Possible to have aggressive fish in a 16g?

[x3kenster]

Well, I took all my corals out of my 16g bow front tank and threw them into my 10g nano. Now that I have an empty 16g tank, I would like to make it a FOWLR. The only problem is that I would like to have an aggressive fish set up in there, but most of them get fairly large and will out grow a 16g in no time. Would love to have a wet pet for this tank...

Any suggestion on what aggressive fish I can put in the 16g, if any? If not, what fish can I put in there as a community tank with nice colors to bright up the tank?

Thanks.

[iamwrasseman]

banana morey eel
chestnut morey eel
mantis shrimp
baby clown trigger ~good for a few years

yes most aggresive fish do grow fast but the eels will never grow past 10", the mantis shrimp can get large but you just have to ease on the feedings and it will be good for years to come .

[smootie]

Both banana morays and chestnut morays will prolly get too big in the long run since they grow to about 24" and 48" respectively. Maybe if you don't feed them much you can intentionally stunt their growth but that would be mean

You might be able to swing a dwarf golden eel (Gymnothorax melatremus). These guys grow to about a foot, max. And they're slim so not a whole lot of body mass. They also have really pretty blue eyes.

For a tank that size you won't be able to have a ton of fish, but like Wrasseman said, you could do a species tank and have a mantis shrimp (some are really beautiful) or maybe a small goby and shrimp pair. I am partial to gobies because they have nice colors and are super chill.

[iamwrasseman]

actually what i meant was a GDE when i said banana so thats my bad there . the chestnut morey eel will only get to be more than 10" max.i dont know where you got 48" from .

[jmski333]

i wouldn't recommend a 16g for an aggressive fish tank. its more of a nano reef tank. Buying certain fish knowing that they will outgrow your tank is irresponsible. Damsels get pretty aggressive, maybe stick with those.

Originally Posted by DgenR8

Buy a tank suitable for the fish you want to keep, or buy fish that are suitable for the tank you have. Any other advice you get is misguided.

[jmski333]

Originally Posted by smootie

You might be able to swing a dwarf golden eel (Gymnothorax melatremus). These guys grow to about a foot, max. And they're slim so not a whole lot of body mass. They also have really pretty blue eyes.

these are recommended for a minimum tank size of 50 gallons.

[LukFox]

Originally Posted by jmski333

these are recommended for a minimum tank size of 50 gallons.

For what reason? They are a pretty small bioload and don't move much. I think they can be easily kept in a 20g, and possibly even a 16g if the keeper knows what they're doing.

By the way, when Wrassman says chestnut he doesn't mean the huge chestnut. He's talking about Enchelycore carychroa which is a very small eel just as suitable as the gold dwarf.

[jmski333]

when researched the dwarl golden eel is recommend to be housed in a minimun of 50 gals. i don't know the reason, i just know the recommendation. You seemed hesitant yourself when saying "possibly a 16g".
No hostility by all means, i just don't like when people buy fish and such for tanks that can't support the species.

[LukFox]

The keeper would need to know how to keep the water clean in a 16g, yeah. No offense by any means. I had a gold dwarf for years and she spent a couple years in my 29g sump, where she did very well. Of course the total water volume was much larger, but as far as space it suited her well. She also did well in the 155g display for years, too, but she ate more consistently in the sump strangely enough.

I also kept a chestnut in a 10g for months where he grew and ate very nicely. I lost him in a completely unrelated freak accident, though. But like I said, attention needs to be paid to keep the parameters in line. I kept macro algae to help me out with the nutrients and did weekly water changes. Things were going just fine in the 10g .

A 50 gallon minimum seems a little out weird, really. Back when I got my dwarf (when they were still hard to find personal experience on), all the sites actually said not to keep them in LARGE tanks like that, and I was being very "risky" by keeping her in a 155g lol. I never found them to really care, though!

[x3kenster]

Thanks everyone for their inputs. I'm going to look into the chestnut eel, dwarf eel, and a mantis shrimp. The problem with these species that I notice is that they all just hide out in their caves all day until its feeding time which is kind of boring. I would love a trigger, puffer, or something of that nature but I don't think that can be achieved with a 16g.

Oh and I have a damsel in my 10g reef tank and I hate that thing.

[LukFox]

It's the fact that they don't move too much that makes them suitable . There are tons of mantis species to look into, and not all will outgrow a 10g by the way.

[x3kenster]

Do you have any suggestion on what fish to go for if I decide on just going with a community tank for the 16g? Species that are nicely colored, active, and not aggressive towards one another.

[LukFox]

You're still looking at fish that don't move too much. Smaller shrimp gobies with their shrimp and one other small fish tends to be the norm.

[x3kenster]

Thanks!

[namxas]

You could keep a couple of leaf scorpionfish, waspfish, or a pygmy angler in a setup like that.

The waspfish are much easier to wean off of live foods, than the leaf fish, IME.

[palmer373]

ooooh an angler tank!!!