Would These Fish Work In A 30 Gallon Tank

[pimp4cheddar]

I'm going Coral Rock for the ground, fake silk plants and 1 Lion Fish, 1 Trigger, Algae Blenny, 1 Snail and probably 1 Snowflake Eel in my 30 gallon tank.


Would they all kill each other or would they play nice? Also...do I need live rock or can I go with fake rock so the fish can hide anyway?

 

[Colin_T]

Depending on the triggerfish it might eat the blenny and have a go at the others.

If you have a filter on the tank then you can use fake rocks for decoration.

Predator tanks should have a protein skimmer on them to help keep the water cleaner for longer.

Eels will go up and over the edge of the tank so a good cover is recommended. Block up all the gaps otherwise you will lose it.

 

[andywg]

Depends on a number of things.

The lion will have to be a dwarf species (Dendrochirus sp) as the msot ocmmonly sold lion (volitans) will get far too large for a 30 gallon tank.

The trigger again depends on teh species with some getting far too big and/or aggressive to play nice in a smaller tank.

 

[pimp4cheddar]

Great info.

I was going to go with a Niger Trigger Fish... and after reading I was heartbroken when I found out the Violiet Lion Fish would be too big for my 30 gallon tank. They wanted $44.00 for him at Petco...the smaller dwarf Lion Fish don't look as nice which sucks...

I have a standard 20-40 water filter...so I'm going to go with no skimmer for the time being and then buy it later on.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Personally if I were going to put a trigger in a tank that small, I would go with a niger. I believe Lynden has had success with a young Niger in his 30 gallon, although he has loads of experience. They're fairly disease resistant and also very hardy fish. Mine went carpet surfing and survived without a scratch, surprising considering he fell about 5 feet onto hard cement. As long as you get him young and are prepared to part with him when aggression and stress kicks in after a year or two.

 

[Lynden]

Actually that was a lagoon trigger Rhinecanthus aculeatus. He died while I was on vacation a while ago.

Niger triggers (both Melicthys niger and Odonus niger) are large, fast swimming fish. A baby would be fine in a thirty gallon tank, though he/she would certainly need to be moved when it outgrew the tank, as alluded to by Chrissaysyes. Start with a 1-2'' specimen. They are reef safe, by the way.