Stocking Ideas For A 10

[james41683]

what would i be able to put in a standard 10 gallon tank, it measures 20"x12ishx12ish. itll have live rock and pretty good lighting(see other post for light specs). i would like a clown fish and maybe a firefish along with the clean up crew. would that work out? i do water changes every week so keeping water quality good wont be a problem.

 

[connorsbala]

That woudl be perfect
Both fish are compatiable with each other
Yep, CUC would be vital too. Go for 10 critters eg a Cleaner shrimp, 4 hermit crabs and 6 various types of snails to cover all types of algae etc
Good, 25% water change a week is great
If you choose to go with corals, you dont need to add any liquids for calcium etc as your water changes shall boost them up.
You also dont need a protein skimmer for that size tank. For my 12 UK gal, i dont. I run an Interpet PF3 (fr 3ft tank) with all media in it(phosphate remover etc) and a powerhead. I keep 2 clown fish and a cardinal along with coral, CUc and an anemone..... touch wood i havent had any probs yet, except for a pH drop which killed my cleaner shrimp as i lowered my powerhead, thus cutting down on surface aggitation.
I run an air-driven protei skimmer on my seahorse tank though as i was experiencing some oily surface scum and ill be feeding twice a day

Dont worry, marines not difficult at all! Good luck

 

[steelhealr]

I will always post that I am against putting a clownfish in a 10G tank. Many do that....I think it's 'unfair'. Although there is no scientific recommendation, most aquarists say 30G's or over. I think a 20 is somewhat OK. You'll have to make that call. A firefish is an excellent choice as it prefers to stay in a darthole.....a yellow watchman is another great choice....green or yellow clown gobies are also good choices.

JMO

SH

 

[james41683]

I will always post that I am against putting a clownfish in a 10G tank. Many do that....I think it's 'unfair'. Although there is no scientific recommendation, most aquarists say 30G's or over. I think a 20 is somewhat OK. You'll have to make that call. A firefish is an excellent choice as it prefers to stay in a darthole.....a yellow watchman is another great choice....green or yellow clown gobies are also good choices.

JMO

SH

i could always trade in the clown once it gets bigger, right now the ones at the store were barely and inch. but i may not even get one. im pretty set on a firefish, but i know they hide alot and id like something that can actually be seen often.

 

[Crazy fishes]

I believe the reason for firefish hiding a lot is that they are actually a shoaling fish hunting in large groups. When we stick them in our tanks we put one, maybe two, on their own and this leads the fish to be easily 'spooked'. Certaining around my LFS they have the reputation of 'jumpers' for this reason; a little thing spooks them and they go 'free willy' on you (provide your tank is topless like when using halide lighting). Just a small point for interest.

Regards

 

[n3ont3tra]

IME firefish only really hide if they have something to be afraid of. When my tank had just a firefish in it, he was out all the time. But then I added a midas blenny and he stayed closer to his hole. Now I've rearanged the rocks so he has his own place where the other fish can't really see him but we can, and he seems happy.

For the clowns, I think the main reason SH and other people (me) don't like them in smaller tanks is because of how active they are. My clown swims around my tank a lot and I don't think it would be fair to keep it in a ten gallon.

Another fish you could have in addition to the firefish is a cardinal, like a pajama cardinal. They don't swim around much, they just kind of drift, but they have a nice pattern and are almost always out where you can see them.

You could also have a mated pair of firefish.

 

[steelhealr]

Agree with the cardinal rec. They are a 'show' fish, but, quite boring. They look spectacular but they are mid tank 'hangers'. SH

 

[james41683]

Agree with the cardinal rec. They are a 'show' fish, but, quite boring. They look spectacular but they are mid tank 'hangers'. SH

what about a damsel, the store has a few different kinds of them.

 

[@ombomb]

"damsel" is a fairly wide term

they have a name for being aggressive and fairly unpleasant towards anything in a tank with them, but this isn't always the case. tend to look nice when juvenile but lose colour as the mature.

all very general though without knowing which type you are looking at.

 

[steelhealr]

Was never a big fan of damsels as per ombomb. SH