suggestion on fish

[leaffish75]

i have a jebo 6 gallon tank. It has 2 t-5 bulbs total of 16watts. what fish can live in this tank? I was thinking of getting two small percs and anenome.

[FishinInTheDark]

Have you had the tank going long? If it's been going longer than nine months to a year, you might be able to get a BTA to work under those lights, but you would have to feed it a lot, and then you'd run into water quality issues. That is also very, very small for two fish. Even one clownfish is pretty tight and would max out your stocking level. Have you considered a small goby? They don't swim around much, and just camp out in their comfy spots. Consider a clown goby. They stay small and have funny personalities! With nanos, it's really important not to overstock, because as you know, things can go bad quickly!

GL,

[Sugar Magnolia]

Well, since I am a breaker of rules when it comes to nanos I think I'll dive in here. Be gentle with me guys and keep in mind that I kept these tanks going (quite succesfully) for about 14 months till they both went into my 30.

leaffish, I started into the nano realm with a 6 gallon elipse with the stock lighting. that lasted about a month when I discovered that lighting wasn't enough for much of anything. so upgraded to 36 watts PC. My first fish, was of course, the cute little clown fish. I kept him in there for about 8 months till he took the leap of faith and I found him as he gasped his last. (a sad day). While he was still alive I decided that a yellow watchman goby was a cool looking fish so in he went. About 5 months in with the Eclipse I traded up for a 7 gal AGA minibow. Clown was still with me at that point. Contents of the 6 went into the 7. After that was running with the two fish and misc corals for another 3 months or so, out jumped the clown. :( Since my yellow watchman rarely ever came out due to being harrased senseless by a sally lightfoot that I had to evict, I thought I'd get another fish that would swim around. In goes a 6 line wrasse. About 9 or 10 months in, I added a blue stripe neon goby.

nano #2 was a 7.5 gallon custom built tank that housed a small clarkii - 1/2" or so when I got it along with it's 3" baby LTA, and a bicolor blenny. Blenny is a percher, not much of a free swimmer although he does now in the 30. the baby clarkii maxxed out at about 3" when I traded him and his mutant LTA in because the LTA had gotten too big for the 30 and because the clarkii would attack me when I stuck my hand in the 30. At any rate, those two fish were in that nano for about 8-9 months before being moved into a bigger tank.

Aside from the clown that jumped, the clown that I traded in and the six line that met an untimely death with a powerhead intake in the 30, all the other fish are still with me in the cube.

So, what I'm getting at is, although it is NOT recommended that you keep more than one fish in a 10 gallon tank, it can be done, if they are introduced s-l-o-w-l-y so that the tank's biological filtration has a chance to catch up with the bioload that the fish produces. Dilligent water changes are a MUST. Weekly 10% - absolute must.

Don't do what I did though and jump in with more than 2 fish. Try to pick fish that have different territories in the tank...free swimmers, fish that need a host, perchers, cave dwellers, etc. That way the 2 fish won't be vying for the same territory and chances are they will get along fine. Stay away from the more aggressive species, like psuedochromis/dottybacks, damsels, etc. The key in nanos is to chosse peaceful fish, otherwise plan on housing one fish only.

[Sugar Magnolia]

BTW... I think I'll go into hiding now. ;) I don't do confrontations well.

****whimper****

[FishinInTheDark]

Come on, SM, take it like a man! :badgrin: No, really, thanks for your experineces, because it's nice to hear about things that do work when we mostly hear about things that don't!

The common thread with all these fish that are still happy and thriving, is that they were little when in the tank, and were moved to a larger tank when they grew. I don't see a real problem with a couple of juvenile clowns in a six gallon, but full grown clowns will just not be happy. If you have another tank, or know for sure that you will within a year, I guess I'd say multiple fish will work. :doubt:

I still say that the anemone is not a great idea.

[Doctor_Reef]

Both comments were very right on.... The Idea is that nothing in reef keeping that happens fast is good!!!!

Would totally agree that the anemone is not a great idea..... Not enough lighting and tank is not mature enough to handle it....

This hobby is so much fun but we just have to remember to be real patient in the way we add to our systems!!!

[nanoman123]

I would also agree the anenome is a no-no. at least not for another 6-8 months, and a small light upgrade....in my 10 gallon, i broke rules too. For my first fish i got a tomato clown, which are supposed to get a foot long, but hes stayed at less than 2 inches for a year and a half. about a month or 2 later, i got my purple firefish. he was great, you just need a tight lid because they like to jump. about 4 months later, i got a blue stripe neon goby. everyhting was doing fine and happy for 4 months, then a mantis came in on a rock and killed the goby and the firefish :( . 2 months later i added a royal gramma. he jumped out and died... 3 months later i added a 6 line, and the night after i got him, a rock fell on him why he was sleeping..... since then ive added no other fish, since my clown seems to be the "lucky" one out of all of them.... i also had no skimmer this whole time

like SM and Conni said, its ok to bend the rules, just be sure you do it SLOWLY.

HTH

~Matt~

[leaffish75]

the nano has been up for over a year. but i found what i want in ti. :badgrin: got a mantis

[Sugar Magnolia]

cool! and we would love to see pics of the new mantis and his home.

[leaffish75]

at the fish store it wasnt hiding just staring and now it hides. It will once in a while pokes it head out through a small hole. Its very dosile. i put a pencil in there and it wouldnt strick it no matter what. Its funny seeing a little of it covered with ghost shrimp. Guess he isnt hungry. It did kill my blue claw crab. but i was hoping for that.....i'll see about some pictures soon.

[gman0526]

He's just getting used tohis new surroundings, he'llbeout in no time :badgrin:

PD. Sugar Magnolia I'm with you on your post. I kept a Clown Tang in my 30 for 8 mos. and he was helthier than the one in a friend's 125 gal tank all this b4 the tank killing power failure. I'M NOT SAYING IT SHOULD BE DONE, OR ENCOURAGING ANYBODY TO DO IT I'M JUST SHARING. :wink: