Fun New Fish?

[HowardJ02]

Hey guys! Thinking about a new fish for my 20 gallon in the future. Right now all I have is one clownfish.

I've been looking at three:
Royal Gramma
Yellow Watchman Goby
Yellow Clown Goby

Eventually, with the yellow watchman, I would add a pistol shrimp.
But at the moment, I feel like my sandbed isn't deep enough for the pair to do their burrowing?

The yellow clown gobies look cool but I've read mixed reviews on nipping coral. Mostly SPS which I don't have and don't really ever plan on having; But I don't want my LPS and softies messed with.

What are your thoughts? Is there another fish that's really fun to watch that would be good in my tank?

 

[Triggreef]

Royal gramma would probly be more "fun" but will be aggressive in a tank that size, and might be the last fish you'll be able to add. Any other dottyback would be similar but opens some options, i would add any other additions such as watchman first.

Watchman would be nice and you can always add more sand if needed.

Those clown gobi are boring and just sit around trying on to blend in.

Other thoughts for a tank that size, hawkfish, Cardinal fish, damsel, pipefish. That's about all i got.

 

[HowardJ02]

Thanks man!

I like the Bangai Cardinals. Never had luck with them in my old 29.

Would 1 cardinal be ok with my clown or are cardinals best in pairs or more?

 

[stevo01]

I think a yellow clown goby would be a good choice as long as you arent putting in sps corals. I have one in a pico and I think has a fun personality. They like to host corals and nems like the real clowns. Dont know if the clown goby would get beat up tho.

Watchman would be a good choice too. Maybe a pistol combo. Or a blenny.

 

[HowardJ02]

Just read a couple more articles.. one Bangai would be good!

What's anybody's experience with a yellow watchman? Are they out often or do they like to hide?

 

[HowardJ02]

Opinions on yellow tail damsel?

 

[mort]

I'm a fan of damsels but the tank would be more harmonious without it. They are better with more aggressive species or more space where they are less likely to bully anything.
The yellow goby would be good and they are fine with corals except sps. Your suggestion of a pistol shrimp pair is good as well and depth of sand isn't majorly important as the pistol will simply move it. Find where it goes and keep placing building material around that area. A mix of broken shells and different grain sized sand/rubble makes burrows more stable. A watchman would be OK on its own and in a quiet tank you'll likely see it most of the time.

Is there a reason you only have one clown? They are pair forming naturally and you'd never find one on its own so I'd only ever consider keeping them as a pair.

I've never found banggai entertaining. They don't really move during the day. Don't get me wrong they are a striking fish but active isn't the word I'd use to describe them.

A cool species to consider would be the barnacle blenny. Stays in its hide hole but when you feed comes to life. Blennies are also interesting to watch and something like a tailspin blenny would be a nice choice.

 

[helen ann]

I think a yellow clown goby would be a good choice as long as you arent putting in sps corals. I have one in a pico and I think has a fun personality. They like to host corals and nems like the real clowns. Dont know if the clown goby would get beat up tho.

Watchman would be a good choice too. Maybe a pistol combo. Or a blenny.

+1 for the blenny!
They have so much personality and are feisty as can be!

 

[Chrisfish]

+1
Tail Spot Blennys are also fun, I have one in my 30 gal. But I must admit if I hadn't had him first it would be the starry blenny for sure

 

[eatbreakfast]

In a 20g, I would not keep a pr of clowns if you wanted other fish in the tank. A spawning pr of clowns will claim a good amount of the space in the tank, and behave aggressively toward tankmates. A single specimen is less aggressive.

A blenny, yellow assessor, plectranthias, would be possibilities.

 

[HowardJ02]

Wow! Thanks for the help, guys!

The barnacle blenny does look neat!

The reason I only have one clown is because I bought a fowlr setup from a buddy and that's all he had in there. I'm slowly turning it into a reef with more critters.

 

[HowardJ02]

Still thinking about it.. I've read that fire fish need a "safe" spot (I.e. Caves, holes, etc.)
Do you think my rockwork would provide that? I don't really had any caves, just a couple arches.

I also need to figure out a screen top. I feel like fire fish would be prone to jump more so than a clown for some reason. I know all fish can jump, they just seem more "dart-y" haha

 

[helen ann]

Your Rock work looks like it has plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in.

On side note ... Love the Rock work!

 

[Chrisfish]

+1 on rock work.
Fire fish are pretty shy and yes they can jump but so do other fish I lost few clown fish that way till I got a screen.

 

[HowardJ02]

Thanks guys! I had it where there was a sort of crevice between the right and left sides. But thought it would be cool to have arches for the fish to swim through.. which my clown never does. haha

 

[HowardJ02]

Ended up going with a firefish!

They had 2 banggai dead in their cube so I strayed away from those guys.
My clown nipped at him just for a second but now they seem cool. Hoping he doesn't try to jump before I get a screen top!

Thanks for your input guys! I'll keep them in mind if I get another fish some day.

 

[HowardJ02]

Best buds