My brother wants to get a false perc (ok, he said nemo fish) but doesn't want to get into a huge saltwater set up. So I was thinking maybe he could get like a 20 gallon tank and set it up as a fish-only. Anyone know if that would work?

A few specific questions. Do false percs have to have an anenome? Could he put an anenome without any liverock? Could he put small pieces of liverock in? Is there anything else I need to know (aside from cycling and maintaining salt levels, I'm pretty sure I can explain that stuff to him).

Thanks!

People can and often do put clowns into small setups, though I've found people usually buy true percula clowns for this because apparently they stay somewhat smaller than other types of clowns.

Clownfish certainly don't NEED an anemone, as a matter of fact a lot of captive bred clowns don't have a symbiotic relationship with them at all, but if they are wild caught it's usually nice to give them something to host in. If he wanted an anemone, he would have to invest in a strong lighting system, a good skimmer, and be very dedicated to maintaining perfect water quality... anemones (well, at least the types suitable for hosting) aren't the easiest to take care of. I've actually seen clowns (CB and wild) host in a number of weird things that are somewhat easier to take care of, like umbrella leather corals even! Of course these guys have their own requirements but are typically more hardy than anemones- however it will be very hit or miss if the clown will accept it or not.


Keep in mind you can have less saltwater fish than freshwater fish in the same amount of gallons.. they create more ammonia and just generally need more swimming space. Live rock is always a great idea, it serves as secure hiding spots, good surface area for beneficial bacteria as well.

Hopefully that helps some

Susan, I was wondering this too, so thank you for that great description and explanation. We had decided finally that we wanted clowns in our current 55, and I was trying to figure out if they would be okay without their own anemone.

Lolafish, glad to be of help They'll be A-okay without an anemone, especially if they are captive bred. Wherever you buy them look for "CB" on their description or ask an employee. Also a lot of CB clowns will have what is called "misbars"- their stripes aren't perfectly formed, meaning usually they don't continue all the way down the side of the fish. You can safely assume all "misbar" clowns are CB, and the same can be said for "no stripe" clowns (which are adorable!)

Obviously if you have hopes of having your clowns spawn it is best to mimic their environment as closely as possible. At my work we have a 175 gallon reef with a pair of gold stripe clowns that spawn regularly, it's certainly interesting!

That is very true and I've seen a pair of clowns kept well in a 10 gallon. I am always a supporter of adding some live rock. I love the way it makes the tank more "oceany."

BTW I love the misbar clowns! Once we had one at the store that had a stripe on one side and only a white dot on the other! It was really unique. I also love the black ocellaris clowns.

clown r good 4 small setups. but it would be better to have an anemone. Which will cost more money and be more work. a fish only would be ok. but personally with live rock and coral looks the best. getting 2 perc clowns in a 20 gallon is ok. bigger would be better though. make sure you cycle the tank. and do frequent water changes. what i like to do is keep a lot of algies on my side and back of my tank and keep the front looke clean. It makes it look much cooler. I would think about getting maybe a 30 dollar cheap skimmer. since its only fish only. make sure your temp is at 75 degrees. and your sg id right. always test your water weekly.

these tanks r pretty good. i mean besides the fact that its small they really are good. some even have built in skimmers in them. i think its called the nanowave tank.