Looking for a perching fish

B

bighex

New member
Hello reef central. I've been reading a lot here, but this is my first post.

I have a 40 gallon fusion AIO reef tank (softies and LPS so far). I'm looking for some input on stocking. Currently I have a black ocellaris clown, yellowhead pearly jawfish, and a blackcap basslet. There is a skunk cleaner shrimp and some blue leg hermits for inverts. The tank is about 2 months old. I transferred some of the live rock and the clown from a smaller tank so it's a little more mature than 2 months would indicate. :) Anyway, I'm planning out my next fish.

I would like a fish that will spend much of its time hopping around/perching on the rock. I've been looking at blennies primarly, but haven't found one that I'm totally sold on. I would like something that stays pretty small and is hardy. I love hawkfish but have ruled them out because I want to keep my shrimp.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Look into clown gobies. They come in several colors and stay under 1 1/2", and they taste nasty so most fish will leave them alone. Also, they perch and scoot and generally act cute and a little bit weird.
 
I have a starry blenny in my 90g and he perches on everything, including powerhead, mag-float, and every single coral. Very active and great personality.

Also a lawnmower in a 30g, he swims like an idiot.

They both do great job chomping the algae. I'd recommend either of them to add some personality for your tank.
 
I second the starry blenny suggestion. This is one of my top 5 favorite fish!

Maybe a Geometric Pygmy Perchlet? Or a Gumdrop Coral Croucher? Sometimes LA has pairs of the coral crouchers for sale.
 
SecretiveFish said:
I second the starry blenny suggestion. This is one of my top 5 favorite fish!

Maybe a Geometric Pygmy Perchlet? Or a Gumdrop Coral Croucher? Sometimes LA has pairs of the coral crouchers for sale.
Click to expand...

My Starry, named "Cup Noodle", is probably the most active/quirky fish out of the dozen things I have in two tanks, definitely a keeper!

Here is Cup Noodle waving at the camera, perched:

YavbsMGl.jpg


Cheap, easy to take care of, great personality, what's not to like? :beer:
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies! I've tried posting on other sites...and all i hear is crickets lol.

I'll look into the Clown Gobies for sure. How big do Starry Blennies get? I've heard Lawnmower's have great personalities but it seems they may be out of scale in my tank.
 
bighex said:
Wow, thanks for all the replies! I've tried posting on other sites...and all i hear is crickets lol.

I'll look into the Clown Gobies for sure. How big do Starry Blennies get? I've heard Lawnmower's have great personalities but it seems they may be out of scale in my tank.
Click to expand...

I have a starry, and had a regular lawnmower blenny in the past. I believe they grow to similar sizes, albeit slowly.
 
bighex said:
Wow, thanks for all the replies! I've tried posting on other sites...and all i hear is crickets lol.

I'll look into the Clown Gobies for sure. How big do Starry Blennies get? I've heard Lawnmower's have great personalities but it seems they may be out of scale in my tank.
Click to expand...

Cup Noodle (Starry) is almost 3", and Benny the Lawnmower Blenny is a bit bigger, close to 3.5" I'd say. Bigger body too.

I love it when they start grazing on the algae, the action is hilarious.
 
+1 on the Flame Hawk. Stays relatively small and lots of bright color. Definately a 'percher' BUT, mine decimated my decorative shrimp population.
 
Cool. I think I'm leaning toward the Starry. They seem like such characters. The tank is pretty new, I don't have much algae to graze on. I'll probably wait awhile, but I'm sure I can supplement with some nori. Any other feeding suggestions for a Starry Blenny?

I really love the hawkfish and so does my wife, but I love having shrimp too much right now.
 
bighex said:
Cool. I think I'm leaning toward the Starry. They seem like such characters. The tank is pretty new, I don't have much algae to graze on. I'll probably wait awhile, but I'm sure I can supplement with some nori. Any other feeding suggestions for a Starry Blenny?

I really love the hawkfish and so does my wife, but I love having shrimp too much right now.
Click to expand...

Unless you keep pristine, nutrient-free water, you can expect to get some forms of algae sooner rather than later. My starry is not at all interested in green hair algae, but he will sometimes nip at some short brown algae that grows here and there on my substrate. When I go a few days without cleaning my glass, he likes the brownish haze that forms on the glass. His nips at it look like "kiss" marks on the inside of the glass.

He didn't go for the nori clip for his first few months, but I see him feeding at it occasionally now.

You might try feeding some spirulina flakes to see if he likes them.
 
After only a couple times, Cup Noodle the starry started going for the nori pretty regularly so I'm not too worried that he's not eating enough already from the algae nipping.

Just do less cleaning ;)
 
My starry eats nori, and I also add an algae wafer every few days that he grabs in his mouth like a cookie and swims away with
 
If you want something slightly smaller than a starry or lawnmower try a tailspot blenny. I have two in different tanks. They are characters but in a little smaller package.
 
I had a tailspot blenny before & what a little goofball! The barnacle blenny is neat too but he moves all over the tank & likes to sit in the back lately.
 
Betta132 said:
Look into clown gobies. They come in several colors and stay under 1 1/2", and they taste nasty so most fish will leave them alone. Also, they perch and scoot and generally act cute and a little bit weird.
Click to expand...


I wonder who found out they taste bad, or what fish were in the taste test focus group...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
20 gallon stocking ideas
Replies
9
Views
1K
MC Blowfish
M
V
Feedback on this stocking list for 30g
Replies
0
Views
297
Varanis
V
JeannineC
Fish suggestion
Replies
19
Views
2K
rwbroadnax
R
T
New 55g setup. Advice for fish appreciated
Replies
6
Views
282
Uncle99
Uncle99
N
75 gallon set up and stocking advice
Replies
8
Views
2K
Newham94
N
Back
Top