22L tank with one Ocellaris Clown??

[jess.irene]

Hi everyone,
Just looking for some reasonable advice on keeping a single ocellaris clownfish in a 22L tank, I have done a heap of research on keeping clowns and on keeping saltwater fish, and I have bought all of the testing kits etc that are required, however, I am just a bit stressed about the size tank I should get at this stage as everything I have been reading has a large amount of variation on the minimum requirements eg some say 6-8gallons is fine, others say that a min of 30-40L is needed etc. I am only looking to invest in one clownfish at this stage due to the budget restrictions, and maybe if I can manage one then I will slowly upgrade to a bigger system and maybe much later invest in some captive bred seahorses (yes I know the work involved, my mum has kept saltwater fish for years). Anyway, any reasonable advice would be greatly appreciated, and anyone who keeps ocellaris clowns (especially in smaller tanks) your advice and input would be even more appreciated!
Thanks,
Jess

 

[Bectan01]

Are you talking about a 22litre tank? If so I wouldn't recommend that. I always stick to live aquaria minimum tanks sizes and I think they list the occ at 30g (which is about 90litres) having said that I think the absolute minimum for a single clown I would say 20g. I wouldn't go smaller than that. My clowns own and use every inch of my 55g...

 

[jess.irene]

Okay, I will keep that in mind.
Thanks

 

[Bectan01]

Do you have the tank already? If not I recommend something a little larger, the bigger it is the easier it will be to look after - I keep a 55g and a 10g and I can tell you I spend twice as much time caring for the 10. FYI there are no fish really suited to under 10g. Once you get 10 or above it will open a few more chooses for you. I keep a cool little clown goby in my 10 with some shrimp and corals of course, lots of fun

 

[jess.irene]

No I don't have the tank yet, but I have been accumulating supplies and equipment for a while. At the moment I was sort of looking for something smaller even though it's more work, simply because I want to get seahorses and I know that they require a species only tank so I didn't want to buy a larger tank than have to buy a second tank and supplies later. Just wanted something small and hardy to look after to get accustomed to keeping a saltwater tank maintained.

I do have a three foot tank (150L) but it's at my mum's in the next state (they bought it for my birthday) when I thought I was going to move back closer to them, but that didn't work out and I don't think you can ship a tank interstate

 

[jess.irene]

10g is like 40L right?? Sorry, I'm Australian and have no idea really what tank size is in gallons :s

 

[Bectan01]

Yup, 40 litres I live in Australia too but being on here I just got used to saying gallons

 

[jess.irene]

Okay seahorses and ocellaris clowns definitely aren't compatible right?

 

[Bectan01]

Nope, they are not I am afraid. Seahorses are quite difficult to look after because of their fussy eating habits but also as I mentioned above just keeping a small tank can be time consuming. Constantly monitoring water conditions, to be honest I wouldn't recommend them for beginners. Whereabouts in oz are you? I am in Melbourne and can recommend some good aquariums stores that offer good advice if you like...

 

[jess.irene]

Yeah I know all about seahorses and all of the requirements and habits etc, I've been reading up on them for months, and it know that they aren't for beginners that's why I'm going to start with clowns just thinking for in the future cause I'm not sure about having multiple large tanks. I didn't think they were compatible, clowns are too fast and can be aggressive eaters and eat all the food. Oh well, maybe I will just still to clowns.

 

[jess.irene]

Oh, and I'm for the Sydney area.

 

[bribo12]

Clowns get far to large for that tank. How about a goby instead?

 

[Sillyfishies]

I would recommend a 20g for clowns. 10g would do for smaller gobies.