my fish list - 12g

[didz04]

Hi everyone,

I am setting up a 12g setup soon tank measurements L19" x W16" x H11".
So far fish stocking plans are:

Yellow Stripe Clingfish
Neon goby

I would like to get a trio of the clingfish as they don't produce much waste. For now I am going to try one and hopefully get it to eat.

My other suggestions are:

Rainfords Goby
Possum Wrasse
Greenbanded Goby
Gold Neon Pygmy Goby

Would you recommend any of these or add a fish to the list? How many fish could I keep maximum?
In terms of filtration I will be using a Tunze 9002 skimmer but not at the start, at least 8kg of live rock and some sort of small refugium with chaeto.

Thanks

[clowntriggerfis]

I think a max would be 6in of fish but with less active fish that produce less waste you might be able to have more.

[sponger0]

For a 12 gallon tank, I wouldnt put more than 2 fish in it

[Sugar Magnolia]

For a 12 gallon tank, I wouldnt put more than 2 fish in it

Agreed. You'll have to be diligent with the weekly water changes to keep the water quality up.

[didz04]

Do you think I can get away with 3 fishes as I would rather make it a stripe clingfish tank and have a trio of them? Including maybe some shrimps and of course cuc.

In terms of water changes since its a 55 liter I will only be doing 2 5lt water changes a week. Just making sure will that be enough?

Thanks

[Monkeyfish]

Bioload-wise the 3 cling fishes in a 12g may be doable if you're diligent with the tank up-keep. However, these are difficult fish to care for. You may want to consider something hardier such as the Rainford's or other small gobies.

[didz04]

I know the feeding can be hard but I have always wanted one when I first seen them so thats why I am willing to build a tank just for that species. If you don't give it a try then you never know. I am going to try populating live baby brine first before I set it up.

[rssjsb]

I know the feeding can be hard but I have always wanted one when I first seen them so thats why I am willing to build a tank just for that species. If you don't give it a try then you never know. I am going to try populating live baby brine first before I set it up. It's not just that feeding them is hard, it's that most won't eat at all no matter how hard you try. Believe me, I speak from experience, it's a very sad thing to watch a fish waste away when it won't respond to anything you offer it.

Building a tank for them would probably entail a set up big enough to support a couple of longspine urchins, which just cannot fit into a 12-gallon tank. Don't mean to be a downer and I totally understand the attraction. Maybe someone will chime in with a more positive experience, but I'll be surprised if anyone has managed to keep them long-term.

[MikeandNicole]

I have had a 12g biocube for almost three years now. You can put more than 2 fish in it you just have to be incredibly careful with how you stock your tank. Also tank maintanence is crucial and must be a slow and steady approach. I do around 10-15% weekly water change and replace the filter floss every week in mine.

When looking at the fish you want to stock make sure they are compatible but also look where they like to live in the tank. I have a yasha and dracula goby in my tank which was great except when they were burrowed with a pistol shrimp and the tank looked empty. To fix that I added a helfrichi firefish which swims out in the open. So when you are stocking look for fish that are bottom dwellers, rock dwellers and open water swimmers. There are a ton of small gobies and other cool fish you can put in there.

Another thing to look for, which I did with my 12g, was add all sorts of small shrimp that would get lost/eaten in a bigger tank but look great in a nano. We have sexy shrimp, pedersen's cleaner shrimp, bumblebee shrimp, and a red tail spotted shrimp. They are really cool looking and add almost no bioload to the tank.

[didz04]

It's not just that feeding them is hard, it's that most won't eat at all no matter how hard you try. Believe me, I speak from experience, it's a very sad thing to watch a fish waste away when it won't respond to anything you offer it.

Building a tank for them would probably entail a set up big enough to support a couple of longspine urchins, which just cannot fit into a 12-gallon tank. Don't mean to be a downer and I totally understand the attraction. Maybe someone will chime in with a more positive experience, but I'll be surprised if anyone has managed to keep them long-term.

No its totally fine I would rather have someone speaking with experience with these fish than someone getting their information from the Internet. Just a few questions.

How big was this setup you kept them with?
How many did you keep?
Were they kept with other fish?
Did you try live foods with them and which type?
Did you have an urchin with them?

Thanks

[didz04]

I have had a 12g biocube for almost three years now. You can put more than 2 fish in it you just have to be incredibly careful with how you stock your tank. Also tank maintanence is crucial and must be a slow and steady approach. I do around 10-15% weekly water change and replace the filter floss every week in mine.

When looking at the fish you want to stock make sure they are compatible but also look where they like to live in the tank. I have a yasha and dracula goby in my tank which was great except when they were burrowed with a pistol shrimp and the tank looked empty. To fix that I added a helfrichi firefish which swims out in the open. So when you are stocking look for fish that are bottom dwellers, rock dwellers and open water swimmers. There are a ton of small gobies and other cool fish you can put in there.

Another thing to look for, which I did with my 12g, was add all sorts of small shrimp that would get lost/eaten in a bigger tank but look great in a nano. We have sexy shrimp, pedersen's cleaner shrimp, bumblebee shrimp, and a red tail spotted shrimp. They are really cool looking and add almost no bioload to the tank.

Theres some great advice there, thanks :)

[rssjsb]

No its totally fine I would rather have someone speaking with experience with these fish than someone getting their information from the Internet. Just a few questions.

How big was this setup you kept them with? He was in a 20-gallon long QT tank.
How many did you keep? Just tried one when it turned up in my LFS.
Were they kept with other fish?Just a tiny bluestripe pipefish
Did you try live foods with them and which type?I tried tiggerpods and think I may have tried fortified live brine (this was quite a while ago). I also tried every frozen food I could think of - mysis, PE mysis, cyclopeeze, finely chopped squid, clam, shrimp.
Did you have an urchin with them? I bought an urchin for him, but I think he was too far gone by that point.

Thanks