Stocking options for a 13.5 gal reef tank

[Xenomorph]

Hello,

i have a 13.5 gal tank that has been running for a few months and I was wondering what fish would be good for this small reef tank. Was thinking about a damsel and a goby or two but would that be too much for this sized tank?

any info helps

[Snow_Phoenix]

2 hours ago, Xenomorph said:

Hello,

i have a 13.5 gal tank that has been running for a few months and I was wondering what fish would be good for this small reef tank. Was thinking about a damsel and a goby or two but would that be too much for this sized tank?

any info helps

Hi. Welcome to NR! I would avoid doing damsels - they are beautiful, but most of them can be jerks.

 

How about a nice clownfish pair and a single small goby or blenny like a TSB/GCG/YCG?

[NaturallyKait]

I have a 13.5g evo, and have a pair of clownfish and a yellow clown goby. We got the goby first to let him get established in the tank before adding the more aggressive clowns and so far so good 😊

[Xenomorph]

Hm ok thanks but is there other stocking option s that don't include clownfish? It's  just because they are not common where I'm at and I don't want to mail order fish if I can

 

and I also have a massive hair algae problem since I used ocean water to help start the tank up so would a two spot blenny be good for controlling it or is there a better fish

[Clown79]

There are a few damsels that have good personalities.

 

Yellow tail, springeri, Talbot, starcki, are known to be decent choices.

 

Blue devil- well the name says it all. Lol.

 

There are other options than clownfish

 

Bangaii cardinal- pretty cool looking and gently swims around

 

pj cardinal

 

firefish- the purple is great. Good personality.

 

tail spot blenny, bicolor blenny- blennies are characters, super cute. Love em. 

 

clown gobies- some can spend a lot of time hiding, some don't easily eat, can go after coral. Depends on the fish.

 

watchman gobies(small species, not diamond)- super cute, stays around the bottom

 

royal gramma- stands out but can stay around rock work. Some have had issues with them being jerks

 

pygmy wrasse- really different looking and has positive reviews

 

 

[Xenomorph]

Could 3-5 yellow cardinalfish be happy in there if they were the only ones? Also how many bangaii cardinals could be in there with a 2 spot blenny 

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, Xenomorph said:

Could 3-5 yellow cardinalfish be happy in there if they were the only ones? Also how many bangaii cardinals could be in there with a 2 spot blenny 

In that small of a tank 5 fish is overload and groups of this fish are listed for larger tanks.

 

You may be able to get away with 2 bangaii's(should be a pair) and a tsb

[Xenomorph]

hm ok and is the tsb good for controlling hair algae?

also where do you get a pair of bangaii's?

[mcarroll]

On 8/28/2019 at 7:35 AM, Xenomorph said:

I also have a massive hair algae problem since I used ocean water to help start the tank up so would a two spot blenny be good for controlling it or is there a better fish

You are the #1 member of your cleanup crew.  

 

When a bloom gets mature, the owner is often the only one who can handle it.  

 

You need herbivorous snails to keep the areas you pick clean from growing back.

 

Can you post a full tank shot?

[Xenomorph]

It's gotten worse over the last week since Ive been busy with a move and what snails would be good?

[mcarroll]

Whoo-ee!  That tank looks finger-pickin' good!

 

Hand pull 99.9% of that.

 

Then add up to about 1 turbo snail (or equivalent) per gallon to keep the algae down.  

 

I would only add 2 or 3 at once to see how they do before you decide if you need more.  (But don't be too shocked if you end up with around a dozen.)

[xthunt]

On 8/28/2019 at 4:30 PM, Clown79 said:

There are a few damsels that have good personalities.

 

Yellow tail, springeri, Talbot, starcki, are known to be decent choices.

 

Blue devil- well the name says it all. Lol.

 

There are other options than clownfish

 

Bangaii cardinal- pretty cool looking and gently swims around

 

pj cardinal

 

firefish- the purple is great. Good personality.

 

tail spot blenny, bicolor blenny- blennies are characters, super cute. Love em. 

 

clown gobies- some can spend a lot of time hiding, some don't easily eat, can go after coral. Depends on the fish.

 

watchman gobies(small species, not diamond)- super cute, stays around the bottom

 

royal gramma- stands out but can stay around rock work. Some have had issues with them being jerks

 

pygmy wrasse- really different looking and has positive reviews

 

 

Just picked up a Azure/Kupang damsel the other day for my final fish. Supposed to be a decent one along the lines of Springeri etc. The color on the fish is unreal. 

[Xenomorph]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

Whoo-ee!  That tank looks finger-pickin' good!

 

Hand pull 99.9% of that.

 

Then add up to about 1 turbo snail (or equivalent) per gallon to keep the algae down.  

 

I would only add 2 or 3 at once to see how they do before you decide if you need more.  (But don't be too shocked if you end up with around a dozen.)

Ive been doin go that but Its grown into the lava rock it's on so it keeps coming back

[Garf]

That is a pretty deep sand bed. Did you finalize your fish list yet? Some kind of sand sifting goby might be nice in there. 

 

BTW, I have an evo 13.5 also, two clowns and a tail spot blenny in it. Added the blenny after the two clowns (they were established a few months before), and they could care less about each other. 

[Xenomorph]

Haven't finalized the fish yet but I do want a TSB but would it fight with a sand sifter? Also i have some sort of sifting worm in the tank that keeps the sand from getting black and disgusting 

[Clown79]

17 hours ago, Xenomorph said:

It's gotten worse over the last week since Ive been busy with a move and what snails would be good?

This is going to take work and I wouldn't add anymore fish until this is under control.

 

Did you use lava rock in the tank or was that a typo? 

 

Have you tested your nutrient levels?

 

What is your maintenance routine and what's in the filtration.

[Xenomorph]

Filtration is chemical bio and mechanical

yea I used a mix of lava rock and coral pieces

ive tested nutrient levels and everything appeared normal but that was before the move and I haven't tested it since then

maintence routine consists of removing the algae and then scrubbing the sides and scraping the rocks clean

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, Xenomorph said:

Filtration is chemical bio and mechanical

yea I used a mix of lava rock and coral pieces

ive tested nutrient levels and everything appeared normal but that was before the move and I haven't tested it since then

maintence routine consists of removing the algae and then scrubbing the sides and scraping the rocks clean

Lava rock isn't the best for SW, and depending on where it was collected from can differ from the rock breaking down, ph buffering issues, leaching, and lack of biological filtration. 

 

It might be better to buy liverock and remove the lava rock completely. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone. Gets rid of the inefficient rock and algae.

 

Are you vacuuming the sand during waterchanges?

How do you maintain the back chambers and media?

[Xenomorph]

I take the back filters and wash them with freshwater every 2 weeks and I haven't done a water change yet because of the move but I'm planning on doing it this week

hm ok any place you recommend for buying good live rock?

[Clown79]

31 minutes ago, Xenomorph said:

I take the back filters and wash them with freshwater every 2 weeks and I haven't done a water change yet because of the move but I'm planning on doing it this week

hm ok any place you recommend for buying good live rock?

I'm not in the US so I am not really sure.

[Xenomorph]

Hm ok

[Gravity]

It seems like most people use dry rock. Bulkreefsupply or marinedepot are good sources. Live rock seems pretty hard to find and is expensive to ship. Best bet would be to find some at a local fish store.

 

Stocking Suggestion

- Shrimp goby and pistol shrimp pair they are fun to watch and many varieties to choose from.  

[mcarroll]

On 8/31/2019 at 7:25 PM, Xenomorph said:

Ive been doin go that but Its grown into the lava rock it's on so it keeps coming back

Gotta do it more frequently AND get yourself plenty of snail backup to keep the areas clean where you work.

 

Can you post your most recent test results for nitrates and phosphates?

 

How is coraline algae growth?

[Xenomorph]

Hand no coralline algae growth to my knowledge

update ive taken out all of the lava rock and left the coral bits and I have 3 turbo snails atm and I might pick up 3 more next week and so far they have controlled the algae that's left

[Tired]

When did your tank finish cycling, and have you done a water change on it, ever? 

 

What's living in it currently? 

 

I'd say a shrimpgoby and a tiger pistol or similar large shrimp, maybe a clown goby (it should stay out of the way of the others) or a tiny wrasse. One of the small damsels might work, but only the little ones, so not a domino or another larger one like that.