Good Fish for a Nano??

[jcarnahan12]

Would like some suggestions for Fish in a Nano reef environment. Thanks

-josh

[surfnvb7]

if its a 10g.....i'd go with small fish that STAY small, and are very hardy.

a small orange clown, clown gobys are VERY good, neon gobys, lots of different small gobies are good, maybe a small damsel, just kinda depends....

don't rush into it, i wouldn't put a fish in there for at least 2-3months IMO/IME. then after a couple more months put another one in there. i wouldnt do more than 2, but it depends on what they are/how big they are/and will get.

start with your clean up crew of snails/hermit(s), after a couple weeks add your first cleaner shrimp, then try a few very hardy corals (xenia, shrooms, zoas).

I learned, that as I became more experienced in the hobby, by the time it came to put a fish in, I had totally changed what kinds of fish I was interested in by that time, and had seen new fish I had never seen before.

[jcarnahan12]

what is the recommended size of the clean up crew? I have heard many different opinions. Thanks

[VinnyTheIcepick]

I have had a four stripe damsel and a banded coal shrimp in my 2.5 for 6 months and they are doing great. Clean up crew is a turbo, a red legged hermit and a small black snail.

[surfnvb7]

wow......while coral banded shrimp are very hardy, and great for beginners......it will quickly outgrow 2.5g. mine has gotten so big, i can't put any gobies or other small fish in my 20g. i've even had it attack my hand before...they are quite aggressive when they get older.

clean up crew is strictly personal preference, limitations and availability of types/species of snails/hermits that are available to you at your LFS will dictate your opinions on clean up crews.

I'm not a big fan of hermits, as most I've had "shell-jack" my snails.

And I beleive that scarlet-red hermits will eat the most algae, so I'd go with only 1 small one in your tank.

about 10 astreas (1 per gallon) is a good start. and some kind of snails to stir up the sand bed and keep it turned over, nasarius or cerith snails are a good start (again 1 per gallon).

then, as your tank ages you can move on to some bigger/better snails such as a couple of margarita, trochus, and even 1 turbo snail. you may even be able to get away with a small queen conch and small fighting conch if they have enough algae to eat.

emerald mathrix crab is another option, but be very careful with them...only get a very small one, and make sure its well fed as if it doesnt have enough algae to eat, it might eat corals.