Need advice on stocking my tank

[SuperDaveA]

I have a 12 gallon nano cube with about 15 lbs of live rock and about 1 inch of live sand. I would like some input on the fish I had planned on stocking it with:

Either a True Percula Clownfish or Ocellaris Clownfish
Bicolor Dottyback
Yellow Watchman Goby
(the idea being to have all three of the above fish)

The one fish that I really want is the Clownfish, so I need to work my other fish around that one. Other than that I just want some nice colorful fish.

Thanks!!

 

[Moonstream]

bicolor dottybacks are pretty aggressive little fish. royal grammas would be a better choice- same color scheme (IMO more attractive) and far more peaceful.

have you considered a pair of clowns instead of a single, with just the YWG? IMO clowns tend to be a bit more entertaining in pairs.

 

[SuperDaveA]

have you considered a pair of clowns instead of a single, with just the YWG? IMO clowns tend to be a bit more entertaining in pairs.

Yes, I had considered that but I thought the pair would be too aggressive towards the Yellow Watchman Goby. Was I mistaken on this? That would be cool having a pair

 

[Moonstream]

considering that YWG stay close to the entrance to their burrow, and dont venture into open water or out on the rocks, I think you'll be fine with having one with a pair of clowns. a single clown will turn female regardless, and in turn become nippy and bad-tempered towards tankmates, so you'd end up with an aggressive female either way. IMO you'd have more trouble with a single clown and an open-water swimmer like a dottyback than you would with a pair of clowns and a goby.

 

[SDguy]

Percs aren't that aggressive, even when breeding, so I too would recommend a pair. They are also one of the smallest clowns, so doable in that small tank. Watchmans get big. How about something like a yasha goby with candycane pistol instead?

 

[SuperDaveA]

How about something like a yasha goby with candycane pistol instead?

Those Yasha Gobys are pretty cool looking That might work.

Percs aren't that aggressive, even when breeding

Are Percula Clownfish less aggressive than Ocellaris Clownfish?

 

[SDguy]

Are Percula Clownfish less aggressive than Ocellaris Clownfish?

IMO yes

 

[Moonstream]

^in mine as well; not hugely, but noticably less chasing with tankmates in percs vs occys

 

[SuperDaveA]

Do i need to get a mated pair of percs or can I just get any two at the same time?

 

[rssjsb]

You can match them up yourself. Just make sure one is significantly smaller than the other.

 

[SuperDaveA]

I would assume matching them myself would require knowing their age since an older fish would be bigger than a younger fish (at least I would think). Am I correct on this? Would my LFS really know this kind of info?

 

[rssjsb]

Well, probably, but it's not really that hard. Just eyeball it - the size difference should be enough that it's obvious.