Looking for fish suggestions

[Ferrell]

Gobies are a good choice, and some can keep you substrate clean. Lawnmower blenny great for keeping algae under control.

+1

 

[xCry0x]

Yellow coris, lubbocks, and mccosker wrasse either get too big or are too active for a biocube.

Peacock or tamarin wrasses need a bigger tank.

Some good options include: yellow assessor, royal gramma, pink streak wrasse, Wetmorella wrasse, neon goby, a group of barnacle blennies, stigmatura blenny.

+1 - I had a flasher wrasse in my 65 and honestly felt a bit guilty about it. The fish spent all day aimlessly swimming laps around the tank.

People say no six line - but the benefit to a six line is that it is a "hunter" type wrasse -- so it is very active but it is active hunting through rocks. Not just free swimming in tiny circles in a 2x2 cube.

I had a six line for years in my original cube without issue - it just depends on what other fish you have.

A possom wrasse would be a good choice for a small tank; they are fairly peaceful and are the hunting type -- so in a 32g they could be kept busy just swimming around looking for pods.

30g here. I have a pair of clowns. They haven’t laid eggs yet. They have just became sexually mature and they have taken over my tank attacking everything. I can’t keep any other fish. I have an azure damsel and the only reason he is still alive is because he’s a little faster than them and small and can fit into the rocks.

Yup - I also had a ocellaris clown pair in my original cube. I think the reason the six line was never a bully was because the female clown was a TYRANT. Once they started laying eggs it was all over - I actually had to get rid of them because they got so nasty and it was too small of a space for other fish to have much freedom without getting chased down by momma clown.

That said, after upgrading my tank I definitely went off and got another pair of clowns. They really are the quintessential, hallmark, "saltwater tank" fish imo. I got a couple off off-brand misbar clowns.

The fish that surprised me the most is the pair of chromis I just added. I was desperately needing some "activity" in my tank. Always thought of chromis as kind of cheapo junk fish - I really like them now that I got them. Time will tell on how they go but the blue/green color looks great under reef lightning and they are the right amount of "active". Always out swimming but they don't have that bored, mindlessly swimming in tiny circles, behavior you get when you throw tangs (or wrasses) in a small tank.

 

[Jesterrace]

I'm about 2 months out from starting up a BioCube 32, and realized today that aside from a pair of ocellaris, I have no idea what fish I want. A lot of the fish I'm familiar with (tangs, foxfaces, etc.) just aren't suitable for a small tank like this, so I'd definitely welcome any suggestions anyone has for fish that would do well. I'm thinking a purple firefish might be a good addition, but not sure what else I'd like. Any suggestions from the community? I plan to keep the aforementioned ocellaris, assorted LPS, and a few snails/crustaceans.

My experience with my Purple Firefish wasn't the best. It spent too much time hiding for my tastes. I would definitely recommend something like a Pink Streaked Wrasse over a Purple Firefish. Far more activity and personality. A Royal Gramma Basslet would definitely add color, although some hide and some are super bold. One of the things you will discover with a smaller tank is that you will get tired very quickly of skittish fish that hide (ie nothing more than an unwanted source of nitrates).

 

[Jesterrace]

+1 - I had a flasher wrasse in my 65 and honestly felt a bit guilty about it. The fish spent all day aimlessly swimming laps around the tank.

People say no six line - but the benefit to a six line is that it is a "hunter" type wrasse -- so it is very active but it is active hunting through rocks. Not just free swimming in tiny circles in a 2x2 cube.

I had a six line for years in my original cube without issue - it just depends on what other fish you have.

A possom wrasse would be a good choice for a small tank; they are fairly peaceful and are the hunting type -- so in a 32g they could be kept busy just swimming around looking for pods.



Yup - I also had a ocellaris clown pair in my original cube. I think the reason the six line was never a bully was because the female clown was a TYRANT. Once they started laying eggs it was all over - I actually had to get rid of them because they got so nasty and it was too small of a space for other fish to have much freedom without getting chased down by momma clown.

That said, after upgrading my tank I definitely went off and got another pair of clowns. They really are the quintessential, hallmark, "saltwater tank" fish imo. I got a couple off off-brand misbar clowns.

The fish that surprised me the most is the pair of chromis I just added. I was desperately needing some "activity" in my tank. Always thought of chromis as kind of cheapo junk fish - I really like them now that I got them. Time will tell on how they go but the blue/green color looks great under reef lightning and they are the right amount of "active". Always out swimming but they don't have that bored, mindlessly swimming in tiny circles, behavior you get when you throw tangs (or wrasses) in a small tank.

A 6 line and generally peaceful fish in a small tank is a recipe for disaster.

 

[xCry0x]

I agree - that is why I said it depends on what fish you have =).

I think a lot of the nano "bully" fish are bullies until something else is there to keep it in check.

Mixing super peaceful fish w/ active semi-aggressive fish is definitely a recipe for disaster though. I had a pair of firefish I never saw because they were always scared and hiding in rocks. Have seen other tanks where the firefish are the main fish and they act completely different - out swimming around looking cool.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I think a lot of the nano "bully" fish are bullies until something else is there to keep it in check.

In many cases, yes, but I've dealt with sixlines that were bullies in some pretty large tanks to semi aggressive fish larger than them.

 

[40B Knasty]

6 line is great for frag tank with no other fish. My buddy had one in a 120g with 6 fish only. He came home to the 6 line on the floor. Popped a bottle and did the happy dance. It attacked everything! He couldn't catch him because the top of his tank has a 120 lbs montipora cap growing across the top to dig it out and it was way to fast to catch without tearing it down.

 

[gonzo620]

I absolutely love the Yasha goby candy pistol shrimp combo. All time favorite nano addition.

 

[40B Knasty]

@gonzo620, that's probably the best suggestion so far. Good call!

 

[gonzo620]

@gonzo620, that's probably the best suggestion so far. Good call!

 

[Barry_Cuda]

Bumping this thread as the tank is now well into its cycle. My LFS has invited me to put together a tentative stocking list so we can talk about when to add what and plan to order whatever they don't have in stock. Currently thinking about:
Ocellaris clown
1 or 2 Banggai cardinals
Watchman goby (and at some point a pistol shrimp in the hopes they'll form a symbiotic relationship)
1 dottyback, either springeri or black neon
Royal gramma

My hope is to obtain all or most of these via ORA or some other aquaculture source, rather than wild-caught fish. I want everything in the tank to be reef-safe as well.

There are a number of wrasses I really like, but it seems the vast majority of them require a much larger tank. Any comments on the above, or additional suggestions?

 

[Jesterrace]

6 line is great for frag tank with no other fish. .

I have been sorely tempted to try this with a smaller sized tank and just have the 6 line be my only fish, I just can't justify the expense for one fish though.