how many fish

[reret10]

Ok well this is probably crasy but i really like clowns and I would like a pair but would also like a neon goby. I have a ten gallon tank and I have a lown lready is it ok to have 2 clowns and a goby or is that crasy

 

[reret10]

come on I know you guys know

 

[SushiGirl]

10 gallons is small for a pair of clowns. They'll get very aggressive in a tank that small.

 

[dzfish17]

10 gallons is small for a pair of clowns. They'll get very aggressive in a tank that small.

+1 I personally wouldnt do a pair in anything smaller than a 20g.

 

[king_Neptune]

Are you planing to do a reef if so thats alot of fish for a 10g

 

[Rapide]

Well... Clownfish don't actually need that much space. They spend their whole life in a really small area in the wild, they don't swim around or wonder far from their host anemone.
I guess the problem would be keeping the water quality satisfactory.
If it was my tank, I'd stick with some small goby or two, couple of sexy shrimps and a Lysmata amboinensis, couple of hermits and snails.
Gobies are great nano fishes because you don't have to feed them as much as the clowns. They eat whatever they find from the substrate and rocks, like small critters and pods etc.

 

[king_Neptune]

Well... Clownfish don't actually need that much space. They spend their whole life in a really small area in the wild, they don't swim around or wonder far from their host anemone.
I guess the problem would be keeping the water quality satisfactory.
If it was my tank, I'd stick with some small goby or two, couple of sexy shrimps and a Lysmata amboinensis, couple of hermits and snails.
Gobies are great nano fishes because you don't have to feed them as much as the clowns. They eat whatever they find from the substrate and rocks, like small critters and pods etc.

Yeah water quality would be the issue

 

[SushiGirl]

All you have to do is look at all the small tank threads where people ask why their pair of clowns are so mean and attack everything in a larger radius than whatever is hosting them. You'll then realize that a tank that small is not ideal. Putting a nem in a tank that small (and new) is yet another issue.

 

[discocarp]

IMO a pair of oscellaris (but not larger clowns) in a 10g is ok, but just barely. I would not add a single additional fish though. There is just not enough space to avoid the aggression from the clowns.

 

[Ambition]

In the wild most clownfish defend a territory that is bigger than most home aquaria. The area being about a square meter I believe.

A 10 gallon tank is too small for a pair, and I personally don't even think a 20 gallon is enough. I had a juvie pair in a 20 long and they would swim to the other side and attack my pylei fairies. Keeping in mind this was a temporary home while I put together a larger QT. IMO, many people underestimate the strength and attitude a pair of clownfish can have in cramped quarters.

 

[MrTuskfish]

IMO a pair of oscellaris (but not larger clowns) in a 10g is ok, but just barely. I would not add a single additional fish though. There is just not enough space to avoid the aggression from the clowns.

I agree. Although I really don't know small tanks well, I'll give an opinion anyhow. There sure are more folks keeping more fish in small tanks than ever thought possible. Clowns aren't really aggressive, they are extremely territorial. I think you could add two juvi, tank-bred Ocellaris Clowns as the last fish and probably be OK. They will probably form a bonded pair, then claim most of the tank as theirs. At that time; they may or may not allow the goby. Not always, but smaller clowns will often tolerate fish that were present before the clowns matured. 50-50 chance, maybe better. IMO & IME. All of this drivel assumes you're really keeping water in pristine shape; no room for sloppiness with WCs, etc.