Stocking Suggestions

[Lennie]

Hey guys,

Hope you are doing well.

I wanted to ask for some suggestions regarding the future stocking on my currently cycling tank. Ammonia to nitrite phase is over, the tank is currently on day 16. It is an on-going nitrite to nitrate phase now. While it is running on its course and doing the job, I want to create a certain stocking list for the tank so that I can start quarantining the fish and save the territorial ones for the last, like clownfish if I wanna add any to a community tank. And plan my quarantining and the order of adding fish based on my list.

I am planning to have a nano reef one with easy corals. BUT, if I decide on going for a clown pair only tank, I may also think of anemone-clownfish only tank.

The tank is a shallow 50 liter one-custom made. The dimensions are 50cm x 40cm x 25cmh (19.7 x 15.7 x 9.85 inch h). 1.025, 25C/77F. In case it helps, here is a picture from the first day of setup. Not a thick layer of sand as I am not a fan of it in any of my tanks. Rocks and the shell serving as some hiding points:

I watched many videos read many topics for beginner friendly fish for nano tanks similar to my tank size, but having a shallow tank comes with a few different perspectives.

First, there is not top-mid-bottom level really. At best, we can call it bottom level and the rest, so any territorial fish might be problematic for their level, even tho they would have a chance to not spend time at the same level normally to prevent this. So I wanted to hear some experienced recommendations to not mess up.

The fish/invertebrates that interest me are as follows:

1- Clownfish/ A. ocellaris
2- Firefish
3-Yellow clown goby
4- Yellow watchman goby
5-Banggai Cardinal

-------------------
6- Red Tuxedo Sea Urchin
7-Fire Shrimp/Cleaner Shrimp

+any hermits snails conch etc. Please let me know how many would you add from any of these.


I thought of something like one Black storm clown, one red firefish, either one yellow clown goby OR yellow watchman goby, and one banggai Cardinal.

OR
Just an anemone tank with two clowns, and any recommendations that may share the same tank if added prior to the baby clowns. I just saw a topic about clowns horribly bullied a firefish and I am hesitant. I keep hearing they are mean and bullies. Can anything live with a potential pair of clowns in this tank? Also, in case anemones start to outgrow the tank, I can easily increase the tanksize. That's not an issue

OR
Any other suggestion you have!

P.S: Accepting flake/pellet food is important. I have my own whiteworm culture and I hatch live bbs (dunno if saltwater fish show any interest as they are tiny) if that's also useful for their diet. Sourcing frozen food is tough for me. I can also feed frozen clams, shrimp, etc. that are sold in the supermarket if any fish in the list would appreciate it.
The top of the tank will be covered by a lid. Don't worry!


I also liked Gold belly blue damsels and royal dottyback but I keep hearing damsels in general are pretty aggressive so it is a pass. Tailspot blennies look cool, one of the saltwater LFS in my city had those, and I am not sure if I loved it. I liked midas blennies but they seem big and active for my tank size.

 

[TX_REEF]

Congrats on the new system, it looks nice!

You could easily have 2 clowns and 2-3 other (small) fish in that tank.

What light are you using? Just want to be sure it can support an anemone.

What are you using for flow? Just that HOB filter? Does it create sufficient water movement? Anemones like broad, gentle flow.

General comments - if you don't like sand, you can certainly remove it and run bare bottom! You may regret those large shells later, they look like detritus traps.

 

[Lennie]

Congrats on the new system, it looks nice!

You could easily have 2 clowns and 2-3 other (small) fish in that tank.

What light are you using? Just want to be sure it can support an anemone.

What are you using for flow? Just that HOB filter? Does it create sufficient water movement? Anemones like broad, gentle flow.

General comments - if you don't like sand, you can certainly remove it and run bare bottom! You may regret those large shells later, they look like detritus traps.

Hello there!
Thanks for the message.

There is a circulation pump right above the big shell on right top. I am planning to renew it, as it performs really well without the gear in front that works as a protection tool, but with that tool on(which is very risky for fish or critters/anemone to use without one), the flow gets messed up, I dont know why. It was a cheap one I had on hand already so I wanted to utilise it and see how it goes but I will probably go for Turbello Nanostream 6015 or 6025. Would 6015 be a better choice here?
HOB is only filled with sponge and filter floss to work as a mechanical filtration

I have no experience on saltwater yet, but I keep hearing clownfish are mean and can be very aggressive if they happen to pair up. What would you stock the tank with such dimensions and equipments?

I don't live in the US so the brands available to me for many products differ. I use a local brand called Aquareef. The specific product I have is "Aquareef F30". 20000K Cool White, Royal Blue 445nm+ 460nm Blue + 430 nm Violet + Pink (Idk why but the application says "red"). I use their preset Soft/LPS tank mode. Currently it is on a 4 week acclimation mode

 

[TX_REEF]

Clowns generally won't be any more or less aggressive as a pair, except to each other which is natural. Assuming the wattage is sufficient, your light fixture looks like it will do just fine. I'm not familiar with the flow pump you mentioned, I just wanted to verify you have more than just a small HOB filter for water movement.