Stocking an 18g reef

[DaveS]

I am considering getting enough live rock to do all the filtering, and a few corals and inverts.

Would I have enough room for maybe 4 to 6 fish? Which would you choose?

[Tigerbarb]

Atleast one third of your tank should be stocked with live rock, if you are not going to use any mechanical filtration. You could probably get away with 5 small fish if you were to get 31.5 lbs of lr,(as much as possible, without exceeding 1.75 lb/gallon) ...but even 4 fish us pushing the limit.

[spudbuds]

Depends on the fish you want. I think you'd be hard pressed to find that many fish that would stay small enough and get along in a tank that size.

- Bill

[cocoa_pleco]

depends on the fish, i would go with 4 max, like a pair of clowns, a goby, and another smaller fish like a royal gramma

[Tigerbarb]

depends on the fish, i would go with 4 max, like a pair of clowns, a goby, and another smaller fish like a royal gramma That stock list roughly follows the '1 suitable 'nano fish' per 5 gallons' rule, and Fishguy,(I think that's who it was) was incouraged not to have a pair of clowns in with 4 other fish in his 29g. Also, I was told not to put a pair of clowns with nothing else in a 10g.