Fish Recommendation for 45g

[Reefer37]

So I have a little over 6 month post cycled JBJ45 cube I've been thinking about adding a new member to. This is a mixed reef tank, so would need to be reef safe.

So far I have:
A pair of Clowns
Randall's Goby w/ a pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Bicolor Blenny

I've thought about a captive Mandarin, but I just really don't know if I trust the sustainability of one in a tank as small as mine.

Any recommendations on a beautiful/peaceful fish I can put with these guys?

 

[AnneO]

I have two mandarins in a 60 gallon (FBI citation, warranted) but it works as long as the LFS can show you that they are eating before you buy and you can provide that food consistently

 

[Mark Bradley]

I have two mandarins in a 60 gallon (FBI citation, warranted) but it works as long as the LFS can show you that they are eating before you buy and you can provide that food consistently

I like the Mandarins a lot - I understand they need personal feeding - is that right? I can see myself doing that for a while but not long term which is why I haven’t bought one to date.

 

[Mark Bradley]

So I have a little over 6 month post cycled JBJ45 cube I've been thinking about adding a new member to. This is a mixed reef tank, so would need to be reef safe.

So far I have:
A pair of Clowns
Randall's Goby w/ a pistol shrimp
Purple Firefish
Bicolor Blenny

I've thought about a captive Mandarin, but I just really don't know if I trust the sustainability of one in a tank as small as mine.

Any recommendations on a beautiful/peaceful fish I can put with these guys?

Have you considered a Midas Blenny?

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Have you looked at wrasses, especially flasher wrasses? What about a basslet, such as a royal gramma? A dwarf angelfish? Cardinals? Hawkfish?

 

[AnneO]

I like the Mandarins a lot - I understand they need personal feeding - is that right? I can see myself doing that for a while but not long term which is why I haven’t bought one to date.

Well, my approach is to mix half a cube of the lobster eggs in with the frozen food the other fish get - they are heavy and sink to the bottom quite quickly. Once a week I do especially baste them seperately towards the bottom so that more of them land there rather than being eaten by other fish on the way down. Once they are on the gravel only the mandarins appear to be able to see them and they get a good fill in the 15mins the pumps are off

 

[Reefer37]

Have you considered a Midas Blenny?

I had thought about it, but was worried about possibly aggression with the other blenny in such a small space.

 

[Reefer37]

I have two mandarins in a 60 gallon (FBI citation, warranted) but it works as long as the LFS can show you that they are eating before you buy and you can provide that food consistently

See I've honestly though about setting up a refugium and going all out, cause they're easily one of my favorites, but I feel like they're treated like tangs in any tank under 100g.

 

[AnneO]

See I've honestly though about setting up a refugium and going all out, cause they're easily one of my favorites, but I feel like they're treated like tangs in any tank under 100g.

The main issue is nutrition. I would only buy one where the LFS can show you they are eating and you can buy some of that. A rockscape with shady bits and crevices is also good, but they don't need space to 'stretch their legs' as tangs do. They hover around slowly inspecting the rocks all day.

 

[NB Reefer]

I've successfully kept a mandarin in a tank your size. A refugium is really needed, there are great hob refugium options by CPR, Fiji Cube, etc. Taking time to make sure your pod population is thriving beforehand is really important as well as minimizing competition for the pods in the tank. Feeding the pods with phyto also important. Lots of rock work, rubble, media, etc. the pods can populate and reproduce in. Also, the mandarin you get should be eating frozen. make sure you see this and there is a great feed response. I hope that helps. Let me know if I can expand on anything.

 

[Mark Bradley]

I had thought about it, but was worried about possibly aggression with the other blenny in such a small space.

My LFS told me my Midas would be great with the other fish they sold me. I got home and read about it potentially being aggressive so I thought I’d watch it ‘like a hawk’ - I was also a bit annoyed by the advice at that point in time but have since bowed to their knowledge. I particularly was concerned because of my Purple Firefish which I read could be a particular target. However, I’ve seen nothing but perfect harmony between my Midas, my Firefish and my Tailspot Blenny for over 4 months now. The Midas is a lovely fish - it swims about regularly and keeps very mush to itself. Maybe I’ve been lucky?

 

[Reefer37]

Have you looked at wrasses, especially flasher wrasses? What about a basslet, such as a royal gramma? A dwarf angelfish? Cardinals? Hawkfish?

Had a melanurus wrasses that I took out because he was full grown and I could tell unhappy. He swam along the sides of the tank a lot. I think he needed more space and his iradict behavior have been spooking some of the other fish.
I was under the impression flasher/fairy wrasses need larger tank as well. But they're definitely there as a possibility as I love wrasses.

Hawkfish I'm really iffy on, even though I love them, just due to their nature with inverts, I have quite a few.

Basslet definitely a possibility as well.
Cardinal I feel is similar to the firefish because they don't move much.

I'd love a dwarf angel, but I'm really worried about corals being nipped.

 

[Reefer37]

I've successfully kept a mandarin in a tank your size. A refugium is really needed, there are great hob refugium options by CPR, Fiji Cube, etc. Taking time to make sure your pod population is thriving beforehand is really important as well as minimizing competition for the pods in the tank. Feeding the pods with phyto also important. Lots of rock work, rubble, media, etc. the pods can populate and reproduce in. Also, the mandarin you get should be eating frozen. make sure you see this and there is a great feed response. I hope that helps. Let me know if I can expand on anything.

This is great to hear! I think overall with most of my fish really none of them go after copepods, so that's good.
I'll look into some refugium options and go from there. Might be a little work, but worth it for me.

 

[AnneO]

The main issue is nutrition. I would only buy one where the LFS can show you they are eating and you can buy some of that. A rockscape with shady bits and crevices is also good, but they don't need space to 'stretch their legs' as tangs do. They hover around slowly inspecting the rocks all day.

;Woot Given the topic I just thought I would test my first video (GIF) on R2R to see how it shows up. Sorry for videobombing your thread! I hope you can make a similar one soon

 

[evolved]

I was under the impression flasher/fairy wrasses need larger tank as well.

They sure do.
For a tank of these dimensions, only the pink streak wrasse or a possum wrasse is suitable.

 

[gizzo12]

My LFS told me my Midas would be great with the other fish they sold me. I got home and read about it potentially being aggressive so I thought I’d watch it ‘like a hawk’ - I was also a bit annoyed by the advice at that point in time but have since bowed to their knowledge. I particularly was concerned because of my Purple Firefish which I read could be a particular target. However, I’ve seen nothing but perfect harmony between my Midas, my Firefish and my Tailspot Blenny for over 4 months now. The Midas is a lovely fish - it swims about regularly and keeps very mush to itself. Maybe I’ve been lucky?

I had a midas blenny in my 45 cube for a week before I had to bring him back because he terrorized everyone in the tank so maybe you are lucky?

 

[Reefer37]

They sure do.
For a tank of these dimensions, only the pink streak wrasse or a possum wrasse is suitable.

Yeah, kinda learned that with my Melanurus, I even feel like 50g recommendation most places give is a deceivingly low number for these guys.

I eventually want to get wrasses when I upgrade tanks, whenever that will be.

 

[Mark Bradley]

I had a midas blenny in my 45 cube for a week before I had to bring him back because he terrorized everyone in the tank so maybe you are lucky?

He was quite small when I got him - don’t know if that makes a difference?

 

[gizzo12]

He was quite small when I got him - don’t know if that makes a difference?

It might. Mine was almost full grown

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Had a melanurus wrasses that I took out because he was full grown and I could tell unhappy. He swam along the sides of the tank a lot. I think he needed more space and his iradict behavior have been spooking some of the other fish.
I was under the impression flasher/fairy wrasses need larger tank as well. But they're definitely there as a possibility as I love wrasses.

Hawkfish I'm really iffy on, even though I love them, just due to their nature with inverts, I have quite a few.

Basslet definitely a possibility as well.
Cardinal I feel is similar to the firefish because they don't move much.

I'd love a dwarf angel, but I'm really worried about corals being nipped.

Sorry, I misread the tank size in the first post. I wouldn’t recommend the wrasses, and some dwarf angels would also be too big for the tank.