Stocking 20 gallon tank

[jorahx]

hey guys, trying to get some input on stocking my tank with some fishies. i am thinking about getting 4 fish max, dont want to over populate the tank. what do you guys think would get along and be suitable for a beginner?

 

so far my list is

 

1x clown

1x yellow goby (those little things hiding in corals look so cool)

1x  long nose hawkfish

1x  Green Chromis Damsel

1x  wrasse (dont know which one yet)

[tk3445]

I only keep 4 fish in my 40 gallon.

 

you might be able to squeeze 3 into a 20. depending on your filtration and water change routine 4 would be possible. The clown, hawkfish, and wrasse are semi aggressive  and is going to look to establish territory. I had a hell of a time even adding a 3rd fish to my 20 long when I had a pair of clowns. I eventually was successful adding an orchid dottyback... In my opinion I would consider skipping the hawkfish all together I don't think I would keep a hawk in anything less than a 30-40 gallon.

 

I think you could possibly have success with the chromis, goby and clown(added to the tank in that order.) or the Goby, clown, and a sixline wrasse (added in that order) always add the most aggressive fish last if possible. 

 

 

Chromis, Goby and Clown would be the ideal choice if this is your first tank at salt water as they tend to be a little hardier of fish in my experiences....

 

 

 

Good luck with the new build

 

[jorahx]

25 minutes ago, tk3445 said:

I only keep 4 fish in my 40 gallon.

 

you might be able to squeeze 3 into a 20. depending on your filtration and water change routine 4 would be possible. The clown, hawkfish, and wrasse are semi aggressive  and is going to look to establish territory. I had a hell of a time even adding a 3rd fish to my 20 long when I had a pair of clowns. I eventually was successful adding an orchid dottyback... In my opinion I would consider skipping the hawkfish all together I don't think I would keep a hawk in anything less than a 30-40 gallon.

 

I think you could possibly have success with the chromis, goby and clown(added to the tank in that order.) or the Goby, clown, and a sixline wrasse (added in that order) always add the most aggressive fish last if possible. 

 

 

Chromis, Goby and Clown would be the ideal choice if this is your first tank at salt water as they tend to be a little hardier of fish in my experiences....

 

 

 

Good luck with the new build

 

ive read that hawkfish like to perch on rocks so tend to be fine in smaller tanks. but idk.

[jesseatam]

7 hours ago, jorahx said:

ive read that hawkfish like to perch on rocks so tend to be fine in smaller tanks. but idk.

Hawks can get pretty big depending on the species. However, I think the issue would more be how territorial the fish would be in that space vs it being it not having enough space. You can definitely keep a hawkfish but just be aware it may limit your stocking options. If you're looking for other fish suggestions is there something in particular you're looking for? Like a certain color, open water swimmer vs percher, etc.

[gsechen]

In my 20g I stopped at 3 fish only.  A snowflake clown, chromis, and pygmy angel

[jorahx]

6 hours ago, jesseatam said:

Hawks can get pretty big depending on the species. However, I think the issue would more be how territorial the fish would be in that space vs it being it not having enough space. You can definitely keep a hawkfish but just be aware it may limit your stocking options. If you're looking for other fish suggestions is there something in particular you're looking for? Like a certain color, open water swimmer vs percher, etc.

ideally i want a ruby red dragonet, they tend to be small and colorful. but my tank doesnt have a good pod population.

 

so what about a pygmy filefish instead of the hawkfish?

'

 

[jorahx]

or 6 line wrasse?

[Menidia]

I had a sixline in my 20 gallon for a few years. It was actually quite well behaved, I had it with an ocellaris clown. It would posture sometimes when food was in the water but my clown just shrugged it off and nothing ever happened. Don't really know how they interact with more passive fish though. 

[jesseatam]

Pygmy filefish would be a nice peaceful option, they are reef-safe with caution however and have small mouths so that's something to be aware of. Divers Den has been selling ORA radial and pygmy whitespotted filefish pairs for around $100. Alternatively if you want a single instead of a pair you can order directly from ORA through Live Aquaria, I ordered a blackline blenny and a gorgonian like this and everything came in nicely so I can recommend it.