Opinions about suitable tankmates for Maroon Clown

[Matt Kelley]

I have a 2.5 inch Maroon clownfish in a 20 gallon tank, and for a while now I've been wondering if I could add anything else to the tank -- there are no corals or anything like that. Inverts would be cool, or perhaps a goby. What do you guys (and gals) think about what would be most suitable for a tankmate for him?

He's pretty territorial, and loves his little wholes in the live rock -- so maybe something less intrusive... more of a fly on the wall sort of fish/invert.

 

[1979camaro]

well...as far as inverts any of the shrimps would be ok...maybe 3 peppermints, a pair of cleaners or bloods...a boxing shrimp or pistol shrimp

tubeworms require no additional lighting so you could go with those

a goby would be a good choice because they would inhabit different realms of the tank most likely...where is the clown's hole?

 

[Matt Kelley]

The hole is on the bottom part of the tank, near the crushed shells... basically there is one huge LR piece and some tiny chunks around it, the big one is his.

I love shrimp, so I'll look into those.

A yellow watchman goby would most lighly be my pick, they're tiny and stay tiny. My only thing is, gobies live near the lower part of the tank, and I don't want the maroon picking on it.

I tried tubeworms, but had an incredibly hard time feeding it... but I'd like to try one again, what food do you suggest?

 

[Matt Kelley]

Oh, and also, what sort of supplements do I need to add to the water if I get a tubeworm?

Right now, I add essential elements (from Kent Marine) for some of the growing coral on my LR, would that be okay or do they require something else?

 

[1979camaro]

umm...i dont know whats in the essential elements...i would look for filter feeder food (i think the kent product is called "chromaplex" if i recall) for a tube worm. dose it with a baster so that it gets some goodies right in there

you could look for an active top swimming fish which stays small...maybe a chromis of some variety. i think the goby might be ok but if it were my tank and the maroon lived near bottom i would want something up top

 

[wayne]

Maroons are pretty tough, so I'd give anything else peaceful a miss. A dotty back, dwarf dwarf angel? Shrimp should be fine.
Worms don't really need any supplements, but feeding them can be a hassle in small tanks. Live phytoplankton?

 

[S.Reef]

Don't add any damsels! A fish with a different color pattern and size would probably be alright.

 

[Matt Kelley]

Wasn't planning on adding any damsels, I think they're kind of a boring fish, sort of like the goldfish of saltwater tanks -- everyone seems to have them. Personally I'd love an angel, but I don't think it would live very happily in my tank, seeing as though it's only 20 gallons.

Anyone know of a fish that eats hair algae? I have it growing over everything, it looks nice, but it's covering 90% of the equipment in there, and about 40% of the LR.

I tried live phytoplankton, but I overfed once and it was a disaster. In spite of that, I think I will get a worm or two -- I think they look interesting and behave strangely. I think I just needed a better apparatus to feed the worms, I was just using a big cleaned chicken baster, I think I need a finer pipette (which I am sure I will have an easy time finding).

As for fish, I think I'll go with a goby -- but if you guys think a small dwarf angel fish would work in there, as wayne suggested, I'd love to try it out. Is a blenny out of the question; I've had a goby before, never a blenny. Just from looks and behavior, I'd have to say they act pretty related to one another, similar facial and body structure, similar living habits/habitats. So what about a blenny?

BTW -- Thanks for the help. I have a very indecisive mind at times

 

[S.Reef]

A pigmy angel may work if it is the only other fish in the tank. However a fish you may be interested in is a Lawnmower blenny. This guy eats hair algae and is relatively inexpensive.

 

[1979camaro]

the only concern with the lawnmowers are when they run out of algae many stop eating and die of starvation...i would try to find one that is eating flake/seaweed/vegetable on a clip

 

[S.Reef]

Yeah...good point.

 

[wayne]

20 gals is small for a lawnmower. Dottyback? Centropyge argi, acanthops, flavicaulada?

There isn't really a lot thay will eat hair that will go in a 20. My bicolor doesn't touch it.