What should I put in my 29g?

[NTidd]

I know this much, whatever I put in my tank has to work with Damsels (I already have 3 little ones in it cycling it) and I wish to put invertabrates, and alot of little hermit crabs into it. What other fish should I put in with them?

 

[fishboy]

First let the tank cycle completely before adding inverts. Try and get a feather duster, they are hardy but i am unsure if the damsels will bother it... Might want to ask Cole on that. If you do get one you need to give it small feeding into it's tentacles every couple days.

Good luck,
Daniel

 

[NTidd]

Yeah, I plan to let it cycle for 30 to 40 days. I believe that damsels are compatable with feather dusters, what type of food do they eat?

 

[NTidd]

I also read that they pretty much require a well established reef, is that true?

 

[BrianH]

IMHO feather disters do not need to be fed directly. They are filter feeders and will live off the plankton in your tank. This is why a well established tank will work better. If you would like to feed them something, I would suggest DT's live phytoplankton.
Brian

 

[toodles]

BrianH is right, featherdusters are filter feeders and once your tank is established, you will only have to occasionally feed them DT's (an excellent product that you can buy at some LFS, it must be kept cold...and ALL filter feeders will like this). I have several dusters that I've had since I first started SW, they are a little over 2yrs with me, and I feed only once a week. BTW, damsels won't harm dusters at all. Hermit crabs are good, but go with the small blue legged hermits. They tend to be hardier, and they also don't have the reputation of sometimes bothering other inverts. Don't forget snails. Personally I like the astreas, I also have some keyhole limpets that do well, but they have the drawback of eating clams, and scallops so if you plan on keeping mollusks, then forget it. Turbos are okay. It all depends with them. To me at least, they are clumsy snails that will eat some of your best macro algae.

Considering the size of your tank and the fish you already have, I'd go with one of the larger clowns. Tomato or maroon are very nice and have excellent color that would be a nice off set to what you already have in that tank. Plus they are quite able to take care of themselves with regards to the damsels.

 

[NTidd]

Thank you for all of the info, don't clown fish need larger tanks?

 

[toodles]

No, I think a clown would be fine in your tank, but with the fish you already have, adding a clown would be your limit. IMHO

 

[NTidd]

Do lionfish work with damsels?

 

[toodles]

The only lionfish that would work in your tank and with your fish would be one of the dwarf species......the fuzzy or a fu manchu. The fu manchu is very sedentary, so if you are looking for action, you won't find it here. The fuzzy is slightly more active. While either one would be fine in that size tank, you are pushing it with regards to water quality. Lionfish produce a lot of waste and with the other fish in there, I would be very, very worried about keeping your water up to par. Also be forewarned that you need to "train" the lionfish to take prepared foods, that there is always the possiblity that the lionfish will eat your other fish, that you cannot keep shrimp with lions at all, and that most importantly they are venomous, so if you get stung, it's gonna hurt.

Don't get me wrong, I love lionfish. I have one myself, and I will tell you that they do indeed produce a lot of waste!

 

[NTidd]

Is there anything that loooks kind of like a puffer that I can put in there that won't eat hermit crabs?

 

[toodles]

I know that there are some small puffers, I "think" the vallentini is one, but I don't know for sure and I believe all puffers will go after snails and crabs.....could be wrong on that. (Not a puffer fan, sorry!)

 

[NTidd]

What about tiggerfish?

 

[toodles]

You mean a triggerfish?

Oh, no, no, no, no......triggers get way too big for your tank and most of them get waaaaayyyyyy too aggressive and will kill everything in there too. (There are a couple that are relatively peaceful but they still get too big).

 

[NTidd]

Hmm, ok, feather duster it is.

 

[toodles]

Have you thought about any of the hawkfish? I believe that a flame hawk would be fine in your tank. They don't get huge and should be able to fend for itself in your tank. Or what about a royal gramma?

 

[NTidd]

Ok, I will check into that, thanks.