Fish stock advice please

[Sebreef93]

My Fluval Sea Evo 52L reef tank is just over 3 years old and mainly contains LPS corals with a few mushrooms.

Current fish:

- Royal Gramma
- Randall's Goby

Previous fish:

- Firefish (was chased by the Gramma and survived 1-2 months)
- Yellow Coral Goby (survived ~4 months)
- Tailspot Blenny (survived ~7 months)
- Court Jester Goby (survived ~2 months)

I didn't observe any aggression towards the gobies or blenny, but none of them lasted long term. Therefore I want to avoid them.

The tank is doing well overall and corals are growing, but nitrates tend to run quite low due to the coral load.

Would you try adding another fish, such as a single clownfish, or is it better to leave the tank with just the Royal Gramma and Randall's Goby? Any fish suggestions that might work, or would you simply increase feeding to raise nutrients instead?

 

[christinna77]

Royal grammas aren't great tankmates in tanks that small, so there's a good chance it'll be territorial toward any new fish you add. I wouldn't add anything new unless you rehome it first.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

In a 52L you are maxed out with fish stocking due to the gramma. I personally wouldn’t have the gramma in a tank that small anyways.

Unless you want to rehome the gramma, you are going to keep seeing aggression issues.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Your tank is talking to you, the limit for your tank is 2 fish. It might be possible to add a third if you have enough rockwork. All the fish you listed are rock dwelling type of fish, and each fish needs his own home away from the others, so it really depends what your rock is like IMO. If you have the one little arch in your tank, then 2 fish is the max IMO. Your tank size can only fit 2-3 fish comfortably, so it also depends how many you tried to add at once.