20L Fish stocking + red dragonet questions

[Halo_003]

I had a pair(ruby), they were always moving around the tank, I was so happy to have them. Then the male died, reason unknown, and she seems a bit depressed now not moving around nearly as much.

 

 

That's so sad.

 

I plan on having just one so hopefully it's reasonably active.

[CrazyCarl]

You could try a Talbots Damsel for a $5 option. I am very happy with mine, stays only in one half of the tank, but very active, and makes use of the rock work. My yellow banded possum wrasse was constantly in and out of the rock work, in caves and tunnels I didn't know existed, was definitely my favorite fish.

[RBZ80]

Thought about that but not sure I want to deal with possibility of one nipping. Also I think it's a bad idea to have 4 fish in a 20L. Though, he could replace the Gramma.

 

But what kind? It'd need to have a bluish color I think to offset the red/yellow of a Ruby Dragonet and the white/black/orange of a Black ice clown, maybe a Coral Beauty? The 3rd fish is still really a wildcard so I'm still open to ideas.

Sorry for the late response but i have the Atlantic pygmy angelfish and it has a yellow face and purple body with some neon blue on its tail. I have never had it mess with coral it usually just pecks at algae on the rocks.

[pgrVII]

I agree with rbz80 I have one with various lps soft and sps corals and its not bothering corals just pecks at rocks all day,I do spinkle some form 1 pellets in the rocks to give it a more natural pecking food during the day and put algae sheets in every few days.

[RBZ80]

exactly i feed it brine shrimp and some high quality frozen food a guy i know makes(it has algae in it)

[Halo_003]

A damsel I might pass on. They're so high turn over in stores that risk of ich etc can be really bad.

 

The angel does sound cool though so I'll look into it more. There are some with really pretty colors. Might look at a flame angel from Pacific East Aquaculture, could be a nice option. I plan on buying all of my fish from LA/DD except for the dragonet.

[CrazyCarl]

A damsel I might pass on. They're so high turn over in stores that risk of ich etc can be really bad.

 

The angel does sound cool though so I'll look into it more. There are some with really pretty colors. Might look at a flame angel from Pacific East Aquaculture, could be a nice option. I plan on buying all of my fish from LA/DD except for the dragonet.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/c_talboti.htm

[Halo_003]

Thanks for the link. I'll look into one from LA but I won't get one on a store lol.

[Halo_003]

What about this:

 

1x Ruby Red Dragonet

1x Clown (undecided designer variant)

1x Potter's/Flame/Coral Beauty angel (OR pygmy Wrasse if I stay with 20L)

1x Tanaka's pygmy wrasse

1x Helfrichi or purple firefish********

 

(These are potentials instead of the angel, would choose 1 in the event of sticking with the 20L, not all of them obviously.)

1x Royal Gramma

1x Kole Tang

1x Fairy Wrasse

1x Flasher wrasse

 

 

**********Note: I'd only go 5 fish if I upgraded and added a sump. I plan to add the Dragonet at some point, then look for a clown while I add a pygmy wrasse, and then MAYBE add an angel if I get a larger tank (When I add the clown would depend on when I find a nice one that I really like).

 

I was considering getting a 24x24x12 or an 18"/20" cube for Christmas and using my 20L as a sump. Might also look into a PicO option for 30"x16"x10". Just want something with a bigger footprint while staying under 30G display volume.

 

I don't plan on going over 3 fish in my 20L though if I stay with it. Just to clarify. Kole tang is a joke BTW I don't think it would work even in a 24x24x12.

[Tamberav]

hehe @ tang... /bonk

 

Potter's are a bit fragile. A member here has one and it loves to eat acans. nom nom.. it may be not as safe as some of the other dwarfs but not positive about that.

I have a coral beauty that is well behaved but will pick at dieing or stressed coral.

 

I would probably ditch something (firefish?) in favor of a 2nd clown. Single clowns are fairly boring tbh... they seem more active and interesting when paired. Just an opinion.

[Halo_003]

Ah didn't know that. I've only ever had a pair of clowns. That seems reasonable.

 

Potter's are so pretty though. If it eats acans that's okay really I'm not huge on them. I only have one actually.

 

Firefish was just an idea, though I think maybe a Royal Gramma could replace the firefish.

 

I think when I get a skimmer and as long as I keep up on waterchanges I could have 4 fish. I have a 24x24x12 in the works right now as well. (Won't happen till next year though. )

[Halo_003]

I got a red scooter today!!!! Most adorable fish ever. It's a male and I'm naming it Smaug the Desolate. I'll get a picture uploaded tomorrow when I get it off my phone.

[Halo_003]

So after putting mysis in the tank, I've noticed every now and then when he's hunting a little puff of white will shoot from the top of his head. I have 2 questions regarding this. It only happens when I've blown mysis near him.

 

1. Is that normal?

2. Does that mean he's eating the mysis?

[Egginis]

Love red scooter dragonets. I have owned one in every aquarium I have had. The puff of white smoke is normal. They seem todo this after picking at the gravel or rocks. I also love when they flare their little fin. This is such a fun fish to watch scoot all over the tank. A favorite of my kids.

[Snow_Phoenix]

So after putting mysis in the tank, I've noticed every now and then when he's hunting a little puff of white will shoot from the top of his head. I have 2 questions regarding this. It only happens when I've blown mysis near him.

 

1. Is that normal?

2. Does that mean he's eating the mysis?

 

Yep, the little puff of debri is usually chewed mysis (if you see him swallowing it) or minute particles of mysis that is being filtered out.

[Halo_003]

Cool thank you! He might take frozen mysis I'm still not sure but he definitely likes frozen brine shrimp and blood worms.

 

Haven't decided on a clown yet so next step right now is to get a QT set up. Once that's done I might look at another fish in the range of November or so.

 

Any thoughts on what should be next? I'm not opposed to getting two at once. My QT is a 10g though so two is the max I think.

 

Still considering one or maybe two designer clowns, Potter's angel, pygmy wrasse and royal gramma. Open to thoughts or suggestions but I'd like to hit every color if possible.

[ChickenoftheC]

i have a yellow clown goby in with my red dragonet and they get on real well. my dragonet does the same smokey puff of white. i think it is expelling all the fine gravel/sand/rock that it has sucked up by pecking about for food. my dragonet is especially fond of lobster eggs and enjoys baby brine shrimp from time to time. however my zoas hate the dragonet. it likes to go over them instead of around so they are forever closing and opening. make sure you have a nice spot of sand for it to tuck itself into at night to sleep

[necrio]

What I did is get a 5g (could be less) and some pods and some cheato or some stuff and a couple porous rocks. Just farm pods, they grow fast.. I mean fast! I have seen nano ones and ones that are as big as my thumb nail. Its like growing brine shrimp, just a bit more care. Oh, and a par38 bulb from ebay to grow the plant.

[Halo_003]

I was considering that actually.

 

I wish someone would buy these clowns so I can quit drooling over them. http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=239412

 

 

Though I would consider something like these as well. http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=239409

[clownfitch]

In terms of my experience in the hobby..

In a 20L tank if you plan to keep your fish long term (1 year plus)you really should stay away from any angels as they will turn territorial as they age. We have a Fluval Spec V and house a yellow clown goby, a Rainford's Goby ( my favorite fish out of 3 tanks), and a high fin goby. They all live in perfect harmony. With a fish such as a Dragonet you really need other peaceful tank mates so the tank stays stress and aggression free. The Clown Goby and Rainford's Goby would be perfect tank mates. Royal Grammas can be nippy and Wrasses other than the pigmy species would eventually stress due to the constraint of the 20L tank. I have a Blue Striped pipefish in my 29 gallon biocube and he is an awesome little guy. He eats literally anything I drop in the tank that he can fit in his little mouth so they acclimate well to aquarium life and only get a few inches long. Anyway, sorry I am late to the party but I wanted to share my experience. I hope your decisions work out well for you. Please post some pictures and keep us updated..

[Halo_003]

No problem!! I do appreciate the input. I might still do an Angel, I'm unsure. It will depend if I think I will be upgrading soon. If so then I'll just wait till I get the new tank, if not oh well. I can make do without.

 

Really loving the dragonet, such a cool fish. He goes nuts for bloodworms which is excellent.

 

I'm nervous to try a YCG, I have a variety of Birdsnest frags that I'm in love with. I read they can nip at SPS corals. I would go for a high fin goby like you but I have an extremely shallow sand bed, and I really wanted one to keep a pistol shrimp with. (Sand is from 1/2"-1/8")

 

I haven't gotten anything yet. I'm going to set up a QT tank in my room before I get any more fish, the Dragonet was the one I couldn't QT easily. I'd like to QT everything else though. I have been considering the idea of the following as some ideas. (Won't be putting all of them in naturally, just what I'm looking at.)

 

• Really considering another Red Scooter Dragonet, to get a bonded pair of them. Such cool fish.
• Small Potter's Angel
• Fisher's Angel
• Purple Firefish
• Maybe a Bangaii Cardinal? I do like how they hang out in the shade and stuff.
• Pair of clowns - unsure which yet. Loving Picasso's minus their pricing. Might go with a pair of Gladiators or Davinci. Another option is a Onyx Perc and a platinum or something. I was also looking at maybe a high end Picasso and a Black Snowflake.
• Bluestripe Pipefish
• Tanaka's Pygmy Wrasse
• Linespot Flasher Wrasse
• Conde's Fairy Wrasse
• Royal Gramma - if it gives me issues I'll remove him

Any other suggestions what to look at? I want colorful things. Though I did see a a cool idea on DiversDen today, a 5 lot of Red Spot Cardinalfish, a schooling group would be cool. Not sure they're bright enough for me though.

[enderturtle]

4 fish for a 20 long might be too much. The wrasse zipping around the tank may conflict with the clowns in that small of a space. Also the wrasse may out compete the dragonet for food. Ruby reds are especially hard to train to eat frozen food. Good luck. Definitely want lots of liverock with complex microhabitat.

[Halo_003]

4 fish for a 20 long might be too much. The wrasse zipping around the tank may conflict with the clowns in that small of a space. Also the wrasse may out compete the dragonet for food. Ruby reds are especially hard to train to eat frozen food. Good luck. Definitely want lots of liverock with complex microhabitat.

This is true. I'll be adding things one at a time, trying to take it nice and slow. Good feedback! It only took me about a week and a half to train my red scooter onto frozen. Though he may have been eating at the LFS already. I have about 35lbs of rock in my tank, when I sump it a good bit will move there.

 

I have a feeding shot glass for the dragonet, so (s)he should be okay for food, if I add a wrasse.

[Liamgray90]

I'm really interested in getting one

And my lfs pre trains them on garlic brine shrimp

 

Although I might end up with a green because red dragonets are really rare here

[Halo_003]

 

I'm really interested in getting one And my lfs pre trains them on garlic brine shrimpAlthough I might end up with a green because red dragonets are really rare here

I think red mandarins are rare everywhere. I got a red scooter dragonet. But if I remember correctly, stress from being introduced to your tank can make them revert to live food only. So you'll want to double check that most likely.