15 gallon stocking

[marineclown01]

15 gallon stocking/potential corals

Hi everyone, I have a 15 gallon tank, currently has 2 small clowns, a fire shrimp and some snails.

Any suggestions for beginner coral or some fish that could potentially be added? Been looking at GSP and some zoas

 

[Fish Fan]

Hello and welcome to Reef2Reef!

There's lots of great reefers here with lots of great information, and I'm sure they will be along with some solid suggestions for you.

I'm definitely not an expert in corals or really anything in reef aquaria, I'm here to learn too, but maybe I can help.

We as hobbyists categorize corals into 4 main groups - soft corals (or softies), Large Polyp Stoney corals (or LPS), Small Polyp Stoney corals (or SPS) and Non-photosynthetic corals (or NPS). These are not scientific classifications, just how we hobbyists like to group group corals we typically find in the hobby.

In general, the corals to keep from easiest to most difficult would be softies > LPS > SPS > NPS. There's definitely some overlap, like some of the easiest SPS corals are easier to keep than some of the most difficult LPS corals, but this is the general trend. The NPS or Non-photosynthetic corals are largely considered expert only as they are very difficulty to feed, and require expert-level care.

I think most would suggest that soft corals are some of the easiest to get started with. These include the GSP's and Zoa's you are interested in. Some other suggestions might be mushrooms, leather corals, and Xenia.

Keep in mind, many of these corals can be fast growers and potentially overtake your tank, and it might be best to place them on a rock in your sand bed, rather than on your main aquascape.

If you're just getting going, I would suggest the beginner reefer series from Bulk Reef Supply hosted by Mathew:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...brs-tv/beginners-guide-to-saltwater-aquariums

Specifically, he does a video on beginner corals:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/content/post/matthews-coral-picks-for-beginners-beginners-guide-ep-43

I would also suggest the videos from Tidal Gardens. Here's one on beginner softies:



I hope that helps! Best of luck!

 

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

I myself have a 15G nano tank, in the cycling phase, so I am doing research on fish I can stock in it. I want to get a pair of clowns for mine, but because we have such small tanks, they will most likely claim that entire tank making it difficult to add fish. Clown fish are bullies. They have been known to draw blood from people sticking their hands in the tank. They are known to be even more aggressive when mating. With that being said, I can't really recommend a fish you can add. All fish are different, so if you find that your clown fish are not showing aggression to you, or other livestock, you may be able to try putting another fish in, but if you see any signs of bullying, rehome it.

Definitely do your research, but I can list fish that you can put in the tank, but can't recommend them with the clown fish.

-Firefish
-Tailspot blennie
- Orchid Dottyback
-Yellow tail blue damsel

 

[Fish Fan]

I myself have a 15G nano tank, in the cycling phase, so I am doing research on fish I can stock in it. I want to get a pair of clowns for mine, but because we have such small tanks, they will most likely claim that entire tank making it difficult to add fish. Clown fish are bullies. They have been known to draw blood from people sticking their hands in the tank. They are known to be even more aggressive when mating. With that being said, I can't really recommend a fish you can add. All fish are different, so if you find that your clown fish are not showing aggression to you, or other livestock, you may be able to try putting another fish in, but if you see any signs of bullying, rehome it.

Definitely do your research, but I can list fish that you can put in the tank, but can't recommend them with the clown fish.

-Firefish
-Tailspot blennie
- Orchid Dottyback
-Yellow tail blue damsel

Great reply! I have a 15 gallon as well, and did a lot of research. I have had much larger tanks in the distant past, but these nano tanks are new to me. Clownfish are like the number one beginner fish and for good reason; they look great, and are very hardy. But they are indeed bullies, and best added as your last fish and not the first, especially in small tanks.

To the OP, don't worry, I would bet that like 93% of all new reef tanks started by beginners are started with Clownfish, so you'll almost certainly be fine. But it's worth noting that Clownfish can be bullies, and as @WalkerLoves_TheOcean mentioned, if added first they can see the whole tank as "theirs" and could be aggressive to any new fish you add later.

I replied earlier with some coral suggestions, but for fish I also have a 15 gallon AIO and after a lot of research I decided on a Yasha goby, a Tail Spot blenny, and a Rainsford or Court Jester goby. Currently, I have these three fish in a 10 gallon medicated quarantine tank, and they are doing great together so far. I wanted only super peaceful fish from my small 15 gallon, and I think these three fit the bill nicely. I'll let you know how it goes in about two months when my quarantine protocol is complete ;-)

Good luck!