Stocklist help pretty please

chrisnif

Member
Tank is a 20 gallon "high" I know for sure I want a pair of percula clowns. I'd also like a "group" of fire fish, but need some help deciding about keeping them in an open top tank. I'd also like a green clown goby and eventually a Mandarin. Any other suggestions are welcome (especially if the fire fish are a no go). Someone in my local reef club told me he only had a problem with fire fish jumping when there was a wrasse in the tank.
If anyone thinks a pair of percula are too much, please give me some ideas of another very active,always in front of the glass fish that is small and reef safe :)
Thanks in advance :)
 

beachblue

New Member
Another option for a "group" would be 3 cardinals such as PJs or Banggai, they might be more suitable than the firefish since they are not such active swimmers, but they are not shy and will be very visible. Certainly, I'd hold off on the Mandy, you probably won't have enough LR and pods to keep him alive.
 

kacey

Member
I actually wouldn't recommend cardinals if you want a Mandarin, because cardinals are also pretty enthusiastic 'pod eaters, and you don't want many of those if you're trying to keep any sort of dragonet. With a tank your size, I'd also suggest only one firefish, or if you can find them, maaaaybe a pair that are already bonded. In such small quarters, if you put more than one firefish in, one of them will dominate and kill the others.
My suggestion would be 1 firefish, 2 clownfish and the mandarin (or just 1 firefish and 2 clowns). BUT, please keep in mind that a 20 gallon tank will probably not be able to hold a population of pods big enough to sustain a mandarin. You'll need to teach the mandarin to accept alternative foods which, according to a couple of folks that have raised and bred/ mandarins, can be done with time and patience. PM me and I can send you a couple links on how to do it. Also, even if you do have a mandarin weaned to accept other foods, they still need enough pods to graze between mealtimes (and these guys should be eating 2-3 small meals a day if you're feeding them).
Lastly, I think you're going to need some kind of top on your tank, even if it's screen or layered egg crate. Firefish are big jumpers and mandarins have been known to jump, too. I'm not sure about clowns, but the general consensus is that really any fish has the potential to jump if spooked.
 
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