realistic nano reef

[Moonstream]

I really want my reef tank to look realistic, so not only will I place corals in the ares they would be found in nature (depth, on the sand or rocks, ect) but also have fish living the way they would in nature. I have decided on a school of cardinals, anthias, or chromis, a pair of clowns, a royal gramma, a tail spot blenny, a carpenders flasher wrasse or a yellow fin wrasse, and some small gobies (2 or 3). I thought this would give the tank a natural look. this is a lot of fish for a 20L tank, even though the tank is hooked up to a 29 gallon fuge, and a 10 gallon sump, and a 5 gallon frag tank. the tank volume should take care of the waste, and I did my best to not choose any teritorial, aggressive, or large fish. the clowns will be either pink skunk, perc, or ocellaris (perc is most likely). is this too many fish?

[buttons buster]

Ya I would cut back a little bit

[BecomesOcean]

If realism is what you're going for I agree you'll wanna cut back a bit. In nature that number and variety of fish would not share the space of a 20 gallon tank. The system volume is good for a decent bioload, but you're limited by your main display. Ten or twelve fish in a 20 is complete overkill, unless they were all neon gobies.

No anthias are appropriate in a school in a 20 gallon. You might be able to do one sunburst anthias, but that's even pushing it and would really limit the number of other guys you could put in. The chromis are too active of swimmers to be good for the 20 also. The cardinals are prolly a decent choice. But if you've got three of them, and want a pair of clowns, I would say you're about set. Maybe a small goby or the gramma, but you're getting pretty small territories at that point.

I've got a 24 and I tried a carpenters and it just was too small. I did have a pair of clowns in there but they chased my baby Bartlett's anthias out, and then the smaller clown got chased out of the tank himself. I currently have a sunburst and quite a few little gobies, but the sunburst keeps chasing them around. Anyway, don't overdo it. You'll just wind up killing things like I did.

[Moonstream]

okay, I see where your going w/ this, and I do agree. got a little carried away. okay, well here is what I am thinking,
2 clowns (1 to begin w/)
1 yellow fin fairy wrasse (will it be too aggresive? would it need too much teritory?)
3-5 small gobies
1 tail spot blenny

I also have the frag tank and the 29 gallon refugium if any fish get too aggresive or need more teritory. if I disencluded the wrasse, and had only the tailspot and clowns, how many small gobies could I have?

[Illuminati]

I liked the schooling cardinal idea.

Ever seen these cardinals?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1431&N=0


Of course if you want REAL natural stick to a geographic area and make a biotope around that. You could do a caribbean reef with Florida Rics, Sponges, Gorgonians, etc....

You could get liverock from Tampa Bay Saltwater, Cleanup crew and live stock from both E-tropicals.com and Sea Life Florida.

Lot's of options besides this one, I'm interested to see how this turns out and what you come up with.

[Moonstream]

yeah, loved those since I first saw them on LA, but they dont seem to carry them any more. makes me sad. :( if I can find some I may get a trio, and ditch the wrasse.

[Kengaroo131]

i would introduce both clowns at the same time but make that the only thing you put in for a bit. if you want them to pair easyer try to get one that is larger then the other one biger one smaller it will make there sex change a little quicker. good luck!

[BecomesOcean]

I'd stay away from the wrasse. Fairy wrasses are super mellow, but it'll just be too cramped in there. My recommendation would be:

2-3 orange lined cards OR 2 clowns
1 blenny (good choice for a "personality" fish)
2-4 gobies, depending on the size and temprement

Good luck.

[All Delight]

Do those orange lined cards swim much or are they like other cards?

[StunnaShadez]

since ur having all those tanks connected together, u should go big. like a whale!! jk

you could always put some fish in your frag tank like some small gobies or other small reef safe fish