Rare-er fish for 20 gallon?

[mx_fire]

Hi, I’m setting up a 20 gallon Red Sea max nano (45cm x 45cm) and am exploring options for some out of the ordinary stocking options.

 

i want a pair of designer clowns but everything else seems quite standard given the size. Is there anything I’m missing/any one can recommend that’s a little out of the ordinary?

 

Thanks! 

[RayWhisperer]

At 20 gallons, you’re fairly limited on size. Best options would be gobies. 

Gressingeri goby

white tiger goby

Black sailfin goby

these are some of the really rare and pricey ones. There are more commonly found gobies that are still fantastic.

Yasha haze goby

Randall’s goby

and plenty more. I’m just not gonna post a zillion names and images.

Edit. Just so you know, the first 2 are very tiny, and cryptic. I can’t speak for the white tiger goby. However, the Gressingeri do much better in groups. 4, or more, if you want to see them with any frequency. Cost is prohibitive, though.

[Lauraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

IMO Pink streaked and possum wrasses don't get enough love and either would be a great fit for a 20g.

[mx_fire]

These are great, thanks! Also looking for any suggestions for CUC/invertebrates that are a little unique - know that I need a Pom Pom crab 😄

[RayWhisperer]

Halloween hermits are an interesting CUC. Peaceful, too, if not a bit large.

Red Caribbean porcelain crabs. Not really CUC, per se, but a cool invert. 

Starry eyed hermits. 

Red stripe hermits

polkadot hermit

Yellow cucumber

and many more, but again, I’m not posting them all.

[patback]

The flaming prawngoby definitely fits the role for rarer, but you will also rarely see it especially in a tank that big. I had one in my 12c cube, after transferring it from my 3g bow front.  In both tanks, I've probably seen it 20 or so times max over the course of 3 years.  

They are beautiful little specks of crap, and I have read that they come out more often if kept in small groups of 3 or more. 

Those small cucumbers are awesome though.  I would like to get some the next time I make an order with live aquaria. 

Edited September 24, 2018 by patback
Looked at fire shrimp today. Said fire shrimp instead of flaming prawn.

[mx_fire]

5 hours ago, RayWhisperer said:

Halloween hermits are an interesting CUC. Peaceful, too, if not a bit large.

Red Caribbean porcelain crabs. Not really CUC, per se, but a cool invert. 

Starry eyed hermits. 

Red stripe hermits

polkadot hermit

Yellow cucumber

and many more, but again, I’m not posting them all.

 

Really thorough! Appreciate it. Not really out of the ordinary but I’m toying with the idea of a clam and/or a smaller urchin in this tank as well.

 

What are people’s thoughts on Nudibranchs? Saw an amazing blue/black on at a LFS the other day.

[Snow_Phoenix]

35 minutes ago, mx_fire said:

 

Really thorough! Appreciate it. Not really out of the ordinary but I’m toying with the idea of a clam and/or a smaller urchin in this tank as well.

 

What are people’s thoughts on Nudibranchs? Saw an amazing blue/black on at a LFS the other day.

Avoid nudis unless it's a lettuce nudi. Most nudis have a specific diet of sponges or flatworms, and cannot be supported by a nano. They'll die out of starvation, or worse, get chopped up by your wavemaker (the nudis in my LFS were well-known to do that) eventually. 

Have you looked into blennies? There are many different nano-sized types, especially various species under the 'clown blennies' list. Blennies are quite personable too, and some of them can be really colorful. If you're in the US, you can browse through LA or DD online to see what sort of types they have on offer. Sometimes, you get rare ones like tiger clown blennies etc. 

[ReefCap]

Curaçao deep water candy basslet. The coolest little fish ever. They only cost $650 😉

[Lula_Mae]

14 hours ago, RoboNarples2929 said:

IMO Pink streaked and possum wrasses don't get enough love and either would be a great fit for a 20g.

This. My PSW Merlin is probably my favorite fish I've ever had. A bit shy, but full of personality, and tends to come out when I'm near the tank. 

 

Consider a pair of anemone shrimp like a Pederson's. I had mine in a 5.5 but he was so much fun to watch! Definitely a pom pom or two and I recommend some sort of porcelain crab too, they are neat to watch with their fans out. 

[KNelson]

I have a tiger / circus / convict goby in my 12g and he is slightly nocturnal, but pretty darn cool.  It took me a while to find one when I was ready but he was worth the wait.  He's super peaceful and friendly with my purple firefish (oldest inhabitant) and citron clown goby (added the same time as circus).  I often see the 3 of them chilling a couple of inches from each other.   Circus gobies only get a couple of inches long (not tiny, but pretty small) but their fins are large and flowy so it appears much larger.  Mine is a pretty picky eater, but his belly is never sunken so what he gets must be enough. 

[AbnormalReefer]

A single predator reef tank would be cool. I’d recommend a fu manchu lionfish. You could put ocellaris clowns with the fu, however, keep an eye out and use lots of caution...

[Tamberav]

On 9/23/2018 at 12:49 PM, mx_fire said:

Hi, I’m setting up a 20 gallon Red Sea max nano (45cm x 45cm) and am exploring options for some out of the ordinary stocking options.

 

i want a pair of designer clowns but everything else seems quite standard given the size. Is there anything I’m missing/any one can recommend that’s a little out of the ordinary?

 

Thanks! 

 

Depends how out of the ordinary you want and how much you are willing to spend. Diver's Den gets rare and unusual nano fish in, you just need to stalk them for awhile. When I say awhile, I mean months to a year waiting for the right fish to come along.

 

Here are some I had that were around $50 or under (not my photos, too lazy to find my own photos).

 

Vanderhorstia flavilineata  

 

Ecsenius pictus

 

 

 

 

Honorable mention that should be easier to get but uncommon:

 

Geometric Pygmy Perchlet

 

 

 

[A Little Blue]

Circus Goby -if you are not into it, I wouldn’t recommend it. It needs a lot of hiding places, caves, overhangs and you won’t see it a whole lot. 

 

Deep water Curacao Chromis. Very nice active fish. Eats just about anything. Exemplary citizen and great community fish. 

 

[jesseatam]

I’ve always wanted one of the pygmy file fish that ORA breeds or an assessor from them. For some fish that aren’t  necessarily rare but aren’t that popular are fang blennies (have a blackline and love it to bits), or some of the more unique dottybacks like the springeri, splendid, or elongated. The thing is with a lot of these more uncommon fish it’s harder to find information on them so sometimes you might not know fully what you’re getting into but I find that to be part of the thrill. I had a geometric pygmy hawk myself and it was a very cool little fish but mine bullied a small orchid dottyback I tried to add and also never took prepared foods so it slowly wasted away. Many others have had success with that fish but I didn’t, just something to keep in mind.