10 gallon - Help me get out of the clownfish mindset

[venturalvn]

I love the eccentric pattern clownfish. I love the maroons, I love the picassos. I would even be fine with a regular perc or false clownfish. But...what else is as out in the open and as active as a clown? I have a 10 gallon and I really want to be smaller than an adult clown, but I guess it's pretty common to keep these guys in a 10.

 

I've already looked over lgreen's ultimate guide to nano fish, but my problem is that I don't know what fish are hiders, cave builders, or open swimmers. I just lost my 4-stripe damselfish to a cracked tank, but before that he was very active, was small enough to have plenty of room in my 10 gallon, and had great deep black and great pure white. The main thing was how small he was, which in turn meant he had plenty of room to swim in such a small space.

 

I currently have a yellow watchman goby, so I don't want another scaredy cat in the tank. Any suggestions? Should I just go get a clown?

[Islandoftiki]

I currently have a yellow watchman goby, so I don't want another scaredy cat in the tank. Any suggestions? Should I just go get a clown?

 

Im my 10 gallon, I have a YWG/Pistol Shrimp combo and a Sixline wrasse. They get along very well and the sixline is super active and comes to the front of the tank so see you whenever you approach.

 

Also, cleaner shrimp are really interactive (and being shrimp, low bioload).

 

Do you have a pistol shrimp for your goby? If not, I'd recommend one. They're super fun to watch.

[venturalvn]

Im my 10 gallon, I have a YWG/Pistol Shrimp combo and a Sixline wrasse. They get along very well and the sixline is super active and comes to the front of the tank so see you whenever you approach.

 

Also, cleaner shrimp are really interactive (and being shrimp, low bioload).

 

Do you have a pistol shrimp for your goby? If not, I'd recommend one. They're super fun to watch.

The one thing I was worried about with the pistol shrimp was their clicking. I'd hate to get him in there, have him go nuts every night while I'm trying to sleep, and then regret it. I have a family member who used to keep tanks and he said he remembers the pistol shrimp clicks and pops being loud enough that he'd hear them from the other room at night.

 

That's great to hear about you keeping both a YWG and a 6 line wrasse. I didn't want the wrasse to start picking at the YWG if they're battling for hiding spots, but if yours seem to get along well the 6 line wrasse seems like a perfect fit. I also seem to remember seeing that they need like 20-30 gallon minimum, but the fish DB here on nano reef says a 10 gallon is fine!

[Veng]

I'd try to help, but I've got 2 false percula in my 10 gallon. If you stay with either version of a percula, you should have a small fish for a long time, I think the largest adult females are only ~3" on both. If you go tomato or maroon, well then clearly those are much larger fish.

[steviejitsu]

clowns r too unique to "replace"

 

you can get a small firefish or a small wrasse like Islandoftiki said

 

if all else fails, tangs always work.

 

as the pistol shrimp gets bigger, the clicks get louder imo. But, i've yet to hear it from another room.. I've learned to disregard the sound, and I actually like to hear it sometimes cause its the only organism in my tank that makes some noise.

 

it sounds like a mouse click, and I doubt that's bothersome.

[Islandoftiki]

Well, I have both a pistol shrimp and a mantis shrimp in another tank. There's plenty of clicking going on during the day. It's not annoying, maybe a little distracting because I always go look to see what they're doing.

 

My goby seems much happier and more comfortable with a pistol shrimp. At night, they close themselves up in the cave and go to sleep. I don't ever hear clicking at night (after the lights turn off). I would recommend a pistol shrimp with your goby if you're going to add a sixline or other potentially aggressive fish since the pistol shrimp will make sure the goby has a place to hide if anything tries to pick on it.

 

I can't recommend the cleaner shrimp enough. I have two and they're an absolute hoot... much more entertaining than the sixline.

 

I also have a pom pom crab and an emerald crab who only come out at night--boring!

[Reeftech]

I have a fang blenny in mine and he is very active.Always up front finds the craziest places to sleep.That is him sleeping on the faux jellyfish.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGuthT0lxc

[Islandoftiki]

Oh, I forgot. Here's a video of my gang...

 

[1.0reef]

Sixline wrasse and larger clownfish will get too large or too active.

[patback]

As long as there is nothing pestering it like my peppermint shrimp did, mine never clicks. Maybe once a month I'll hear 1 or 2 clicks an that's about it. Unless you are a very, very light sleeper, I don't see it being a problem.

[venturalvn]

I have a fang blenny in mine and he is very active.Always up front finds the craziest places to sleep.That is him sleeping on the faux jellyfish.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGuthT0lxc

 

Oh, I forgot. Here's a video of my gang...

 

 

Thanks for the vids guys!

 

Well I've decided I guess I'll go with the shrimp to pal around with the goby, and a single clownfish. My girlfriend wants a clownfish, and I really don't feel comfortable putting a 6-line wrasse in there. TBH I don't really want to put a clown in there, but with one goby I don't want him fighting for "goby dwelling space" with any others, and I'm over damselfish. Also any of the hawkfish I've seen don't really move around too much. Seems like a single clown is the best option for a 10g...