Need compatible fish.

I was thinking about having either
1.
Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
Gold banded maroon clown
Three-stripe damsel
Yellow tailed blue damsel
Or
2.
Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
Gold banded maroon clown
Normal blue damsel
Half and half chromis.
Or any of the mix. I have a 30 gallon tank. First i need to know which I should get. Shrimp first, then what?
 

grant778

Member
Damsels get mean. I would stay away from them. You could probably do a maroon clown pair but I wouldn't add any other fish besides the pair of maroon clownfish because maroon clownfish get large and get rather aggressive.
 
My dad had a shrimp, maroon clown and a few damsels. They were fine together. We went on vacation and left them with an automatic feeder. Contaminated the tank and they died. But they were just fine before then. I was wondering which to get. I really want a gold banded maroon clown and a cleaner shrimp.
 

grant778

Member
The clownfish and shrimp and damsel would be fine. I would still not recommend damsels though because if you want to put in peaceful fish the damsels could hurt them. When they are young they are ok but as they grow larger they get more aggressive so they wouldn't work with more peaceful fish.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I bought a used 125G tank with a few fish... an 8 year old tomato clown, a 2 year old coral beauty angel, a 3 year old yellow tang, and two green chromis that I housed in a 24 gal tank for about a month while the 125G cycled. The tomato constantly harassed the coral beauty. Once I got them moved into their new home with a lot more room, things got a lot better. I have since added a domino and a yellowtail damsel. As long as they're apart, everything's fine. If the domino gets too close to the yellowtail, it will chase it off. Damsels are very territorial, so if you plan to have more than one, you need to introduce them at the same time. Adding any after the dominant one has set up it's territory is asking for trouble. Don't ask how I know... :(
As far as the clown and damsels getting along, there shouldn't be any problem. My clown is a grumpy old codger, but it never bothers the damsels. I also have two scarlet skunk cleaners and a pair of peppermint shrimp. They all coexist nicely, but it's because they're not overcrowded. Once you start stocking, it's hard to know when to stop. I believe it's two inches of fish per five gallons starting out, but unless you have uber filtration, I wouldn't go too far beyond that. Since you mentioned you're not "planning" on putting any other fish in besides them, you should be okay. Young damsels like hiding places, so provide plenty of cover. The more hiding places, the more likely fish are to stay out in the open...
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Spotted Cardinals, aka/pajama cardinals will get along with all fish, but preferably peaceful fish. They are pretty fish, but if you're looking for something flashy, these are not the ones. All I've ever owned always moved slowly and tended to hover for what seemed like hours. In other words, they were not active swimmers. It amused me to watch one as it stared at a tailspot blenny. It would hover (that word again) over the blenny when it came out of it's hole and stare at it like it was the strangest thing it had ever seen. I'm sure that went both ways. Since they're slow movers, I wouldn't put them with fast moving fish. It makes them look even slower...
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
That should be fine. They like hiding places, so lots of structure (preferably live rock) should be provided. 30 gal tank is the minimum, so you should only go with one.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
A cinnamon clown can grow up to 5 inches. That's a lot of fish for a 30 gallon tank. I think you would be better to stick with smaller fish, sometimes referred to as "nano fish". Clowns can get a little grouchy if confined to small areas.
 
Well. I've been searching around. I've got a list here. Which ones should I get?
Filefish
Purple fire fish
Black Bar Chromis
Blue/green Chromis
Royal Gamma Basslet
Tania's Pigmy Wrasse
I only want 4 or 5 at the most. Which ones a good ideas?
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I agree with grant. Not sure if you can afford three yasha white ray shrimp gobies, but firefish are a good, affordable alternative. I love my three firefish, although two of them often hide during feeding time. Something about a bright yellow 6" tang darting around that makes them nervous. The third one couldn't care less. Don't worry... they come out to eat after things settle down a bit. Firefish share the same hole at night and use it as quick shelter during the day, so once again, provide lots of hiding places so they can pick out a good spot. I'm thinking of adding a couple more today to enlarge my "school". Sadly, I have some extra room after my 8 year old clown died yesterday. I've never really been a big fan of chromis unless they were in a large school in a large tank.
 
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