will these fish work for a 20 gallon long?

[LifeOfAquatics]

would this stocking be fine for an over-filtered 20 gallon long (so it has the length of a 30 gallon) reef tank? lots of rockwork (40 ish pounds)

1 ocellaris clown
1 firefish
1 banggai/pajama cardinal
1 bicolor/tailspot blenny

 

[Tbg299]

would this stocking be fine for an over-filtered 20 gallon long (so it has the length of a 30 gallon) reef tank? lots of rockwork (40 ish pounds)

1 ocellaris clown
1 firefish
1 banggai/pajama cardinal
1 bicolor/tailspot blenny

The clownfish might get aggressive towards the other fish in this tank which are peaceful. A 20 gallon is not a lot of space to keep a clownfish with several other fish. I would not do this.

 

[hailey1423]

would this stocking be fine for an over-filtered 20 gallon long (so it has the length of a 30 gallon) reef tank? lots of rockwork (40 ish pounds)

1 ocellaris clown
1 firefish
1 banggai/pajama cardinal
1 bicolor/tailspot blenny

My opinion and experience with the clown is they are very territorial and with such little space would probably become aggressive like @Tbg299 said. Sometimes with clowns, its the luck of the draw, some have had experiences with clowns where they are super friendly and fine in these tanks, others (like myself) have had clowns where they become aggressive to fish in their area. Considering the tank has lots of rock work and is long, I think it should be fine, just be aware of the clowns behaviour and how it acts around the other fish. Good Luck!

 

[Coral Your World]

Should be fine. Perhaps think about dropping one of the other non-clownfish for a second clown. They tend to do better in pairs. Either way, start with a juvenile clownfish (if two, ideally from the same tank). Good luck!

 

[polyppal]

would this stocking be fine for an over-filtered 20 gallon long (so it has the length of a 30 gallon) reef tank? lots of rockwork (40 ish pounds)

1 ocellaris clown
1 firefish
1 banggai/pajama cardinal
1 bicolor/tailspot blenny

Yup!

 

[A Young Reefer]

I keep three clowns, two ocellaris one maroon no territorial issues whatsoever. Based on personal experience I believe that it would be fine.

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

Should be fine. Perhaps think about dropping one of the other non-clownfish for a second clown. They tend to do better in pairs. Either way, start with a juvenile clownfish (if two, ideally from the same tank). Good luck!

wouldnt 2 clownfish get a bit territorial in a tank that small though?

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

My opinion and experience with the clown is they are very territorial and with such little space would probably become aggressive like @Tbg299 said. Sometimes with clowns, its the luck of the draw, some have had experiences with clowns where they are super friendly and fine in these tanks, others (like myself) have had clowns where they become aggressive to fish in their area. Considering the tank has lots of rock work and is long, I think it should be fine, just be aware of the clowns behaviour and how it acts around the other fish. Good Luck!

if i had just one clownfish would it be fine? or would that one still get territorial and aggressive?

 

[Mhamilton0911]

I have a 20 long and have 2 clowns, tailspot blenny, royal gramma and a watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair. My clowns were added first and I scored nice ones I guess. The issue I have is the blenny is a bit territorial with the gramma, but it's minimal with no actual fighting. The gramma and blenny take turns hanging with the clowns.

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

I have a 20 long and have 2 clowns, tailspot blenny, royal gramma and a watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair. My clowns were added first and I scored nice ones I guess. The issue I have is the blenny is a bit territorial with the gramma, but it's minimal with no actual fighting. The gramma and blenny take turns hanging with the clowns.

if you dont mind, could you send a photo of your setup for inspiration?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Your stocking should be fine. I wouldn’t pair the clowns, only getting more aggression that way, and in a small tank there’s a chance of the female killing the male. Try to get regular occy too, the designer breeds seem to be meaner, my female mocha is pure evil.
Get lots of hiding places in the tank, it gives the best chance for escaping attacks, the 30 inch length also helps.

 

[thedon986]

I had 2 clowns, 1 tailspot blenny, 1 yellow watchman goby, and 2 bangaii cardinals in my 22 long and they were all fine together. Had an oversized skimmer and kept up on water changes. Everyone was happy and healthy.

 

[reefer_evo5]

i have two clowns a yellow tail damsel and a neon dotty back in my 20 gallon all are considered "semi aggressive" and live well together I had a Bangi cardinal in the tank a while back and my clowns lived with it for about five months till one day they decided to kill it while I was at work. The weird thing is that my two clowns and neon dotty back are always swimming together and try and pick on the damsel but its to fast for them to catch so i only have those four in the tank and they seem to do very well at the moment.

 

[hllb]

I agree that the clown is a touch iffy, but I would probably just put it in last. You may want to consider a different type of clown too. I've read the skunk clown is a less aggressive one. We put one in our 10g (been in there maybe 4.5 months) and recently added a hi fin goby and there haven't been any aggression issues. I have an oscellaris in my larger tank and he can be a bit belligerent at times. Once time (I don't recall what fish I was adding) I had to put him in a timeout for 2 days. He hasn't been aggressive to any newcomers since.

 

[hailey1423]

if i had just one clownfish would it be fine? or would that one still get territorial and aggressive?

Considering that you have lots of rockwork one clown would probably pick a spot and stay there a lot, my clown is very territorial so I keep it alone therefore never had experience with a pair. You should be fine with one. I suggest staying away from the designer types and stick to the original occelairs, they seem to be a lot less aggressive.

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

Your stocking should be fine. I wouldn’t pair the clowns, only getting more aggression that way, and in a small tank there’s a chance of the female killing the male. Try to get regular occy too, the designer breeds seem to be meaner, my female mocha is pure evil.
Get lots of hiding places in the tank, it gives the best chance for escaping attacks, the 30 inch length also helps.

just a regular plain "nemo"? not even something like a black oce clown or a snowflake? snowflakes were the ones I was leaning towards that's why.

i shouldn't get a pair? I've seen so much about people saying pairs do better and their happier together.

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

I had 2 clowns, 1 tailspot blenny, 1 yellow watchman goby, and 2 bangaii cardinals in my 22 long and they were all fine together. Had an oversized skimmer and kept up on water changes. Everyone was happy and healthy.

were the clowns aggressive in any way?

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

Considering that you have lots of rockwork one clown would probably pick a spot and stay there a lot, my clown is very territorial so I keep it alone therefore never had experience with a pair. You should be fine with one. I suggest staying away from the designer types and stick to the original occelairs, they seem to be a lot less aggressive.

would something like a black oce or a snowflake be out of the question in that case?
and I wanted a pair as I've seen a lot about people saying their better and happier together. but now I'm not sure as some people are saying they'll get aggressive and such.

 

[Sharkbait19]

just a regular plain "nemo"? not even something like a black oce clown or a snowflake? snowflakes were the ones I was leaning towards that's why.

i shouldn't get a pair? I've seen so much about people saying pairs do better and their happier together.

Any breed can work, it just seems that the regulars are least aggressive.
My pair didn’t work out, and I think it was partly due to a small tank. They do fine alone or in pairs, pairs tend to be more aggressive between each other and with the other fish.

 

[LifeOfAquatics]

Any breed can work, it just seems that the regulars are least aggressive.
My pair didn’t work out, and I think it was partly due to a small tank. They do fine alone or in pairs, pairs tend to be more aggressive between each other and with the other fish.

would a single clown like a snowflake or something be fine with the 3 other fish I listed before?
also will a single clownfish become a female or will it stay a male?

and also i saw some others say elsewhere (and here too i think) that a pair of clownfish would be just fine, so now i am just overall confused on what to do (pair or no pair, designer or basic)