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Blue fish for 29 gal FOWLR


cd459

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Hi all,

 

I currently have a 29 gal FOWLR with about 40 lbs of rock. Current tank inhabitants are a pair of skunk clowns, a royal gramma, a bicolor blenny, and a whip fin fairy wrasse. I'm hoping to add a blue fish. Based on my tank size I'm considering a single specimen from the following list: blue reef chromis, damsel (starcki, springeri), pygmy angel (flameback, cherub).

 

I know blue reef chromis typically do not do well for various reasons so I'm hesitant to get one. I'm also worried about uronema if I get a damsel. Therefore I'm leaning towards a pygmy angel, but I also realize my tank is on the smaller size.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

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29 minutes ago, cd459 said:

I like the starcki a lot too. Have had any problems with it?

No not at all. Amazing fish. My clown isn't thrilled about it and chases the starcki but nothing else has happened. No fights, no damage, the clown can't catch the starkii.

 

I had a blenny with them and the starcki was fine with it 

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Seems like a lot of fish for this size tank...but if you insist on adding another I wouldn't recommend a pygmy angel.  Most of those require at least a 55 gallon tank.

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banasophia

My azure damsel is a pretty blue fish and is doing well getting along with the others in my 32g so far (3 scissortail dartfish, pair of ocellaris clownfish, pink streak wrasse)... I did add him last. 
 

B56F01C6-30ED-4B66-854E-8CC2A4B6C5E1.thumb.jpeg.ede9a831999f4bcf1d9d3fc03c5bb09d.jpeg

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banasophia
44 minutes ago, cd459 said:

I saw a springeri a few months ago at my lfs. Maybe I’ll need to call and ask if they still have it.

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Yes just make sure you’re getting a springeri, not a blue devil 

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Yellowtail blue damsels are pretty chill as damsels go. 

 

It is a lot of fish, but if you're doing OK as far as bio-load, and there's at least one good cave your damsel can claim as his own, it has a chance at working. Damsels tend to pick a spot and defend that, though they aren't aggressive towards anything outside their space.

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Chadicus Meridius

My damsel thinks he owns my entire 20 gallon long , but that could be because I added him first . Azure damselfish.

 

very territorial  imo 

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Filtration helps you support a larger bioload by helping to trap waste, and by providing homes for bacteria, but there are still limits. You couldn't keep 20 fish in that tank with any reasonable kind of filter.

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9 hours ago, Tired said:

Filtration helps you support a larger bioload by helping to trap waste, and by providing homes for bacteria, but there are still limits. You couldn't keep 20 fish in that tank with any reasonable kind of filter.

Right exactly. I’m hopeful that a damsel will coexist peacefully since there are a lot of rocks and caves breaking up the tank. And none of the fish in my tank are jerks, except maybe the skunks but even they are peaceful 90% of the time.

 

Between the springeri and the starcki, the starki gets a bit bigger which I like. But also I’ve never seen one available 😕

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I knew a person in the past.. like 40 yrs past. He had a 100 gallon tank with various angelfish.. 4 or 5 and a few other large fish. Maybe 6 in total. He did control his bio load very well and they existed... not sure how happy they were but they appeared healthy.

 

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I love my starkii but if they are crowded they can chase fish and a fairy wouldn't stand a chance. Your tank has a lot in it already would be my concern. The angel is the same way. They can be bullies if they don't have their space. 

 

Personally I would go with a neon goby if you insist on 6 fish in a 29. 

 

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Any of the (blue) Chrysiptera damsels will fit the bill. They’re a lot more chill than most give them credit for. Starcki is a beautiful fish, but can be difficult to find 

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On 5/12/2020 at 11:26 PM, RedCrow said:

Any of the (blue) Chrysiptera damsels will fit the bill. They’re a lot more chill than most give them credit for. Starcki is a beautiful fish, but can be difficult to find 

Yeah I’m starting to realize how difficult it is to source a Starki. Especially now with everything that’s going on I don’t expect to find one soon. I’ve also heard they’re seasonal so that might be a factor too.

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Divers Den must’ve been seeing my browser history because for the past couple days they’ve been posting cherub and flame back angels 😫

 

Super tempting but not gonna get one for previously stated reasons.

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19 minutes ago, cd459 said:

Divers Den must’ve been seeing my browser history because for the past couple days they’ve been posting cherub and flame back angels 😫

 

Super tempting but not gonna get one for previously stated reasons.

Self control lol

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3 hours ago, cd459 said:

Yeah I’m starting to realize how difficult it is to source a Starki. Especially now with everything that’s going on I don’t expect to find one soon. I’ve also heard they’re seasonal so that might be a factor too.

I believe they come from deeper water than most damselfish, so they’re significantly more expensive than most others. Because of this they’re not as popular, so they’re collected less 

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2 minutes ago, cd459 said:

Good news! I found a starcki at my LFS. Bad news is he's in one of their display tanks 😩

I feel the pain. My lfs got a group of a dozen yellow clown gobies that are all living in harmony, and many have paired off. They decided to keep them all 😢

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Starki damsels are difficult to source due to collection areas, season, and mostly because damsels tend to be cheaply priced and they aren't.

 

I paid $100 for mine. 

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