what nano fishes are best in groups of three or more?

[Friendly]

are there any nano fish species that do well in groups of three? something like the FW dwarf puffer...best as a group of three or more.   

 

they would likely be in a IM10, 20 or 30L...which likely/obviously could/would affect what fish you go with depending on the tank. any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations are appreciated!   

[Clown79]

Not anything for small tanks off the top of my head.

 

Chromis but they need larger groups and a much larger tank.

 

2 clowns

 

Clown harem tank but that requires a large tank, 1 female, all from the same clutch.

[1.0reef]

Assessors maybe, certain smaller gobies like Eviota gobies, certain cardinals.

[RayWhisperer]

This discussion is as old as the hills.

Most of the fish you'll find aren't schooling fish, however, many are shoaling fish. What this means is, even though they may group together for safety, they still require their own space, or territory. 

 

Damsels and chromis, about 95% of the time you'll end up with just one, or a pair.

Clowns are doable provided you have just one female and ample space.

Some cardinals are reported to do well in groups. However, all that I've seen, don't.

 

About the only fish I know do well in groups are dartfish, especially the mini dart gobys. And, the flaming prawn gobys. Both show up on occasion, but both are rather expensive. Couple that with their tiny size, rather short life span, and reclusive nature. Probably not something you'll want to dump hundreds of dollars on.

[Tamberav]

On 7/27/2017 at 10:14 AM, Friendly said:

are there any nano fish species that do well in groups of three? something like the FW dwarf puffer...best as a group of three or more.   

 

they would likely be in a IM10, 20 or 30L...which likely/obviously could/would affect what fish you go with depending on the tank. any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations are appreciated!   

 

barnacle blennies

 

 

 

 

Green banded gobies (I had 5 or 6, they still have a pecking order and chase sometimes but no one got hurt)

 

 

[AWillroth]

some small gobies don't mind each other, although they dont exactly "school."  neon gobies and clown gobies don't usually mind others of their kind in my experience.  

[Tamberav]

You could also try this... I've seen people do it successfully but with Photobucket ruining the internet I can't find/show the photos. Probably difficult to recreate as fish will be fish and sometimes they just don't get along and others are best buds.

 

 

[AWillroth]

Just now, Tamberav said:

You could also try this... I've seen people do it successfully but with Photobucket ruining the internet I can't find/show the photos.

 

This happens all the time at the store I work at.  We have one tank that most of our shrimp gobies go in and they seem to have no problems sharing a den.  sometimes we'll get several gobies and shrimp all under one rock,

[Ebn]

Red spotted cardinals do well in groups from what I've experienced. They don't ship very well, so go with a reputable source like LiveAquaria, where they are sold in groups of 5. They do require frequent feedings. 

 

 

[lkoechle]

I saw these little red line gobies, teeny tiny.  If I move my mantis to a larger tank, I'd probably put a trio in the 5 gallon. Super adorable. But if you're looking for fish that swim together, you're out of luck in the nano realm.  Most this small that do well in groups stick to the substrate.

[Friendly]

I apologize for my lack of clarity. I'm not looking for anything that will shoal exactly...but something that does best in a group of around three, like the dwarf green puffer, where you keep it as either a single or groups of 3 and more. they don't shoal, but do have a pecking order.

 

goby's are cool, but I'm hoping for something that will swim and not just scoot around the sand. small tank and I plan on some shrimp n maybe a couple small crabs.

[schgr.cube]

Did anyone mention mini dart gobies? I've always wanted them, but can never find them locally.

[AWillroth]

Not a fish, but sexy shrimp!

[Tamberav]

48 minutes ago, Friendly said:

I apologize for my lack of clarity. I'm not looking for anything that will shoal exactly...but something that does best in a group of around three, like the dwarf green puffer, where you keep it as either a single or groups of 3 and more. they don't shoal, but do have a pecking order.

 

goby's are cool, but I'm hoping for something that will swim and not just scoot around the sand. small tank and I plan on some shrimp n maybe a couple small crabs.

 

Well, you can find some fish like this but it is more difficult so depends if you are willing to wait and hunt down specific fish.

 

Certain trimma gobies will hover more than perch.

 

Trimma tevegae (Blue-striped Cave Goby) is available now and again sporadically. Trimma caudomaculatum looks almost identical and sometimes misidentified as t. tevegae but this fish also hovers (Swims upside down at times).

 

 

[AWillroth]

In all honesty, though, saltwater fish behave very differently from freshwater.  Its best if you go into it not trying to emulate anything you're familiar with from keeping freshwater.

[Squared]

Long spine cardinals are cheap and comminly kept in groups in marine aquariums

 

http://m.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1428&pcatid=1428

[1.0reef]

Mini dartfish aren't usually available and don't have good survival rates. Longspine aka bluestreak cardinals are arguably the best grouping fish out there.

[tyg]

the best "school" of anything in a nano reef I've had are sexy shrimp. a large group of them can be very entertaining though.

[bk_market]

I have luck with blue green chromis. If they stay alive then they will school in the tank. In 30L i have 3 first then added 2 more and they look awseome.

I also like anthias so maybe 2 female and 1 male in 30L would look super cool

[AWillroth]

12 hours ago, bk_market said:

I have luck with blue green chromis. If they stay alive then they will school in the tank. In 30L i have 3 first then added 2 more and they look awseome.

I also like anthias so maybe 2 female and 1 male in 30L would look super cool

In my experience over the long term chromis kill each other in small tanks and I don;t know of a single anthias species thats comfortable in a 30.  just my two cents.

[RayWhisperer]

On 8/6/2017 at 8:04 PM, AWillroth said:

In my experience over the long term chromis kill each other in small tanks and I don;t know of a single anthias species thats comfortable in a 30.  just my two cents.

This. With the exception of chromis killing each other in small tanks. IME, they do it in any tank.

[AWillroth]

On 8/9/2017 at 7:42 PM, RayWhisperer said:

This. With the exception of chromis killing each other in small tanks. IME, they do it in any tank.

I do maintenance for a guy thats had a school of 12 or so in a 300 gallon tank for over a decade.  They school on top of a giant acro, just like you see in real reefs.  

[RayWhisperer]

Perhaps it has something to do with there being enough of them to spread the aggression. I've watched them dwindle down to one or two in tanks as large as 135 gallons. However, the groups were never more than 6 or 7.

[NYfishies]

Hi,

 

Have not had time to read through the threat (just skim).

 

May I suggest the new fish from ORA - Yellow Cardinalfish?  Liveaquaria's Divers Den has them quite often now-a-days.  I believe the ORA trio is $119.99.

 

http://www.orafarm.com/product/yellow-cardinal/

 

I have 4 currently in my Zoa tank which is roughly 25 gallons total with a 10 gallon display.  I started with a trio, but 1 was DOA.  I decided to added another trio, but again, one was DOA.  As a result I am left with 4.  They swim and school nonstop and I love them!  They live happily together with our tank bred Yasha/Pistol and a Green Clown Goby.  When kept healthy they are a vibrant yellow color which looks awesome with the Orange/White yasha and Green clown.

 

I love buying ORA fish as well so it is a win win.

[jesseatam]

I think some dartfish species like to be kept in groups.

 

I also read on the ORA website about how pseudochromis sankeyi live in colonies in the wild so that might be an interesting experiment to try to replicate that. I'd imagine it being like a harem of royal grammas maybe.