Recommendation for good 20 gallon nano tank fish

[rocknut]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a good nano fish (20 gallon, SPS tank)? My basic criteria are:
1. I would like something that wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t totally destroy the pod population in the tank.
2. Something that interacts with the tanks surroundings, not just swims right at the top, but something that moves thru the rockwork.
3. Something that is OK in an open top tank.
4. Something that will be as safe as possible with SPS.
Since itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s only a 20 gallon tank, this will most likely be the only fish, so aggression towards other fish isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t really a concern.

Thanks in advance!
Rocky

 

[mntl]

Starkii Damsel (stark's damsel), not super sommon but fits all of the criteria you mentioned.

 

[Wolverine]

I don't consider any fish to be truly "OK" with an open top. I've seen frogfish go carpet surfing.

If you go with really small fish, you can definitely have more than one in a 20g. You could look at things like clown gobies, multi-barred gobies, shrimp gobies, things like that. Some of the small blennies can work too.

Dave

 

[JENnKerry]

Perhaps an Azure damsel or purple firefish?

 

[rocknut]

Honestly, the firefish would be my first choice, but I have always heard they are definate jumpers.

 

[tkeracer619]

Any way you can cut a peice of egg crate to fit the top, sorta as a training lid. So in case you get a jumper he wont jump for long if there is egg crate up there. I personolly have an open top and love it. I do wish I had the egg crate when my lawnmower decided to jump ship.

 

[JENnKerry]

I've had mine for almost a year with no problems. In my honest opinion, I think what makes a firefish jump is stress. If given a stress-free environment with non aggressive tankmates, then there should be no problem. I have him in a 20 with a clarki clown (he's too busy with his anenome to bother him), a yellow clown goby and a lawnmower blenny.

 

[Sk8r]

If you have a truly placid tank, you don't tend to have jumpers. My tank has nanofish and an open top, and it's been up for 4 and a half months with no casualties. My fish list is appended. The rainford is hard to keep, an algae eater and sand sifter. The mandarin is a pod eater. Outside of those two, the others would do well, ditto certain blennies, like the bicolor.

 

[stykthyn]

a harem of royal grammas would be cool.

 

[john37]

neon goby
clowns
yellow assesor

 

[rich415]

If agression is not an issue, then go with a dottyback. They interact really well with the enviroment, stay small, and I don't believe they are jumpers.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=38

 

[ACBlinky]

Dottybacks are loads of fun, and rich forgot to mention that they're gorgeous as well Truly smart fish, they're crafty and learn things quickly. On top of all that, they're tough as nails.
Here's a picture of my little devil, not the best but you can see his colours. He spends his day darting in and out of the rockwork. Occasionally he makes a sport of waiting for another fish to swim by, then darting out and biting it

 

[Wolverine]

It's true that no aggression will reduce the chance of jumpers, but it does not completely eliminate it. I've seen lone firefish jump out of tanks in the middle of the day for no apparent reason.

They interact really well with the enviroment, stay small, and I don't believe they are jumpers.

They are jumpers.

Dave

 

[MiddletonMark]

I really like the `Masked Gobies' I got around a year ago.
Small gobies, not exactly schooling - but a neat Caribbean fish that stays small, doesn't seem to jump - and with a full size of about 1" or so ... you can have a trio or something.

I like my Midas Blenny, but it can be a bully to other fish.

Royal Gramma is a great choice, IMO. Might eat some pods, but should do great on frozen.

 

[MarvinsReef]

how about a pair of clowns? preferably a rare pair... I'm not sure exactly what they're called but a local reefer has a pair blue stripe clowns.. I personally love the black occyz we were able to obtain a while back... they do well even without a host anemone...

here's a pic of them..

Marvin

 

[rocknut]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, they are truly appreciated!

I was thinking about going with the Dottyback, but had heard that they will wipe out any pod population that might be in the tank? How true is this? Are they any worse than anything else? Also, would there be any kind of Dottyback that I could keep with anything else, like a small Goby?

Honestly, I think that the Firefish would be my first choice. Do you think I could get away with a smaller Banded Goby as a tank mate, or would I be better off with only the Firefish to try and reduce any possible stress (and hopefully reduce the chance of jumping)?

 

[stykthyn]

for a community I would lean toward the firefish before the dottyback, and no daottybacks will genereally ignore pods. they love to eat worms though.

 

[Feather Duster]

I don't have first hand experience with banded gobies, but I think a firefish and a smaller one will be fine.

I had a firefish and yellow watchman goby in a 20g and they got along fine, and the tank was healthy.

 

[sf05]

I have an open top nano with a purple firefish and clown, i'm more worried about my snails carpet surfing than my firefish...

 

[soteroffice]

I think that a flasher wrasse is a good idea. You have probably already set your tank up but I think they look cool, don't get too big and are easy to care for.