Stocking Ideas for EVO 13.5 gallon

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Hey all,

Currently cycling my first saltwater tank and doing some research on what fish I’ll want to get when ready. Would love some input on fish recommendations and combos or number of each for the tank.

Fish that I like:
-ocellaris clownfish (maybe designer or normal)
-Wrasse (possum or pink streaked)
-goby (I like the watchman goby pistol shrimp combo but open to others)
-green chromi (probably too small)
-damsel maybe

 

[Subliminal]

Clowns, obviously.
Wrasse...maybe...the pink streaked are supposed to be cool. Tank gets small FAST!
Goby...maybe a nano...these guys push some sand and the tank is...well, its small.
Chromies are cool...basically clownfish sized...and usually docile...but swimming room is limited.
Damsel...if its the only fish in the tank.

Its a 10 gallon tank...a lot of it is going to come down to personality. If your fish are jerks, its going to be a problem.

 

[logo8]

Seems like most of these fish are going to be jerks lol

 

[davidcalgary29]

Pink-streaked wrasses are quite timid and not the most kinetic of fish. While they're an interesting addition to a tank, I'm not sure I'd make one the focal point of mine. My pink-streaked wrasse spends most of its time drifting amongst the macroalgae, and only occasionally drifts around on the currents.

Captive-bred orchid dottybacks are a must if you like bright, zippy fish. Get two if you take this route, though.

Pygmy whitespotted filefish are lots of fun and will fit in well in an Evo.

I wouldn't put a damsel in a tank this size -- and yes, that goes for clowns. Even the most passive of the damsels, such as the lovely lyretail damsels, can get bitey if stressed for space.

 

[logo8]

Right kind of leaning away from clownfish as they seem like they would be messy and are kind of the basic choice.

leaning towards a watchman goby and or the possum wrasse.

couple dottyback would be cool as well.

tough choices ahead

 

[clownfishl0ver]

You could do a watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair and a firefish. That’s what I have in my evo, they get along well and seem happy.

 

[clownfishl0ver]

You could do a watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair and a firefish. That’s what I have in my evo, they get along well and seem happy.

Actually the orchid dottyback with a watchman/pistol would probably be even better since the dottybacks are smaller and less timid.

 

[Lebowski_]

Right kind of leaning away from clownfish as they seem like they would be messy and are kind of the basic choice.

leaning towards a watchman goby and or the possum wrasse.

couple dottyback would be cool as well.

tough choices ahead

Remember, it's only 13g.

Clown's are "basic", but they are also hardy, won't bother inverts, and are very beginner friendly. Lots of personality, plus you can get tank bred.

 

[areefer01]

As noted by the Big Lebowski above the 13 gallon marker is important. What is more important than that number is what you are actually left with after you take into account power heads, heaters, rocks, and substrate. Yes, it has a false wall so heater and filter will be out but you may have a power head in there. Point Lebowski was making is that you really won't have that much water volume.

Ok - so moving past the obvious you didn't mention what sort of corals. While I only mentioned equipment above we also have to factor this in because they will grow. Frag today. Tomorrow a colony or a bush. They grow tall, wide, bushy, bubbly, and branches. Think of the song by Rush titled Trees. Oaks vs maples.

Moving on have you envisioned a reef type you want to replicate? Crest? Lagoon? Mixed. Specific soft, LPS, or SPS? Fish may prefer X of Y regardless of us hobbyist treating the display like a junk drawer and throwing everything in Teasing of course but say SPS is what you want and you add a clown goby. Cute as they are the little rascals hang out in SPS which may irritate it or you.

You do have options. Small possum wrasse is nice. Calm. Chalk Bass. Royal Gramma. Gobies. Starry (biota), Links (biota), blue cleaner (biota). Pistol shrimp / goby pair. Pipe fish (not if you get a wrasse due to competition of food). Pair of mandarins (biota captive bred only as they are eating pellets) (also if you get wrasse maybe not again due to natural food foraging).

Personally speaking I'd go with the gobies and chalk bass but that is easy for me to say. I'm not one for a pair of clowns in that size display but it would work. To me they are a bit large and would take up space. Gobies I could fit more in same with chalk bass. Also most of these you can get captive bred/raised.

The long and short of it is really consider the size today vs tomorrow (maturity). I do not mean like tang police but rather things change as days go by. Whatever you do choose it is about the journey so have fun and enjoy the ride. The display is a nice one.

 

[Acroconut]

I have an Ora Picasso Clown and an Ora Neon Goby that have done well in my fluval Evo. I also have a peppermint shrimp, 5 Sexy Shrimps, 2 hermit crabs. a ton of mini stars, and several Brittle stars

 

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Thanks for the feedback guys. Lots to think about still and should definitely research some more

 

[saltcats]

I have a possum wrasse in a similar sized tank (had him almost 2 months now) and I'm actually upgrading the tank after having seen him swimming in it.
He's a lot more active than I expected from my research and he uses absolutely all the space. Not sure I would recommend one in this size tank based on my experience. He does seem to be settling more now but he was surfing the glass a lot for the first month or so.

 

[Budman93]

Hey all,

Currently cycling my first saltwater tank and doing some research on what fish I’ll want to get when ready. Would love some input on fish recommendations and combos or number of each for the tank.

Fish that I like:
-ocellaris clownfish (maybe designer or normal)
-Wrasse (possum or pink streaked)
-goby (I like the watchman goby pistol shrimp combo but open to others)
-green chromi (probably too small)
-damsel maybe

You could get a bunch of ‘sexy shrimp’ to add character. 13g is really only big enough for like 2 fish but you can get some cool inverts

 

[logo8]

I have a possum wrasse in a similar sized tank (had him almost 2 months now) and I'm actually upgrading the tank after having seen him swimming in it.
He's a lot more active than I expected from my research and he uses absolutely all the space. Not sure I would recommend one in this size tank based on my experience. He does seem to be settling more now but he was surfing the glass a lot for the first month or so.

Do you have anything else in the tank with him? That’s quite interesting I’ve kind heard mixed thing about wrasses in Nano tanks but the possum seemed to be the most documented one that works.

 

[logo8]

You could get a bunch of ‘sexy shrimp’ to add character. 13g is really only big enough for like 2 fish but you can get some cool inverts

2-3 fish is what I expected. Figured the tank is more for corals anyways. Still cool to pick out a few fish to have for first tank

 

[saltcats]

Do you have anything else in the tank with him? That’s quite interesting I’ve kind heard mixed thing about wrasses in Nano tanks but the possum seemed to be the most documented one that works.

No, he's the first fish. I also saw a lot of people having good success with them (why I chose him) but personally at least I feel he's a bit cramped in there. Everything I'd read described them as timid and reclusive and "will hide in a cave most of the time" - mine was very bold and confident from day 1 and is always investigating every inch of the tank.

That said I know I tend to be more conservative about stocking than a lot of folks (I'm one of those "at least 10 gallons for a single betta" kind of people!) so you may feel differently.

 

[i cant think]

Pink-streaked wrasses are quite timid and not the most kinetic of fish. While they're an interesting addition to a tank, I'm not sure I'd make one the focal point of mine. My pink-streaked wrasse spends most of its time drifting amongst the macroalgae, and only occasionally drifts around on the currents.

Out of curiosity, how old is your pink?
This boy was 1 year and loved to be on display. My current pair are also 9 months and love being out on display and even breed.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Out of curiosity, how old is your pink?
This boy was 1 year and loved to be on display. My current pair are also 9 months and love being out on display and even breed.
View attachment 3134702

I've had mine for about six months now. It's still quite small; perhaps it will become bolder as it matures.

 

[i cant think]

I've had mine for about six months now. It's still quite small; perhaps it will become bolder as it matures.

They really do - My pair were originally a trio and this is how big they were, they’re still not huge however they aren’t quite so small anymore and are probably around 1” at the tops. They were originally around 0.25”.

here’s the pair recently, you can kind of see the female gravid