30 gallon stocking

[josh13]

my mom and i are making a 30 gallon tank, but are having problems on stocking. we really want a saddle valentinni puffer, and a clown, we also thought of doing a dwarf lionfish but we think you could not have anything else in the tank. please recommend what you the we should stock. thanks in advance.:)

[acbaldwin]

Welcome!
I'd pass on the lionfish - they'll eat anything they can fit in their mouth, which narrows down your livestock options. On top of that, they eat so much that keeping your water quality good in a 30 gallon will be a challenge.

The small puffers (Valentini, Blue Fiji, etc.) are super cool fish and I think are a good choice. They may harass snails and shrimp, but in my experience were fine.

Clowns are cool, I'd recommend a pair of ocellaris.

Lots of choices for a 30... Are you planning on keeping corals? Live Rock? Shrimp, etc.?

[josh13]

probably not,but maybe an easy one if i can find a beginner coral any suggestions? my mom used to keep a blue ribbon eel successfully in a 165 gallon tank. we would like to have an anemone, but not sure on a species though. i agree about the lion i did some more reading, and found out they have a huge bio-load.

[josh13]

also is there an angel fish that could go with the puffer, clowns, and a goby of some kind, or would that be overboard?

[acbaldwin]

also is there an angel fish that could go with the puffer, clowns, and a goby of some kind, or would that be overboard?

A pygmy angel such as an African Flameback or Cherub might be okay, but they can be aggressive (depending on the individual) and are very active swimmers that will need plenty of live rock to explore.

Xenia, Kenya tree, mushrooms are easy beginner corals, and most zoas and palys are pretty hardy.