Fish Stocking Questions

[wjugovich]

Currently I have a 56g reef tank with a pair of clowns and a half dozen small frags.I also have my old Mandarin, at the local fish shop, waiting for my tank to develop more.I'm looking at a pair of Flame Angels and/or possibly a pair of Picasso clowns.

Do I have a big enough tank to support multiple sets of clown fish?

How many fish would you recommend for that size tank? I have had many fresh water tanks, does the inch per gallon rule apply to salt and/or reef tanks?

I have a small tank (Amazon.com : Fluval SPEC Desktop Glass Aquarium, 2-gallon : Aquarium Decor : Pet Supplies) that I used to run plants in. What are good fish for a micro reef tank?

 

[tyler1503]

I personally wouldn't doing more than 1 pair of clowns in a tank smaller than 6 foot. Some people will say that's a bit extreme, but they can get incredibly aggressive.
The inch per gallon rule is not something we use in saltwater anymore. Imagine a 56 inch long grouper in your tank! The best advice I can give is to stock slowly and according to the fishes aggression and recommended tank space. Every tank is different in how many fish it can handle. If you notice too much aggression remove a fish or 2. Also if there's no aggression but your nitrates or phosphates start to rise you could consider removing a fish.
As for your 2 gallon tank there's no fish particularly rated for that size tank, but the smallest gobies may be ok. Look into clown gobies. I have 2 sand gobies in my 5gal and they're awesome fish, but I don't think they're found in the trade. Dwarf seahorses would be awesome too

 

[Rob Top1]

For the spec gobies are a good choice. Catalina goby Clown goby and the Citron are the ones that come to mind. Sea houses and perhaps yhd Neon Banded pipefish too. Personally I would look for a cool shrimp instead of fish. Any fish in a small Tsnk like that presents challenges

 

[1.0reef]

Catalina gobies are coldwater, and seahorses/pipefish can be even more difficult than mandarin fish.
For the small tank ORA breeds small gobies. Trimma, Eviota, Clown, Elacatinus, etc.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I feel you can do something of more significant size than gobies in a 56g tank.

A pr of flame angels likely wouldnt work, but a single one probably would.

As stated above mixing prs of clowns can be difficult, but possible. That being said, in a tank your size, getting all the clowns you would like as juveniles and adding them at the same time is a key factor to doing that successfully.

Small basslets, sunburst anthias, jawfish, or a blennie from the Genus Ecsenius are all also possibilities.

 

[tyler1503]

I feel you can do something of more significant size than gobies in a 56g tank.

A pr of flame angels likely wouldnt work, but a single one probably would.

As stated above mixing prs of clowns can be difficult, but possible. That being said, in a tank your size, getting all the clowns you would like as juveniles and adding them at the same time is a key factor to doing that successfully.

Small basslets, sunburst anthias, jawfish, or a blennie from the Genus Ecsenius are all also possibilities.

The gobies are for the 2 gal lol.
Good advice on the clowns.