Next fish - advice needed

[thabo]

So, my kid has his 40 liter aquarium up and running and has managed to go 2 months without killing either of his Darwin clowns (they are both still less than 1"long).

He has been diligently testing the water and feeding only as needed and I've slowly been getting him to take more and more responsibility wrt maintenance and cleaning.

He now wants to add some more fish.

We went past a couple of the better stores within a 40 mile radius to see what they have and recommend.

They suggested some of the following:
1)Royal gramma
2) Indigo psuedochromis
3) Psuedochromis fridmani
4) Various 1/2" long clowns
5) A sand-shifting goby which neither shop currently has.

What would you suggest we get?
What would you suggest I stay away from?

Any and all advice appreciated

...They had small yellow tangs and Picasso triggers which will have to wait until I'm able to convince the boss-lady that she really wants me to buy a tank for the living room for her birthday...

 

[mattzang]

10 gallon tank is pretty small, i'd stick to a small goby. the cleaner gobies are pretty cute

 

[lolmatt]

A few options, of which you should only get one in a 10g:
Cryptic or possum wrasse
Yasha goby with a Randall's pistol shrimp
Captive bred rainford goby

 

[OrionN]

10 gal for a pair of clowns is already over load. I would get him a 40 gal breeder, Then you can add another fish or two.

 

[mann1139]

And definitely not another clown.

 

[thabo]

So I took some of the advice above and ignored other.
Since the tank is fish-only I have a hard time believing that it's overstocked with 2 baby clowns and that if I upgraded to 40g I could add another fish - sorry OrionN, can't upgrade at this point.

I didn't get any more clowns but went with 1 fridmani and 1 indigo.

The clowns have not bothers them, they have each found their favorite hiding place in the rocks and come out when they think I'm not watching.

They are getting more and more adventurous as time goes by

 

[Marsh980]

So in your 40 litre you have 2 clownfish and 2 dottybacks? Fingers crossed your tank can handle that bio load and more importantly they don't kill each other.

Having 2 damsels and 2 dottybacks in such a small tank could and will more than likely lead to murder. I'm pretty new to the hobby so i could be mistaken but my LFS warned me off dottybacks, even having one in a 1000 litre reef tank.

Can I ask, where did you buy the dottybacks and did you buy them together from the same store? If so did the LFS question why you're buying 2 and ask how large your tank was?

Anyhow, i wish you luck. Your son has some beautiful fish there. Hopefully in the future you can buy a larger tank for them, at least a 30/40 gallon.

 

[thabo]

Yup, have the 4 fish but that's it.

I got all 4 from the same fish shop after asking 2 others for their advice and getting the ok from them too. - I stay away from the small local shops which give off vibes of only existing for the purpose of selling stuff and not actually knowing anything or caring about the pets they stock.

Hopefully I can upgrade at some point but I may have to rob a bank first... And then spend most of the takings buttering up the Mrs

 

[Dbichler]

OrionN is one of the best reefers in the industry. In my experience 2 clowns in that size tank is maxed out as well they won’t stay under a inch long they will be 2 and 3 inches in a year or two max.

 

[thabo]

Understood.
The purpose of this tank is to give the kid something to be responsible for and to gain confidence in himself as well as too learn that things aren't always easy or go the way he wants - he's the kind of kid who will flip over a board game if he's going to loose, so he needs something that interests him but the other kids are not interested in and he can learn about.
He and I both know that when the clowns grow too large they will have to be rehomed.