2 fish too many for a 7gal.?

[Glenn]

I would like to put a pair of Ocellaris clownfish in a 7gal. mini-bow. I would like to keep the bioload as low as possible so I thought about adding a 5gal. refugium to the system. In the refugium I plan on having a 3-4" DSB, LR, and some calurpa (any recomendations on sp.?). Would this off set the 2 fish? Thanks in advance.

[gobies]

Caulerpa recommendation: avoid the grape caulerpa! I had some and it went sexual, took out all the other grape stuff in the fuge tank, and got totally disgusting and full of hair algae. The spaghetti caulerpa, OTOH, is still doing pretty good.

[Catspa]

Ya you should be fine, as long they are small, but later down the road your going to have to move them to a bigger tank, Ocellaris can get quite large, over 4", and you don't want to stunt them. So if you get them small, under an inch, you could do ok for about 2 years.

in regards to a refugium, sure it'll help, but the bigger the better, and in reality, if you have the space, seting up a 20g refugium is just as easy as a 5- its the same setup, you just use a bigger tank, just pick up one used. juct my 2 cents

[printerdown01]

I agree with Catspa, the only way that I could say that this would def work is if they were small. As they start to grow you will need a fuge... I say a 10 (or a 20 as recommended by catspa). Even then I don't know how happy the pair will be a few years down the road, when they are grown. -it will work from a nutrient stand point, I'm just not sure about swimming space. As much as clowns like to stay in one area, they also really enjoy venturing out... But it is possible... 3+ years down the line you will probably have a new system or a friend with a larger tank anyway. Why two? Just want to make sure you know that clowns can be happy as singles too... If you like the way the pair looks, cool.

[Glenn]

Thanks guys for the responses. I should have figured that the 16" width was a little confining. I think I'll check into a 20gal long. Do you guys think that will work better?

printerdown01: the reason I wanted 2 was so that they would pair up down the road and maybe take a frogspawn, torch, or hammer as a possible host. I know that they don't have to be in pairs and that they are perfectly happy without a host (especially tank raised) but I just preffer it.

[mattdog]

Two clowns in a 20L should be fine. I got mine in one right now with a yellow tailed damsel (all is well people) and they are doing great. I once had these fish in a 7g. It's just too small for two. You could probably set up a 20g for about the same price as the 7g; at least equipment wise.

 

HTH,

Matt

[harbingerofthefish]

So lets open this up to a "Benifits of the Refigum" post. Along the same lines, if Glenn added a 5 gal ref. to his 7 gal tank, what essentially would the tank size be? 12? I know having two 4" fish in the 7 side is a little drastic. I guess what I'm really trying to ask, is you know the whole FW rule of thumb 1" of fish for @ 1 gal, and in SW I've heard 1" for @ 4 gal. Is this rule of thumb due to bioload? Natural food supply? growing Room?

 

so for example you have a 7 gal. and plop in a neon gobie. they can grow to 2" a piece (2x4=8 gal) . Already to much by the rule of thumb. But would it be safe to add another fish of about equal size and general disposition?

 

like say a psudochromis and a neon gobie?

 

what if you added the refugium?

[Dave ESPI]

" WELL MY LFS SAIUD that I could keep inch of fish per gallon...... "

SO MY 8 INCH OSCAR WILL BE HAPPY IN A 10 GALLON TANK..... RIGHT?

X) :x

 

hehh. 2fish will be fine in the 7. what concerns me is that ya have a 3 inch DSB in it. Not much room fer water. Add a 10 gal sump on it. ya will be fine.

OR get a 20 Long. They make for nice reefs.

[jdiver]

I think you also need to take into consideration the fish itself. For instance, a 1" Clownfish is going to add a lot more to the bioload than a 1" Clown Goby. BTW, in my 7 gallon bowfront I have a false perc and a clown goby with no problems whatsoever.

[anthony812]

DoN'T Bother with the DSN in your refugium, you don't have enough surface area for it, in regards to what is the purpose of a refugium??????? Our club meeting this month SCMAS, our main topic was on refugium..we (30 somethign that showed up) couldn't even get a definite answer for its main purpose, so many people have so many ideas. I will like to share on some of the points that people pointed out from there:

 

1. Nature Algae Scrubber: It has been know (since the 60s) to built a refugium with Macroalgaes to reduce the algae growth in your main tank, hence the macro will consume most of the stuffs that algae needs to bloom.

 

2. REFUGium: to refuge the little pods and worms that would be prey upon in the main tank, the refugium will provide them a safe area for growth and reproduce/ hence a balanced system which if pods are carried into the main tank, it will be treats for the fish and corals. As most corals still consume on Zooplanktons, not Phytoplanktons.

 

3. Nature De-Nitrator: Grows MAcro Alage such as cleurpa will use up Nitrates in the water and also absorb harmful metal substances. Hence, keepign the water clean. Use a DSB then you have an area that is at least bigger than 24"x12" to be effective.

 

4. Visual: It is just so much funn watching the little bugs crawling around the refugium then the corals in the main tank..hahahahaha... I have seen some refugium that were built to look better than the main tank. You may also use it as a holding or cutting tank for your frags or new arrivals.

 

if you guys have more things to add, please feel free to do so...peace out!