Help with picking livestock for 1st tank

[Mobgil]

New to this whole thing. I have a 13.5 gallon fluval setup they sell. I have a good mentor type fella at my local coral shop. He advised me to make a list of fish and corals I might want and we can go thru and see what works. Basically I was thinking anemones and a couple clowns. My question from there is can someone help me with fish names of other fish that can coexist with the anemones and clowns and all live in harmony?? Any help is greatly appreciated, also please post pictures of your own nano tanks you are proud of, I would love to see what you all have done!

[spectra]

I think if you want a nem and clowns then that should be it. When it comes to fish in a small tank you need to think small and clowns will grow and then as they get bigger will be bullish towards other fish.

 

I am a no clown type person I think they are assholes..........had a black and white one in the 90s and she would bite my hand every time I tried to clean the tank.............

[empresto]

I love your scape! I think clowns and anemones in there would be super cool, but with that awesome scape you could go almost any direction and still have a great tank!  But I would also agree that 13.5 gallons with 2 clowns and anemones is probably a full tank as far as fish go. But there are some awesome inverts that pair well with that; anemone crabs, shrimp, snails, etc.

[stevie1493]

Hello Mobgil!

 

You are the lucky winner of my first post! Just joined tonight! I've been in the hobby since 2015 and am currently on my 3rd tank after my 2nd move...

 

In a tank that size it is wise to plan on stocking only a few small fish. I read a forum post that I cannot find a long time ago that categorizes small fish into 2 categories; I still use it when stocking today:

 

Group A - Small rock dwelling fish that never stray far from the caves and small crevices in the rock they call home. Some of them create burrows in the substrate and rarely if ever swim in the open water. Small gobies, basslets, pseudochromis, some blennies, and Jawfish fit this category. For a tank as small as yours I would recommend looking at the Yellow Clown Goby (a personal favorite), Tailspot Blenny, and Sharknose Goby. Do your research and stock no more than 2 fish from category A in a tank 20g and under. In a tank that small I would do a fishless cycle and add them both at the same time to minimize any territory disputes, especially if adding pseudochromis.

 

Group B - Fish that are not open water swimmers, but generally hover around the reef structure or dart in and out of the rockwork. Our small tanks are limited in fish from this category that will thrive in such a small system. These fish include Firefish, dwarf angels (centropyge genus), Clownfish, cardinals, Chromis, Anthias, small wrasse, and Hawkfish. Unfortunately, a 13.5g system will not be adequate for most of these species. You are pretty limited to Clownfish, Firefish, pygmy wrasse/hawkfish (expensive), and maybe cardinals from this category. I would only choose 1 species from this category and get one or two fish, if they are available and compatible as a mated pair. Clownfish are a solid choice that I would probably go with in your situation.

 

If you follow this structure you will max out your fish stocking list at 4 fish, which I'm sure some will consider overstocked. I would not consider going over this limit. I would stick with fish at or under 3" in adult size for sure. Hope this helps!

 

Edit: Just thought to add also that minimum tank size can be deceiving. Creating a suitable habitat for the fish you want is the key. I mentioned pseudochromis earlier which are generally recommended for tanks twice the size of yours. A pseudochromis may feel comfortable in a 13.5g but probably not work with your scape because their habitat would need maybe 6 or so hidey holes to dart in and out of which I don't see in your picture. They would also be much more aggressive in a small tank so it might need to be a species tank or to keep it with maybe one other fish that wouldn't compete with its habitat. A lot more things to consider than just the size of the tank and size of the fish...good luck!

 

 

[rough eye]

i have that same tank. i don't think there are any anemones small enough for it, except for rock flower anemones, which aren't clown-friendly. i have 2 fish. 3 might be pushing it, depending what kind of fish. i don't think 4 would work.

 

that rock looks new and sterile. let the tank cycle for a long time before adding any livestock. find something to seed the tank first, like a piece of live rock or something.

[Clown79]

2 clowns are great but be aware that anemones likes bta's grow big and their growth can be quick.

 

If you are looking for the relationship between clowns and anemones, know that clowns won't always host anemones. They also host a slew of corals. 

 

Clowns are great. They are fun, quirky, and their relationship can be interesting.

 

In a 13.5 it would be best to stick with 2 clowns,

[banasophia]

Congrats on your new tank! If you really want to have bubble tip anemones and a pair of clownfish you can do that, but be sure to choose clownfish that will definitely take interest in the anemone, like ones that are actually being hosted in a nem at the LFS.
 

You’ll need to plan around the nems because they are likely to split and move around the tank, wreaking havoc on any corals you try to stock and can potentially block the intake grate or squeeze through it into the back chambers, or wander into your powerhead… I kept them in a nuvo 10 for a while… it was fun for a while… I wouldn’t do it again, although I’m glad I had the experience and I did really enjoy watching the nem host the clownfish. 
 

Another idea is that you can specifically try to find a clownfish that hosts in a coral though and buy the clownfish and coral together… so much better imo since the coral cannot move around the tank like a bta, so you can stock other corals in the tank. 
 

[Bigals-nano-1]

I have recently set up one of these tanks and have four fish (2 clowns, 1 dot dash blenny, 1 yellow watchman goby) in it along with some shrimp (2 cleaner shrimp, 5 sexy shrimp, 1 pistol shrimp) 2 hermit crabs, 2 turbo snails and 5 nassarius snails. I also have a fair amount of mixed corals in the tank that seem to be doing fine. I know that it is probably over stocked in some peoples view but I test the water parameters every second day, change the filter floss about 3 times a week, do daily dosing to keep everything stable and do a 20% water change once a week. I feed the tank lightly twice a day and everything/inhabitants seem to be loving life. I have not added any anemones in the tank as I feel it is a bit on the small side. If you haven’t already done so, I would look at upgrading the stock return pump to something with a bit more flow combined with a random flow generator fitted on the outlet, plug off the hole in the false wall, throw away the stock sponge filter and either replace it with in-tank baskets or a diy basket. I have also added in a nano wave maker to give that extra bit of water movement in the tank which seems to help. Even with this small tank there is no reason you can’t happily keep 3-4 fish as long as you keep up with good husbandry.