Nano Stocking Levels - Confused!

[Ami]

Hi guys

I started looking at setting up a nano tank last year but decided to concentrate on my FW and BW instead. I'm now considering upgrading the FW, and want to use my 109l (24g UK / 29g US) tank as a nano.

I've been reading through the marine and now the new nano section (woohoo!) for awhile now, but still won't be going ahead until I'm absolutely sure I know what I'm doing!

About stocking levels, the PFK calculator says I can have:

reef - initial 7cm fish / max 15cm
fish only - initial 15cm / max 29cm fish

Most nanos are reefs, but I see most of the established tanks that are smaller than mine have already exceeded the recommended reef stocking level of 7cm. What is do you guys think would be the recommended level for my 109l?

PS - is the nano under 20g (ok, I know some argue 30g!) in UK or US measurements? I'm presuming US so I would just make it?

Ami

 

[Fish Fingers]

For a tank that size I woudl say 4-5 small fish.

 

[Ami]

For a tank that size I woudl say 4-5 small fish.

Ok, what do you mean by small - Common clown fish size (up to 5cm?), or less?

 

[Fish Fingers]

Yeah something like a clownfish would be consider small.

 

[steelhealr]

I have a 24G US....I wouldn't go more than five unless they are VERY small (eg, neon gobies, clown gobies). In general, to be safe, stocking is much more critical in a marine tank than FW and you really want to resist the urge most of us had with FW.

-stay with fish that won't exceed 3 inches (?7cms)
-if you want a larger fisher, cut back on the numbers; as in FW, a 5 inch fish in a nano puts out much more ammonia than a 2 inch fish
-make sure you research them out re: ease of feeding, territoriality, etc

Welcome aboard...you'll love it. SH

 

[Ami]

Thanks FishFingers.

SH - so that would be 4-5 fish up to 7cm in length? I guess that's a total of 28-35cm, so more smaller fish if they didn't exceed that would be okay, bearing in mind eating habits etc?

Neon and Clown Gobies seem like the exact type of fish I would be considering. They're apparently reef safe, does that mean that they're automatically invert compatible or does it mean that they're not excessive grazers?

I've made a mini-list of fish to investigate (only because these ones are readily available in my local LFS), but was wondering what you guys think of them here:

All apparently suited to a peaceful tank, ok with inverts and stats of 24-26c, pH 8.3-8.4, SG 1.023-1.027

Common Clownfish - max 5cm
Blue Chromis - max 5cm, shoaling
Cherub Angelfish - max 7.5cm, can live in a small group
Cleaner Wrasse - max 10cm
Spotted Cardinalfish - max 7.5cm, mostly nocturnal, can live in a small group
Midas Blenny - max 10cm, possible supposed to be a pair?
Mandarinfish - max 10cm, excretions thought to be poisonous
Longnosed Hawkfish - max 10cm, social, can live in small group
Catalina Goby - max 6cm, suited to species, short lived
Firefish - max 6cm, can live in small groups
Yellow Watchman Goby & Pistol Shrimp - max 5cm each although so many types of Pistol Shrimp and not sure which one the LFS had. Plus £50 for the pair! Although I fell in love with them when I first read a thread about them in the marine & reef forum.

With the larger fish, I would only have one of them as a specimen fish type thingie, although not sure if the Cleaner Wrasse would need to have other large fish to clean or if the Midas Blenny should be paired.

Still a lot of fish out there to consider, not to mention inverts etc, but these are ones I know I could get a hold of.

Ami

 

[bunjiweb]

Common Clownfish - No problems

Blue Chromis - Personally i think they are too active for a smaller tank, i'd reccomend at least 30Gallons

Cherub Angelfish - This is one of the dwarf angels and would be fine although as it is larger would restrict how many other fish you could have in the tank.

Cleaner Wrasse - Nope, needs a big tank so that there are plenty of pods and parasites for them to feed on. They always starve to death in small tanks.

Spotted Cardinalfish - Should be fine although remember to get a shoal of them.

Midas Blenny - I guess so although again would restrict how many other fish could potentially fit in the tank. Doesnt need to be paired though.

Mandarinfish - Nope, needs a big tank to graze for food, in a small tank unless it is more than a couple of years old it wont have anywhere near enough pods and other little critters to feast apon.

Longnosed Hawkfish - Nope, actually gets bigger than this, we have a 7" one at work and so personally i wouldnt put it in a tank smaller than 3ft.

Catalina Goby - No problems, although as you have rightly pointed out dont live long at all, so make sure you buy them small

Firefish - Should be no problems just make sure you have a good lid, no holes otherwise you will end up with a very dry firefish.

Yellow Watchman Goby & Pistol Shrimp - No probs although be careful with the pistol shrimp and smaller shrimps or other inverts/molluscs etc.

Ben

 

[Ami]

Common Clownfish - No problems

Blue Chromis - Personally i think they are too active for a smaller tank, i'd reccomend at least 30Gallons

Cherub Angelfish - This is one of the dwarf angels and would be fine although as it is larger would restrict how many other fish you could have in the tank.

Cleaner Wrasse - Nope, needs a big tank so that there are plenty of pods and parasites for them to feed on. They always starve to death in small tanks.

Spotted Cardinalfish - Should be fine although remember to get a shoal of them.

Midas Blenny - I guess so although again would restrict how many other fish could potentially fit in the tank. Doesnt need to be paired though.

Mandarinfish - Nope, needs a big tank to graze for food, in a small tank unless it is more than a couple of years old it wont have anywhere near enough pods and other little critters to feast apon.

Longnosed Hawkfish - Nope, actually gets bigger than this, we have a 7" one at work and so personally i wouldnt put it in a tank smaller than 3ft.

Catalina Goby - No problems, although as you have rightly pointed out dont live long at all, so make sure you buy them small

Firefish - Should be no problems just make sure you have a good lid, no holes otherwise you will end up with a very dry firefish.

Yellow Watchman Goby & Pistol Shrimp - No probs although be careful with the pistol shrimp and smaller shrimps or other inverts/molluscs etc.

Ben

Thanks for your reply Ben, that helps me cut some things out straightaway. With the neon and clown gobies mentioned by SteelHair, are they invert compatible? I'm not sure if this is what 'reef safe' means?


Ami

 

[bunjiweb]

reef safe is the same as invert compatible generally, although it can also mean that they aren't coral eaters. Clown gobies and neon gobies are both perfect additions to nano-reefs, i have 1 of either of those in my 15Gallon nano.

Ben

 

[Ami]

reef safe is the same as invert compatible generally, although it can also mean that they aren't coral eaters. Clown gobies and neon gobies are both perfect additions to nano-reefs, i have 1 of either of those in my 15Gallon nano.

Ben

Oh good, I'm a huge fan of gobies so will probably end up with a pair of common clowns and lots of gobies! Well, as many as I can safely fit in that is.

Thanks for your help.

Ami

 

[hutsler]

I am new to this but I was under the impression that you should only have 1 type of goby in a tank unless the tank is larger don't take my word for it but I would do some research on that

 

[Aquascaper]

Scrub the Catalina Goby off the list
The reason they are short lived is that they require lower water temperatures than most other fish and die quickly in higher temperatures. The last thing you want in a Nano is a fish that dies with temperature fluctuations as this can be hard to regulate with the small water volume and (usually) high powered lights.

 

[Navarre]

Yep aqua is right, they need lower temperatures and will shorten their lifespans when in tropical waters. Citrus gobies and clown gobies are great additions... My favorites are the poison fagg blennies, Rainsford and Hectors gobies.

Its possible to have more than 1 species of goby or blenny in a tank but you have yo make sure they are completely different species and colourations etc.

 

[Aquascaper]

Its possible to have more than 1 species of goby or blenny in a tank but you have yo make sure they are completely different species and colourations etc.

Same goes for Dwarf Angels if you chose to put more than one in a tank (not recommended in your tank though)

 

[steelhealr]

I think that even same family but different species is a risk. Eg, putting different types of clowns in a tank won't guarantee territorial conflict. SH