Mated pairs of fish for a 10 gallon

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! Nano reef has a list of fish they recommend for nano tanks (the full list is here; https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/74703-lgreens-ultimate-guide-to-nano-fish/ ), and below are the fishes that list recommended for a 10 gallon;
-Blue Neon Goby
-Catalina Goby [cold water]
-Clown Gobies
-Eviota Gobies
-Panda (Clown) Goby
-Redhead Goby
-Trimma Goby
-Yellow Neon Goby
-Citron Goby
-Green Banded Goby
-Ocellaris Clownfish (False Percula)
-Percula Clownfish (True Percula)
-Atlantic Pygmy/Cherub Angelfish
-Yellow Assessor
-Blue Assessor
-Tailspot Blenny
-Threadfin Cardinalfish
-Green Chromis Damsel
-Yellow Tail Blue Damsel
-Three Spot Damsel
-Talbot’s Damsel
-Three Stripe Damsel
-Firefish Goby
-Helfrich’s Firefish
-Purple Firefish Goby
-Bicolor Psuedochromis
-Diadem Pseudochromis
-Fridmani (Orchid) Pseudochromis
-Purple Pseudochromis
-Springeri Pseudochromis
-Scooter Blenny
-Red Scooter Blenny
-Painted Frogfish
-Wartskin Frogfish
-Blackray Shrimp Goby
-Orange Stripe Goby
-Orangespotted Goby
-Randall’s Shrimp Goby
-Yasha Hasha Goby
-Wheeler’s Shrimp Goby
-Yellow Watchman Goby
-Rainfordi Goby
-Royal Gramma
-Falco Hawkfish
-Flame Hawkfish
-Pearly (Yellowhead) Jawfish
-Possum Wrasse

I personally don't agree that all of these fish species would do well in a 10 gallon...however, my question is more specific than that - namely, how many of these fish would do well as a mated pair in a 10 gallon? I can't really get a display tank larger than a 10 gallon unless I want to devour my fry raising setup. I am going to be cultivating Parvocalanus copepods for the fry anyway and am already hatching and enriching brine shrimp on a regular basis, so fishes on this list that require live foods are not out of the question. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[PicassoClown04]

Hi everyone! Nano reef has a list of fish they recommend for nano tanks (the full list is here; https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/74703-lgreens-ultimate-guide-to-nano-fish/ ), and below are the fishes that list recommended for a 10 gallon;
-Blue Neon Goby
-Catalina Goby [cold water]
-Clown Gobies
-Eviota Gobies
-Panda (Clown) Goby
-Redhead Goby
-Trimma Goby
-Yellow Neon Goby
-Citron Goby
-Green Banded Goby
-Ocellaris Clownfish (False Percula)
-Percula Clownfish (True Percula)
-Atlantic Pygmy/Cherub Angelfish
-Yellow Assessor
-Blue Assessor
-Tailspot Blenny
-Threadfin Cardinalfish
-Green Chromis Damsel
-Yellow Tail Blue Damsel
-Three Spot Damsel
-Talbot’s Damsel
-Three Stripe Damsel
-Firefish Goby
-Helfrich’s Firefish
-Purple Firefish Goby
-Bicolor Psuedochromis
-Diadem Pseudochromis
-Fridmani (Orchid) Pseudochromis
-Purple Pseudochromis
-Springeri Pseudochromis
-Scooter Blenny
-Red Scooter Blenny
-Painted Frogfish
-Wartskin Frogfish
-Blackray Shrimp Goby
-Orange Stripe Goby
-Orangespotted Goby
-Randall’s Shrimp Goby
-Yasha Hasha Goby
-Wheeler’s Shrimp Goby
-Yellow Watchman Goby
-Rainfordi Goby
-Royal Gramma
-Falco Hawkfish
-Flame Hawkfish
-Pearly (Yellowhead) Jawfish
-Possum Wrasse

I personally don't agree that all of these fish species would do well in a 10 gallon...however, my question is more specific than that - namely, how many of these fish would do well as a mated pair in a 10 gallon? I can't really get a display tank larger than a 10 gallon unless I want to devour my fry raising setup. I am going to be cultivating Parvocalanus copepods for the fry anyway and am already hatching and enriching brine shrimp on a regular basis, so fishes on this list that require live foods are not out of the question. Thanks for your thoughts

Any goby that will pair with a pistol shrimp (yellow watchman, yasha, etc) should be fine as a pair in a 10 gallon. Yellow clown gobies are also fun and have laid eggs (not sure if the fry were raised or not) in aquaria. The clown gobies (citron and green) are cool and I think they lay eggs in aquaria. I would look at a coral croucher, they are known for laying eggs in aquaria (according to LiveAquaria) although Im unsure if anyone has reared the babies successfully Banggai cardinals should be okay and the babies are frequently reared so that may be a good starting option

 

[Chrisfish]

I have a mated pair of Neon blue gobies in a 25 lagoon, obviously mine is bigger but I think you would be fine with a pair of them, they are great fish and have fun personalities. Coral croucher's are really awesome fish but difficult to keep IMP, Ive had 2 and neither one made it past 2-3 mos. Clown gobies as stated above are also great little nano fish. Hope this helps

 

[ThRoewer]

All the Stonogobiops species (nematodes, yasha, dracula,...) could do okay as pairs in a 10 gallon as long as you have them with an Alpheus randalli shrimp (ideally also as a pair) and enough sand. Though a 20 gallon would be better due to the added height.
Of the fish in your list I would only keep the tiny gobies on the top of of the list (neon, Catalina, clown,...) in a 10 gallon long term.
Everything else would need 20 gallon as a minimum.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Broke down the giant list for you and explained why they would or probably would not work. Aside from those listed, most would also do well or better in a 20 High. I recommend that you look into buying Matthew Wittenrich's "Complete Illustrated Breeder's Guide to Marine Fish" (or it's titled something like that).

Small Gobies (Elacatinus, Gobiodon, Eviota, Trimma)

• A good idea. Very small, demersal breeders. Elacatinus are easy to breed if you can get past the seasonal problem (they seem to spawn seasonally, as opposed to year round).
• Neon gobies (Elacatinus) are gonochoristic (they get one sex). Clown Gobies (Gobiodon) are supposedly bi-directional hermaphrodites.

Small clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris + A. percula)

• The quintessential marine breeder's fish. Usually a breeder's "first" fish. Choose the ocellaris over percula, some people seem to have issues where the percula need a long time to get acclimated to the environment (5 years?) before producing a spawn. Would probably work in a 10 gallon, but a 20H would be better.
• They're hermaphrodites, so you only need to buy two of them if you know what you're doing.

Atlantic Pygmy/Cherub Angelfish

• Pelagic spawner. A 10 gallon would be too short for the fish to produce a good spawn. Most breeders seem to favor 55s (21" high) to get good spawns out of them. Also, potentially too antagonistic towards partner fish to fit in a 10 gallon.
• Hermaphroditic, but again, not suitable for a 10.

Assessors (yellow and blue)

• Demersal spawners. Maybe mouthbrooders? Might work, but a 20H would be better.

Tailspot Blenny (Ecsenius)

• Not enough information for me to be confident telling you one way or another.

Cardinalfish (Threadfin, red spot, Banggai cardinalfish)

• All are mouthbrooders, but Banggais are the only ones I know of that mouthbrood until benthic stage. All would work in a 10 gallon, but keep in mind that Threadfins and RedSpots might need to be kept in groups...
• Banggais are a gonochoristic species.

Damselfish (chromis, Chrysipterus)

• Most likely too aggressive to be in a 10 gallon. Might be better in a 20H.

Firefish (Nemateleotris)

• Relatively peaceful. So far only purple firefish have been spawned. Demersal cave spawners. Might be better in a 20H.

Dottybacks (Pseudochromis)

• They're dottybacks. Demersal spawners. Much better in a 20H tank where the submissive partner can more easily get away from the dominant partner. I do not recommend.
• Hermaphroditic, but again, a 20H is better.

Dragonets (scooter blennies)

• Pelagic spawner. Have been spawned in 29 gallon tanks (18"), but height is an issue with pelagic species. Would not recommend for a 10 gallon, or even a 20H.

Frogfish

• Prone to eating each other. Might work due to inactivity, but most likely not a commercially viable species due to feeding requirements and inactivity as well as predatory behaviors.

Shrimp Gobies (Stonogobiops, Amblyeleotris, Cryptocentrus)

• Demersal cave spawners. Like others have said, a great choice for a 10 gallon tank in breeding experiments. S. nematodes has been observed spawning in a 4 gallon vase (ReefCentral).

Rainfordi Goby (Koumansetta)

• Demersal spawners. Not enough information for me to say, but would probably do better in a 20H.

Grammas (Royal)

• An interesting species. Would recommend more for a 20H than for a 10 gallon.

Hawkfish (Falco, Flame)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel on why it wouldn't work for a 10 gallon.

Jawfish (yellowhead)

• Mouthbrooders. Have deep substrate requirements, so may need to be in a deeper tank.

Wrasse (Possum)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel. Might work in a 20H?

 

[ThRoewer]

Broke down the giant list for you and explained why they would or probably would not work. Aside from those listed, most would also do well or better in a 20 High. I recommend that you look into buying Matthew Wittenrich's "Complete Illustrated Breeder's Guide to Marine Fish" (or it's titled something like that).

Small Gobies (Elacatinus, Gobiodon, Eviota, Trimma)

• A good idea. Very small, demersal breeders. Elacatinus are easy to breed if you can get past the seasonal problem (they seem to spawn seasonally, as opposed to year round).

Small clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris + A. percula)

• The quintessential marine breeder's fish. Usually a breeder's "first" fish. Choose the ocellaris over percula, some people seem to have issues where the percula need a long time to get acclimated to the environment (5 years?) before producing a spawn. Would probably work in a 10 gallon, but a 20H would be better.

Atlantic Pygmy/Cherub Angelfish

• Pelagic spawner. A 10 gallon would be too short for the fish to produce a good spawn. Most breeders seem to favor 55s (21" high) to get good spawns out of them. Also, potentially too antagonistic towards partner fish to fit in a 10 gallon.

Assessors (yellow and blue)

• Demersal spawners. Maybe mouthbrooders? Might work, but a 20H would be better.

Tailspot Blenny (Ecsenius)

• Not enough information for me to be confident telling you one way or another.

Cardinalfish (Threadfin, red spot, Banggai cardinalfish)

• All are mouthbrooders, but Banggais are the only ones I know of that mouthbrood until benthic stage. All would work in a 10 gallon, but keep in mind that Threadfins and RedSpots might need to be kept in groups...

Damselfish (chromis, Chrysipterus)

• Most likely too aggressive to be in a 10 gallon. Might be better in a 20H.

Firefish (Nemateleotris)

• Relatively peaceful. So far only purple firefish have been spawned. Demersal cave spawners. Might be better in a 20H.

Dottybacks (Pseudochromis)

• They're dottybacks. Demersal spawners. Much better in a 20H tank where the submissive partner can more easily get away from the dominant partner. I do not recommend.

Dragonets (scooter blennies)

• Pelagic spawner. Have been spawned in 29 gallon tanks (18"), but height is an issue with pelagic species. Would not recommend for a 10 gallon, or even a 20H.

Frogfish

• Prone to eating each other. Might work due to inactivity, but most likely not a commercially viable species due to feeding requirements and inactivity as well as predatory behaviors.

Shrimp Gobies (Stonogobiops, Amblyeleotris, Cryptocentrus)

• Demersal cave spawners. Like others have said, a great choice for a 10 gallon tank in breeding experiments. S. nematodes has been observed spawning in a 4 gallon vase (ReefCentral).

Rainfordi Goby (Koumansetta)

• Demersal spawners. Not enough information for me to say, but would probably do better in a 20H.

Grammas (Royal)

• An interesting species. Would recommend more for a 20H than for a 10 gallon.

Hawkfish (Falco, Flame)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel on why it wouldn't work for a 10 gallon.

Jawfish (yellowhead)

• Mouthbrooders. Have deep substrate requirements, so may need to be in a deeper tank.

Wrasse (Possum)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel. Might work in a 20H?

For Grammas one need to keep in mind that they do not change sex! So unless yo have a known and spawning pair you will have to start with a group of at lest 3 small juveniles, better 5 or more, to get a pair/harem. For that I would not go below a 40B with lots of rocks for submissive males to hide.
Dartfish also don't change sex. And with them, same sex extras are usually killed.

 

[ichthyogeek]

For Grammas one need to keep in mind that they do not change sex! So unless yo have a known and spawning pair you will have to start with a group of at lest 3 small juveniles, better 5 or more, to get a pair/harem. For that I would not go below a 40B with lots of rocks for submissive males to hide.
Dartfish also don't change sex. And with them, same sex extras are usually killed.

I'm assuming a spawning pair...maybe I should add a point about whether they're gonochoristic vs hermaphroditic... Do you have a paper on the dartfish? All I have is a Coral magazine postulating on if firefish are protogynous hermaphrodites...

 

[ThRoewer]

Here is the Article about Gramma not changing sex:
Bisexual juvenile gonad and gonochorism in the fairy basslet, Gramma loreto

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1bbb/b7fda05a01a189402e56d63321455360fb6b.pdf

 

[ichthyogeek]

You're also forgetting some of the syngnathids. Dwarf seahorses, and the smaller pipefish (blue lined, red lined pipefish, etc.) would work if fed properly.

Can you show us pictures of your planned setup? You'd be surprised at how much space you can actually fit into 0 space...

 

[ThRoewer]

You're also forgetting some of the syngnathids. Dwarf seahorses, and the smaller pipefish (blue lined, red lined pipefish, etc.) would work if fed properly.

Can you show us pictures of your planned setup? You'd be surprised at how much space you can actually fit into 0 space...

Yes, bluestripe pipefish should work and they will accept frozen mysis and brine shrimp (live and frozen). I have a pair in a 10 gallon QT/conditioning tank (with 2 smaller marine betta, a pair of bullseye mandarins, a pair of ocellaris, and the survivor of my firefish pair...)

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Broke down the giant list for you and explained why they would or probably would not work. Aside from those listed, most would also do well or better in a 20 High. I recommend that you look into buying Matthew Wittenrich's "Complete Illustrated Breeder's Guide to Marine Fish" (or it's titled something like that).

Small Gobies (Elacatinus, Gobiodon, Eviota, Trimma)

• A good idea. Very small, demersal breeders. Elacatinus are easy to breed if you can get past the seasonal problem (they seem to spawn seasonally, as opposed to year round).
• Neon gobies (Elacatinus) are gonochoristic (they get one sex). Clown Gobies (Gobiodon) are supposedly bi-directional hermaphrodites.

Small clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris + A. percula)

• The quintessential marine breeder's fish. Usually a breeder's "first" fish. Choose the ocellaris over percula, some people seem to have issues where the percula need a long time to get acclimated to the environment (5 years?) before producing a spawn. Would probably work in a 10 gallon, but a 20H would be better.
• They're hermaphrodites, so you only need to buy two of them if you know what you're doing.

Atlantic Pygmy/Cherub Angelfish

• Pelagic spawner. A 10 gallon would be too short for the fish to produce a good spawn. Most breeders seem to favor 55s (21" high) to get good spawns out of them. Also, potentially too antagonistic towards partner fish to fit in a 10 gallon.
• Hermaphroditic, but again, not suitable for a 10.

Assessors (yellow and blue)

• Demersal spawners. Maybe mouthbrooders? Might work, but a 20H would be better.

Tailspot Blenny (Ecsenius)

• Not enough information for me to be confident telling you one way or another.

Cardinalfish (Threadfin, red spot, Banggai cardinalfish)

• All are mouthbrooders, but Banggais are the only ones I know of that mouthbrood until benthic stage. All would work in a 10 gallon, but keep in mind that Threadfins and RedSpots might need to be kept in groups...
• Banggais are a gonochoristic species.

Damselfish (chromis, Chrysipterus)

• Most likely too aggressive to be in a 10 gallon. Might be better in a 20H.

Firefish (Nemateleotris)

• Relatively peaceful. So far only purple firefish have been spawned. Demersal cave spawners. Might be better in a 20H.

Dottybacks (Pseudochromis)

• They're dottybacks. Demersal spawners. Much better in a 20H tank where the submissive partner can more easily get away from the dominant partner. I do not recommend.
• Hermaphroditic, but again, a 20H is better.

Dragonets (scooter blennies)

• Pelagic spawner. Have been spawned in 29 gallon tanks (18"), but height is an issue with pelagic species. Would not recommend for a 10 gallon, or even a 20H.

Frogfish

• Prone to eating each other. Might work due to inactivity, but most likely not a commercially viable species due to feeding requirements and inactivity as well as predatory behaviors.

Shrimp Gobies (Stonogobiops, Amblyeleotris, Cryptocentrus)

• Demersal cave spawners. Like others have said, a great choice for a 10 gallon tank in breeding experiments. S. nematodes has been observed spawning in a 4 gallon vase (ReefCentral).

Rainfordi Goby (Koumansetta)

• Demersal spawners. Not enough information for me to say, but would probably do better in a 20H.

Grammas (Royal)

• An interesting species. Would recommend more for a 20H than for a 10 gallon.

Hawkfish (Falco, Flame)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel on why it wouldn't work for a 10 gallon.

Jawfish (yellowhead)

• Mouthbrooders. Have deep substrate requirements, so may need to be in a deeper tank.

Wrasse (Possum)

• Pelagic spawners. See accounts on dragonet and pygmy angel. Might work in a 20H?

For Grammas one need to keep in mind that they do not change sex! So unless yo have a known and spawning pair you will have to start with a group of at lest 3 small juveniles, better 5 or more, to get a pair/harem. For that I would not go below a 40B with lots of rocks for submissive males to hide.
Dartfish also don't change sex. And with them, same sex extras are usually killed.

AH...that makes more sense now. In freshwater, a lot of 2-3 inch fishes could easily be kept and bred in a 10 gallon as long as they are not schooling/shoaling fish, but the issues with aggression (apparently a major problem with reef fishes, from what I have read) and tank height (for pelagic spawners) make sense to me. Would freeze dried food work for the blue stripe pipefishes as long as it is rehydrated in a vitamin mix first? And how hard is it to get the blue stripes to take dead foods? I wanted to avoid dwarf seahorses, as they both require live food AND cannot go a single day without being fed.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Can you show us pictures of your planned setup? You'd be surprised at how much space you can actually fit into 0 space...

The tank is not set up yet, but here is a crude sketch of what I was thinking of doing (NOTE; the finished product would likely have far more macroalgae than pictured here, and may also have some PVC caves depending on what is eventually kept in here);

 

[ichthyogeek]

I'd skip the hassle of freeze dried and just feed frozen. Much easier IMO.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! After hearing you guy's input and doing a little more research, I came up with a (better?) list of fish and shrimp I could keep as a breeding pair (or small group) in a 10 gallon. Here is my list;
GOBIES;
- ANY clown goby (Gobiodon sp)
- Nemateleotris helfrichi (Helfrichi firefish - expensive! Most likely not going this
route)
- Elacatinus oceanops (and other cleaning gobies of this genus)
- Stonogobiops nematodes (filament finned prawn goby...probably other Stonogobiops
as well. NEED SAND AND PISTOL SHRIMP)
- Ctenogobiops tangaroa (Tangaroa shrimp goby, see above on Stonogobiops)
- Coryphopterus personatus (masked goby)
- Trimma sp (painfully short lived)
- Stonogobiops yasha (Yasha hasha goby, see above on congeners)
- Eviota pellucida
- Elacatinus/Tigrigobius puncticulatus (Red head goby)
- Priolepis nocturna (and other Priolepis sp)(Lengthy larval stage)
- Asterropteryx semipunctatus (starry goby)
NON GOBY FISHES;
- Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis
- Acanthemblemaria hancocki (Barnacle blenny)
- Ecsenius stigmatura (tailspot blenny - may eat algae)
- Ecsenius bimaculatus (twinspot blenny)
- Zoramia leptacantha (threadfin cardinalfish)
- Ostorhinchus luteus (yellow cardinalfish)
- Doryrhamphus excisus, Bluestripe pipefish (NOTICE! Needs live food, except for captive bred specimens)
INVERTS;
- Peppermint shrimp, Lysmata sp
- Sexy shrimp, Thor amboinensis
- Camel shrimp, Rhynchocinetes durbanensis (NOTE! Not reef safe)
- Red banded snapping shrimp, Alpheus randalli
- Gold banded coral shrimp, Stenopus zanzibaricus
- Yellow banded coral shrimp, Stenopus cyanoscelis
- Blue banded coral shrimp, Stenopus tenuirostris
- White spot anemone shrimp, Periclimenes brevicarpalis
- Bumble bee shrimp, Gnathophyllum americanum
- Pederson cleaner shrimp, Ancylomenes pedersoni

How do all of these sound? Also, would it be possible to keep a pair/group of some of the shrimp species (depending on the species) with a pair of one of the above fishes (in which case I could have two spawning projects)?

 

[PicassoClown04]

The invert list sounds okay, however...

I believe bumblebee shrimp are very similar to harlequin shrimp in terms of diet. I believe they eat urchins and starfish but I could be wrong.
Coral Banded shrimp can get quite big and if you were to keep smaller fish species, I would worry for their well being due to the predatory nature of this shrimp. I haven’t heard of/seen them as mated pairs but I’m not saying that they don’t have that behavior.

Out of your inverts, I would try the pederson shrimp, anemone shrimp, snapping shrimp, or sexy shrimp. These are all very small so take this into account when adding fish! I would also look into Pom Pom crabs, I do know that somebody on here is attempting to purposely breed them and several others have pairs that spawn regularly.

As for your fish,

A blue line pipefish would be very difficult to maintain in a tank this size, even if it is captive bred. If I’m not comfortable keeping a mandarin in a tank, I would not attempt a blue line.

My picks out of your list would be any of the gobies that pair with pistol shrimp, clown gobies, or cardinals

 

[ichthyogeek]

Question 1) Are these just the fish that you personally would like to keep, or is this an edited list of fish that you believe would do well in a 10 gallon? If the former, then okay! If the latter, then you're forgetting the various other fish as well....

Nitpicky thing, but remember that Nemateleotris is not a goby, it's a dartfish...

Depending on selection, tank layout, and filtration, you could have somewhere around 3-4+ breeding projects within the tank.

Example, in a plumbed system where you're diligently keeping nitrates and other metabolites down, and with part of the tank dedicated to being sand filled, I see no problems with the following stocking:
1 pair: Stonogobiops sp. (There's success with Yasha, and it sells well, but I prefer Nematodes tbh).
1 pair: Alpheus randalli (the alpheus will live with the stonogobiops)
1 group (4-5 maximum, 2M:2-3F): Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis (occupies the upper water column)
1 group (3+): Thor sp. (Sexy shrimp, but the whole speciation thing is complicated at the moment, just give them a maxi mini anemone and they'll stick around that area) OR Ancylomenes

You would probably need to take special care in designing the tank. But it could work.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Species that you listed that are probably best off being kept by themselves:

Stenopus shrimp (too big/aggressive)
Doryrhamphus excisus (too big)

Other than that, you could probably keep most of the fish with one of the shrimp species. Just remember to keep like-sized species together. Don't keep Sexy shrimp with fish larger than 1.5" (ballparking this), or they might get beaten up and eaten. Peppermint shrimp will coexist with just about anything as long as they're fed.

As for sand needed for the pistol shrimps...that's a maybe. I've definitely caught my tiger pistol nesting in a little rubble cave, but that may have been because it got lost....you can always email Dr. Andrew Rhyne (I believe his lab spawned the yasha gobies first?) to ask how he keeps his randallis and yashas.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Question 1) Are these just the fish that you personally would like to keep, or is this an edited list of fish that you believe would do well in a 10 gallon? If the former, then okay! If the latter, then you're forgetting the various other fish as well....

Nitpicky thing, but remember that Nemateleotris is not a goby, it's a dartfish...

Depending on selection, tank layout, and filtration, you could have somewhere around 3-4+ breeding projects within the tank.

Example, in a plumbed system where you're diligently keeping nitrates and other metabolites down, and with part of the tank dedicated to being sand filled, I see no problems with the following stocking:
1 pair: Stonogobiops sp. (There's success with Yasha, and it sells well, but I prefer Nematodes tbh).
1 pair: Alpheus randalli (the alpheus will live with the stonogobiops)
1 group (4-5 maximum, 2M:2-3F): Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis (occupies the upper water column)
1 group (3+): Thor sp. (Sexy shrimp, but the whole speciation thing is complicated at the moment, just give them a maxi mini anemone and they'll stick around that area) OR Ancylomenes

You would probably need to take special care in designing the tank. But it could work.

I was looking for fish/inverts that I could keep comfortably in this setup comfortably, so some mix of the two. Didn't think I could keep several spawning projects...would the Pseudomugils (which would also be easily the least challenging spawning project on this list) encourage the (usually rather shy) gobies to be more conspicuous in the tank? If I got a goby that was not a shrimp goby (such as clown gobies), could I get 6-7 rainbows, a pair of the gobies, and the sexy shrimp?

The dartfishes are currently considered true gobies by most sources; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartfish

The invert list sounds okay, however...

I believe bumblebee shrimp are very similar to harlequin shrimp in terms of diet. I believe they eat urchins and starfish but I could be wrong.
Coral Banded shrimp can get quite big and if you were to keep smaller fish species, I would worry for their well being due to the predatory nature of this shrimp. I haven’t heard of/seen them as mated pairs but I’m not saying that they don’t have that behavior.

Out of your inverts, I would try the pederson shrimp, anemone shrimp, snapping shrimp, or sexy shrimp. These are all very small so take this into account when adding fish! I would also look into Pom Pom crabs, I do know that somebody on here is attempting to purposely breed them and several others have pairs that spawn regularly.

As for your fish,

A blue line pipefish would be very difficult to maintain in a tank this size, even if it is captive bred. If I’m not comfortable keeping a mandarin in a tank, I would not attempt a blue line.

My picks out of your list would be any of the gobies that pair with pistol shrimp, clown gobies, or cardinals

Bumblebee shrimp do indeed eat starfish, but they are not as specialized about it as harlequins and will also eat prepared meaty foods. I wasn't going to try the common coral banded shrimp (which is too big anyway in my eyes), but I was worried whether its smaller relatives would be great roommates for anything else.

 

[PicassoClown04]

If you want to get as many breeding projects as possible in I’d do

-cardinals (either a pair or very small harem)
-sexy shrimp
-pom pom crabs (100% filter feeder so no risk)
-pair of snapping/pistol shrimp
-pair of pistol shrimp/prawn gobies

if you give the sexy shrimp an anemone/Duncan/zoas or something they’ll probably hang around there. Alternatively, you could keep rock flower anemones and do a breeding project with those as well

 

[ichthyogeek]

I was looking for fish/inverts that I could keep comfortably in this setup comfortably, so some mix of the two. Didn't think I could keep several spawning projects...would the Pseudomugils (which would also be easily the least challenging spawning project on this list) encourage the (usually rather shy) gobies to be more conspicuous in the tank? If I got a goby that was not a shrimp goby (such as clown gobies), could I get 6-7 rainbows, a pair of the gobies, and the sexy shrimp?

The dartfishes are currently considered true gobies by most sources; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartfish

Ugh I hate taxonomic changes...one moment it's a goby, the next it's not....and then you spend half your time fighting people on the internet about whether or not it's "brachydanio tinwini" or "danio tinwini"... lol.

Hmm...saltwater ditherfish....I'm not really sure on that. It certainly works in the freshwater world, but idk about the saltwater world.

Personally with the Gobiodons, I don't trust their mouths. With a yellow clown goby (G. okinawae), I think it could probably work. But with any of the other clown gobies, I'd just go with peppermint shrimp instead. Their mouths look....big...

And I'd be hesitant to put the sexy shrimp in any environment with fish that were bigger than them (1"+), or weren't incredibly site oriented (shrimp gobies and their burrows for example).