# I want a "bottom hopper" for my reef tank... Any suggestions?



## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

I've had my 37 gallon reef going for about 6 months now and have been slowly stocking it. I have 1 1/2-2" of live black aragonite sand and 30-40 lbs of live rock with various star polyps, mushroom corals, and one bubble coral. The inhabitants are 2 black ocellaris clowns, 1 sixline wrasse, 2 feather dusters, 3 blue-leg hermit crabs, 5 nassisirus (sp?) snails, and various other little snails. I plan on eventually adding a purple firefish, some sort of anemone, a sand sifting starfish (maybe), and a few more corals and snails. I kind of want some sort of bottom-dwelling fish ("bottom hopper") to add a little interest to that level of the tank though. I really like the little red scooter blennies, but I think that without a refugium, the poor little guy wouldn't get enough to eat in my tank. Does anyone have any suggestions for a small "bottom hopper"... maybe one that would stir up the sand or eat algae a little? Thanks!


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

look into the different gobies and blennys.


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## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

I have... *yawn*


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*hmm*

they wont eat algae but i do like a good hawk fish...flame,falco,lyretail,...starry blenny?i dontt know..other dragonets the red manderin,spotted,or the green..


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## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

I dunno... I'll keep looking... Maybe I can find something that'll at least look good against the black sand...


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## njudson (May 21, 2009)

These fish have tons of personality and I think would look nice against black sand.
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Flame Hawkfish


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*yeah*

see i am not alone...i guess beauty is on the eye of the beholder.


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## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm right there with you, badxgillen... I set this tank up to be something nice to look at... I wanted pretty corals, a pretty anemone, some pretty black ocellaris, a pretty purple firefish, etc... I really wanted a dwarf flame angel, but I have a hard time paying $60 for a fish, no matter how pretty it is!


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## trukgirl (Jan 28, 2010)

I have a Lawnmower Blenny and a Longnose Hawkfish and LOVE them both. The hawkfish wouldn't be "bottom" but he sits around with this cool attitude. And my lawnmower blenny thinks he is a badass, LOL!

I suppose my yellow watchman would be in the "bottom hopper" category as well but he has had a habit of going up and getting himself stuck in the overflow lately. :/

Where are you at in MO?


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## JLong80 (Aug 15, 2007)

The yellow diamond goby would stand out against the sand, and it will go all over the tank as long as its not getting bullied.

its too bad you're not willing to consider spending a little more, because there are some great options that you might want to consider, such as a blue dot jawfish or a Yasha gobi and pistol shrimp, that would look AWESOME!


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## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm in Branson, MO and I work at Petco...



I'm thinking about switching my 37 and my 55... make the 55 reef and the 37 FOWLR... or just turning the 55 into a reef and getting rid of the 37 altogether... If I do either of those ideas, I would have more space in the reef setup for pretty fish


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## ozarks bullies (Feb 14, 2011)

But I'm still cheap...


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