Fish for a 2.5?

[mihkaail]

hi all

need some advice on what i can keep in my 2.5.

Choices so far include:

Biocellatus goby - female only (male died at LFS after fight with hawk)
I dunno if i should try her cos, she's now a widow, and i heard online that they dont eat well in captivity

Bicolour Dottyback

Rainfordi Goby (court jester goby)

Magnificent firefish

Bicolour Blenny

Scooter Blenny

Clown goby (in a pair) - but i heard that their track record is BAD

reluctantly Perc clown

reluctantly blue devil

Any heads ups on any of the species i've mentioned? Will also consider other things; the above is what's available at the LFS this week. They're ordering new stuff in on wednesday so i'll know what's available in the next shipment by then.

Any info and (probably criticism) let me know. Btw, my tank is here: http://www.nanotank.com/viewtopic.php?t=909

Thanks guys

cheers

 

[skipm]

I think that a 2 1/2 is a bit too small to try and keep a fish in, definately not a pair of fish. If I were to try at all I would say a single clown gobie or one of the dwarf shrimp gobies (but that would suck since I would want the shrimp too). Instead of a fish have you thought about maybe a shrimp like a sexy? JMO, Skip

 

[mihkaail]

Hi skip, thanks for the input.

Was thinking of getting two or three sexys but they cost AUD 60 each here; way too much for my college student budget.

If anyone could tell me at least which of the species i mentioned would be, in their opinion, most suitable in my tiny tank.

I realise that if the fish seems unduly distressed, i'll give it back to the LFS. Btw, water quality is maintained by weekly .5gallon water changes. So, IMO, the only thing is the space confine.

 

[fireFISH]

mihkaail,
If you don't mind me adding a fish to your list, i'd go with a Red Striped Goby. They're a pretty rare find in the aquarium industry, and i don't think I've seen anyone with one on this site, so your tank would definitley be different. Don't know if your LFS has them in stock, I know no store around here has them, but liveaquaria.com is selling them for $30.

If you can't find one, or you're set on buying one from your list, I'd go with the Clown Goby. I've had a Yellow in my 20 gallon for a month now, and it's a great fish. Plus, it doesn't get bigger than an inch.

fireFISH

 

[mihkaail]

Thanks firefish for the suggestion.

Actually thought about that along with eviota gobies but the LFS wont be able to bring them in. In australia, despite being about 4hours by land from the great barrier reef, fish and inverts especially are in low variation and cost about double to triple most liveaquaria prices. Thanks for the suggestion though.

On wednesday, i'll hopefully get the LFS list on whats available and i'll post it upand possibly what i decide on.

Thanks again firefish, and to all the experts out there, infidel, incysor, djconn etc got any ideas?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

There are lots of small gobies that would do well in there. I put a yellow clown in mine a week ago, and the little bugger wouldn't eat for me. This morning I found a feast taking place behind the rockwork. Bristleworms, bumble bee snails and nass snails polishing off the remains of the goby. Bummer.

Rainford's goby, neon goby, blackray shrimp goby, whiteray shrimp goby, red head goby, green stripe goby. Basically any fish that stays under 2" would be a good choice.

I'm now on a quest to find a new goby for my 2.5.

 

[djconn]

Bummer, it seems that everyone is having bad luck with yellow clowns :cry: .

 

[skipm]

In my area I have also noticed that the price for yellow clowns gobies has almost doubled, does anyone have any idea why this may be? I wonder if they are using different methods for catching them and thats why the are not as hardy as they used to be.

 

[incysor]

The price is the same in my area....If they changed the capture method and the price went up, then logically that would point to more time-consuming, responsible capture methods, which would lead to higher survival rates, not lower ones.

B

 

[djconn]

Lets hope thats the case incysor. I'm not going to try another one until I start hearing success stories...

They go for about $7-9 dollars each in Texas.

 

[cich1]

i paid $8 for my green clown goby last november, i didn't see him eat for about the first 5 days but then he started eating and has been a real pig ever since.
i offered him something different everyday mysis,brine, mussel, frozen formula one and primereef

 

[skipm]

Lately the price here has been $15-$16 for a yellow clown gobie. I thought the same thing about a better capture method driving the price up but I was just wondering if someone had heard something I had missed. I may add one to my nanocube a little later, I sure hope they are doing better by the time I get ready for one. Thanks for the replies. Skip

 

[mihkaail]

Thanks all of you for your replies.

Sugar Magnolia; i was hesitant to take the rainfordi cos i was worried cos of the possible lack of swimming space. Unlike clown gobies, blennies etc, they swim rather than perch. But i will definately keep that option open. And as for your other great suggestions, I just wish i could get ANY shrimp goby or red head here. Cos i'm in australia, no one imports carribean and hawaiian stuff unless it's big and or showy (yellow tang, flame angel).

The lack of luck with clown gobies, and their $32-36 price tag has scared me off a little, but i might wait till i find one or two who i can SEE eating in the LFS. Anyone with clown gobies pls post here too.

 

[USP55]

i am currently seting up a 2.5 and i have looked at every fish possible but most fish that are small do not swim but rather sit on the rocks or sand...i plan on adding a really small clown to my tank and removing it when it get larger....a lfs by me has extreamly small clowns...but if there is a fish that is small and swims in the water let me know

 

[mihkaail]

UPS 55, i guess it's a matter of personal choice. in my case, i'd like something that doesnt swim ALL the time, nor one that hides perpetually, as i fear clown gobies and scooters will.

Has anyone here had a bicolour blenny before? do they hide too much? what about clown gobies? i'm looking for one proud fish willing to display very often and 'rule' the tank. Unfortunately, now that i've added the LR and corals, i cant really add that Emperor angel at the LFS; but maybe diagonally...

 

[incysor]

bi-color blennies are great...But not suitable for that small a tank.

Personally I don't think you should put any fish in a tank that small.

Even the ones that perch most of the time get up and swim around in the current quite a bit.

If I WAS going to try a fish in this size tank it would be a small citron goby, or a red-headed goby, possibly a catalina if you could keep the temp in the 68-70 degree range. That's about it.

B

 

[skipm]

In my past experiences with clown gobies, the yellow ones stayed out in the open much more than the greens or blacks. I would stay away from the citrons in this case because they get a little bigger than the others. HTH, Skip

 

[incysor]

I did it again....I meant a yellow clown goby...Not a citron goby.

B

 

[mihkaail]

Oops, just realised i posted in the wrong place. sorry, and thanks for moving it.

Incysor, i knew a guy who kept that and a pair of firefish in a 3.3gallon. His success has influenced me a little. Dont mean to sound arrogant. Will rethink all these decisions tomorrow.

Have narrowed it down to get either:

Magnificent Firefish

Bicolour Pseudochromis

Biocellatus Goby

or

Bicolour Blenny

when i go down to the LFS. Unless, they have some new stuff in then; and if i get any more conflicting info. Leaning towards the firefish, what do you guys think? Are they too active for a 2.5er? They had a few mandarins in last time i went and if i'm lucky enough to find another that can eat frozens, i might try killing myself to pay the 130 for it. Do you guys think they can eat just frozens and survive? (assuming i feed various foods: brine, mysis, blackworms, bloodworms etc; and assuming that he eats it) Some places say they need pods anyway and others dont. Btw, my glass is covered in them, pods that is. Dont really know how to get rid of them! Wouldnt it be wonderful if they ate algae?

Anyway, wll update you guys soon.

 

[incysor]

Oops, just realised i posted in the wrong place. sorry, and thanks for moving it.

Incysor, i knew a guy who kept that and a pair of firefish in a 3.3gallon. His success has influenced me a little. Dont mean to sound arrogant. Will rethink all these decisions tomorrow.

Have narrowed it down to get either:

Magnificent Firefish

Bicolour Pseudochromis

Biocellatus Goby

or

Bicolour Blenny

when i go down to the LFS. Unless, they have some new stuff in then; and if i get any more conflicting info. Leaning towards the firefish, what do you guys think? Are they too active for a 2.5er? They had a few mandarins in last time i went and if i'm lucky enough to find another that can eat frozens, i might try killing myself to pay the 130 for it. Do you guys think they can eat just frozens and survive? (assuming i feed various foods: brine, mysis, blackworms, bloodworms etc; and assuming that he eats it) Some places say they need pods anyway and others dont. Btw, my glass is covered in them, pods that is. Dont really know how to get rid of them! Wouldnt it be wonderful if they ate algae?

Anyway, wll update you guys soon.

Well, two of the species you listed, the mandarins and the twinspot gobies have specialized diets, that are unlikely to get met in any nano tank. If you can find either of these in the store that accept prepared foods you might be able to make it work in a larger 18g-20g nano, but it's still unlikely in a 2.5g tank.

I've had 2 bi-color blennies, 2 purple firefish, and an orchid dottyback.

IMO the bi-color, and firefish would prefer more room. Seeing a friend keep 2 firefish in a 3.3g doesn't mean it's responsible. There's a LFS here in town that has a 3.5ft nurse shark in a 100g tank. They've had it in there for over a year. That doesn't make it right. You can probably keep the firefish, or the bicolor blenny successfully in a 2.5g tank, but as an analogy you probably wouldn't suggest a friend get a great dane if they're living in a one-room apartment. Same thing.

I think the bi-color pseudo is your best bet.

B