20g nano i need advice

invertaman

invertaman

Member
i just bought a 20 gallon tank. does anyone know the proper amont of live rock to put in. but i was planning on getting ethier some 3 striped or domino damsels i heard they were very hardy but i also heard they were very aggressive and territorial.
i was also considering purcula clowns. would anyone know what the perfect fish would be for a 20g tank with lots of invertabrates but i also need a fairly hardy fish.witch brings up another question what are the perfect inverts except for the obvious like snails and hermit crabs. and what is the easiest anenome to take care of:notsure: :thinking: i am afraid to and fish or inverts that will kill or eat eachother could someone help
please
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
I am hoping to start a SW 20g aquarium as well. I am definitely going to put a couple clownfish in there. I was also thinking about the cleaner clam shown on this site.
And concerning the amount of liverock. I believe the rule of thumb is one to two pounds per gallon. Hope it helps. =)
-lefty
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
Lol, I worry about that too.
I did a bit of research and it seems as though most people think the Rose Bubble Tip anemone is one of the easiest to take care of (but they still aren't easy creatures to care for). You'd need special lighting and more specific conditions. Some people may also argue that a 20g might not be large enough for anemones. There are other kinds corals you may want to consider. I've heard that clownfish will host toadstools and GSPs too. =)
-lefty
 
sula

sula

Member
The best way to prevent croaking i to research everything, just like you're doing, and go very slowly. These message boards contain a wealth of information to help you. If you haven't already, do a search on saltwater 101 and read all those threads - they will describe explicitly for you what steps you need to take to successfully set up a tank.
Happy reading :)
 
sula

sula

Member
You asked about clownfish - yes, they are relatively hardy and you could certainly put one or two in a 20 gallon tank. As for inverts, they are really fun. Look at the livestock offered on this website - I really like crabs and shrimp. I have an Emerald crab and a Coral Banded shrimp, both of which are family favorites. They are in a 10g tank with a pair of Ocellaris clowns.
I am just beginning to stock my 29g tank, in that one I have a Yellow Watchman Goby (cool fish!) and an anemone crab who seems to hide alot.... Eventually I plan to also add a Lawnmower Blenny and a Flame Hawkfish, and probably a Clown. Anemone way down the road, when the tank is more mature.
Does that help give a few ideas?
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
Clownfish vs. Damsels is a personal choice. Given the aggressiveness of Damsels, you may not be able to put anything else in there with them; but then again, you can't fit too many fish in a 20 gallon anyway. I would not recomend starting with Damsels with the eventual plan to switch to Clownfish. The Damsels will be very annoying to remove later.
Clownfish are not as hearty as Damsels, but they're still perfectly good beginner fish. Just make sure your tank is completely cycled before you add fish, and add a pair of very small ones when you're ready.
As far as inverts go, you might want to consider an emerald crab, and a proclain crab. Both are peaceful tank dwellers, the first eats algae, and the second is a filter feeder. Many people are also fond of peppermint shrimp or cleaner shrimp, one would be good for your tank. You could consider a starfish, but make sure the one you pick out is reef safe, won't eat your corals or overclean your sand. (The sand sifting starfish sounds like a good idea, until you find he's eaten all the live critters in your sand you paid $2/lb for. Critters that burrow and turn the sand without eating all the life are a good thing.)
Some people say that the scarlet hemits are less agressive, others recomend blue legs. A warning though, all hermits will occasionally eat snails for thier shells even if they are well fed. Put some extra empty shells in the tank to reduce snail mortality. If multiple attacks occur, you may want to consider feeding the crabs a bit.
There are some anenomes that can be kept for awhile in a 20 gallon tank, but they are very fragile, and considering your worry over things dying, this may not be for you yet. You might reconsider the idea in 6 months or so. For now you might plan on the better lighting and water quality that the anenome will need, but will also benifit other easy corals you might try in the mean time.
 
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