10 Gallon Stocking

[Maddie]

Hi guys, I'm back again... The 56 is taking it's toll on me, plus I'm up to 9 rats and doing a ton of volunteer work with the rescue they came from. But the 10 is almost cycled, and my grandparents took me to the LFS today... Of course, they had seahorses for the first time in forever, and with them, the cutest little Masked Gobies. I've been reading up, and it seems they are ok together and then one ends up left. So, I decided to ask you guys.

 

My fish list:

2-3 Dotui Dartfish (temperate, I know)

Possum Wrasse

Small goby tank (single masked, green banded pair?)

Tuberculated angler

Blackcap Basslet

Other... Suggestions? (I don't like firefish or clownfish much.)

 

Thanks everyone! Hopefully I can get it together soon!

[Bingo1213]

I think that in that sized tank 3 fish is probably your maximum. I would advise agains the angler unless its your only fish as it will eat any fish the same size or smaller than it. It will also eat shrimp... Seahorses also do well in a species only tank as they can get bullied and out competed for food. they are also very hard to keep, especially in a system that is not established! My favorite combination is a single masked goby, blackcap basslet, and the possum wrasse. Another combo would be 2 dart fish and the basslet or possum wrasse. Some other fish to consider would be cardinal fish, although not active they are always out and not hiding. I also really like barnacle blennys as they stay small and have great personality. If you are looking for more color royal grammas will do well in that tank as well (But they are known to be skittish and hide for the first few weeks you have them). Hope this sheds some light on your issue!

[Maddie]

Thanks! My 56 is an aggressive tank and my mom wanted 'pretty fish', so the 10 is the solution! The blackcap is her favorite fish, so I think maybe it and a pair of green-bandeds. I love the possum, but I really want some cool mating behavior. Unless I could somehow have both the blackcap, wrasse and a pair? I know that's pushing it, but my tanks always cycle for a long time with very high ammonia to get a good count going. If I was to do the darts, it would have to be with a sculpin or something because they're temperate. Thanks again!

[Bingo1213]

It is pushing it to have 4 if you go that direction add them very slowly or you'll crash the tank. Also i forgot to mention with darts you want a tight fitting lid as they are jumpers and you don't want one to go carpet surfing!!

[Maddie]

The tank lid is fairly tight, but I'm leaning towards the four... or maybe just the wrasse and gobies. I love the little gobies! And one of the display tanks has a possum wrasse, but the tank is 100 gallons, so it's almost never seen. I hope in a 10 it'll come out more! My mom doesn't like hide-fish. We had one in the 56 for a while, and she wanted something out and about.

[Bingo1213]

I think possum wrasses can easily get lost in a 100 but you should see him often in a 10. As with most saltwater fish it takes time for them to become comfortable!

[1.0reef]

Hi guys, I'm back again... The 56 is taking it's toll on me, plus I'm up to 9 rats and doing a ton of volunteer work with the rescue they came from. But the 10 is almost cycled, and my grandparents took me to the LFS today... Of course, they had seahorses for the first time in forever, and with them, the cutest little Masked Gobies. I've been reading up, and it seems they are ok together and then one ends up left. So, I decided to ask you guys.

 

My fish list:

2-3 Dotui Dartfish (temperate, I know)

Possum Wrasse

Small goby tank (single masked, green banded pair?)

Tuberculated angler

Blackcap Basslet

Other... Suggestions? (I don't like firefish or clownfish much.)

 

Thanks everyone! Hopefully I can get it together soon!

Take off the angler, maybe the Dotui's, they tend to have a low survival rate.

[Maddie]

Always! I found Tamberav's thread on mandies. The ruby red scooters are gorgeous (my dad had previously fallen in love with them)... Would one work if it ate frozen/pellets? Instead of the blackcap?

[Bingo1213]

I'll tell you my recent dragnet saga haha I up until a week ago had a spotted mandarin in my tank. He lived in my tank for about 6 months. I purchased him from a LFS that had him supposedly eating frozen. I saw him eat in the store but could not get him to eat at home even though I was feeding the same brand of food, PE mysis and cyclopeze. After about a week he started eating but for the 6 months I had him it was a constant battle to keep him eating. He would go through phases of eating really well and then all of a sudden go off feed for a week. I lost him to the fact that he would not eat for a prolonged period of time. It was a very sad day, I felt horrible that I starved him. So the just of this story is yes they might eat frozen when you buy him but there is no guarantee that he will keep eating. It was a stressful 6 month roller coaster of eating and not eating for me!!

[Maddie]

Hopefully, it wouldn't be quite that hard... We're also getting a Fu Manchu dwarf lion for my 56, and they're supposed to be hard to get eating. Scooters are supposed to be the easiest dragonets to get eating. I'll probably supplement with some pods once a month.

[Bingo1213]

Yes scooters do have a better reputation but spotted mandarins are supposed to be better than regular mandarins as well and it did not work for me haha. As far as supplementing goes he will eat a bottle of pods in a matter of hours. Dragonets have a very high metabolism and there fore should eat multiple times a day or they start losing weight.

Fu Manchu Lions often have a bad rep too but there seems to be more success stories with them rather than dragonets haha

[Maddie]

I'll probably just stick to the wrasse and the greenbanded pair... Unless you guys have some interesting suggestions? Please... I love the unusual!

[Bingo1213]

I am in the same boat as you! Unfortunately in a nano tank it is rather hard to find unusual fish due to the fact that not many SW fish are small enough. Thats why I have come to accept this and went crazy with corals in my tank!

[Maddie]

Corals don't seem to like me... I have a single frag of green star polyps, and they've been in there for almost two months without opening. However, I did add a T5HO light fixture with an actinic bulb, and it seems to be coloring up. I also have some chaeto and caulerpa in there that seem to be doing ok.

[Bingo1213]

corals are tricky and need a lot of research to keep alive! haha My advice is to get a couple good books and start with soft corals such as mushrooms, leathers, and polyps!

[1.0reef]

I'll probably just stick to the wrasse and the greenbanded pair... Unless you guys have some interesting suggestions? Please... I love the unusual!

Dartfish are quite unusual, Firefish would be the best species for a smaller aquarium.

Many cool Basslets, Black Caps to Swissguard, Assessors are also neat. They have been known to swim upside-down, plus Randall's Assessors are now available.

Waspfish and Leaffish are cool scorpionfish, and will do well in a smaller aquarium.

Possum and Pink Streak wrasse are a cool, cryptic fish.

HTH