I'm trying to gather suggestions for my 30g reef tank. I currently have a yellowtail damsel and a tailspot blenny in the tank as well as some lps and some zoas. I would love a fish that was more open water and active. I have about 30 pounds of live in the tank with a couple cave structures that are currently being used as homes. Thanks in advance!
Fish for a smaller tank
- Thread starter Nathonian
- Start date
fishfreak2009
Swimming in the School
I love cleaner gobies. Very cute and bold. I currently have a sharknose cleaner in my 187 and he is always out and about. Explores the entire tank. Plus its nice that you can get them captive bred.
H.reidi.MN
New member
Depends on the individual angel. No website or description can accurately portrait how a single fish will react in and given tank.. For a 30 though your limited to basically cherub and a few other tiny ones... Which can be more aggressive dwarfs as well.
Crna
Member
I've been trying to rationalize getting a cherub, but I really am worried about having to break my tank down to get it out. With my luck, I would get one of the ones that destroy coral... I also would really like to get a six line, but there are so many stories of people having serious bully problems.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Only 1 blenny in that size tank. A chalk bass would be fine & you could still add a goby & maybe something else. Check out the nano fish section on DFS for ideas.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
If the damsel is a typical one; it, not you, will decide what its tankmates are.
absolutely NO to the dottyback. gorgeous fish, very personable but they are way too aggressive for such a small tank. trust me on that one...i have one (impulse buy, my bad) in my 29g. he was added last and he does ok with his tank mates now but i lost a cherub angel and i'm pretty sure the dottyback was the culprit.
look at royal grammas. they are GREAT for color, open water swimmers and the one i have is not the least bit aggressive.
if you aren't gonna have any ornamental shrimp and if you have a cover on your tank, look at a long nose hawkfish. i LOVE mine!
look at royal grammas. they are GREAT for color, open water swimmers and the one i have is not the least bit aggressive.
if you aren't gonna have any ornamental shrimp and if you have a cover on your tank, look at a long nose hawkfish. i LOVE mine!
Thanks for the quick replies! I actually got my current damsel as one of a pair. The other one was so aggressive that it never let the other leave the corner of the tank. I brought that one back to my lfs and the one thats still in there.never asked any signs of aggression and will even swim around the tank in a pair with the blenny.
Nina, thanks for the input on the dottyback, I've already had tp tear my tank apart once in prder to.get the aggressive damsel out and have no desire to do it again. Unfortunately I do.plan on getting a coral banded shrimp so probably a no on the hawkfish? I will look at the grammas though!
Nina, thanks for the input on the dottyback, I've already had tp tear my tank apart once in prder to.get the aggressive damsel out and have no desire to do it again. Unfortunately I do.plan on getting a coral banded shrimp so probably a no on the hawkfish? I will look at the grammas though!
i kinda miss not having shrimp in my 29 but i do have some in my 14g where they are safe from my hawk's wandering eye. i dunno about the coral banded...i have fed my guy some pretty hefty sized ghost shrimp and he's had no problem with those. his favorite perch is on one of the power head cords. he'll grab a shrimp, perch on the cord and it's almost as if he's going "nanabooboo" to his tank mates. LOL
have you looked at liveaquaria.com? they have a whole section of fish for nano tanks and they have excellent descriptions of behaviors and compatibilities.
have you looked at liveaquaria.com? they have a whole section of fish for nano tanks and they have excellent descriptions of behaviors and compatibilities.
H.reidi.MN
New member
Purple firefish maybe ?
H.reidi.MN
New member
For purple they are a good docile option.
MikeandNicole
New member
I hate to say this, but I would worry about adding a peaceful fish to a 30g with a damsel.
I kept damsels for years in nanos, and I always had the best luck when I removed them temporarily when introducing a new, more peaceful fish.
Is it possible for you to put the damsel in the sump while the peaceful fish gets used to the new space? If your damsel considers the entire 30g his territory (which he very well may), you could have a lot of trouble when you go to add another fish.
I kept damsels for years in nanos, and I always had the best luck when I removed them temporarily when introducing a new, more peaceful fish.
Is it possible for you to put the damsel in the sump while the peaceful fish gets used to the new space? If your damsel considers the entire 30g his territory (which he very well may), you could have a lot of trouble when you go to add another fish.
Especially in a small tank.
