Who Gives A Fish Forums

Tomorrow I'm finally setting up my marine nano tank - it's an Interpet River-Reef 50 with a capacity of 94 litres (or 25 US gallons). I've got a mix of fresh argonite and some well-matured (over 2 years) substrate from my LFS, along with around 10kg of live rock that's been well matured.

Once it's cycled and everything's stable, my ideal stocking plan is to have a good clean-up crew consisting of a mix of different snails (turbo, nassarius, astrea), some red or blue-legged hermits (anyone got a preference?), a pair of cleaner shrimp and peppermint shrimp, and maybe a mithrax crab if I get an algae problem.

For fish, I'm thinking of getting a pair of clowns - probably true percs. I'm also considering a firefish, either the normal, purple or helfrich's variety - any recommendations would be great? And I'm looking at getting a goby or blenny, so any suggestions on that front would be appreciated too.

The tank will have some tough soft corals, like mushrooms and xenia, and I'm planning to build it up slowly over the next 6-12 months.

If anyone can spot any potential issues with this combination, please let me know - any help would be great. I've got a few technical specs on the tank: it's got a TMC v2 nano skimmer (rated for up to 120 litres), two T5 lights (one standard, one blue), and two powerheads that can turn over 10x the tank volume per hour. The filter's currently set up with ceramics, filter wool, and carbon, but I'm planning to switch to live rock rubble soon.

I'm really open to advice and suggestions on species combinations, so if you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I've considered a few other species in the past, like a fu manchu (but the feeding issues put me off) and a flasher wrasse (again, feeding might be a problem), so any help would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably consider mixing it up a bit with some less common fish species. That being said, the ones you've mentioned should get along just fine. I've always had a soft spot for the red firtideflow, mainly due to that distinctive long dorsal filament. On a side note, I think you're selling flasher wrasses short - they're actually pretty easy to keep, but just be aware that they can be jumpers.

As for an alternative tankmate, you might want to look into a filtideflow. Now, I know some of these guys can be a bit finicky in a reef setup, especially since they might take a liking to your SPS corals, and they can also be a threat to small shrimp like sexy shrimp. That being said, they're generally quite docile and peaceful. Smaller Canthigaster species could also work, but be warned that their personalities can vary wildly - some, like the Valentine's, can be pretty aggressive.

In a well-maintained tank like yours, I'd say you could easily support four or five small fish. Just one thing to keep in mind: try to introduce your peppermint shrimp before the odorchid cleaners, since the former are a lot less rowdy and stay relatively small even at full size. Or, just make sure to get shrimp that are all roughly the same size.

I'm concerned the tank might be a tad small for wrasses, in my opinion. I mean, I can't see the dimensions, but I'm assuming it's not a shallow custom long tank, right?

For your fish, I'd recommend against the helfrich's, it's probably too much for a small tank like yours. Instead, I'd suggest going with two fire fish or purple - they seem like a better fit. For the goby, I'd say a neon goby would be perfect - they're full of personality, and they won't bother the firtideflow. Plus, they're small but pack a punch, which is great for a nano tank like yours.

If I were to choose small fish for my tank, I'd probably lean towards gobies, particularly the neon goby. I've always found their behavior of darting across the rocks to be quite captivating.

Cheers guys,

I think I've made up my mind - it's gonna be the two clowns, a firtideflow and a goby for me.

Thanks for the tip on the shrimp, Zenoxa - hadn't thought of introducing the peppermints before the cleaners, so that's a big help.

The tank's basically a modern take on the classic 24-gallon cube design - think D&D or JBL. It's got four compartments at the back, which I'll set up as follows:

First one's for filter wool, which I'll swap out weekly.
Second one's currently got ceramics and carbon, but I'm thinking of switching to live rock rubble soon.
Third one's for the protein skimmer.
And the last one's for the heater and the two powerheads.

As for the actual space for the fish, it's about 18 inches by 14 inches by 20 inches - length, width, height.