Saltwater fish for a 20 gallon tank?

I know bigger is better when it comes to aquariums. But it’s not within my budget and physical space right now. Can I still have some fish and/or invertebrates in my 20 gallon saltwater tank?

 

I know bigger is better when it comes to aquariums. But it’s not within my budget and physical space right now. Can I still have some fish and/or invertebrates in my 20 gallon saltwater tank?

Its just me bit clown fish are very cool and i would put like a bunch of smaller 1-3 inch fish with that. I have no experience in salt water but thats what id do

 

I know bigger is better when it comes to aquariums. But it’s not within my budget and physical space right now. Can I still have some fish and/or invertebrates in my 20 gallon saltwater tank?

Definitely, especially if you are talking about a 20 gallon long (offers more usable space and would be easier to maintain). No more than 3-4 small fish but you could definitely have a small shrimp some hermit crabs and snails in there for sure.

 

Definitely, especially if you are talking about a 20 gallon long (offers more usable space and would be easier to maintain). No more than 3-4 small fish but you could definitely have a small shrimp some hermit crabs and snails in there for sure.

Can hermit crabs go in salt water?

 

Can hermit crabs go in salt water?

Yes, but not the hermit crabs that are dry land that you usually see in the freshwater area in the pet store. They are usually called blue legged hermit crabs. Just search that up in Google and that is what they look like. They are usually way smaller than freshwater hermit crabs.

And regarding the 20 Gallon issue . . . you can definitely have some inverts and multiple fish in the 20 gallon. Just do some research the fish you are considering, because you do not want them to outgrow their tank. I have a 10 Gallon right now, where I have a pair of clownfish, about 5 or 6 blue legged hermits, a feather duster, and one snail.

 

Yes, but not the hermit crabs that are dry land that you usually see in the freshwater area in the pet store. They are usually called blue legged hermit crabs. Just search that up in Google and that is what they look like. They are usually way smaller than freshwater hermit crabs.

And regarding the 20 Gallon issue . . . you can definitely have some inverts and multiple fish in the 20 gallon. Just do some research the fish you are considering, because you do not want them to outgrow their tank. I have a 10 Gallon right now, where I have a pair of clownfish, about 5 or 6 blue legged hermits, a feather duster, and one snail.

Oh wow lol i didnt know that

 

Oh wow lol i didnt know that

Yes, I have multiple freshwater tanks, but I just started my first saltwater tank a few weeks ago, and it is going great! Everything in my tank is very healthy, eating a lot, and growing.

Feel free to ask anymore questions about anything!

 

I know bigger is better when it comes to aquariums. But it’s not within my budget and physical space right now. Can I still have some fish and/or invertebrates in my 20 gallon saltwater tank?

I just started my first saltwater/reef tank, and it is a 20 gallon long as that is the maximum size aquarium I am allowed to have.

I have 2 percy clowns and 1 yellow clown goby (adopted from someone moving) in there, along with soft corals that were attached to the rocks I bought. I got my rock from an experience reef keeper who had a 500+ gallon total water volume system (100+ gallon refugium, 200+ gallon up display, multiple sumps all piped together) and it also had all those corals you see attached to it.

It is definitely do able, just do a lot of research (you can't use tap water, so you either have to buy water or make your own, I am just buying distilled water from the grocery store that I test with a tds meter before using) and make smart choices on who you put in there!

 

I just started my first saltwater/reef tank, and it is a 20 gallon long as that is the maximum size aquarium I am allowed to have.

I have 2 percy clowns and 1 yellow clown goby (adopted from someone moving) in there, along with soft corals that were attached to the rocks I bought. I got my rock from an experience reef keeper who had a 500+ gallon total water volume system (100+ gallon refugium, 200+ gallon up display, multiple sumps all piped together) and it also had all those corals you see attached to it.

It is definitely do able, just do a lot of research (you can't use tap water, so you either have to buy water or make your own, I am just buying distilled water from the grocery store that I test with a tds meter before using) and make smart choices on who you put in there!
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If you don't mind me asking, can you elaborate on why you can't just use dechlorinated tap water to top of your tanks?

 

If you don't mind me asking, can you elaborate on why you can't just use dechlorinated tap water to top of your tanks?

It's not that you can't, it's just not the best idea. The thing many folks miss is that the Salt Crystals you use have incredibly high mineralized content and when they combine with the random minerals and solids from tapwater it often creates the perfect storm for unwanted algae growth at best (ie green hair algae, cyanobacteria aka Red Slime Algae) and has things harmful for your corals/inverts at worst. Even though you dechlorinate/detoxify the tapwater it still has whatever random minerals, solids, metals, etc. in there that combine with the salt crystals to create the aforementioned problems. The way I look at it is that if you are going to go through the hassle of using RODI or similar purified water source for your water changes, why would you potentially mess it up by topping up with tapwater in between? I guess to me it defeats the whole purpose of going with a purified water source since the elements you are trying to avoid putting in your tank still get added to some degree with your top ups.