16 gal , Recomended fish

[28scarab]

I am looking to convert my 16 gal bow to a nano reef. I was wondering what would be good fish for a tank of this size and how many fish I could safly have at once.

 

I would like to see very small clown. (I seen them about 1")

Royal Gramma Basslet

Bicolor Pseudochromis ,

Red Striped Goby (they only get 1" long)

Velvet Multicolor Wrasse.

a small blue tang, (or maybe a dwarf angle or buterfly fish).

shrimp , (I dont know what kind is best for a small tank)

star fish (I dont know what kind is best for a small tank)

 

I dont expect to be able to have all these fish in a small tank , but keep in mind that I will be looking for small fish . If they were to grow to large I can relocate them to a safe new home.

 

So whats your opinion on what I am looking at ?????

[Chyendra]

deffiantly a no on a tang.... they need alot of swimming room.

 

I'm pretty sure that most wrasses (besides a 6-line) need more swimming room then a 16 gallon as well..

 

the royal gramma should be fine, but i'm not sure about the psuedo... I think that grammas are aggressive toward others that look like them selves (or maybe the other way around with the psuedochromis) somebody check me on that.

[Tempest]

Tangs are definitely out... even juveniles need a lot of room to swim. If you get the bi-color pseudo it will be the only fish in the tank. They are very aggressive and territorial.

 

From your list I'd go with a Royal gramma and true or false percula. Cleaner shrimps (peppermint and bloor/crimson) are reef safe, but other shrimp like Saron and camels are not and can also be aggressive. Coral banded shrimp get HUGE and can also be very aggressive. As for starfish... difficult to acclimate and keep. You might try a small spotted linkia or an orange linkia. The chocolate chip and related species will eat EVERYTHING... corals fish, etc. Don't add the starfish for at least 3 months and preferably 6.

[Blinkgyrl2987]

There are small teeny tiny starfish.. about the size of your thumbnail called like comet starfish or something and they grow little runners and thats how they continue to grow new legs (hence the name comet) I have no idea what their specific name is but maybe you could ask around.... ( LFS maybe) because they are neat .... I wanted a starfish also and these little guys satisfied me seeing that everything else is hard to keep.... I started out with 4 and now I think I have 9 or so... ( they divide to form new ones!)

 

Well anyways HTH I am having the same dilema as you.... I desparately want a blue tang..... but I can't decide on what tank size I can afford and would make him happy.

[phergus_25]

i haven't ever had trouble with star fish, i have a sand sifting star and i also have 2 brittle stars in other tanks and they do great

[Kingpin]

i believe they also might be called mirco-stars. usaully get them with LS. they eat left over food and detirus.

 

dont buy one thinking your going to see it. it buries in the sand and comes out when food is near. most likely if you have one you got more.

[Withers]

i would say that butterfly fish would be too delicate for such a small tank, even if they were very small themselves. tangs are out too. you could do a cherub angel, they're VERY cool fish, and only get to be a max of 3" i think, most i've seen are 1" or less. you could also do most any type of goby, provided it was small (look for captive bred babies). as for wrasses... a 6 line is pretty much your only option there. you could maybe try an anthia, although they have a pretty dismal success rate, and i've never seen one in a nano before.

 

shrimp... skunk cleaners, blood reds, pistol shrimp (would make a symbiotic relationship with some gobies), sexy shrimp, or my personal favorite, a peterson's cleaner shrimp would all work fine.

 

starfish. this is my personal favorite for reef safe star fish. here's a pic of mine, i've had him for 5 months in 3 various tanks and he's never touched anything. called a red knobby sea star i believe. be careful though, he has a cousin that has a black base with red spikes that is NOT reef safe.