livestock help - fish for a 9 gal reef

[ms705jk]

I have a 9 gallon nano. All thats in there now is a cleaning crew. I will be adding a few types of zoa's. My question is what small very colorful fish can inhabit this small tank in harmony?

 

[furryeggs]

Ember tetra's are good for nano tanks, they're bright orange and get on with everything that cant fit them in they're mouth.

 

[ms705jk]

Thanks. I'll look them up

 

[bettaowner]

Ember tetras are freshwater fish. Neon gobies would be a good hardy option

 

[ms705jk]

Ember tetras are freshwater fish. Neon gobies would be a good hardy option

Yes I do like the gobies. Ive called 3 stores in my area but no one has a pair. Today I did purchase a clown and a purple wrasse

 

[carey]

Those two fish are waaay too big for a 9g tank unfortunately.

 

[bettaowner]

+1. to be honest, gobies are really the only fish I can think of to add to your tank

 

[carey]

Gobies are a good choice, I currently have 2 fish in my 8g for now. I have a teeny tiny little sailfin blenny, bout half an inch long and a tailspot blenny. they both are perchers so they dont really swim around but I will be moving them out very soon as the tank is too small really.

You could probably get away with two clown gobies or maybe a watchmen and pistol shrimp.

 

[ms705jk]

I have gobies in my sight. I would like 2 with lot's of color. The clown and wrasse are out of hiding already and swimming around. I wish I had gotten a pair of clowns. He looks lonely. I also purchased a nice size zoa frag but they are gonna hold it for a week or two while the tank proves its self

 

[furryeggs]

Ember tetras are freshwater fish. Neon gobies would be a good hardy option

didn't realise it was saltwater...ooops, my bad.
definitely don't put embers in your tank.

 

[carey]

I didnt mean you could ADD gobies to the tank with the two other fish, thats INSTEAD of the two you have. You cant keep a wrasse in a 9g tank. You also cant keep clowns in there either. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

If it were me, I would return the fish you have and get two very small clown gobies, maybe a yellow and green and get a bunch of corals and inverts. There are some really awesome inverts you can add that you couldnt for a large tank like pom pom crabs, porcelain crabs and sexy shrimp! I'd add one larger shrimp as well, maybe a fire or a cleaner. But this is all without the two fish you have.

 

[ms705jk]

The two fish I have dont get but 3". Why is it that I cant have them? Do they need more room to swim. The clown looks happy swimming around and the wrasse only leaves the rock face to eat. And the two fish get along great. Something they are hanging out on the same ledge

 

[carey]

Two 3" fish is too much for that size tank. The wrasse should be swimming around mostly except when he sleeps, the tank is too small so he cant swim like he wants to. I have about 6 wrasses and ALL of them do nothing but swim the entire length of their tanks.

 

[Mebbid]

I'm going to have to agree with Carey on this one. I tried a very small flasher Wrasse in my 20g tank since my 40 should be up and running soon. It was just way too small for him.

 

[ms705jk]

I'm going take your advice on the inverts. And I got a nice little piece of star poly and a frag with three subspecies of zoa's.
For now im not going to buy anymore fish. We'll just let these hang with us untill they get a little bigger. Our friends that started us in the hobby said she would put them in her 400 if they get to big. Thanks for everything y'all have been a huge help

 

[ms705jk]

I'm gonna add some zoa's next week and after testing my water at the lfs they recommend " liquid reef " so some of my numbers would come up. Before adding any coral. But I've noticed lots of bubbles on top of the water after each dose (every other day) and cloudy water. I read the bottle and cloudy water is normal but it doesn't say anything about bubbles. Is this normal?

 

[Sniperhank]

For a tank your size and the coral you are adding, you don't need to put anything into your water. Simple water changes will do the trick. You need one heavily SPS stocked tank to see your levels effected and need to dose things. Good rule of thumb is not to add anything to the tank if you can't test for it. My opinion is to stop dosing and do a big water change to get that gunk out of your tank before it puts levels out of whack and starts killing things.

 

[ms705jk]

Well right now I have a shrimp a starfish and a few fish. Should I still do a big water change or just a gallon or two every 2 or 3 days

 

[ms705jk]

Carey I hope you chime in too. As yoy have been my blunt voice of reason

 

[Sniperhank]

For a 9 gallon tank, a gallon water change should be close to what you are changing out weekly. I would do a larger water change to get that stuff out...like 3 gallons. It doesn't have to be all at once, you can spread it out if it fits your schedule better...but if it was my tank I'd get it done asap.

One thing to remember with a small tank is that it doesn't take much to throw things out of whack. This is why you hear that larger tanks are more forgiving due to their larger water column.

Either way, your key to success is easy. Feed sparingly and keep water changes frequent.