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heisenberg
01/06/2011, 04:42 PM
Without pushing the limits on size and bioload... what would you pick if you only had one fish for a 30gal cube reef? What kind of fish has the most color, personality, and entertainment packed into the most compact package?

roushmustang
01/06/2011, 05:24 PM
#1 i would highly recommend that fits all your needs you listed above would be hawaiian flame wrasse

#2 would be some type of clownfish

and thats it really i have to say but you should consider this.... the hawaiian flame wrasse, and a goby with a pistol shrimp

how much live rock and are you using a sand bottom?

snorvich
01/06/2011, 06:08 PM
I would definitely not do clownfish. If you can afford it, I would go with a Candy Basslet. Otherwise, a pair of flasher wrasses.

roushmustang
01/06/2011, 06:14 PM
@snorvich why not a clownfish and +1 on a basslet

how much money are you willing to spend...... give us a rough estimate.... you dont have to tell us if you dont want to just say nothing to cheap but nothing to expensive or along those lines

here something along the lines of this.......
http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=108274

and either one of these 2 listed below

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+2124+1436&pcatid=1436

or

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+21+57&pcatid=57

heisenberg
01/06/2011, 07:28 PM
Wow, thanks so much for the replies so far. Here are my follow-ups..

The Hawaiian Flame Wrasse is beautiful but like the McCosker's and other similar wrasses, I don't feel I can do a solitary male justice in a smaller tank... let alone have a female or a harem of females to promote good health, activity, and coloration. It's my belief these fish need at least 50-60 to feel comfortable and to have room to move and display. When and if I build a larger reef, I am going to do a species tank of just McCoskers or another flasher, specifically to showcase their interaction. :)

I had a pair of clowns and am sorta burned out on them. Sold them to a proper home as they had gotten large... and aggressive.

I've gone as expensive as a Blue Spotted Jawfish, but wouldn't do it again for this tank. For a tank my size and complexity, I can justify up to about $60 for a good fish, but several hundred is way out of my price range! In any case, the cheaper the better. :)

I love the pistol shrimp and goby idea and have always wanted to do it, but with the BSJ I had sand everywhere and he even killed some ricordea by burying it while I was at work. I'm kinda hesitant to add the shrimp if it'll do any substantial sand moving or burying of corals on my sand. Thoughts?

Money isn't really an object but I don't want to spend more than I need to. Exclusivity/expensive/rare isn't really a draw for me.

So far my go-to fish for this situation is actually a Sixline... believe it or not. They may not be a common favorite of people on the forums, but they're cheap, commonly available, colorful, active, and will probably take care of my pyramid snails. Their aggressive tendencies won't be an issue with zero tankmates, and they're the most colorful fish per dollar that I've ever seen.

I definitely will look into others within the basslet family!

roushmustang
01/06/2011, 07:43 PM
thats great and have fun with your tank

beware if you keep a basslet and a sixline together... i would do the basslet first then the sixline so the sixline isnt as aggressive if you do the sixline first but i would recomend the pair of gobys with the shrimp or even a goby and a shrimp..... what corals do you intend on puting in the tank...
and i wouldnt worry about the goby spiting sand on the ricordeas. go to youtube and watch a vid with a goby and pistol shrimp. the shrimp does the work the goby stands by and guards

heisenberg
01/06/2011, 07:57 PM
beware if you keep a basslet and a sixline together...

Yea no worries, it'd only be one or the other. Single fish, so I forgot to mention it can't be anything that requires company to be happy or colorful.

but i would recomend the pair of gobys with the shrimp or even a goby and a shrimp..... what corals do you intend on puting in the tank...
and i wouldnt worry about the goby spiting sand on the ricordeas. go to youtube and watch a vid with a goby and pistol shrimp. the shrimp does the work the goby stands by and guards

Yes I've seen them and the shrimp does the work, quite cute and an interesting symbiotic relationship... just wary of any major excavation projects around my corals these days after the BSJ incident but I doubt that the shrimp could be as devastating.


Would a shrimp goby be compatible with the sixline? I'm sure it would spend most of it's time in the vicinity of the shrimp burrow, but I know that the sixlines can harass some fish enough to cause stress-related deaths or disease even if they are burrow dwellers.

JCURRY@WESKETCH
01/06/2011, 08:10 PM
Wartskin Angler

snorvich
01/06/2011, 08:49 PM
Wartskin Angler

I endorse this as well. Great fish! :celeb3:

steelerfan1
01/06/2011, 09:08 PM
the flame hawks seem amusing to me from what i have seen of them.

Korrine
01/06/2011, 09:22 PM
I had a yasha goby pair with a candy cane pistol. They didn't flick sand much farther than an 1" from the burrow. The candy can pistols stay rather small too.

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid248.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fgg200%2Fkj23502%2Fsw%2520tank%2F100_6820.flv" width="600" height="361">
(http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg200/kj23502/sw%20tank/?action=view&current=100_6820.flv)

roushmustang
01/06/2011, 09:54 PM
i dont know about the sixline picking on the goby but you can always try it and trade him back to your lfs if you want to save your goby and shrimp

heres what i would do

put all corals in and put the goby and shrimp in and see where they move to... then move the corals about 3 inches away from where they burrow then try the sixline

Toddrtrex
01/06/2011, 10:08 PM
i dont know about the sixline picking on the goby but you can always try it and trade him back to your lfs if you want to save your goby and shrimp

heres what i would do

put all corals in and put the goby and shrimp in and see where they move to... then move the corals about 3 inches away from where they burrow then try the sixline

The OP stated that s/he is only going to keep 1 ( one ) ( single ) fish.

SushiGirl
01/06/2011, 10:15 PM
I would definitely not do clownfish. If you can afford it, I would go with a Candy Basslet. Otherwise, a pair of flasher wrasses.

I wouldn't recommend flasher wrasses. Even a 3 ft. long tank isn't long enough when the male is flashing. Need lots of lateral swimming room.

I'd go goby & shrimp. Gobies have tons of personality & between the two of them are endless entertainment.

Edit: You know, if you're only going to go with one single fish, why not go with a damsel? Some of them are very beautiful, and since it'll be alone you won't have to hate it LOL.

Swolek
01/06/2011, 10:22 PM
One of the pygmy angelfish, like a Cherub or Flameback. Once settled in, they're pretty bold and active. That's what I would do, personally, but I'm partial to angelfish :).

heisenberg
01/07/2011, 12:36 AM
The OP stated that s/he is only going to keep 1 ( one ) ( single ) fish.

I did ask about the sixline picking on the goby... were i to go with the shrimp/goby combo in addition to a sixline. It was more of a hypothetical though... I really like just the one fish idea.


About damsels, I've definitely looked at that possibility too. Their reputation is definitely not for being ugly. :) What do you think the prettiest/best personality damsel is?

BADGUS
01/07/2011, 05:47 AM
Pygmy cherub?cute little guys always swimming around looking for food.

Sugar Magnolia
01/07/2011, 08:53 AM
Pygmy cherub?cute little guys always swimming around looking for food.

I just added one of those little guys to my cube. Very shy at first, but is now out and about picking at the LR and cruising around. Cute little fish!

MikeandNicole
01/07/2011, 08:58 AM
I have a 30g cube right now that I will break down at some point. My dream stocking for that tank would be cuttlefish. The sepia bandesis would fit fine in a 30g tank, can't really be kept with other fish, are amazing to look at, will interact with you, and are relatively cheap. The big downside (IMO) is that they only really live a year.

treylane
01/07/2011, 11:42 AM
This, you must get thissssss!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2mryRzZeUQ

DoubleM 10
01/07/2011, 11:52 AM
i cant beleive it has not been mentioned. i dont recall reading in here that you wanted to keep corals. Im a huge fan of mu Fuzzy dwarf lionfish. i have 3. 2 of them are in a 55 together and they NEVER stop begging me for attnetion when im their. when im gone everyone tells me the just "hang out". they are by far my fav fish. one is dark red. another is brown and white. and another is yellow and brownish red lol
great fish IMO

matt

heisenberg
01/07/2011, 02:16 PM
This, you must get thissssss!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2mryRzZeUQ

What is that??

i cant beleive it has not been mentioned. i dont recall reading in here that you wanted to keep corals. Im a huge fan of mu Fuzzy dwarf lionfish. i have 3. 2 of them are in a 55 together and they NEVER stop begging me for attnetion when im their. when im gone everyone tells me the just "hang out". they are by far my fav fish. one is dark red. another is brown and white. and another is yellow and brownish red lol
great fish IMO

matt

I do keep coral and want to continue keeping coral. :)

Pygmy cherub?cute little guys always swimming around looking for food.

How are they with coral? Nippers?

SwampyBill
01/07/2011, 03:23 PM
+1 on clownfish or fu manchu lionfish. Clowns have great personality & facinating behavior in pairs (& you could do a pair in a 30 gal, IMO). Fu manchu lionfish can be difficult to get to eat, but are waaay cool when you do. How about a coral beauty dwarf angelfish? They're incredibly colorful.

treylane
01/07/2011, 03:35 PM
http://www.lionfishlair.com/ourfish/multibarbus.shtml

SushiGirl
01/07/2011, 09:36 PM
I really like the Starcki damsel, the Blue & Gold, the Yellow, and the Azur.
The Blue Sapphire & Ocellate & Immaculate are all extremely beautiful.

Dangit, this makes me want another small tank to keep a damsel in, cuz they're just so darn pretty. It's a shame they're so mean! I had a blue devil in a tank by itself with a giant hermit for a few years. That thing would get me when I was cleaning the glass. We'd play tag. She didn't like it when I flicked her with my finger once though, turned almost black and hid for a good 10 minutes before taking another swipe at me LOL.

walt13
01/08/2011, 08:57 PM
+1 on flame hawk. great personality and begs like a dog when you approach the tank. I have also liked the subtle beauty of the green chromis. Very under rated.
Walt

Cantonesefish
01/08/2011, 11:58 PM
Actually lionfish are very compatible with corals, you just have to watch your bioload, and since it's the only fish you don't have to worry about it eating other inhabitants ;)

velvetelvis
01/09/2011, 09:12 AM
+1 on flame hawk. great personality and begs like a dog when you approach the tank. I have also liked the subtle beauty of the green chromis. Very under rated.
Walt

Green chromis are beautiful, but a 30 doesn't give them much room...also, the OP wants to keep a single fish. But the flame hawk sounds like a good idea.

th.one
01/09/2011, 07:37 PM
If I had to choose one it would be the Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis Fridmani). Hardy, entertaining, and amazing color.

nathang
01/09/2011, 10:18 PM
+1 on dwarf lion, or midas blenny-cool swimmers, great personality