I am starting a 14 gallon biocube soon and i already have LR and LS from my existing reef tank. I am mainly going to use the biocube for frags and to grow smaller corals but i also wanted to have a few fish in there too. So I was looking into a clown goby and 2 firefish. would this be too much or could i add one more? i know of people having 6 fish in a 14 gallon but i never heard if their tank went well or failed.

6 fish in a 14 gal. is way too much. I'd say maybe three would be fully stocked. I wouldn't keep two firefish in a tank that small, because they would probably fight. A popular setup is 2 ocellaris clowns and a watchman goby or a firefish. I have a 12 gal nano cube dx and I am planning on putting a watchman goby, an ocellaris clown, and a firefish. How much LR/LS do you have?

If you're going to use the tank strictly as a frag tank, I'd skip the fish and use eggcrate shelves. You really don't want to increase bioload in a frag system. If you're looking to set up a nano then do it right with 20lbs of LR and a few small fish.

Your fish choice should be fine but your tank will be running with a close to max fish load. Do yourself a favor and don't listen to folks who talk about large numbers of fish in small systems. It doesn't work.

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Doc

Dr Hank's 200 gallon Reef Tank
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f46/drhanks-tank-3440.html

I'm not using it strictly as a frag tank. I am only puting frags in there maybe once every 3 months, all of the corals I have now have a ton of room to grow in my 55 and I don't plan on fragging them until they almost get out of control. I have 20 pounds of LR I am going to take from my existing tank (which has almost 95 lbs in it) and I am going to buy 20 more. I am also going to take about 10 pounds of LS from that tank and buy 20 more pounds. And I changed from a 14 gallon biocube to a 24 gallon nano cube dx. So in total I will have 40 pounds of LR and 30 of LS. I am going to get a biocube protein skimmer due to budget reasons, a marineland stealth pro heater, a koralia nano 425, and I am going to use a koralia nano 240 that I already have to make the total flow 755 gph with the 290 gph return pump that comes with the tank. I'm also adding a DIY in tank fuge for macros.

Are you going with a 24 gallon instead of a 14 gallon now?

Yes I am

That is a good choice if you have the money. You won't have as many limitations. Is the nano cube 24 dx good? (just wondering) Looks like you are off to a good start. In a 24 you could keep 4-5 fish as long as they aren't too big. Post some pics!

Yeah I am planning on keeping a yellow watchman goby with a pistopl shrimp, a firefish, a kind of blenny I'm not sure which kind yet, and a green mandarin after my tank has been established for a long time. I also plan on upgrading the lighting a little while donw the road.

24 gives you much more to play with. Is any one successful at keeping green mandarin in a nano? I thought they we a no-no unless you have a really big tank.

I hate to be a spoilsport but any nano is too small to raise enough pods to sustain a mandarin goby. I'm sure that some have tried but when the fish slowly starves to death and dies in the tank, the toxins that it's demise emits will kill everything in the tank.

You might be successful with a fish like that in a 55 gallon tank that has 100lbs or more of live rock and is planted with macroalgae (or has a fuge that is heavily planted) but that's about the smallest tank I'd try one in. There will always be those that disagree but I doubt that you will find anyone who can successfully keep one in a nano.

I define success as the fish not surviving but thriving. There isn't a fish in my tank that I haven't had for at least 3 years.

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Doc

Dr Hank's 200 gallon Reef Tank
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f46/drhanks-tank-3440.html

The only reason I wanted to try a mandarin was because one of my buddies has one in his 20 gallon long and he's had it for over 2 years. He did have his tank established for over a year with 40 lbs of LR and LS and a 10 gallon fuge with macros before he got the mandarin. I don't think I am going to try it now though. What would you suggest instead?

Interesting. Has he gotten it to eat frozen food?

Clownfish are always nice. How about a royal gramma?

Snail..It kind of picks at frozen food, doesn't really eat with gusto though. He told me it will eat live black worms pretty well though. Kaiden..I have had 3 royal grammas and for some reason they just won't stay alive. But i can keep a cowfish...I don't get it.

I have a 29 biocube. Made the first chamber a holder for the Oceanic skimmer. Second chamber a small drip tray with a phosphate pad and carbon pd. Under that a bag of Purigen and a bag of Chemipure Elite. In the rest of the chamber the Stealth heater and a ball of Chaeto with an Azoo palm light over the top. 3rd chamber return pump and ATO float switches. Here is a pic.
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Debit cards for ebay

stick with clowns if you need to catch them later its easy

Have you thought about some sort of cardinal fish?

Yes I have thought of cardinals but I just don't like to keep them by themselves. I'm not going to put any in my 24, but I do plan on getting a trio of benggai cardinals for my 55. What I am doing with my 24 is taking my yellow watchman goby, pistol shrimp, fire shrimp, and firefish out of my 55 and into the 24 and then adding the blenny and other fish that I can't decide on later. With the new open space in my 55 I plan on the cardinals to go with my clowns and cowfish.

Sounds like a good plan.