Ok i need 1 or 2 more fish to finish off the stocking of my 10 gallon... It currently holds a perc clown, a few hermits, some snails, a banded highfish goby, and a pistol shrimp... I would like the fish to be open swimmers if possible... also fish like a firefish look too much like the banded gobi... I hate clown gobys, I have considered Trimma Goby, but its kinda expensive and is gonna be reclusive, I looked at Urchin Clingfish, but they have feeding issues... Chromis and cardinals have crossed my mind, but they are more group type fish and possibly too large, Damsels are mean... Hawk fish might eat my inverts... Never been much of a wrasse person... I would also like to add a few more inverts (like anemone crabs) so keep that in mind. Please inclue a pic if you have any ideas... -me
have you thought about aTail Spot Blenny or Pearly Jawfish. Maybe both? The tailspot is an open swimmer pecks at the rocks I guess he's eating algae? The jawfish stays close to the bottom, very pretty to watch. Both are neat little fish with big personalities. If you do get an anemone/porcelain crab, be sure to get a host. they will take up in any type anemone, I have a rock/flower anemone that mine hang out in. I have heard they will die with out one?? Hope this helps
What about a Springer Damsel? They dont seem as pissy as a yellow tail... and they are really pretty...
in my experiance you can scratch out semi and add very. those little bastards are ruthless. look nito allenie damsels or 3 strip cardinals.
Alleni Damsel Visually appealing... Seems to only grow to about 3"... Needs more reseach, but seems to be a candidate worth considering... Pleas post a pic/Link to "3 Strip Cardinal"... I'm not actually sure which one you need... And my clown is BORING... BOOOOOOORING... And stupid... all he does is hover around my heater or swim at the top of the tank expecting food... I want something that interacts more with the environment... I would like to get him an Anemone, but that cuases issue of his own... and only makes him hover at the anemone and not the heater... -me
What's everyone think about stocking limits? I have always heard it should be something like 1" of fish per four (4) gallons of water and some say per (5 gallons), is this about right? If so, you might be overstock now in a 10 gal tank... food 4 thought... In a ten gallon tank this would only be one (1) full grown clown-fish. I know when I got my 34 gal. nano tank I was a bit shocked to realise this... with great maintenance I suppose you can push this a bit... but how far ??? What's everyone else think?
I think this is a great question! Can we give this question a sticky thread if we get a good response?? I know this is one of the #1 questions that new reefers have- or should ask. And would love to hear the other thoughts about this too.
the inch per gallon rule is completely useless imo. you can have two completely different fish that are the same size like a wrasse and tang and have a very significant difference in bio-load. certain fish are messier when they eat so excess food falls down and decomposes adding to the bio-load even when the food isnt getting ate and clean up crews usually arent an option for fish like this. the only true answer as to fish per gallons is your test kit. you can see when enough is enough or close to it. in reality your stocking is going to depend greatly on your husbandry. if you are diligent and stay on water changes over stocking is an option to an extent. if you want an easy to maintain tank then light stocking is the answer.
In this particular case... I have seen my Nitrates actually dropping as the extra base i added has started to become "Live"... When i first set it up with the new rock my readings were up around 20 PPM... after missing a change (meaning there were 2 weeks for nitrates to build up) it had dropped to 10 PPM (both readings were taken from "dirty" water)... I always take readings twice so im pretty sure they are correct... All the fish in the tank are young so i know their small size has something to do with the lack of chemical build up, but i make sure to let the tank do its thing for about a month b4 i get a new fish so that i can try not to over do it... Im trying to be responsible in this, but i'm pretty confident that i could easily maintian atleas 1 more 3ish inch fish (they do vary i realize that) and maybe even another smaller fish... possibly like the tail spot mentioned earlier... and a clown pair is a fairly common thing to stock in a 10 gallon (usually along with a blenny or some other fish) so i might be pushing it with 5 fish, but i think 4 would be reasonable... -me
