20g FOWLR Stock Questions

[dustin323]

I've got me a 20g long currently FW that I've been longly debating on what to do with it. With the cost of a full reef & noise coming from the skimmer & whatnot I;ve decided to do a FOWLR. As I've got a couple of big chuncks of live rock in a bucket circulating right now.

Anyway what about stocking it? I know there aren't any big aggressive fish for it. But how about smaller fish only suitable for FO?

[bassettmd]

Personally, I love any and all of the dwarf angel species. Maybe you could chose a dwarf angel and simply do a variety of gobies or damsel.

Or, i am not an expert on this, maybe you could pull off a valentini Puffer or hawaiian spotted. However, I am not exactly sure if a 20 gallon is a suitable tank, hopefully someone else will chime in.

[LisaD]

If you do a dwarf angel, I would only do the smallest (cherub) with maybe a few hardy inverts like a cleaner shrimp, some small hermits and snails, fanworms. Maybe have one or two other small fish, like neon gobies, which are also cleaners. Just keep water quality up. Note that Cherubs can be very territorial.

You could try a pair of shrimp gobies and a pistol shrimp. I like these with a tiger pistol shrimp (can buy shrimp separately).

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=20236&siteid=20

You could also keep an angler (smaller species that don't exceed 4") or a pair of leaf fish. Count on live food for these. Though some train to frozen, there are no guarantees.

If you don't use a skimmer, consider a HOT refugium like an Aquafuge - I have a 25 gallon tank run off an Ecosystem 40 HOT refugium and a powerhead. Keeps the water clean, and the tank is pretty packed - two seahorses, orchid dottyback, mandarin, bicolor blenny, sailfin blenny, sixline wrasse.

[dustin323]

Ok, thanks a lot both of you.

LisaD I was kind of thinking of a cherub possibly. I was also thinking a leaf fish or angler, but I don't want to have to rely on live foods.

[LisaD]

Many people report getting anglers or leaf fish to eat frozen. In my experience, it is not easy, and some will never take frozen. I have had my leaf fish pair and angler pair for several years. One angler takes frozen, the other doesn't. Neither leaf fish has ever taken frozen food. I do have a pair of waspfish as well as a devilfish (Inimicus) that take frozen.

If you don't want to take the risk of having to provide live food, go with a cherub. If you have decent filtration, you might also be able to add a royal gramma OR an orchid dottyback, along with a pair of neon gobies. I'd add the cherub last and be sure there are plenty of hiding places.