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20 Gal. Stocking Ideas?


Amaleec

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Hello everyone! I bought a Waterbox Cube 20 about 6 weeks ago and have done extensive research on corals, lighting, and fish. I have two questions.

 

1.) What should I consider in regards to stocking options? I’m open to any ideas!

 

I would love a clown and some fish that are active around the tank. What I had in mind was to purchase a springers damsel, a clown fish, and a clown goby. Maybe even adding a royal gramma. Would this be too much of a bio load? 

 

2.) I bought some soft corals and one head of euphyllia. I called my LFS (which is WWC) and they said to get some fish into the water ASAP to get some nutrients going for my euphyllia.

 

Will it be okay to add the euphyllia at the same time as the soft corals and without dosing any nutrients? Can I just feed it directly so it doesn’t need to pull nutrients from the water column?

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Hi and welcome... I would stay away from any damselfish as they can be a big PITA. The clownfish is a goog plan as well as some small gobies. The gobies are bottom dwellers though. A royal gramma likes to live under ledges and entrances of caves to hide when danger is near. 6 lined wrasse, pink streaked wrasse or possum wrasse would do well and move around a lot.

   WWC is your LFS... I am so envious!

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In my 20g I have a starcki damsel(awesome fish), clownfish, and bicolor blenny.

 

I feel 3 fish of these species is enough in a 20g.

 

If you go with small fish, you could do 4.

 

There are some damsels that aren't horrible, they have a bad rep because a few are very mean.

 

Starcki damsels

Springer's

Yellow tail 

 

Are the recommended damsels

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Well I have to take back what i said about damselfish being a big PITA. 

   As clown79 wrote, there may be a few peaceful suitable species. They can rival any clownfish in color and are pretty much bulletproof in a new system... after snorkeling in the Caribbean the most beautiful fish I saw would have been a juvenile jewel damselfish.

     It is mostly personal preference what you put in your tank. 

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5 hours ago, jambon said:

Well I have to take back what i said about damselfish being a big PITA. 

   As clown79 wrote, there may be a few peaceful suitable species. They can rival any clownfish in color and are pretty much bulletproof in a new system... after snorkeling in the Caribbean the most beautiful fish I saw would have been a juvenile jewel damselfish.

     It is mostly personal preference what you put in your tank. 

Also, with a 20g (especially if it's not a long), you've really only got room for one other fish if you go with clowns. Clowns themselves are pretty aggressive, and only get more aggressive the bigger and older they get - they can easily hold their own and when paired they team up to bully other fish (or your hand). I'd be more worried about a truly peaceful fish that is similarly sized to my clowns than another semi-aggressive fish. Plus, if the clowns have an anemone, how aggressive the 3rd fish is doesn't really matter.

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GetPsyched2124

I currently have a bangaii cardinal and a firefish in my 20 gallon. I was planning on getting a small pair of clowns to finish it off but to me, it seems that might overcrowd the tank so i've held off on that. I'd start with a plan on 3 fish, with the option for the 4th if you feel it would fit in regards to bioload and territory. 

 

if you do plan on getting a clown, or a damsel that may or may not be somewhat aggressive, it would be beneficial to add that fish last. add them in order of aggressiveness from least to most over time will might help to prevent tank aggression.

 

one of my favorite fish "relationships" i've had was one with a single clown and a court jester goby (which needs an established tank). the court jester would sift and pick at the sand and tiny rocks while the clown hovered around him and stared at him all day. sort of like a human with it's dog. it was uncommon and weird but neat to see.

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Damselfish get a bad rap imo. The chrysiptera damsels especially are small, active, and fairly laid back. They may also spawn if you keep more than one. (They’re sequential hermaphrodites like clowns, but they transition f>m vs clowns m>f)

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Okay. So I’ve been doing a lot of research, and getting a lot of mixed feedback. I was thinking of going ahead with two neon goby’s, a clown goby and a generic ocellaris clownfish (which will be added last). I think it’s would be a good mix of colors and a really light bioload. Any thoughts or possible concerns?

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