assessor in my 39 gal. great little fish, what about a royal gramma? or a black cap bassist?
 
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I would not add a basslet of any kind to a tank of this size.

I would suggest clown gobies or a yasha goby...
 
I would not add a basslet of any kind to a tank of this size.

I would suggest clown gobies or a yasha goby...

Agree with Kyle. You'll want to keep the next fish pretty darn small. A gold or blue neon goby would work too.
 
I would not add a basslet of any kind to a tank of this size

Sure 8g is tight but not sure all "basslets" are necessarily inappropriate. It's more about having rocky habitat as most just want to hover near a hideout & never really use the open water column. Assessors are listed as 10g minimum. Others listed for 10g minimum would be fire fish or maybe an Unarmed Perchlet (Plectanthias Inermis). The later like sitting on the bottom hanging out but may be harder to find. Also a yellow Okinawa goby would work well too. Since a Royal Gramma may reach 3.5" as adults that might not be the best choice. Fish maxing out at 2" to 2.5" as adults are worth considering. I don't think these fish will miss the space but at 8g I suppose the water quality could go south quickly if not monitored well but I'm sure you know that.
 
I've kept many basslets for many years, I can't imagine one in an 8 gal tank. Basslets are fiesty little fish and ver territorial. I would expect one to become quite aggressive in a tiny tank. Cramped quarters always invites aggression with this type of territorial fish. He will probably insist on owning a lot more real estate than the tiny tank offers.
 
I personally think a 40 gallon tank is too small for my Assessors as is. It may be the QT environment, but they swim through all of the hiding places makeing use of the space quite well. I could not imagine a related species in an 8 gallon tank personally.
 
seems like the majority think no basslets, I tend to agree now I think about it, my assessor uses most of the rockwork in my 39 gallon, has lots of hidey holesI can't see giving a basslet only a couple places to hang out. I love clown gobies, especially the green ones, but they're hard to come by. But I kind of wanted one that swam in the open water. what about a firefish?
 
Sure 8g is tight but not sure all "basslets" are necessarily inappropriate. It's more about having rocky habitat as most just want to hover near a hideout & never really use the open water column. Assessors are listed as 10g minimum.

Where are you getting this "listed minimum"?

La lists the yellow and blue assessors as 30 gallon minimum. There is no way an assessor and a blenny belong in an 8 gallon!
 
Where are you getting this "listed minimum"?

La lists the yellow and blue assessors as 30 gallon minimum. There is no way an assessor and a blenny belong in an 8 gallon!

Author Scott W. Micheals lists 10g as a minimum for a few basslets like assessors plus firefish, U Perchlet etc. in his Saltwater Fishes books. Don't get me wrong, I would always opt for more space. LA's advice is good. I guess it's like the yellow tang debate @ smaller scale! He sites 75g min. but most folks now wisely advise 90 as bare minimum and others say nothing less than a 6' x 2' footprint is humane.

Just wanted to say that the fish i mentioned never utilize the majority of the real estate in a larger aquarium in my experience at least, so my hypothesis was they could be possible with caution. Mine always seem to stick to just one half of my 65g & 30g long systems, & they hide/'sleep in the same spaces & don't swim in the upper open areas ever. Their whole world seems to exist in about 18" cube by choice. They just lazily glide around & aren't always moving about franticly like a dottyback or chromis for example. Never done a pico tank but would do a tiny (1.5" adult max) mostly sedentary or slow poke fish if I did. I've considered a pico for the office but would be worried about maintaining parameters, temps etc. especially for a tank sitter. Are they as tricky as often described?

To the OP: did you decide yet? A FF is iffy but possible maybe as the orange ones seem to top out at around 2". It's real tight but hopefully you can move it if it does not work out. Best of luck!
 
haven't decided yet, not in too big of a rush, the tailspot is having a good time on his own. going to upgrade the lighting and start adding corals I think before I add another fish. my 39 gal is more of a fowlr, so it would be nice to have this as a reef.
 
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