Protein Skimmer / starter fish

[Hardesty2]

Hey y'all! I just ordered my first tank and i'm so excited to get into the hobby. I ordered an Innovative Marine 20 gallon Aio tank. I'm gonna do soft corals in the tank only and i would like to have a least a pair of clowns in there as well. Do i need to have a protein skimmer for a tank this size? and also, any recommendations on what other fish i could stock with 2 clowns as i've heard they can be aggressive. thank you so much!

 

[Reef.]

You don’t need a skimmer but having one will help…I highly recommend the bubble magus mini Q it is very good and cheap, I removed a skimmer that cost 2 times the price (Tunze skimmer) the bubble magus is much better.

Clowns can be aggressive but if you add the other fish when your clowns are still small, you may have no issues, my ocellaris clowns are not aggressive at all, other clowns are much more aggressive such as tomato clowns.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Please don't cycle the tank with fish. Its harmful to the fish, and a bottle of bacteria is very cheap and can cycle the tank in days, no need to harm fish. Cycle the tank before buying fish, if you don't know how, then please ask.

Once you buy your clowns, wait 3-4 weeks before getting another fish, don't overload the tank too fast. Patience is very important in this hobby. You can fit 3, maybe 4 fish if you stock carefully.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hey y'all! I just ordered my first tank and i'm so excited to get into the hobby. I ordered an Innovative Marine 20 gallon Aio tank. I'm gonna do soft corals in the tank only and i would like to have a least a pair of clowns in there as well. Do i need to have a protein skimmer for a tank this size? and also, any recommendations on what other fish i could stock with 2 clowns as i've heard they can be aggressive. thank you so much!

I started with a firefish and a watchman goby. A couple of months later, I got two Picasso clowns.

 

[Hardesty2]

You don’t need a skimmer but having one will help…I highly recommend the bubble magus mini Q it is very good and cheap, I removed a skimmer that cost 2 times the price (Tunze skimmer) the bubble magus is much better.

Clowns can be aggressive but if you add the other fish when your clowns are still small, you may have no issues, my ocellaris clowns are not aggressive at all, other clowns are much more aggressive such as tomato clowns.

thank you !

 

[Hardesty2]

Please don't cycle the tank with fish. Its harmful to the fish, and a bottle of bacteria is very cheap and can cycle the tank in days, no need to harm fish. Cycle the tank before buying fish, if you don't know how, then please ask.

Once you buy your clowns, wait 3-4 weeks before getting another fish, don't overload the tank too fast. Patience is very important in this hobby. You can fit 3, maybe 4 fish if you stock carefully.

I've done hours of research so i know not to just stock the fish in on day one, i'm gonna get the bacteria and use live rock and live sand and let the tank cycle. is it better to add fish before adding corral into a tank? i've seen people say both

 

[Flyangler33]

New reefer my self, I have an AIO IM 50, and their skimmers are garbage, so find something else. I dont know what would work or fit in a 20 gallon but I picked up the BRS brand skimmer and it is lightyears better than the IM one. It is a HOB so you need space behind the tank but it has made a HUGE difference in my tank.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

First Welcome.
As for clowns, mine are only aggressive to each other. Well the female bashing the male. They were fine till about 2-3 months then the “changing” over occurred and beat him up pretty bad. End up placing him in isolation box about every 2 months when she gets aggressive. But other fish are fine.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I've done hours of research so i know not to just stock the fish in on day one, i'm gonna get the bacteria and use live rock and live sand and let the tank cycle. is it better to add fish before adding corral into a tank? i've seen people say both

If you are getting real live rock, meaning wet rock from the store, then you don't need bacteria, the rocks come with all the bacteria you need and you don't have the cycle the tank. Just put the rocks in the tank and monitor for a day or two, if you see zero ammonia then you're good for fish.

If the rock is dry rock, then you need the bacteria and follow the instructions on the bottle to cycle the tank, different bacteria's take different amount of time, but its generally a week or two.

Corals are a different animal altogether, experiences hobbyists can usually add corals right away, but new hobbyists are generally suggested to wait a few months. Its a lot to learn just to get a tank running and keep the fish from dying, and its a whole lot more to learn to keep corals. It needs lighting and flow and stable parameters, it needs good testing equipment, etc... be patient is the best advise in this hobby that you will hear very often.

 

[exnisstech]

be patient is the best advise in this hobby that you will hear very often.

^this^ is the best advice you'll get.
As far as skimmers I do not run them. It may be to your advantage for aeration, but I'm not familiar with your tanks flow. I have 3 tanks running, none with a skimmer.
Research pairing clownfish . It isn't always as easy as just adding two and having an insta pair. I prefer to add one and let it transition to female then add a small male. This can take 6 months to a year tho and many people don't have the patience. Probably why there are so many why are my clownfish fighting threads.