Livestock Question

[davehead86]

Ive been having success with my livestock after the untimely and mysterious death of my male clown fish. I was curious about adding a few more fish / cleaner shrimp.


Currently ...

20 gallon high tank no sump.
OC Clownfish x1
Coral Beauty x1

Clean up crew
Brittle starfish x1
Nassarian (sp?) snails x4
Hermitt Crab x1

Can I add two more fish? Suggestions? A goby perhaps? Would adding a cleaner shrimp be worth it yet? Will the coral beauty allow a cleaning?

The two fish I have hang around each other all day and are very docile. They really could care less about each other.

 

[stingeragent]

Any idea why the clownfish died? Did it have any spots or anything, nipped fins, etc? The CB will quickly outgrow a 20 gallon.

 

[davehead86]

Any idea why the clownfish died? Did it have any spots or anything, nipped fins, etc? The CB will quickly outgrow a 20 gallon.

Upgrading to a 60 gallon eventually. The CB is very small (2 inches) still have time to grow.


I had a thread trying to figure out the cause of sickness and eventual death of the male clown. No one could figure it out. We decided it was probably an internal parasite and even though it was treated for them it never started eating again and starved. The other clown never showed signs or symptoms. Waited a month before adding the CB. Very depressing, my wife hated that experience.

 

[reefer1970]

1" of fish per gallon of water as a general rule but with that small of a tank you'll really have to watch parameters and do timely frequent water changes. Not much room for error with a 20 G

 

[davehead86]

1" of fish per gallon of water as a general rule but with that small of a tank you'll really have to watch parameters and do timely frequent water changes. Not much room for error with a 20 G

I genearlly heard that number too. Just curious what people thought since the intended purchases thread is down for a wee bit.


Im ontop of the 20G and its parameters. I have never had problems with my parameteres (except API misreading and presenting .25ppm ammonia). I know adding more fish tends to increase those numbers and how quickly things can change. I change about 15% of the water each week.

 

[scooter31707]

There is a possibility that he could have got stressed out by the CB or the other clown.

 

[shifty51008]

The 1" per gal rule went out the window a long time ago. Different fish have diffrent swimming habbits, ect.

Please wait till you upgrade the tank to buy fish for the upgraded tank. Alot of times the upgrades get put on hold and the fish suffer.

Adding a goby and cleaner shimp will be fine but people rarely see the cleaning station deal in their tanks so dont expect it to happen. But you need to work on the ammonia levels first before adding anything.

 

[davehead86]

There is a possibility that he could have got stressed out by the CB or the other clown.

The CB was added well after the male clown death. The male clown got along great with the female. They slept ontop of eachother at night. It was adorable.

The 1" per gal rule went out the window a long time ago. Different fish have diffrent swimming habbits, ect.

Please wait till you upgrade the tank to buy fish for the upgraded tank. Alot of times the upgrades get put on hold and the fish suffer.

Adding a goby and cleaner shimp will be fine but people rarely see the cleaning station deal in their tanks so dont expect it to happen. But you need to work on the ammonia levels first before adding anything.

The ammonia is a false positive attributed to the API test kit. I have had the LFS test the water and all parameters are nominal. API consistently is reading .25ppm which I am reading as zero given the information from the LFS (or im having color reading issues with my eyeballs, :lol:. I need to get a higher quality ammonia test, which I have also discussed in another thread.

Just wanted to know how many fish i could get into this tank at the upper limit and then wait to add the rest when the 60 gallon is purchased. I dont plan on adding more than the tank can handle.

 

[jraker]

i think you could add one more fish for a 20. i would go with a firefish

 

[stingeragent]

I wouldn't bank on the API test kit false positive unless it's something with just the test kit you got. I have used the api for the last 18 months, and when I'm at 0 ammonia, it shows 0, (pure yellow). Use your same test kit, and test some newly made RODI water and see if it still shows .25

 

[davehead86]

I wouldn't bank on the API test kit false positive unless it's something with just the test kit you got. I have used the api for the last 18 months, and when I'm at 0 ammonia, it shows 0, (pure yellow). Use your same test kit, and test some newly made RODI water and see if it still shows .25

Like I said. Its a faulty kit. Been there done that. Im saving to buy some more supplies including another fish or two and a test kit thats of a higher quality so Im just using what Ive got now.

 

[davehead86]

i think you could add one more fish for a 20. i would go with a firefish

I was thinking firefish too. But the thought of a goby attracts me. Ive got loose ruble on the bottom and 1.5 inch of a sand bottom. A nice little home for a goby.