20 gallon stocking ideas

[MC Blowfish]

Here's where I'm at. I have about 5 inches of live sand with 18 pounds of live rock. I have Seachem Tidal 35 as my filter with a HOB refugium.

I have two ocellaris clownfish in my tank at the moment. I plan on getting a pearly jawfish as well. I know I'm pretty limited with space, but I was curious if I could add one more fish. Not now, but in a month or two. I do plan on getting some corals eventually, but not for at least six months. My clowns have been in the tank for a month now.

I do have a cleaning crew as well.
Peppermint shrimp
Emerald Crab
Assortment of snails (Astra and Cerith)
Pincushion Urchin

I don't want to overcrowd my tank. I want to do this right.

Any suggestions would be awesome. Like I said, I don't plan on adding a fourth fish until October or November. If not later, depending on the availability of any fish that I get.

 

[griss]

I'm not huge on fish as I'm more into corals and inverts. But, I like to add Basslets to all my tanks. They stay fairly small, most tend to be peaceful and many are very colorful.

 

[OrionN]

I recommend a pair of smaller shrimp gobies with their shrimp symbiont.
Not cheap but a pair of Stonogobiops dracula with one or a pair of Alpheus randalli would be perfect in that tank, IMO.

 

[Timfish]

Springer's dottyback colors would contrast nicely with the clownfish IMO.

 

[Uncle99]

Here's where I'm at. I have about 5 inches of live sand with 18 pounds of live rock. I have Seachem Tidal 35 as my filter with a HOB refugium.

I have two ocellaris clownfish in my tank at the moment. I plan on getting a pearly jawfish as well. I know I'm pretty limited with space, but I was curious if I could add one more fish. Not now, but in a month or two. I do plan on getting some corals eventually, but not for at least six months. My clowns have been in the tank for a month now.

I do have a cleaning crew as well.
Peppermint shrimp
Emerald Crab
Assortment of snails (Astra and Cerith)
Pincushion Urchin

I don't want to overcrowd my tank. I want to do this right.

Any suggestions would be awesome. Like I said, I don't plan on adding a fourth fish until October or November. If not later, depending on the availability of any fish that I get.

I might add a Royal Gramma, can be a bit of a hider, but is super resilient.
Colourful, half purple, half yellow, and is not mean by any means.

But doesn’t look for trouble.

I have one in every tank.

 

[griss]

I might add a Royal Gramma, can be a bit of a hider, but is super resilient.
Colourful, half purple, half yellow, and is not mean by any means.

But doesn’t look for trouble.

I have one in every tank.
View attachment 32414063

Way back in the old days, we went on our honeymoon to Jamaica. We dove every morning. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a reef wall, 100’ish feet long and probably 15-20’ high. There were Grammas everywhere along that wall. Coolest thing I’ve seen in 40+ years diving.

 

[OrionN]

The one thing about Royal Gramma is that they loose their brilliance color in captivity unless you really feed them well with really good food. Fat and healthy but just dull coloration.

 

[Timfish]

The one thing about Royal Gramma is that they loose their brilliance color in captivity unless you really feed them well with really good food. Fat and healthy but just dull coloration.

I'm inclined to think there's something else going on with Grammas that fade out. I've had lots of them in lots of tanks over the years, most getting the same food but only a few fading out so I haven't seen any correlation between food and fading colors.

 

[wvned]

Look here. These are fish appropriate for small tanks. Most would say dont purchase one there however. It is still a good place to find basic information on an animal you are interested in.
Nano Fish | Marine Fish

 

[MC Blowfish]

Look here. These are fish appropriate for small tanks. Most would say dont purchase one there however. It is still a good place to find basic information on an animal you are interested in.
Nano Fish | Marine Fish

Thank you! This is helpful. I'd love a Dragonet, but even if I could find one that was eating frozen or pellets, I don't think I'd buy one.

I think I'm either going to get a blenny or a firefish.