New Fish

[SaltyShel]

Hey y’all!! Hope everyone is well.
I have a 16g biocube I just set up, it’s a bare bottom with dry rock. I put some biospira in it but I don’t have any fish in there. i have a tank running that has a fish in it but I got it from my dad about 9 months ago, already set up with a fish & CUC, so this is going to be the first fish I buy myself.

So, I am here to ask for some opinions — what is a good, hardy, nano bare bottom suitable, beginner fish?

i want something that will be hardy but also not difficult to care for, since I’m still pretty new at this. Something that will be able to live in my 16g bare bottom without needing to be removed due to growth and obviously won’t need sand since I have none. Something that will get along with my Maroon Clown (this part is important, as I’ll be putting the new fish first and then add my Maroon [which is in a diff tank] later).

I also have some questions regarding quarantine, because I don’t have a QT tank set up but I DO NOT want to infect this 16g, which is basically the entire reason I used dry rock.

 

[Rtaylor]

With a 16 gallon any fish with a maroon clown will likely be an issue. Maroons tend to be bullies and are one of the bigger clown species, so a 16 gallon isn’t really enough space.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey y’all!! Hope everyone is well.
I have a 16g biocube I just set up, it’s a bare bottom with dry rock. I put some biospira in it but I don’t have any fish in there. i have a tank running that has a fish in it but I got it from my dad about 9 months ago, already set up with a fish & CUC, so this is going to be the first fish I buy myself.

So, I am here to ask for some opinions — what is a good, hardy, nano bare bottom suitable, beginner fish?

i want something that will be hardy but also not difficult to care for, since I’m still pretty new at this. Something that will be able to live in my 16g bare bottom without needing to be removed due to growth and obviously won’t need sand since I have none. Something that will get along with my Maroon Clown (this part is important, as I’ll be putting the new fish first and then add my Maroon [which is in a diff tank] later).

I also have some questions regarding quarantine, because I don’t have a QT tank set up but I DO NOT want to infect this 16g, which is basically the entire reason I used dry rock.

Fire fish goby
Banggai cardinal
Midas blenny
Twin spot blenny
Strawberry basslet

 

[i cant think]

Fire fish goby
Banggai cardinal
Midas blenny
Twin spot blenny
Strawberry basslet

I’ll just mention with a maroon, the firefish won’t do well. They cannot handle stress as well as more boisterous species can (Such as Cryptocentrus).

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ll just mention with a maroon, the firefish won’t do well. They cannot handle stress as well as more boisterous species can (Such as Cryptocentrus).

Have them in same tank right now with no issue

 

[DeniseAndy]

Look at some smaller gobies from Trimma or Eviota genus. These are captive bred also. Maybe a seals cardinal or yellow cardinal fish or two. Tail spot blenny would be good.

 

[CryptoNautical]

IMO a maroon clown is no different from any other clown. Matter a fact, my longnose hawk fish is far more territorial than my maroon. I'd go with a Midas Blenny. Great color to off put a red clown, and a good grazer throughout the day.

 

[i cant think]

IMO a maroon clown is no different from any other clown. Matter a fact, my longnose hawk fish is far more territorial than my maroon. I'd go with a Midas Blenny. Great color to off put a red clown, and a good grazer throughout the day.

I don’t agree with you - Some of my worst injuries have been from working around mature Maroon clowns. Occelaris and Percula are much less aggressive. Maroons will tear skin and will take over even a 30g IME.

 

[CryptoNautical]

I don’t agree with you - Some of my worst injuries have been from working around mature Maroon clowns. Occelaris and Percula are much less aggressive. Maroons will tear skin and will take over even a 30g IME.

I respect your view on them, perhaps I have been lucky, and I agree mine is currently in a 40 breeder and I wouldn't go any smaller. Depending on the mood of the maroon I believe it could take the 16gal for itself. Not to mention a full grown female can get large.

 

[SaltyShel]

With a 16 gallon any fish with a maroon clown will likely be an issue. Maroons tend to be bullies and are one of the bigger clown species, so a 16 gallon isn’t really enough space.

I don’t know if it makes a difference but mine is white striped. I’m not sure if its male or female but I just went with male so he is a he to me lol. He hasn’t really grown much from what I can tell, but I thought they grow with their environment so if I have a 16g wouldn’t that be fine since he wouldn’t get too big for it?

I don’t agree with you - Some of my worst injuries have been from working around mature Maroon clowns. Occelaris and Percula are much less aggressive. Maroons will tear skin and will take over even a 30g IME.

I’ve never had another fish in there with him besides an urchin, which sadly passed away, but my clown does seem to be very friendly. He’s always come up to me when I feed him and there’s been a couple times he ate the food from between my fingers and never like bit me or anything crazy. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such bad experiences, but you’re not the first who has told me about maroons being mean!!! I think I got luck of the draw with a rare, friendly maroon clown lol.

 

[SaltyShel]

Fire fish goby
Banggai cardinal
Midas blenny
Twin spot blenny
Strawberry basslet

Look at some smaller gobies from Trimma or Eviota genus. These are captive bred also. Maybe a seals cardinal or yellow cardinal fish or two. Tail spot blenny would be good.

Thank you, to both of y’all! I’ll definitely look into all of these!!
So I guess I’d be correct to assume not all blennys or gobies need sand? I was under the impression they all need it lol

 

[SaltyShel]

I respect your view on them, perhaps I have been lucky, and I agree mine is currently in a 40 breeder and I wouldn't go any smaller. Depending on the mood of the maroon I believe it could take the 16gal for itself. Not to mention a full grown female can get large.

I think I’ve also been lucky, my maroon clown is very nice to me lol. I got mine already with the tank so I didn’t think anything of it and there was not a LFS to tell me different, since I didn’t buy my maroon myself. I definitely plan to get a bigger tank at some point and I’ll probably just re-home my maroon if it really is that much of a problem to keep them in a 16g, but mine is not very big so I figured they only got large if they are in a big tank or in the ocean.

 

[Tamberav]

I don’t know if it makes a difference but mine is white striped. I’m not sure if its male or female but I just went with male so he is a he to me lol. He hasn’t really grown much from what I can tell, but I thought they grow with their environment so if I have a 16g wouldn’t that be fine since he wouldn’t get too big for it?



I’ve never had another fish in there with him besides an urchin, which sadly passed away, but my clown does seem to be very friendly. He’s always come up to me when I feed him and there’s been a couple times he ate the food from between my fingers and never like bit me or anything crazy. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such bad experiences, but you’re not the first who has told me about maroons being mean!!! I think I got luck of the draw with a rare, friendly maroon clown lol.

Fish do not grow with their environment. If they do then it is a nutritional or poor health issue.

I would not want to be a maroons roommate in a 16g. When young they are pretty laid back but they can turn very mean in such a small space.

 

[Rtaylor]

I don’t know if it makes a difference but mine is white striped. I’m not sure if its male or female but I just went with male so he is a he to me lol. He hasn’t really grown much from what I can tell, but I thought they grow with their environment so if I have a 16g wouldn’t that be fine since he wouldn’t get too big for it?



I’ve never had another fish in there with him besides an urchin, which sadly passed away, but my clown does seem to be very friendly. He’s always come up to me when I feed him and there’s been a couple times he ate the food from between my fingers and never like bit me or anything crazy. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such bad experiences, but you’re not the first who has told me about maroons being mean!!! I think I got luck of the draw with a rare, friendly maroon clown lol.

They get more aggressive as they mature and it’s a myth that they grow to tank size. If left alone it will almost certainly become a dominant female. It’s possible you could get extremely lucky and end up with a docile adult maroon clownfish in a 16 gallon tank, but I’d put your odds at 1 in a 100 or worse. I’ll admit that’s a total guess, but I’ve never heard of it happening long term.

 

[SaltyShel]

Fish do not grow with their environment. If they do then it is a nutritional or poor health issue.

I would not want to be a maroons roommate in a 16g. When young they are pretty laid back but they can turn very mean in such a small space.

Oh wow, I really believed the story of “you need 5 gallons per 1 inch of fish, per fish, or they’ll grow from the inside out and die because of their organs growing too large for their body, due to a small tank” lol

I thought about getting a small ocelaris clown to put in there because they look completely different and also if it’s small then it won’t be an issue. May I get some opinions on this? I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or if it’s better to just get something of a different breed AND smaller

 

[DeniseAndy]

IMO you can keep an ocellaris in a 16g for quite some time if you get them under 1". Even a pair. However, more than likely after about 3 years or so when they get fully grown, they will need a larger tank. That is if you want anything else in there with them.
There are tons of fun fish to get for a 16g if you skip the clowns. That is up to you.

 

[SaltyShel]

They get more aggressive as they mature and it’s a myth that they grow to tank size. If left alone it will almost certainly become a dominant female. It’s possible you could get extremely lucky and end up with a docile adult maroon clownfish in a 16 gallon tank, but I’d put your odds at 1 in a 100 or worse. I’ll admit that’s a total guess, but I’ve never heard of it happening long term.

Is there a way I can tell if it’s a male or female? Like how do I know? Mine is really calm but it’s also by itself, except for the urchin I used to have and then a hermit crab and some snails. But that’s all I have in there. I made a NSA so there’s more space in the tank and hiding spots but I’m just not sure if I have a male or female and I want to know now

 

[i cant think]

Oh wow, I really believed the story of “you need 5 gallons per 1 inch of fish, per fish, or they’ll grow from the inside out and die because of their organs growing too large for their body, due to a small tank” lol

I thought about getting a small ocelaris clown to put in there because they look completely different and also if it’s small then it won’t be an issue. May I get some opinions on this? I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or if it’s better to just get something of a different breed AND smaller

Occelaris are a more peaceful species yes, however they can still become aggressive.

IMO you can keep an ocellaris in a 16g for quite some time if you get them under 1". Even a pair. However, more than likely after about 3 years or so when they get fully grown, they will need a larger tank. That is if you want anything else in there with them.
There are tons of fun fish to get for a 16g if you skip the clowns. That is up to you.

This is what I’d personally do. I would skip the clowns and go for a peaceful setting. There’s actually many fish that will like being in trios or fives (Eviota and Truman gobies are a great example) if you wanted that grouping behaviour.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Is there a way I can tell if it’s a male or female? Like how do I know? Mine is really calm but it’s also by itself, except for the urchin I used to have and then a hermit crab and some snails. But that’s all I have in there. I made a NSA so there’s more space in the tank and hiding spots but I’m just not sure if I have a male or female and I want to know now

Clowns are weird creatures. They are born neutral shall we say and then as they mature become males. Then, because they are more in clusters/harems, the largest and most aggressive become female. They will keep all subordinates male. Then, if the female dies, the next dominate male becomes female.

So, if a clown is left alone to mature, it generally becomes a female.

 

[SaltyShel]

IMO you can keep an ocellaris in a 16g for quite some time if you get them under 1". Even a pair. However, more than likely after about 3 years or so when they get fully grown, they will need a larger tank. That is if you want anything else in there with them.
There are tons of fun fish to get for a 16g if you skip the clowns. That is up to you.

Okay that’s really good to know. I did read maroons can get up to like 6” so I know they get big but I thought it would just stay small with a small tank so I didn’t think much more about it. Mine is pretty small still, maybe about 1” or 1.5” and I’m hoping to get a bigger tank somewhat soon (a 32g that my dads been running for 6-8 yrs) and even when I get the bigger tank, there’s an ocelaris in there and it’s prob about 1”-2” as well. So I’m stuck. Lol.