New 10 gallon Saltwater tank stocking

Hey, so If you need freshwater info, I'm your man, but with sw - I don't really know what I'm talking about. So I have this idea for a future project, I'd like to setup a 10-20 gallon (50-75L) somewhere in the future. Now, looking at fish - I've done a bit of research (pls don't flame me), and what I'd like probably won't work. For a 10 gallon I'd want a mix up of these fish, now I realise this is probably not going to work, so 1-2 fish (preferably more) would be fine as I know that sw fish need heaps of room (or even one fish).
Black Ocellaris Clownfish
Royal Grammas
Yellow watchman goby
A shrimp
Catalina goby
Blue chromis
Chalk bass
Fire dartfish
Blue starfish
Yellow striped cardinalfish
Now I don't want all of them at the same time obviously. Just an elite selection. If you could tell me which combos I could do that'd be great. I have no Idea for a 20 gallon, any ideas would be great.

I also know that clownfish and grammas really need 30 gallons (130L) but I've seen them singly in 10 gallons.

 

The 20 gallon Long would be the best setup in the size range you mentioned as it maximizes horizontal swimming room for fish (ie increases stocking options). It would also give you a bit more stability. Evaporation is a major issue with saltwater tanks since water evaporates but salt doesn't so you have to top off with fresh RODI water to keep salinity levels balanced between water changes.

As for the fish here is the breakdown:

Ocellaris Clownfish-Would be perfectly fine in a 20 Long for the long haul. Be aware that they can become pretty territorial once established and are technically a member of the Damsel family. I would add it last.
Royal Gramma Basslet-Good Choice for a 20 Long for the long haul. Generally well behaved although there are examples of some more aggressive individuals. Hence I don't recommend them with super timid fish
Yellow Watchman Goby. Another good choice for that size tank and gorgeous to boot
Shrimp-A cleaner shrimp would be a good choice or you could pair a pistol shrimp with the Yellow Watchman and get a really cool symbiotic relationship.
Catalina Goby-Poor choice as they actually require cooler water temps than a reef provides. They are a colder water fish and don't fare well in reef tanks due to higher temps
Chalk Bass-Can be a bit aggressive and the tank would be pushing it for one. I would skip it given all the other options.
Blue Chromis-Shoaling Fish and wouldn't be a good choice for that tank as it doesn't offer enough room
Firefish (aka Fire Dartfish)-Too timid or skittish for my tastes. I would skip it and go with the Basslet instead as I think you will be happier with it and the Basslet is more likely to deal with territorial issues than a Firefish
Blue Starfish-Starfish aren't a good choice for small tanks as they tend to get too big and many of them can cause issues with corals. They also tend to be more delicate.
Yellow Striped Cardinalfish-Should Be okay in a 20 gallon long with the other solid options on your list

For a 20 gallon long I would say 3-4 of the recommended fish on your list would fill that tank nicely.

 

I agree with above. I’d do the 20 L and get two clowns and a chalk bass.

Blue starfish is just destined to starve to death. Honestly I wouldn’t do a blue star in less than a 125.

 

Wow, thanks for the info! Given my current circumstances, it would be more likely I'd have a 20 gallon as if I upgraded my freshwater tank I'd have a 20 long left over. So yeah, really helpful, thanks. Another question, with the yellow cardinals, would I be able to add two or three of them if I already had a basslet and goby (and maybe a clown).

 

Your looking at 3-4 fish max. If you go with two fish that are clownfish or cardinal sized then you can get one smallish goby or chalk bass. If you did two clownfish or cardinal sized fish and you want two others you’re looking at getting some very small clown gobies to get to 4 fish. The worst thing you can do is overstock a saltwater tank.
Basically cut what you mentioned above in half.

 

Agreed. 3-4 fish max for that tank. The lighter the bioload the easier it is to maintain the tank, especially with a smaller tank.

 

Okay, thanks. So I'd be safe with a goby, royal gramma and clownfish?

 

Should be good with that. Maybe a small clown goby as well.

 

Okay, thanks. So I'd be safe with a goby, royal gramma and clownfish?

Should be good. As a precaution I would add the goby first, royal gramma second and clownfish last (my opinion on least aggressive to most aggressive). Not saying the Gramma and Clownfish are super aggressive, I just feel it increases your chances of a long term balanced community.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll look forward to setting it up! Any coral ideas? Coral is the one thing where I know basically nothing.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll look forward to setting it up! Any coral ideas? Coral is the one thing where I know basically nothing.

The 3 main categories of corals are:

Softies: Soft Corals that many consider to be the easiest aka least demanding
LPS: Long Polyp Stony Corals, considered to be moderate in their care level
SPS: Short Polyp Stony Corals, considered to be the most difficult in their care level as they are pretty picky about water parameters and require dosing of elements generally to do well

It can vary from tank to tank as far as what does well. Many folks consider soft corals (ie Green Star Polyps, Mushrooms, Xenia) to be among the easiest and this is true to an extent but the ones that are easiest (ie Green Star Polyps and Xenia) also have a tendency to be very invasive and grow like weeds and can choke out other corals.

Of the corals that I have tried I have found Hammers and Frogspawns (LPS) to be what does best in my tank. Stay on top of water changes, have a good food source (ie LRS Reef Frenzy), and decent lighting and they do well. They also tend to like water a bit dirtier so you don't have to worry so much about fighting your nitrate levels. Another good choice for a beginner LPS would be a Duncan Coral.

Here are a couple of examples of Frogspawn and Hammer Corals that I have in my tank:

Green Frogspawn with Purple Tips:

Green Wall Hammer:

 

I like LPS, zoas, and ricordias personally. Look up what corals you like and ask us questions on their care. Too broad and personal for us to recommend them to you.

 

Ricordea Yuma, Olive palys, Montipora Capricornus, Maze coral, deep water acros, Kenya tree coral, anemones, etc. I'm just brainstorming random corals that I like the look of. I'm pretty sure anemones are too big for my tank, but I'll leave the facts to your experiences.

 

Acros and montis are sps corals and need high light and very good water quality. Sps are generally not good starter corals.
An anemone will take up a large portion of your tank.
brain corals are medium in hardness but can be expensive.

 

Alright, its been a while, but it seems now more likely that I'll be getting a 34gallon long. I will have a small HOB style protein skimmer with no sump, an internal sponge filter and possibly a canister filter (although I've heard that live rock takes over the canister filter). My stocking ideas are a bit much I think, but I want to put as many fish on the list and let you guys edit it.
Bicolour blennie or Yellow watchman (given later ideas, probably no pistol)
Two ocellaris or pink skunk clowns
Valentini puffer
royal gramma
three azure damsels
one anenome, either long tentacle or bubble
possibly a short spine urchin.
This sounds like too much so I'm open for suggestions. I'm not sure what corals are okay with the puffer. One last thing, I don't think this will work if you stand by the rule of thumb but, would I be able to switch the two clowns for one clark clown?

 

Alright, its been a while, but it seems now more likely that I'll be getting a 34gallon long. I will have a small HOB style protein skimmer with no sump, an internal sponge filter and possibly a canister filter (although I've heard that live rock takes over the canister filter). My stocking ideas are a bit much I think, but I want to put as many fish on the list and let you guys edit it.
Bicolour blennie or Yellow watchman (given later ideas, probably no pistol)
Two ocellaris or pink skunk clowns
Valentini puffer
royal gramma
three azure damsels
one anenome, either long tentacle or bubble
possibly a short spine urchin.
This sounds like too much so I'm open for suggestions. I'm not sure what corals are okay with the puffer. One last thing, I don't think this will work if you stand by the rule of thumb but, would I be able to switch the two clowns for one clark clown?

I do they yellow watchman over the blenny all day everyday.
why no pistol shrimp they are awesome.
I’d avoid the puffer since they increase the bioload a lot, can be difficult to care for, and are very messy eaters.
Two clowns is good.
anemone is good if you have proper light but avoid at all costs the LTA. They are very difficult to care for and have poor survival rates even with seasoned reefers.
Also you have way too many fish. Clarkii clowns get very large and I’d avoid them.
You can get one or two other small fish IMO.
I know you want as much as you can get but if you want corals and an anemone your water quality needs to be near pristine and a large bioload will make that difficult.
As for corals you can get any you want but avoid SPS start with some soft corals and some easier LPS corals.
what light are you going with?

 

You are going to really struggle with keeping a viable salt water system in a 20 gal tank. The smaller the tank the fast it goes bad. And if you are lucky enough to make it work you will quickly wish you had something larger because you just cant put much in 20 gallons. Fish or coral.

 

Yeah, I figured, that's why I decided to get a 34 gallon long. Lighting will be medium but in a fairly well - lit room (not right next to any windows though). So what fish would I have to get rid of? Without the puffer, I would get the pistol shrimp if I were to go with the goby. Then if I replaced the three damsels with two chalk bass would I be alright? I'm pretty knew so don't hesitate to tell me if my stocking plan is bad.

 

Alright, its been a while, but it seems now more likely that I'll be getting a 34gallon long. I will have a small HOB style protein skimmer with no sump, an internal sponge filter and possibly a canister filter (although I've heard that live rock takes over the canister filter). My stocking ideas are a bit much I think, but I want to put as many fish on the list and let you guys edit it.
Bicolour blennie or Yellow watchman (given later ideas, probably no pistol)
Two ocellaris or pink skunk clowns
Valentini puffer
royal gramma
three azure damsels
one anenome, either long tentacle or bubble
possibly a short spine urchin.
This sounds like too much so I'm open for suggestions. I'm not sure what corals are okay with the puffer. One last thing, I don't think this will work if you stand by the rule of thumb but, would I be able to switch the two clowns for one clark clown?

I wouldn't do a sponge filter or a canister on a marine tank (end up being problematic). I would go with an HOB Filter modified into a refugium (for Macro Algae ie Chaeto for biofiltration) with filter pad/floss plus that HOB Skimmer. The only Urchin that might work would be a Tuxedo as they stay small and are generally less problematic (they can mess with Zoanthids and other similar types of corals though). I have one in my 90 gallon and it's pretty well behaved. I agree with ditching the puffer due to messy eating, fin nipping and that they are a bit of a gamble in terms of being reef safe (ie may eat inverts/corals). Skip the Damsels as they can be really nasty community fish in a relatively small tank and definitely stick with Ocellaris Clownfish as the others get larger and more aggressive.

BTW this is an example and overview of my Tuxedo Urchin for reference:

Yeah, I figured, that's why I decided to get a 34 gallon long. Lighting will be medium but in a fairly well - lit room (not right next to any windows though). So what fish would I have to get rid of? Without the puffer, I would get the pistol shrimp if I were to go with the goby. Then if I replaced the three damsels with two chalk bass would I be alright? I'm pretty knew so don't hesitate to tell me if my stocking plan is bad.

One Chalk Bass only

 

Are chalk bass aggressive? Or would I just be overstocking? Thanks for the info, so two clowns, a watchman goby and pistol shrimp, one chalk bass, one royal gramma, one bubble anenome and possibly a tuxedo urchin?

 

Are chalk bass aggressive? Or would I just be overstocking? Thanks for the info, so two clowns, a watchman goby and pistol shrimp, one chalk bass, one royal gramma, one bubble anenome and possibly a tuxedo urchin?

Sounds good. Chalk bass aren’t aggressive jut over stocked. You’ll stick to 4 or so small fish. Overstocking a saltwater with any inverts is a bad idea.

 

Are chalk bass aggressive? Or would I just be overstocking? Thanks for the info, so two clowns, a watchman goby and pistol shrimp, one chalk bass, one royal gramma, one bubble anenome and possibly a tuxedo urchin?

They can be, especially in a tank that is barely bigger than the recommended minimum for them. I would just do one.

 

Now I don't want to start with one as I know they're fussy feeders and need established water but, what about green or spotted mandarin fish?

 

Now I don't want to start with one as I know they're fussy feeders and need established water but, what about green or spotted mandarin fish?

I would say no, simply because they need a massive copepod population in order to give them the best chance of success and you would have to cultivate pods in a separate tank and dose on a regular basis (ie a few times a week) just to keep up with it's feeding needs. I had a Green in a 36 gallon bowfront, spent hundreds on pods, had it adapt to frozen, target fed it a couple of times daily and it still starved to death in 3 months. One of the things people don't realize is just how huge mandarins get (I mean fat). I saw a mature healthy one between 4-5 inches long and it was almost 4 inches wide. If you are dead set on a dragonet in that tank I would look into the ruby red as they stay much smaller. They still have similar feeding needs but the scale is more manageable since they stay quite a bit smaller and are still a gorgeous fish:

 

So I did some research and have come to the conclusion that I really need an established tank for invertebrates. I'm thinking I'll get some pulsing xenia and let it grow every where as the only coral unless I decide I want some zoas or something. For stocking I'm looking at two ocellaris clowns, one bi-colour blennie or watchman goby, one royal gramma, one chalk bass and a pincushion urchin. Would I have room for more? I'm looking at aiptasia eating filefish but I'd probably have to get rid of something on my list and my wallet is only so deep. What do you think?

 

So I did some research and have come to the conclusion that I really need an established tank for invertebrates. I'm thinking I'll get some pulsing xenia and let it grow every where as the only coral unless I decide I want some zoas or something. For stocking I'm looking at two ocellaris clowns, one bi-colour blennie or watchman goby, one royal gramma, one chalk bass and a pincushion urchin. Would I have room for more? I'm looking at aiptasia eating filefish but I'd probably have to get rid of something on my list and my wallet is only so deep. What do you think?

2 clowns, skip the bicolor blenny as they are prone to aggression, watchman goby, royal gramma and chalk bass. For Urchins stick to the Tuxedo (Pincushion is actually larger) and be aware that they can bother and destroy Zoanthids (will generally leave other corals alone though). Skip the Aiptasia eating filefish as it's more likely to eat corals then help you with aiptasia.