Am I able to put a nem in a 10 gal?

CoralReeferGal

New member
I plan on starting a 10 gal nano here soon... are there any nems I can put in? The only reason I want to do the 10g is because of clowns... I was originally thinking of a long tentacled plate coral, but if I can do a nem, I'd rather have a natural host than a coral. Thoughts? Is it possible? Thanks!
 
None of the natural hosts for clownfish will last in a 10g. They all get too big, and that is ignoring the health issues related to how fast the water parameters change in a 10g tank.
 
I figured most would get too big. I was actually considering a BTA, but again, wasn't sure if it would be possible, or OK for the nem. I have no problem going with the long tentacle plate coral if need be.
 
If you had a auto top off to keep your salinity in check you could put in a small nem, but without that I wouldn't.
 
If you're planning on putting the plate coral in there for the clowns to host because it looks like an anemone, there is no guarantee that it'll work. Clowns will host anything they want. I've had a pair host my powerhead, and had another host a mushroom. However, most corals are not accustomed to having little animals smack them around and pull on their tenticles like clowns do to nems. IMO, a plate coral being hosted by clowns would probably not do very well.

If you want to try to get your clowns to host something that looks a little like a nem I would recommend some hairy mushrooms (cool green color too!) or maybe a toadstool (looks a bit like a carpet nem). Both are very hardy corals, unlike the plate. Like I said previously though, there is no garuntee that the clown will host in either of these as well, its just a bit safer for the coral.
 
My friend got a 5 gal tank with a pair of clownfish and a Rbta for more then 3 years now, That all he have in the tank. The key is to maintain your tank n you should be fine. His Rbta split once and he sold it to another reefer.
 
I had a rose bubble and my breeding clowns in a 12g nano cube under pc lights, never had a problem, eventually the rose bubble grew till it touched 4 sides of the tank and was relocated to my larger tank, but it was always healthy
 
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