Nano fish suggestions

CMcNeil

New member
I have an elos mini and need some fish.the tank is a mixed lps/sps reef.I would like to get 4-5 fish total but want them to be able to not outgrow the tank in months.I'm at a loss for ideas here.clown gobies are out since they are known to perch and possibly nip at sps.I'd love a Catalina goby but my water temps are too hot for them so they are out.I just can't think of anything I really want.I never had this problem stocking my larger systems :(
Please give me some ideas of colorful nano fish that I could get.If you can post a pic or link that would be great.TIA

Chris
 
Flaming prawn goby, gumdrop coral croucher, golden angel...?!
those would be my choices for a nano, along with a bunch of cool invertebrates: sexy shrimp, saron shrimp, boxer crabs...
good luck!
 
the golden angel is not a possability since they are hit or miss as to nipping sps.i have owned two and one nipped but the other didnt.i am thinking maybe a pair of helfrichi firefish for starters.i need to check out the flaming prawn goby.
 
ok i checked out the flaming prawn goby and that is a nice fish.i will have to ask my LFS if he can find me a nice healthy one.we are lucky to have several nice stores in our area that get some great stock.
 
i neglected to mention the system is bare bottom,so that has to be considered when selecting my fish.
 
Green banded gobies stay very small, and can be kept peacefully in groups. Also, they are perching gobies, and do not need sand.

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Thank you for your suggestion,I have seen those guys at my LFS before and they might even have a few in stock.
I will want some of the fish to be active and visible but I guess the helfrichis will fit those parameters.
 
Flaming prawns will disapear in a 20g tank, your best bet if you like them is to get a group. For gobies I love our yasha, magnificent, or dracula. All very nice looking and none of them get to big, they don't need a sand bed but again if you are going to pair with a pistol it is nice. If you have a cover, I would look at firefish, you can also look at some cardinals.
 
I do have a net cover so jumpers are ok,helfrichis are high on the list.I don't plan on pairing up the goby with a shrimp so sand isn't an issue I suppose.I do like the yasha gobies so I'll look into the availablity of them at my LFS.thanks for all the help and suggestions,keep them coming.
 
I really enjoyed both my Geometric Hawkfish (from the Anthia Family) and Pink Streaked Wrasse (looks similar to a six-line without the aggression). I have heard stories of small shrimp being in jeopardy with the Geo hawk, I never personally have had any problems.
 
My LFS has a black ray goby in stock,so the owner placed it on hold for me :)
One fish down 3-4 more to go.I've seen the geo hawks before but not really keen on the way they look.I'm kind of thinking of two green banded gobies.they aren't in stock but he told me he will check his wholeseller Wednesday for them as well as the helfrichis.I imagine if I get all of the fish I just listed then the tank will be loaded to the max.I don't want to overcrowd the tank but do want some activity.Will sexy shrimp be ok with a 2" cleaner shrimp or will the cleaner be territorial and kill them?obviously I don't want that to happen.
 
I love my neon gobies. Colorful, charismatic, always together out in the open, reef safe, non jumping, stays small, all in all a perfect nano fish.

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Gotta have a tail spot blenny. Small, very cute, eats algae, bothers no one.

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Next on my list will be four of these Red Stripe Trimma gobies (Trimma cana). VERY small and non-jumping.

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I have come to the belief that keeping only the smallest possible fish in a nano is the best way to go - small fish and lots of them.

Oh, and NO MORE CLOWNS. Never never ever.



.
 
I have come to the belief that keeping only the smallest possible fish in a nano is the best way to go - small fish and lots of them.

Oh, and NO MORE CLOWNS. Never never ever.
.

I highly recommend listening to this advice. Excellent :celeb1:
 
I will take the advise to heart.I refuse to place clowns in my tank anyway so no worries there.So do guys think I should have more than 4-5 total?I wouldn't mind having 2 helfrichis,the Black ray goby,2 or 3 of the green banded gobies,a tailspot blenny,and 2 or 3 of the Neon gobies.would that be too much?I know my sps like das poop but don't want an overcrowded nano.Once again thanks for all the input,I'm new to nanos and want to do it right.
 
With the helfrichis just make sure you have a male female pair, if not they could fight and kill each other (I love mine). My wife has always had the neon cleaner gobies and they are a lot of fun to watch, probably better as a pair then three of them.

Figure the helfrichis will hang out in the water column, the tailspot blenny will hang out on the rocks, cleaner gobies hang out everywhere, the gobies should stick to the bottom of the tank. They will have room in their respective water column areas.

I would just make sure you keep the water changes up and have a proper skimmer. I have found with my nanos (12g, 20g which was upgraded to a 45g, 30g), having a good skimmer and religious weekly water changes has allowed them to thrive.
 
I do weekly 3G water changes and have a skimmer rated for 100g so no issues there.I change filter socks every other day and run boipellets for N and P control.
 
TTT for more suggestions and answers :)

So do guys think I should have more than 4-5 total?I wouldn't mind having 2 helfrichis,the Black ray goby,2 or 3 of the green banded gobies,a tailspot blenny,and 2 or 3 of the Neon gobies.would that be too much?I know my sps like das poop but don't want an overcrowded nano.Once again thanks for all the input,I'm new to nanos and want to do it right.
 
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