10 gallon ideas?

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! I am considering replacing my two reef jars with a 10 gallon to allow me to keep fish...my question is, what could I keep in such smallish confines? There are plenty of freshwater fish that would be happy in a 10, but I am not so sure about saltwater fishes. Thanks

 

[i cant think]

Hi everyone! I am considering replacing my two reef jars with a 10 gallon to allow me to keep fish...my question is, what could I keep in such smallish confines? There are plenty of freshwater fish that would be happy in a 10, but I am not so sure about saltwater fishes. Thanks

There’s plenty of saltwater you could choose from!

Do you want to do warm water or temperate?

 

[LordJoshaeus]

There’s plenty of saltwater you could choose from!

Do you want to do warm water or temperate?

This is a tropical setup...don't have space for a chiller (much as I would love a catalina goby )

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hi everyone! I am considering replacing my two reef jars with a 10 gallon to allow me to keep fish...my question is, what could I keep in such smallish confines? There are plenty of freshwater fish that would be happy in a 10, but I am not so sure about saltwater fishes. Thanks

Watchman goby, blennies, or shrimp to name a few

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Would an orchid dottyback work, assuming there were no other fishes in the tank?

 

[i cant think]

Would an orchid dottyback work, assuming there were no other fishes in the tank?

Most likely yes!

But also look at tiny blennies and gobies like the Trimma species, my personal favourites are Trimma cana. Also Escenius bimaculatus is adorable.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Would all of these be species only setups?

 

[i cant think]

Would all of these be species only setups?

Nope - they can be if you want but don’t have to be

If it was me, I’d do a nice background of coral with a group of various Trimma species - like a couple Trimma cana with a group of Trimma tevegae.

 

[Uncle99]

One small clown like true perc.
Bangaii Cardinal.
Goby

All three.

 

[areefer01]

You have some options and I'd recommend heading over to Biota to get some captive bred, raised, fish. I'm biased of course but when buying direct you get pretty clean animals and they are small. Young. So you get more time to enjoy them and watch them grow. It is a lot different watching young fish vs mature as they behave differently at least in my experience. Hugging the reef structure, more foraging, vs open water and what not.

Some examples:

Links goby
Blue Neon Cleaner goby
Starry Goby
Upside Down Goby
Tessellated Blenny (these go super fast)
Radial filefish

These are all small but visible. Well the Upside Down goby will be rare as it like to chill under over hangs or in nooks and crannies. I never see mine but then again it is in a 210 gallon display so bit of a rarity when I see it. Just saw it the other day actually - amazing sauce.

Anyway the Starry and Neon will always be out. The Tessellated will be hard to get as they are new only recently to retail so they go fast. Radial filefish is another cool fish that stays small or so mine has. I would also say maybe 1 Lyretail damsel. That would be more out and about and they stay small. I have 11 of them and think they are the bees knees. Spawning pair may be too much but would be nice. Only 10 gallons to work with so probably 1.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I ran a 10 gallon with a mated pair of O. Clowns successfully. That being said, I really did push the limits of that tank, to a point that I'd never do it again. I'd consider a 20g to give you more options.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

I ran a 10 gallon with a mated pair of O. Clowns successfully. That being said, I really did push the limits of that tank, to a point that I'd never do it again. I'd consider a 20g to give you more options.

Unfortunately I don't have space for a larger tank...pushing the limit with my mom as is (I have a bunch of freshwater tanks, and while none are huge they do add up), not to mention I cannot use a python to do water changes due to how my sink is set up (which increases the freshwater work load considerably). I was thinking clowns would be pushing it...

 

[kevgib67]

Unfortunately I don't have space for a larger tank...pushing the limit with my mom as is (I have a bunch of freshwater tanks, and while none are huge they do add up), not to mention I cannot use a python to do water changes due to how my sink is set up (which increases the freshwater work load considerably). I was thinking clowns would be pushing it...

My tailspot blenny is the smallest fish in my tank but has the biggest personality. Oh, and how about those eyelashes!

 

[Polymate3D]

I have a 8 Gallon currently with some bits and pieces whilst I get my 16 Gallon sorted out.

I currently have a Regal Damsel in there and a Tailspot Blenny. The Damsel was 1st as a easy and hardy fish to make sure after the cycle that I have something fairly bullet proof. The Tailspot blenny was due to algae growth and he goes about munching all day.

I think a Goby or a Bangai Cardinal would do okay in there as well, but my plan is to stick to these 2 fish until the 16 Gallon is sorted. Then I can think a bit further.

I also have my Pico aquarium and customer circuit board heater/chiller based stuff, so there is no rush. Got live rock in a black bucket maturing as well.

Other fish I would consider:

Clownfish (Ocellaris / Percula)
Firefish
Royal Gramma
Dottyback
Court Jester
Various Gobies
Various Damsels of smaller variety


Bluestripe Pipefish
Dragonet
^^^These 2 you would want to make sure there eating frozen or other food, not live only. Also you would need to feed small and very frequent. Holidays away with no feeding will be a no go!

I have tried with a small Cherub Dwarf Angelfish before in this size (60cm long) and although they seemed rather happy, they was both super territorial and would fly around the tank rather quickly. It basically became a tank devoted to just itself and 1 goby it didn't care about. Not ideal.

Just my opinion though. Sure many more experienced people will chime in!

- Paul

 

[ZachariahBeanz]

Hi everyone! I am considering replacing my two reef jars with a 10 gallon to allow me to keep fish...my question is, what could I keep in such smallish confines? There are plenty of freshwater fish that would be happy in a 10, but I am not so sure about saltwater fishes. Thanks

A clown goby could fit perfectly in that 10 gallons