Nano single species reccomendations?

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Hey there, I have a evo 13.5 I want to put something interesting in, originally I was gonna do a frogfish, but they don't live very long apparently, I was thinking maybe a file fish, I cant do dwarf seahorses because the tank is too big, any reccomendations?

Fishfreak2009 · Feb 7, 2022

Max The New reefer said:
Hey there, I have a evo 13.5 I want to put something interesting in, originally I was gonna do a frogfish, but they don't live very long apparently, I was thinking maybe a file fish, I cant do dwarf seahorses because the tank is too big, any reccomendations?

Swalesi basslet would be an excellent choice.

I also had an evo set up with live rock from the gulf, lots of macros, and some sponges and feather dusters with a leaf scorpionfish. It was a pretty awesome tank. He ate 4-5 live ghost shrimp or guppies twice weekly.

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Fishfreak2009 said:
Swalesi basslet would be an excellent choice.

I also had an evo set up with live rock from the gulf, lots of macros, and some sponges and feather dusters with a leaf scorpionfish. It was a pretty awesome tank. He ate 4-5 live ghost shrimp or guppies twice weekly.

How long did your leaf fish live? Ill check them out!

Fishfreak2009 · Feb 7, 2022

Max The New reefer said:
How long did your leaf fish live? Ill check them out!

I had him for over a year, before tearing the tank down. He is still alive as far as I know 2 years later, living at the LFS I sold him to in their macroalgae tank.

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Fishfreak2009 said:
I had him for over a year, before tearing the tank down. He is still alive as far as I know 2 years later, living at the LFS I sold him to in their macroalgae tank.

Oh sick! I'll see if anyone local gets them in! Thanks so much! Any other cool ideas for camo, venomous, or just funky fish?

Fishfreak2009 · Feb 7, 2022

If you want to set up a more traditional reef, look into gumdrop coral crouchers. You could do a pair in an Evo, and could even put a shrimp goby with pistol shrimp in with them.

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Fishfreak2009 said:
If you want to set up a more traditional reef, look into gumdrop coral crouchers. You could do a pair in an Evo, and could even put a shrimp goby with pistol shrimp in with them.

I'll check those guys out!, I'm setting up a 32.5 trading reef, and have a cycled 13.5 and have always wanted to do something weird, so I think I'll either do some weird gobies and a file fish, or a leaf scropion tank.

Fishfreak2009 · Feb 7, 2022

This was my leaf scorpion in his Evo. He changed colors all the time, so yes, this is the same fish in each picture. He had snails and hermits for tankmates, and we had a springers damsel in there for a while as a timeout tank.

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Fishfreak2009 said:
This was my leaf scorpion in his Evo. He changed colors all the time, so yes, this is the same fish in each picture.

Thanks so much man! That's really helpful, got any tips on keeping them?

Fishfreak2009 · Feb 7, 2022

Max The New reefer said:
Thanks so much man! That's really helpful, got any tips on keeping them?

Don't put them with any fish like tangs or angels that may nip at them thinking they are macroalgae (which shouldn't be an issue in this type tank). They are very picky about food, but live ghost shrimp gut loaded work well, and if you can get them to take frozen thawed off a pair of forceps, even better. Mine took about 3 months before he'd take food off tongs, before that I just dropped them in by him one at a time. You can always start a small freshwater tank to breed guppies or mollies as well, and then you have a clean source of gutloaded live feeders that won't cause thiaminase issues. And avoid krill to prevent lockjaw. Keep up with the water changes, and the live macroalgae will help as well. These guys produce a lot of waste for their small size.

And if you're keeping this fish by itself, this is one of the few species I'd skip quarantine for. I would still treat it with prazi to deworm and de-fluke it, but it should otherwise be good to go.

Max The New reefer · Feb 7, 2022

Fishfreak2009 said:
Don't put them with any fish like tangs or angels that may nip at them thinking they are macroalgae (which shouldn't be an issue in this type tank). They are very picky about food, but live ghost shrimp gut loaded work well, and if you can get them to take frozen thawed off a pair of forceps, even better. Mine took about 3 months before he'd take food off tongs, before that I just dropped them in by him one at a time. You can always start a small freshwater tank to breed guppies or mollies as well, and then you have a clean source of gutloaded live feeders that won't cause thiaminase issues. And avoid krill to prevent lockjaw. Keep up with the water changes, and the live macroalgae will help as well. These guys produce a lot of waste for their small size.

And if you're keeping this fish by itself, this is one of the few species I'd skip quarantine for. I would still treat it with prazi to deworm and de-fluke it, but it should otherwise be good to go.

Awesome, ill work on getting the preparations for one of these guys! I appreciate all the help!