# Choosing the right animals for my tank.. help?



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I have a 10 gallon tank. My original plan was to get a pair of true percula clownfish and hopefully have them host green star polyps once they grew in.

But I am also partial to gobys/blennys, and shrimp. The small Chromis that I've seen at several stores look really appealing as their shimmer and shoaling behaviour are really neat.

I don't have a lid on my tank. Water quality is pretty good for a noob and I have a decent clean up crew.

What are some suggestions? I'd like activity and movement in the tank without small-homing my fish.

Thanks in advance for you suggestions.

Edit: here is the layout of my tank.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

10g is pretty small...I think if you put a pair of clowns in, you are basically stocked up. Clowns look small when you purchase them, but the females can actually grow quite large (both Ocellaris and True Percs). If you want my opinion, 30g would be my minimum for a pair of clowns.

Chromis act, and survive better in groups of 15+ (1000+ if you can!!).

You might be able to get away with a small shrimp goby w/ pistol shrimp along with a pair of clowns though, but again, I think the tank is a bit small.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

you can stock a pair of clowns or any small goby. 
clowns are fine just sell them when they are too big.

you are very limited by your tank size.
i have a 12 gallon, i am currently keeping baby 3 clowns, 1 small damsel, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 red blood shrimp, 1 sand sifter goby, 1 lawn mower blenny. 
stocked to the max. i am only keeping them temporary in this tank and will transfer most of them into my 30 gal biocube soon.
i could probably keep them in there for a while as long as they dont grow too quickly haha

by the way do you have a sump or filter connected to your nano tank?
i am curious about what equipment you are using


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

liveaquaria will give you a good idea on what fish you can have in your tank


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Chris S said:


> 10g is pretty small...I think if you put a pair of clowns in, you are basically stocked up. Clowns look small when you purchase them, but the females can actually grow quite large (both Ocellaris and True Percs). If you want my opinion, 30g would be my minimum for a pair of clowns.
> 
> Chromis act, and survive better in groups of 15+ (1000+ if you can!!).
> 
> You might be able to get away with a small shrimp goby w/ pistol shrimp along with a pair of clowns though, but again, I think the tank is a bit small.


I agree on the Chromis- they do look pretty with their shimmering scales, but WAY better in schools. I have a school of only 6, and wish that I could have even more. 1000+ Chromis would be AWESOME, Chris!

Just go with the pair of clowns and give them an anemone in a few months. A cleaner shrimp and a goby could be added too, but just stay on top of your water changes and use a skimmer.

Personally I'd throw in some hermits too. I know some people say they eat snails, but I think they are worth it for comic relief. I've only had them bother snails that couldn't right themselves, which was actually a relief to me because I was sick of flipping the snails back upright. Mine have never bothered my healthy Astreas, Ceriths, or Nassarius snails. They just goof around wrestling each other, skydiving off the powerhead, and eating leftover crap and stuff. IMHO, the more movement in the tank the better.


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## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

50seven said:


> Personally I'd throw in some hermits too. I know some people say they eat snails, but I think they are worth it for comic relief. I've only had them bother snails that couldn't right themselves, which was actually a relief to me because I was sick of flipping the snails back upright. Mine have never bothered my healthy Astreas, Ceriths, or Nassarius snails. They just goof around wrestling each other, skydiving off the powerhead, and eating leftover crap and stuff. IMHO, the more movement in the tank the better.


Here Here! Such clowns!


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

The chances of clowns hosting GSP is very very slim... infact, its hard to get them to host anything you want them to.

Without a lid you will have problems keeping any of the gobys. Clowns arent known to jump, but it can happen.

Use liveaquaria, enter your tank size and it will give you fish suggestions.

If you can only have 1-2 fish, clowns may not be the best option. While they are fun to watch, they dont have much personality. Blenny's would be an option, as they people watch.... Sixline wrasses are also fun to watch


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Kweli said:


> The chances of clowns hosting GSP is very very slim... infact, its hard to get them to host anything you want them to.
> 
> If you can only have 1-2 fish, clowns may not be the best option. While they are fun to watch, they dont have much personality.


No personality? IDK but maybe try tomato clowns. Mine DO have personality, LOL. She is a nagging bitch and he is a helpless romantic. Lately the've been getting cozy...  Hosted my BTA in less than 24 hours.

That's just my experience, though tomatos are often a bit bigger than percs.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

By the way, Id add a few astrea snails... they will eat up that algae


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## BBOSS (Jan 30, 2010)

50seven said:


> No personality? IDK but maybe try tomato clowns. Mine DO have personality, LOL. She is a nagging bitch and he is a helpless romantic. Lately the've been getting cozy...  Hosted my BTA in less than 24 hours.


This is exactly the experience I have with my Percula pair.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I have 4 blue leg hermits, 3 nassaurius and 3 small black turbo snails. The algae in that pic is mostly gone now. I can't get into certain spots of the tank with my hand so I'll let the snails eventually get to those spots.

All my equipment and my build stuff is posted in the link in my signature for my Nano Contest Reef Tank. 

I still do not have a skimmer yet so adding a fish will have to wait. But it's good to get ideas rolling. 


Also, I read from Kweli about a six-line wrasse.. isn't that too big for my tank?


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,

I would hold off on the clowns, yes they are fairly small, but they do need room to roam, adding fish to a tank and then removing them a few months later just adds unneeded stress. Stick with fish recommended for small tanks, use Liveaquaria as suggested for possible fish options. Chromis also a big no.

Oh, the clown would be the guest, the anemone is the host 

HTH


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Kweli said:


> By the way, Id add a few astrea snails... they will eat up that algae


I'd avoid Astraea snails like the plague - they are cold water snails (collected deep) and have maybe a 1-2 month lifespan (if that) in most tropical reef tanks. Stick with the Tectus and Trochus.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Are you sure your not confused with margarita snails? I remember being told that those arent from 'reefs'

As for astreas, Ive had 8 for about 8 months now... they chomp on food day and night, never had any deaths... they have actually been growing at an alarming rate...

Scientific Name: Astraea sp.
Natural Environment:
Caribbean
Care:
Reef Suitability: Astraea snails are one of the best herbivores to include in the reef tank. They remain fairly small and so do not have the tendency to knock over stuff like the larger growing turbo snail.

Temperature: Does well within normal reef tank temperature ranges of 75-84°F.

The Margarita Snail does well in the home aquarium provided it is well established and has an ample algae source for the Margarita Snail to feed upon. For best care, they should be kept at* cooler water *temperatures with other peaceful tankmates. However, most Margarita Snails can adjust to an aquarium with a water temperature as high as 78 degrees Fahrenheit.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I think most people, including suppliers, mistaken astraea snails for tectus snails. They look quite similar.

The majority of astraea snails are found in tropical/sub-tropical regions, but quite deep so usually slowly cook in aquariums. Also, they are typically found in areas with no sand beds, and are completely unable to upright themselves (as they typically just fall into a crevice if they fall in the wild). Both the tectus and trochus snails can upright themselves (the tectus, albeit a bit slower!).

Margarita snails are also cold-water snails and have low survivability in warm aquariums. The similar looking nerites also typically have a high mortality rate, as they are found in shallow areas and need to be able to emmerge from the water occasionally.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Ken sold then to me so maybe then they are actually tectus snails...

Sent from my HTC Magic using Tapatalk


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi all,

Need more reading material 
The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin

I have to restock my tank also, my Checkerboard decimated my tank of snails


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

My pair of Ocellaris clowns were hosting GSP. But what sucked was that after lights'out when the GSP closed-in the clowns were left homeless for the night 
After a few months I got a hammer coral and they've been hosting it ever since. The hammer shrinks at night too, but not that much. 
After they were already hosting the hammer, I added a bubble tip anemone but they never seemed interested in it.
In any case, no matter what coral you want them to host, you need to wait until that coral has settled in, growing nicely and big enough for both of them, before you add the clowns. If you add them now, they will just chose a corner or some other spot in the tank and they'll just swim around it 
Do not overstock your tank, or else you will have HIGH nitrates no-matter what. In my 20G I used to have 5 fish (2 clowns, a velvet damsel, a yellow tail chromis, a yellow tail damsel), a cleaner and a blood shrimp, plus CUC. I constantly had high nitrate (50-80ppm) even with 20% weekly WC. I took out the velvet damsel and the yellow tail chromis, so I'm down to 3 fish and my nitrates went down to 20ppm.


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