Fish suggestions for nano reef

T

TankIt

New member
I need some suggestions for some small sized colorful fish that should do ok in a full reef 20 gallon nano and not irritate my corals to much. I am thinking about doing 1 clown either captive occe. or a black occe. and a rose bubble tip but I am trying to decide if I want to even bother since I want SPS and I dont know if I want a nem roaming around stinging them or do something a little more unique and colorful?

I don't think I want a goby because I do not want my sand constantly stirred up onto my corals. Been there done that in a 75g and really don't want to mess with it in smaller tank so where does that leave me? Ideas for good and ones to avoid please and Thank You!

Feels like I am coming at this from the very beginning all over again ;) When I left reefing LEDs were just coming out and now they are everywhere lol :crazy1:
 
Not every goby stirs up the sand. My clown gobies don't and although they do perch on the coral they don't irritate them. I do believe they will nip on some types of SPS though. They're still a favorite of mine.
 
Agree, there are gobies that do not stir the sand and would be a great addition to a nano. Also, clownfish do not need an anemone to survive and stay happy. In fact, with the absence of the threat of predation, some won't bother with one in captivity. There are many small, colorful species of blennies, basslets and chromis, as well.
 
Achilies tang, emperor angel and panther grouper. Just kidfing ha but seriously can't go wrong with clowns, smaller reef safe wrasse and every tank should have personality from a blenny of some sort. Maybe some invertebrates too.
 
I like the geometric hawk as well.

A possum wrasse or pink-streaked wrasse would also work, but I think I wouldn't put any other wrasse in a 20 gallon.

Tailspot blennies are also nice and entertaining in a smaller tank. They also eat hair algae which is a bonus. And as someone noted above, there are lots of little gobies (neon, green-striped, clown, etc.) that don't bother the sand bed. Watchman gobies are nice. Mine does excavate and spit sand in the area of his cave sometimes, but it's limited in area and not the constant carpet bombing disturbance of the whole sandbed that sand sifters will cause.
 
High Fin goby mated with a pistol shrimp, yellow assessor(basslet). Or you could do a 20 reef with just a single painted angler, there are some really amazing colored anglers. I would stay away from an anemone in that size tank if you want to keep sps, you are going to find it hard to give it enough room that it doesnt start stinging other corals.
 
I'll put in a vote for a bicolor or tailspot blenny. I have a bicolor in my biocube and he is quite the character. I also have a YWG and tiger pistol pair which is quite entertaining as well.
 
J2T said:
I'll put in a vote for a bicolor or tailspot blenny. I have a bicolor in my biocube and he is quite the character. I also have a YWG and tiger pistol pair which is quite entertaining as well.
Click to expand...

I always liked that symbiotic relationship, but he said he didn't want anything to kick lots of sand up.
 
true, but trust me the tiger pistol is nowhere near the sand kicker that a sandsifting goby is. Now if you have sugar sized sand I would agree but larger grain of sand shouldn't be a problem...just gotta make sure no frags are in his reach lol
 
With pistol shrimps you can never tell what they are going to do. I have some where they don't dig often and some that just dig all day. For my DT, I don't house one cause from past experiences, they can be troublesome at times.

If your looking for color in nanos, firefish are very bold in color and abnormal looking as well. They aren't overly large, have a small bioload and active if kept in very peaceful aquariums. You can also go with some species of cardinals as well.
 
something different Tanaka's Pygmy Possum Wrasse BOOM hahaha i love those little guys. or BANG Painted Angler Red/Orange (if you dont plan on keeping anything else lol) orrr Mimic Saddle Puffer! Hey go big or go home Deepwater Candy Basslet
 
Those deepwaters can hide a lot, just so you know. They sometimes stay in the shadows all the time, and cruise between different caves.
 
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