Stocking question for my 20 gallon

[christwendt]

I currently have a decent cuc of about 7 hermits and 4 snails. Two clown fish, and a royal gamma and cleaner shrimp. I have good filtration and personally think I can handle one more fish if I stay in top of water changes. My problem is the last two fish I’ve added have died. I added a jawfish that I think got out through the smallest crack in screen and my cat ate ( no where to be found) and a lawnmower blenny that died suddenly. I’ve noticed my royal gamma is extremely aggressive and has pretty much dominated the whole lower portion of my tank. If anything comes close he opens his mouth wide. He has actually somewhat nipped at my clowns but they could care less. I’m thinking he scared and bullied the jawfish and blenny to death. They both occupied similar places of the royal gamma. What’s a fish I can add that can handle the aggression of the gamma ? Also something that maybe isn’t so closely related in shape. Thanks.

 

[dzfish17]

I'd leave it as is... Those 3 in a 20 gal is perfect. I'm sure others will say you can add more. I've been keeping fish for 40 yrs and I've found that a lightly stocked tank means less stress on you and the fish. Good luck

 

[Aqua Man]

IMO, 3 fish in a 20 is about right. Also keep in mind that Clown fish do get up to 3inches when full grown. Sometimes they also get aggressive.
If you really want to add more, maybe a Talbot Damsel? Not sure if they can handle the aggressive Gramma though.

 

[christwendt]

I'd leave it as is... Those 3 in a 20 gal is perfect. I'm sure others will say you can add more. I've been keeping fish for 40 yrs and I've found that a lightly stocked tank means less stress on you and the fish. Good luck

Thank you that is valid. I’ll keep what I have just was hoping to have more swimming action.

 

[christwendt]

IMO, 3 fish in a 20 is about right. Also keep in mind that Clown fish do get up to 3inches when full grown. Sometimes they also get aggressive.
If you really want to add more, maybe a Talbot Damsel? Not sure if they can handle the aggressive Gramma though.

I plan to upgrade within a year but I’ll just keep what I have. It does make it easier for maintenance

 

[ichthyogeek]

It helps if we know if you have a 20H or a 20L, which have different footprints, and thus more/less area for the fish to occupy!

It it's a 20H, you might be able to get away with one more fish, and that fish would most likely be another, smaller, royal gramma.

If it's a 20L, then you might be able to get away with a few more fish.

I know I've read it somewhere, but fish aggression is typically based off of a fish defending its niche in the aquarium against others of its species if its the same sex and there are limited resources, OR against conspecifics. If a fish has the same diet, color, or body shape as another fish, there's probably going to be more incidents of aggression between the two fish. Take for example, your royal gramma. It's a purple/yellow, cylindrical, microcarnivore. Both the lawnmower and the jawfish are cylindrical fish, with the jawfish having the extra oomph of also being yellow.

Something like a dwarf flame angelfish, which is more of a benthic omnivore, does not have the same coloration of a royal gramma, and most certainly does not have the same shape as the gramma, would be far less likely to receive aggression and bullying from the fish. That being said, this is an example, and without knowing more about your tank, a flame angelfish might not be for you.