Free swimmers

[DevonMeep]

Holy eveyone. I've had my tank for around a year now and just started getting my first corals. I've just about added all the livestock I want with the exception of one last fish. Is there anything that could live in a 30g that would swim around a fair bit? I have a clown fish and a dottyback which I love but they tend to stick to their own spots. The clown down near the bottom right and the dottyback in the Rockwork. My current inhabitants are;

Ocellaris clown
Orchid dottyback
Scarlet skunk cleaner
3 electric blue hermits
3 astrea snails
Pulsing Xenia
Frogspawn

 

[Rilelen]

Maybe a single azure damselfish? They're not as aggressive as other damsels and tend to swim more out in the open. Not sure though if it would stick more to its own territory with a clown in the tank, given the relatively small real estate.

 

[stelliofleondis]

a coral beauty is doing nicely in mine but it may not be reef safe
or a flame angel

 

[Cliving1]

Starcki damsel or azure would be nice. May be able to squeeze a fairy wrasse in there.

 

[TokiHacker]

6 line wrasse wouldn't be bad.

 

[Optionman]

take a look at pajama cardinals

 

[BigDave]

I had a flame angel in mine back when I had a 30 gallon tank.

At some point it may outgrow the tank, but it was fun to watch.

 

[Sk8r]

The clown and dottyback are both nippy species. The azure could hold its own, and does not grow very large at all. Some of the others are twice that size.

 

[scooter31707]

6 line wrasse wouldn't be bad.

I don't recommend this fish in that size tank. IME and a lot of other hobbyist, they can be pure PITAs.

 

[JC Slater]

I have a Valentini Puffer in my biocube 29. Its really the lowest end limit for him, but Ive had him for about 10 months or so and he's happy, probably still a juvi though. Most interesting fish I ever had, super cool and swims about all the time. He does eat small snails though and does sometimes pick around my bright colored SPS and LPS (he devours acans which is a bummer) corals but doesnt touch the larger sand sifting snails and euphillia.

I had an orchid dotty back (atleast I think and was told thats what he was) and that damn fish was mean and killed a 6line and skunk cleaner shrimp and was trying to get into my yellow watchman goby/pistol shrimp cave. I had to take out all the rock to catch the lil bastard. Ha! Good luck!

 

[BigDave]

yeah. I bought a Diadema Pseudocromis not realizing those things eat ornamental shrimp. I put him in and he went straight after my skunk shrimp. I managed to catch the shrimp and get them into the refugium. The fish ended up in the sump somehow where he stayed. After he got down to the sump, I put the skunk shrimp back into the display tank.

 

[DevonMeep]

Aren't cardinals shy? Wouldn't hey have problems with aggressive fish like the clown? Personality wise the clown is pretty calm but the dottyback gets made if anything comes near her tunnel entrances.

 

[xREEFINaintEZx]

My pajamas are shy. My orbics are not. I also have a purple dotty and a 6 line. The dotty is way more aggressive then the 6 line. Befor I took over the tank, he had a black and white clown aswell. The clown really got ahold of my yellow tang and the large pajama had one good bite out of him.