just starting my fist reef tank its only 9g whats the fish to size ratio of reef tank

[Curtis88]

i have had fresh water fish tanks my whole life just wondering if salt water tanks are any different?

 

[Grkgod36]

i have had fresh water fish tanks my whole life just wondering if salt water tanks are any different?

Uh yeah lol.... They are VERY different

 

[Jrambo88]

i wouldnt put any fish in a 9 gallon tank. inverts only.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

You could do a small goby and pistol shrimp.

 

[Curtis88]

grkgod i meant as in fish size per gallon

 

[Curtis88]

i wsa thinking a small shrimp maybe couple hermit crabs and 2 small fish u think thats too much

 

[Deinonych]

grkgod i meant as in fish size per gallon

That metric doesn't apply to marine aquariums. Frankly, I think you are going have a difficult time keeping water quality high with such a small volume of water. A 40gal breeder would be much more forgiving and would allow you to have a few small fish and some corals (with appropriate lighting). Marine aquariums are MUCH different than freshwater. I would recommend thoroughly reading through the stickies at the top of the "New to the Hobby" section before proceeding: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

 

[Betta132]

i wsa thinking a small shrimp maybe couple hermit crabs and 2 small fish u think thats too much

Far too much. Saltwater tanks cannot have as much bio-load as freshwater tanks. Also, fish-per-gallon ratios are basically impossible to calculate without knowing all the other factors. There's no hard-and-fast rule.
IF you can manage to keep the parameters stable, which is very difficult in a tank that small, you can keep a couple of tiny hermits and a small shrimp. No fish until you have more experience with saltwater. Even then, only one tiny fish, something only about an inch long. A microgoby of some sort would work.
I would suggest starting off with a much larger saltwater tank, at least 30g.

 

[TangingOut]

I think at the very most a mated pair of neon gobies. KP aquatics sell mated pairs.

 

[CHSUB]

no fish?????

my first saltwater tank was a 10g! 2 small clownfish, crabs and snails, gravel, ugf with carbon inserts, and some coral skeletons for decor. i would add feather duster worms sometimes, but they died often.

 

[acesq]

no fish?????

my first saltwater tank was a 10g! 2 small clownfish, crabs and snails, gravel, ugf with carbon inserts, and some coral skeletons for decor. i would add feather duster worms sometimes, but they died often.

Old School! I had a 10 gal in college a million years ago and set it up the same way. The clowns did fine. Today I would try two or three trimma gobies.

 

[Spartanman22]

I kept a 5 gallon rimless with a pair of Picasso's for a couple years, but granted I had already been in the hobby for 6 years at that point and that 5 gallon was fully automated. So with that said, can you keep two fish in a sub 1p gallon tank? Yes. Should as your first experience in saltwater, probably not. I'd stick with 1 small fish and some inverts. Maybe a small goby and a fire shrimp

 

[Curtis88]

thanks everyone for your imput

 

[CHSUB]

thanks everyone for your imput

however, like others have said small tanks are not easy and very different from FW. i had the benefit of being a LFS employee when i setup my first sw tank in 1982 and even then had some "smart" people helping me. my advice is go slow and do much research. GL!!!! and your tank looks nice.....

 

[Genera]

Do a Caribbean biotope and Fill it with macroalgae, Ricordea floridas, and a few Pederson's Anemone Shrimp. That's what I would do. :rollface:

 

[sde1500]

I run a 10 gallon tank, currently housing just a single clown, murderous crab took out other inhabitants before being removed. Going to add another clown to the mix. Long as you keep up on tank maintenance two small fish shouldn't be an issue.

 

[bat21]

Although clowns are pretty, they don't have the most entertaining personalities honestly. If you're only going for one fish, I think something like a tailspot blenny might be be more enjoyable to watch. I love my clowns, but compared to the other fish I have they are kinda boring.

 

[JoeVandal49]

A small group of Clown Gobies, or a shrimp goby/pistol shrimp pair would probably work.

Possibly even a pair of Clown gobies, and a shrimp goby/shrimp combo.

I wouldn't do a pair of clown fish long term.

 

[ThRoewer]

i wouldnt put any fish in a 9 gallon tank. inverts only.

Why that?

There are mini fish that will do fine in a tank that size. Some of those I wouldn't put into a larger tank in fear to loose them.

Also 9 gallon is enough for a pair of ocellaris or percula.
Clown gobies should do fine as well.
Another choice would be one of the smaller shrimp gobies with a pistol shrimp (or even a pair of each).

There are plenty of other fish that will do fine in a smaller tank.

A small tank just requires to do more water changes - I would do 25% to 50% weekly. You also should refill evaporated water at least once daily.

 

[Martini5788]

Are you totally set on having fish? For a small tank like that, I personally would do one of the smaller species of mantis shrimp. They are easy, coral safe, and very interesting and personable. The 2 options for me would be 1. Tail spot blenny or firefish, skunk cleaner, hermits 2. Small mantis shrimp and snails or hermirs( will have to replace occasionally as they will become food for mantis)