Ideal Fish for new tank.

Bpatt · Feb 24, 2022

Hi All,

I have had my tank set up for 2 months now and currently have 2 (small, 1inch) Ocellaris clownfish. Id like to add another fish and was considering a watchman goby or similar. The substrate I have is fairly coarse (Seachem pearl beach) and i was wondering id this is okay for the sand sifting gobies, or are the grains too large? any other suggestions would be great.

Tank is a Fluval EVO 13.5, Caribbsea Life rock, Seachem pearl beach, CUC (turbo snails and hermit crabs), 2 Ocellaris clownfish. Salinity 1.025 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10 ph 8.0 temp 27 C

Thanks in advance!

maleks.reef · Feb 24, 2022

Watchman gobies do not sift sand so even if your sand is coarse its ok. Also, i suggest you look into midas blennies, very beautiful active fish.

Jacob-K · Feb 24, 2022

I have similar substrate, small black Hawaiian rocks, and my two gobies sift it just fine. They are actually a bit much when they start piling it up in places they shouldn’t, but it is fun to watch.

Yamaha1634 · Feb 24, 2022

How about a tailspot blenny?? He's the last fish on my stocking list. I have the same tank with a small pair of clowns and a pajama cardinal. Excuse the cloudy water I just changed the filter media and added Dr tims to boost the bac.

SlugSnorter · Feb 24, 2022

sand looks to be a bit shallow, also don't midas need like 20 gallons?

maleks.reef said:
Watchman gobies do not sift sand so even if your sand is coarse its ok. Also, i suggest you look into midas blennies, very beautiful active fish.

JumboShrimp · Feb 24, 2022

Nice tanks, @Bpatt and @Yamaha1634

SlugSnorter · Feb 24, 2022

Firefish, Neon Goby, thicken your sandbed a little if you want to add a shrimp goby (Not a YWG!), which sand sifter did you want? two spots need a bigger tank.

Yamaha1634 · Feb 25, 2022

SlugSnorter said:
Firefish, Neon Goby, thicken your sandbed a little if you want to add a shrimp goby (Not a YWG!), which sand sifter did you want? two spots need a bigger tank.

Was the two spot comment aimed at my suggestion? I assume it was as no-one else mentioned anything about spots

I was talking about a tailspot blenny rather than a two spot. I'm lead to believe tailspot belnnys stay small and can easily live in nanos as small as 8g?

adittam · Feb 25, 2022

A tailspot blenny would be perfect for an EVO 13.5. They stay smaller than midas blennies and have an awesome personality. Blennies move around from cave to cave and rock perch to rock perch watching you, and they will also help (a little) with algae control. I personally think they're a lot more entertaining to watch than watchman gobies who often spend most of their time hiding.

SlugSnorter · Feb 25, 2022

Yamaha1634 said:
Was the two spot comment aimed at my suggestion? I assume it was as no-one else mentioned anything about spots I was talking about a tailspot blenny rather than a two spot. I'm lead to believe tailspot belnnys stay small and can easily live in nanos as small as 8g?

Two spot is a sand sifting goby, tailspots are a very nice docile fish for this tank. Especially the amazing orange tailspot

maleks.reef · Feb 25, 2022

SlugSnorter said:
sand looks to be a bit shallow, also don't midas need like 20 gallons?

Some websites say clowns need 30 gals minimum but theyll still be okay in a 10 gal. Take these numbers with a grain of salt, as long as the fish doesnt look too big for the tank/aqua scape then i say go for it.

Sharkbait19 · Feb 25, 2022

Clowns are done in 13.5 frequently, and being one who does it, I honestly agree that they should be in bigger (long term)…they get mean. I say get a shrimp goby and pistol shrimp - easily two of my favorite aquatic animals I’ve ever kept.

SlugSnorter · Feb 25, 2022

maleks.reef said:
Some websites say clowns need 30 gals minimum but theyll still be okay in a 10 gal. Take these numbers with a grain of salt, as long as the fish doesnt look too big for the tank/aqua scape then i say go for it.

they can get like 5in right? pretty big for a 13 gal