small fish that stay small

I have a 55 tank and I want a reef, but I also want a bunch of fish. What kind of fish can I get that are small and stay small? If I get midget fish, I can have more right?


Plus, who wants 2 big fish in a 55 if that's all you can have? right?

Right now, I have a percula (1-1/2") neon dottyback (1-1/2") algae blenny (3") and a damsel (1-1/2")(dam damsel won't die, he we the one I originally cycled my 20 gallon tank with 2 years ago)

Since I moved from a 20 to the 55, all of these fish will get bigger now right? Do I have enough room for anymore small fish?

 

You can add a little more fish in that 55. Im not sure but i think that if a fish is in a small tank it will stay small is a myth. Meaning that they would of grown to there full length in the 20.

Here is a link to some small fish that stay small. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=2124

Marc.

 

Dottybacks, green chromis, some of the hawkfish only get about 3.5" the dwarf HF gets about 3" , many of the blennies, royal gramma, gobies and dart fish like the fire goby, flasher wrasses, mimic file fish about 3.5" and yellow and blue assessors if you can find them. They are beautiful and get about 2.5"

 

thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

 

sixline wrasses, pygmy angel (cherub which i have had in a full reef for over 3 years),

 

I f you have very intense filtration you could push the limits a bit!!!! However, having said this, you have to be aware of other factors before running out and buying a myriad of fish!!
Aggression and the fact that an increased bioload will add a strain on your biological and mechanical filtration!
I still wouldn't advise incorporating a large number of fish into your tank! But if you do decide to do it make sure you acclimate them and don't add all the fish at one time!

 

I would try to keep the bioload low if possible. Believe me you don't want the headaches of high nitrates! I wish I didn't have as many fish as I have and they are all small, the only one that will grow large is the tang...which I will probably remove from my tank in the future for the bioload reasons.

Firefish are nice, but skittish. On aquarialive.com they have a compatability chart and I would definitely say everyone should use it prior to buying and mixing fish. Not all go good together for multiple reasons.