View Full Version : 20 gallon tank
Catlid
11-18-2003, 9:19 PM
right now i got a 20 gallon tank with some african cichlids that i will eventually move to a 50 or so gallon. What kind of fish can i put in a 20 gallon tank? I was thinking of clown fish since i always wanted some. Any suggestions, And for filtration i have the eclipse one, mechanical/chemical/bio...
Catlid
11-20-2003, 12:05 PM
ttt
You could easily get a pair of mated clowns into a 20 gallon. It would make a nice nano reef. Use Live Sand and Live Rock for the major filtration and add some inverts as cleaners and for fun.
Catlid
11-20-2003, 3:27 PM
i heard u need to keep one anemone per clown fish? also i would want a pair of clowns, how u tell between male and female? Whats kinda verts would go well with that set up? Also whats live sand?
You don't need and shouldn't get an anemone. That is far to small of a tank for them and they need super established tanks and still tend to have a very short life span of 1 year max (in the wild they live hundred of years). Clowns will make a territory with anything, corals or powerheads.
LS is a sand bed on the bottom with bacteria and other critters in it that helpto break down waste.
Clowns will change sex depending on what you buy. Just try and get them young and they should be less agressive.
As for inverts the standard snails and hermit crabs will be best at the start. Later a bigger crab and cleaner shrimp could be added.
Unfortunatly my knowledge is through reading and my brothers setup, so I haven't had much first hand experience.
It should be pretty easy to keep though.
Catlid
11-20-2003, 8:06 PM
clowns change sex? So just get a pair and they will mate? So i dont need an anenome? Just that i heard u do, oh well. Do i need a protien skimmer or anything? or will the set i listed above work fine for clowns? Any more info on successfuly keeping clowns is apprieciated.
liquafaction
11-20-2003, 8:12 PM
clowns do change sex. If you see that your lfs has a few in one tank, usually the larger is the female, and the other small ones are males. Its not like you just get a pair, and they mate. If I am not mistaken, there are still a few species that there have been no reports of captive breeding. You might do some research there, and see what you come up with
jhrivera
11-21-2003, 10:25 AM
I read somewhere where when you a pair of clownfish and put them in your tank, the more dominant one becomes the female and the other becomes the male. This would explain the difference in size. I hope this is correct info.
OrionGirl
11-21-2003, 10:43 AM
Mostly. Clown fish are born male. In the wild, a clown fish will look around for some place (an anenome, for most) to settle down. If it finds an anenome that does not have a resident population, it settles in and becomes a female--larger, etc. All subsequent clowns arrive, and are already male, so can begin breeding immediately. If something happens to the female, the dominant male will turn into a female, and the cycle continues. If you buy a clown that has been kept alone for a while, it's already begun the process. If you get the fish from a group and it's solo in your tank, it converts. If you get a pair, than the larger, dominant fish will convert.
This is a survival mechanism. If there's already a female, reproduction can begin as soon as the male arrives. If there's no fish, converting prepares for his arrival.