Q&A: what is the best reef tank fish to get?

Question by Delaney: what is the best reef tank fish to get?
i have a 25 gallon tank with 2 small tomatoe clowns, yellow clown goby, pipefish, and the fish man said i could get a couple more fish what should they be?
thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by copperhead
Although your clowns may be small at the moment, the female will get to be around five inches (the male will be a little smaller).

I don’t know what the floor dimensions are of your tank (or if it’s rectangular, hex, bowfront, etc.), but the floor space is what you should use to consider territory (they don’t care as much about up and down space, only horizontal). Your clowns are territorial fish, and will become terrors if they should pair up and spawn (or if you try to add any more fish after they mature).

Do you keep a lot of live rock in your tank? This could give others a place to hide, but at the same time, it cuts down on the overall water volume in the tank. You can’t stock a saltwater tank as heavily as a freshwater one because of the greater aggession, territoriality, and water quality demands of saltwater fish. I’d say for your tank size (especially with the clowns’ adult sizes and temperment) right now you should avoid adding other fish. This would especially be true if the tank is a hex with more vertical than horizontal space.

If you’d consider changing out your clowns for a smaller (and semi-aggressive) clown species, and your tank has a wider than taller profile, you might be able to do one more. It would need to be a peaceful fish because of some that you already have. Perhaps one of the cardinalfish (PJs or Bangaiis), a longnose hawkfish, or small blenny or basslet. You should try to avoid fish of a similar color or body shape to what you already have as a way to further reduce aggression between the fish. See some of these choices in the link below:

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12 Responses to “Q&A: what is the best reef tank fish to get?”

1. Mr.Robot says:

   September 4, 2010 at 11:17 am

   I wouldn’t suggest getting any more fish. Those two clowns will grow to a pretty good size, and can be pretty aggressive. Especially if they are hosting an anenome. They won’t tolerate other fish getting close to their home…and in a 25 gallon that home will probably be 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank.
2. Vanka333 says:

   October 28, 2010 at 11:46 pm

   Heh! 25 gal tank? I think you already have too many fishes in there.
3. admin says:

   October 29, 2010 at 9:16 am

   Yep, rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons. You should have no more than 5 inches of fish in your tank (AKA your probably over the limit)