Smallest Nano Inhabitants!?

[hollback]

I absolutely love Pom Pom crabs. They're like a small cheerleader/mascot of a tank. One question about these is do Pom Poms damage Coral to replace dead Anemone? I know they split it but what if the anemone is too small to split. I also wonder if they get aggressive and eat small 1" fish.

Nope. They only use the anemone. They take care of them by feeding them. I had one for 4 years and never had problems with it touching corals or losing an anemone. My current one I've had a year in a 10 gallon Nuvo with tons or florida ricordea, zoanthids, coral banded shrimp and pistol shrimp with no issues. They will not harm fish. They are very small.

 

[shrimped]

Nope. They only use the anemone. They take care of them by feeding them. I had one for 4 years and never had problems with it touching corals or losing an anemone. My current one I've had a year in a 10 gallon Nuvo with tons or florida ricordea, zoanthids, coral banded shrimp and pistol shrimp with no issues. They will not harm fish. They are very small.

Thanks for the reply. Good to hear they are harmless! Pom Poms will be added to the list.

 

[shrimped]

Anyone got Golden Assessors, Sunburst Anthias, Helfrichi Firefish? Are they worth the price?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Anyone got Golden Assessors, Sunburst Anthias, Helfrichi Firefish? Are they worth the price?

I'm a fan of all of them. IMO worth the price.

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

Anyone got Golden Assessors, Sunburst Anthias, Helfrichi Firefish? Are they worth the price?

The school of tryssogobius will probably be the biggest investment. For show fish I feel that the pricing on the three you listed is well worth it...provided you have a lid

 

[shrimped]

I'm a fan of all of them. IMO worth the price.

Oh all the choices for a 34g hahahaha! So my fish list is more than full lol!
Hybrid Neon Goby
(Elacatinus oceanops x E. figaro)

Pink Streaked Wrasse
(Pseudocheilinops ataenia)

Yellow Head Jawfish
(Opistognathus aurifrons)

x5 Blue Eye Dartfish
(Tryssogobius colini)

Pictus Blenny
(Ecsenius pictus)

Blue Stipe Pipefish Pair
(Doryrhamphus excisus)

Sunburst Anthias
(Serranocirrhitus latus)

Yasha Goby Pair
(Stonogobiops yasha)

(Optional) Helfrichi Firefish
(Nemateleotris helfrichi)

(Optional) Golden Assessor
(Assessor flavissimus)

I'll get a powerful skimmer... probably a Magus Curve 5 or Nyos Quantum 120

 

[shrimped]

The school of tryssogobius will probably be the biggest investment. For show fish I feel that the pricing on the three you listed is well worth it...provided you have a lid

I'll get one of those artfully(?) Acrylic lids for a Red Sea Reefer 130. How much is one Tryssogobius Colini?

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

I'll get one of those artfully(?) Acrylic lids for a Red Sea Reefer 130. How much is one Tryssogobius Colini?

I haven't seen them in a long time but I believe the last time I did, it was around $20 retail. They're unbelievably tiny but striking and well worth it for a shoaling fish

 

[shrimped]

I haven't seen them in a long time but I believe the last time I did, it was around $20 retail. They're unbelievably tiny but striking and well worth it for a shoaling fish

Dang $20 I can do. I thought it was $40-50 each lol. Thanks for telling me the price!

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

Dang $20 I can do. I thought it was $40-50 each lol. Thanks for telling me the price!

That was several years back. I believe it was at Maxreef when they were still in the Bronx. They also had the flaming prawns for $60 each. Check out circus gobies for another cool nano fish. I just saw one at one of my suppliers hanging out upside down under a ledge in one of their reef tanks http://www.liveaquaria.com/divers-den/product/376144/black-barred-circus-goby

 

[shrimped]

That was several years back. I believe it was at Maxreef when they were still in the Bronx. They also had the flaming prawns for $60 each. Check out circus gobies for another cool nano fish. I just saw one at one of my suppliers hanging out upside down under a ledge in one of their reef tanks http://www.liveaquaria.com/divers-den/product/376144/black-barred-circus-goby

I saw a few of these gobies before. They were very striking in the nice pastel-like color. LFS told me they were not worth the money $50 because they are was too small and hide often so I didn't buy one for my current tank.

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

I saw a few of these gobies before. They were very striking in the nice pastel-like color. LFS told me they were not worth the money $50 because they are was too small and hide often so I didn't buy one for my current tank.

I think it depends on how you do your scape. They hide in the rocks more so if you set it up so that they can hide around the rock structure rather than in it, you should be fine. For me personally, I actually enjoy the fish that you see on occasion as much as the fish that are right out front. I have some pretty cryptic fish in my 125 and its always a treat when they're out. If you balance high visibility fish/inverts with periodic visibility fish/inverts, it adds some cool depth to your reef. I'm really looking forward to this setup you're planning.

 

[shrimped]

I think it depends on how you do your scape. They hide in the rocks more so if you set it up so that they can hide around the rock structure rather than in it, you should be fine. For me personally, I actually enjoy the fish that you see on occasion as much as the fish that are right out front. I have some pretty cryptic fish in my 125 and its always a treat when they're out. If you balance high visibility fish/inverts with periodic visibility fish/inverts, it adds some cool depth to your reef. I'm really looking forward to this setup you're planning.

Thank you for looking forward to my upgrade tank build! I really appreciate it man! My plan for aquascape is going more into the simplistic or minimalistic design. Silicon, Coral glue, and epoxy will be used for it. I'm going between something similar to these designs. (Note none of these photos are mine)

If the aquascape is just as minimalistic as the ones above then I'll think about either a Circus Goby, Flaming Prawn Goby, or some small dragonet.

 

[jp_75]

how hard are those blue eye dartfish to keep? are they seasonal? never seen before...

 

[shrimped]

how hard are those blue eye dartfish to keep? are they seasonal? never seen before...

I believe they are just as hard to keep as Red Dot Cardinals, Raos Dartfish, or Mini Dartfish where you need super tiny foods (maybe live artemia) to feed them and train them onto small frozen or pellet foods. Not sure if seasonal but I've only seen them on Live Aquaria DD once and Quality Marine

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

I believe they are just as hard to keep as Red Dot Cardinals, Raos Dartfish, or Mini Dartfish where you need super tiny foods (maybe live artemia) to feed them and train them onto small frozen or pellet foods. Not sure if seasonal but I've only seen them on Live Aquaria DD once and Quality Marine

I just talked to one of my suppliers about them and he said that they come in from Cebu but the depth they're found at and difficulty to catch make them rarely available.

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

Thank you for looking forward to my upgrade tank build! I really appreciate it man! My plan for aquascape is going more into the simplistic or minimalistic design. Silicon, Coral glue, and epoxy will be used for it. I'm going between something similar to these designs. (Note none of these photos are mine)

If the aquascape is just as minimalistic as the ones above then I'll think about either a Circus Goby, Flaming Prawn Goby, or some small dragonet.

I especially like the first two. Especially if you want to do the sunburst anthers and assessors. They definitely appreciate a good overhang

 

[shrimped]

I just talked to one of my suppliers about them and he said that they come in from Cebu but the depth they're found at and difficulty to catch make them rarely available.

Dang I really wish someone Captive breed these so they can be readily available. I wonder why most smaller nice looking fish are always in the deep water.

 

[shrimped]

I especially like the first two. Especially if you want to do the sunburst anthers and assessors. They definitely appreciate a good overhang

Ok once I get the rocks I'll try to do some nice overhangs. I hope some epoxy will hold it up

 

[Ryan@ShelteredReef Verified Sponsor]

Ok once I get the rocks I'll try to do some nice overhangs. I hope some epoxy will hold it up

JB Waterweld works pretty well. I use super glue to get a general shape and then go over the glued joints with epoxy putty. Its worked well in my experience.