Blenny combos for a 20L (1 Viewer)

[burtnnator07]

Now that I'm on christmas break, it's time to stock my 20L and so far I'm only certain I want a blenny. Preferably a tail-spot or midas. I like midas since they are more readily available and brighter than tail-spots but then tail-spots are smaller than midas and perhaps better suited for a 20L.

Tanks is a reef with no sump or skimmer, only a fuge and 27lbs of live rock plus a small hob for mechanical filtration/chemical if needed.

So which combo would you pick and why...

#1
Midas/tailspot
Perc
green banded goby

#2 (Bobioden combo )
Midas/tail-spot
Perc
Black cap basslet

#3
Midas/tail-spot
Firefish
clown goby

#4
midas/tail-spot
bangaii cardinal
orange stripe prawn goby/yasha haze

#5
midas/tail-spot
perc pair


Feel free to make your own combos/omit fish from my combos. I would just like interesting inhabitants. Any and all responses are appreciated.

Happy Holidays

 

[DonnieKim]

#6
Black Cap Basslet
Yellow Clown Goby
Orange Stripe Prawn Goby/Yasha Hashi

I love black caps!

 

[Guest]

Rainford and Yellow Clown Goby.

Well the yellow clown is just fun to watch and they are so small that they will not have a huge bioload impact on your tank.

Rainfords are great because they help shift your sand and eat any unwanted algae. Just great bang for the buck period. Very peaceful, beutiful and has an actual purpose in the aquarium.

The Midas and Jawfish would be nice but I never had any good luck with keeping them... Well that just from my experience. Hope this helps.

mike

 

[burtnnator07]

Thanks for the responses yall, I appreciate it!

 

[BrianPlankis]

I like #5 because a pair of clowns is always fun to watch, especially for young kids, they always scream NEMO!!!!!

I didn't see the jawfish in your list, but a 20L is definitely too small to keep a jawfish unless you SEE it eating prepared foods.

The Midas gets to 5" and most websites recommend a 30 gallon as minimum size. Personally I would choose the tail spot or actually the clown goby as it should be happy in a 20L.

Are you planning a skimmer on this system?

Brian

 

[burtnnator07]

There's no skimmer as of now, but I do plan to have one eventually, but probably not until the beginning of the summer.

You think the midas would be cramped? I know most places recommend 30g but I've seen lots of people with them in 20's. I know that doesn't mean a whole lot, but some places recommed 30g for perculas. Thinking about that combo though (#5), I definitely wouldn't have a pair of clowns plus a midas as I think that'd be too much competition for swimming space.

 

[BrianPlankis]

I personally think a 5" midas would be cramped in a 20L. So I wouldn't do it, but I'm just one opinion

After seeing tangs in the wild in Hawaii I just can't bring myself to put a fish in a small box that likes to swim. I don't know if midas blennys are swimmers, or they stay in one area of the reef?

I'm trying to find fish for my 75 that tend to stay in one area on the reef. My advice and opinions on here are always skewed towards that.

But the best thing about reefing is you can read up on stuff and make your own decision on what you feel comfortable with doing.

Brian

 

[incysor]

#1
Midas/tailspot
Perc
green banded goby

Workable.

#2 (Bobioden combo )
Midas/tail-spot
Perc
Black cap basslet

Workable.

#3
Midas/tail-spot
Firefish
clown goby

Firefish generally do better in pairs/groups, so if you want one I'd get two fo them and skip the clown goby, or one of the blennies.

#4
midas/tail-spot
bangaii cardinal
orange stripe prawn goby/yasha haze

Bangaii's are the same as the firefish.

#5
midas/tail-spot
perc pair

My first suggestion would be that you need to NOT add all of your fish at once. Having the money/time is an issue, but adding 4 fish to a 20 at once is asking for algae blooms at the very least. You'll have an easier time if you add one at a time so that your bacteria cultures have time to adjust to the added ammonia/nutrients in the system.

I like several of the fish you've got listed, and they're all decent choices for a nano. A lot of the ones you've listed will mainly perch on the rockwork and won't be in the water column continuously. I'd choose the perc to keep one fish that stays in the water column. A perc is colorful, active, and doesn't need to be kept in pairs/groups like the firefish, or cardinal, and isn't shy like a blackcap. I'd also choose the yasha haze, and try to get one with a pistol shrimp. It's an interesting combo to watch, and they're small and colorful. Then I'd go with the tailspot, and the midas.

B

 

[burtnnator07]

I was going to do either a tail-spot blenny or a midas blenny. Although a tail-spot will stay on the rock work more than a midas, I think they'd fight in a 20L.

I'll space out adding the fish as you suggested, don't want an algae bloom or worse.

I think I'll go with a perc, midas and a shrimp goby. Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade once the midas gets to 5". I haven't decided between the randall's and the yasha. Anyone have experience with both? I heard that yashas stay in the burrow more than randall's? :? I think if I get a yasha though, I'll have to name it mcdonald because of all the yellow and red.

Thanks again!!!

 

[burtnnator07]

Anyone ever kept a red sea mimic blenny? They only get to 3" and are just as pretty as midas. Liveaquaria has them but I can't find much info on them...

They also have restocked their tail-spots so I'm considering those again...this is so confusing

 

[BrianPlankis]

Anyone ever kept a red sea mimic blenny? They only get to 3" and are just as pretty as midas. Liveaquaria has them but I can't find much info on them...

They also have restocked their tail-spots so I'm considering those again...this is so confusing

Wow...interesting fish. You can find out more info here:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=12635&genusname=Ecsenius&speciesname=gravieri

I'm seriously considering this fish for my tank now...need to see if anyone is tank raising them. I would like to hear other people's experience with them too.

BTW...It looks like an excellent choice for the 20L, much better size and recommended minimum tank size is 10 gal. You might want to add it last so that the tank has time to grow a little algae.

Brian

 

[burtnnator07]

Yep. They are pretty interesting. I pm'd a guy on nano-reef.com that has had them before so I'm waiting to hear what he has to say about them. I'll report back with what he says.

 

[burtnnator07]

Red Sea Mimic Blenny >"They're shy at first. After a week you can expect them to act as quirky and entertaining as any other blenny. They're quite small though. 1.5" at purchase is what I've come to find is normal. " - minimalist on nano-reef.com

I ordered mine from liveaquaria.com and it should arrive on the 28th . It should love all the algae in my tank. It finished cycling a couple months ago but I have yet to get a "real" clean-up crew. Phew, $70 shipping included...no way I'm going to get careless about waterchanges and such. This hobby is a tad expensive

 

[BrianPlankis]

Very cool. Show us pictures when it arrives

Brian