Captive Bred Nano Tank Options (1 Viewer)

[hamtb1]

Hi all,

I'm curious about people's opinions on the idea that captive bred fish are hardier than their wild-caught brethren. I have a Waterbox Peninsula 25G tank, although I think the display area is closer to 23G. The tank has had livestock in it for a little over 7 months now, and after losing a firefish last week, I am left with a single clown. I am more interested in the coral in there, but I do think it would be good to have a couple more guys swimming around. Being ethically sourced, I like the idea of captive bred fish and would love to know some fan favorites. While my aim is to work through a LFS, browsing online it seems that there are quite a few goby options, fang blennies, dottybacks, and basslets. I think a fang blenny would be a nice addition; however, many sites recommend 30+ gallons. BRS recommends 20+ gallons. Would you feel comfortable putting one in a 23-25G tank?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MistakesWereMade]

I have made two purchases from 'the biota group'. I have a pair of yellow tangs in my large tank and a pair of mandarins in my small tank. Both of these orders shipped directly to my house. They do overnight shipping in foam cooler with heat packs, pure oxygen in bags. Mandrins were even delayed a day and arived just fine. Thing about ordering captive bred is they are typically more expensive. However they do take to tank life easier as they have never known anything else. One thing about them is they are typically SMALL when you get them. My tangs were near translucent and the mandarins were maybe .5 - .75" in length. As long as they are with other non-aggressive tank mates they should do fine.

I bought the mandarins specifically captive bred because I knew they would eat pellets. Due to the size of them, I kept just the two of them for quite awhile because I didn't want them competing for food. They are mostly on a frozen diet at this point but the auto feeder when I go out of town does pellets.

As to other fish that fit in your tank, some of which can be found captive bred are:
Radial filefish (20 gal) similar to aiptasia eating filefish
For a lightly stocked tank, a basset might be ok (30 gal)
Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse (15 gal)
Mandarin/dragons (30 gal but depends of food source)
Various cardinal fish (20-30 gal)
Could also do an invert like a fire shrimp (10 gal)

Just naming a few as you already found some. I might try a court jester goby again. First one I had didn't make it. I also tried a firefish but my lid wasn't tight enough and it made it's way to the floor.

 

[spsick]

I am not sure of the best way to contact him but @Chad Vossen is a local fish breeder.

Fish | Vossen Aquatics

www.vossenaquatics.com

 

[Chad Vossen]

pair of orchid dottybacks would be amazing. The bright purple stands out from across the room. I also support the fang blennies as well, 1 would do great in this size tank. two might be pushing it though, unless they were a pair which would just be luck.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Seconded on the orchids, there are other captive bred dottyback options as well! One fang blenny should be fine as others have said. Are you making a stocking plan?