Fishy!

[Chew_Magna]

Hola! My 10 gal has been doing great, so I finally decided it was time for a fish. When I got into saltwater I was more focused on the corals, but lately I've gotten really interested in fish as well. I picked up a "nano" ocellaris clown at work. He's small, around one inch. Doesn't do a whole lot except stay around the top of the tank. I'm hoping to get some sort of small anemone for him to host later on. We have a misbar that I was going to get but I ended up with this guy. I may get the other later :-)

 

I'm thinking of adding a couple later on down the road. I'm really liking the black or panda clown goby, the court jester goby, high fin goby, and bangaii cardinal. Someday... I'll have a scooter as well. Yes I know their requirements. We have one at work, a young one, that already accepts frozen. I'll be adding a second AC30 just to make a pod breeding ground for him. I also have my tank overstocked on rock for this reason.

 

Speaking of the tank, I'll be upgrading to a 15 gal soon, so hopefully I can get all the fish I want in it.

 

After I go up to the 15 gallon do you guys think I could get all the fish listed in the tank? Minus the second ocellaris. I purposely picked very small fish to maximize the fish per gallon ratio.

 

My current livestock is a few coral, 4 hermits, one emerald, around 9 snails and the clown. Besides the fish listed above I'm hoping to add a skunk or coral banded shrimp.

[1.0reef]

In a 10 gallon I would only have 2 small fish since the occy clown will get up to 3 inches...

[1.0reef]

Hola! My 10 gal has been doing great, so I finally decided it was time for a fish. When I got into saltwater I was more focused on the corals, but lately I've gotten really interested in fish as well. I picked up a "nano" ocellaris clown at work. He's small, around one inch. Doesn't do a whole lot except stay around the top of the tank. I'm hoping to get some sort of small anemone for him to host later on. We have a misbar that I was going to get but I ended up with this guy. I may get the other later :-)

 

I'm thinking of adding a couple later on down the road. I'm really liking the black or panda clown goby, the court jester goby, high fin goby, and bangaii cardinal. Someday... I'll have a scooter as well. Yes I know their requirements. We have one at work, a young one, that already accepts frozen. I'll be adding a second AC30 just to make a pod breeding ground for him. I also have my tank overstocked on rock for this reason.

 

Speaking of the tank, I'll be upgrading to a 15 gal soon, so hopefully I can get all the fish I want in it.

 

After I go up to the 15 gallon do you guys think I could get all the fish listed in the tank? Minus the second ocellaris. I purposely picked very small fish to maximize the fish per gallon ratio.

 

My current livestock is a few coral, 4 hermits, one emerald, around 9 snails and the clown. Besides the fish listed above I'm hoping to add a skunk or coral banded shrimp.

And court jester gobies mostly eat film algae and can be a large pain to feed, Scooter Dragonets eat only pods and even with prepared foods have to have a LOT of pods. Don't get one. I would upgrade the AC30 to an AC 70 or 110 too.

[Rollermonkey]

You've got like five fish listed there, plus the clown.... Three of them are gobies. In a tank that small, the gobies could end up going after each other. The clown may be small now, but it's going to grow. Wait, are there two clowns in this mix?

 

I don't think it's going to be enough real estate for 6 or 7 fish. Two full grown clowns will start to be crowded in 10 gallons.

[Chew_Magna]

That's what I was wanting to know. I know 2 clowns need around 30 gallons once grown. The rest of the fish, including the scooter, were the ones I was wanting the info on. Even though these guys are super tiny you still say 2 max in a 10-15 gal? I could possibly go for a 20l but I really like the depth on the 15 gallon. Plus my light won't fit a 20l without some new type of mounting.

 

I just realized I sound just like a customer I had today. "I want at least 2 fish in my 2.5 gallon tank I just set up 3 days ago. What do you mean I can't put fish in yet?"

 

So, gobies. I've always read one of a type in a small tank. Does that mean gobies in general? I couldn't put a high fin and a clown together? I thought it meant the same of a specific fish.

 

I didn't know that about the jester. Don't recall anything like that on live aquaria.

 

Ok so let's narrow it down. Those were all the fish that I'd like to have. Let's assume that I already have the 15 gallon.I'll be getting that soon anyway. I already have the ocellaris. Jester is out if they're that specific to feed. The scooter is something I'm determined to make work. Even if I have to make a sump to support the pod population. But that's down the road. I wasn't going to attempt one anytime soon as it was.

 

That leaves the bangaii, high fin and clown goby. If I had to pick one of these it would be the clown, either black or panda. The bad thing is, the high fin is the only thing I can get local. None of the rest are available to order at the LPS in the area. Green clowns are always available though.

[Rollermonkey]

Every fish (and my CUC) I have I bought online. No complaints about LiveAquaria or ReefCleaners thus far.

 

As for which fish, the closer they are related and/or the more similar in appearance they are the more likely you will have problems.

 

For appearance, consider shape, body form, color, pattern and from different angles. Like a Yellow Wrasse and a Yellow Tang might be ok. But one may decide the other one is a threat. They are differently sized, different shape and form. The color and pattern are the same though.

 

Someone suggested I replace a recently jumped Dracula Goby with a High Fin Goby. (Much cheaper replacement) I decided against, because although the coloration is different, my Helfrichi firefish has a similar size, body shape and form. They might be fine together, but it's a question of what you are willing to risk.

[fretfreak13]

+1 to the above poster.

 

I'm just like you. I like tiny tanks and teeny fishies. I would nix the court jester all-together. You have obviously researched the feeding requirements of your wanted scooter dragonet, but if you do some research on the court jesters you'll find that they are even HARDER to feed. =( I would do this:

 

15 gallon:

1 Clown Goby

***1 High Fin Goby

1 Bangaii Cardinal

***1 Scooter Blenny (on prepaired foods)

and your clown.

 

That IS quite a bioload, and it all winds down to how much time you are willing to give to your tank for water changes and maintenance with all of those fishies.

 

***Be aware that both the scooter dragonet and the high fin goby are sand dwelling critters. The dragonet is probably the friendliest fish I've ever seen, but the high fin makes a burrow and will defend it. If there isn't enough sand space with your live rock for the little dragonet to get away from the high fin's territory, he/she may get hurt. Personally, I would pick one or the other with those two.

 

As well, I would nix the bangaii cardinal. IMO, they're really not all that interesting and I've seen some around 3" long.

 

Now, with that in mind, I would revise the list to something like this:

15 gallon:

1 Clown Goby

1 Scooter Dragonet

1 Clown

 

That list is a lot more realistic for a 15 gallon, but you'll then realize that two of your chosen fish like to "perch" on rocks rather than swim freely like your clown. However, they do all have their own "territories" at that point, seeing as the dragonet stays on the sand, the goby stays on the rocks/corals, and the clown free swims.

 

Hope this helps.

[Rollermonkey]

With 3 fish in a 15 gallon, you're going to need to watch parameters closely. If you choose to stock more, be ready to do water changes every couple days to keep the nitrates in check.

[1.0reef]

Yeah, I would drop the dragonet. It will be an insane PITA to feed. Prepared foods can barely sustain a scooter dragonet...

[Chew_Magna]

Great guys, thanks for the info. I knew most of this, I just wanted to run it by the people here before pulling the trigger. I've been looking at some blennies to take the place of the cardinal. Any suggestions on those? I like the "fang" type just because of what they are.

[1.0reef]

Fang blennies are really cool. Most get 4-5 inches but a few stay a bit smaller and more well suited to a 15 gallon. Smiths fang blennies are nice...

[fretfreak13]

Canary blennies are my favorite out of the "fang" blennies. We have one at the store I work at and he's got a lot of personality.

[Chew_Magna]

I'm really liking the white blenny (Smith's). I also REALLY like the harptail blenny. That may be a better fit due to it being more passive than the Smith's.