Clownfish are the most commonly kept marine fish in the world with the various types of clownfish usually going well in a wide range of aquarium setups and tank sizes.
After going over our thoughts on keeping a clownfish in a 5 gallon tank, we have noticed a number of people reaching out to ask about keeping clownfish in a 10 gallon tank recently so we wanted to publish this article sharing our thoughts on that too.
As with all things when it comes to tank size, there are a number of different variables that will all come into play with your pet clownfish living in a 10 gallon tank and what may work for one person may not work for you due to tank mates or tank accessories.
Our article going over the minimum tank size requirements for each type of clownfish may be worth reading if you know the exact type of clownfish that you want as different types of clownfish need different minimum tank sizes.
Can You Keep A Clownfish In A 10 Gallon Tank?
You can keep some of the smaller species of clownfish in a 10 gallon tank with minimal issues if you set the tank up correctly.
The bigger species of clownfish such as the Maroon Clownfish or the Bubblegum Clownfish are going to need at least a 20 gallon tank due to their full-grown size and active swimming habits.
If possible, we would even recommend that you do your best to use a 20 gallon tank for the smaller species of clownfish too if you have the space and budget available.
One thing to note is that even though you can keep some of the smaller species of clownfish in a 10 gallon tank, you will be restricted on the tank mates, tank accessories, tank decorations, and anemones that you are able to keep in the tank.
With so many people wanting to try and get their clownfish to host an anemone in their tank, this may be problematic and force you to go with a 20 gallon tank or larger.
How Many Clownfish Can I Keep In A 10 Gallon Tank?
Ideally, you should only be looking to keep a single clownfish in a 10 gallon tank as they are such active swimmers and will often grow to their full-size quickly which can make things cramped if you have more than one clownfish in the same tank.
With that being said, we do know that some people do like to keep a mated pair of clownfish in their 10 gallon tank which can work if you make sure that the clownfish are a good match for each other and you set the tank up correctly with plenty of hiding places.
We have an article going over how you can keep a pair of clownfish together but we would never recommend that you keep two clownfish that are not a mated pair in such a small aquarium tank.
Although clownfish may look cute and many people think that they are friendly due to the Finding Nemo movie, an unmated pair of clownfish can be aggressive to each other until a dominant male is established in the tank.
Our article on how to stop two clownfish fighting each other may help but in a 10 gallon tank, the small size really will make it difficult unless the two clownfish are already paired with each other.
We would never recommend that you keep more than two clownfish in a 10 gallon tank as it really is too small and there is a high chance of you having problems with aggression within the tank.
Will A Clownfish Host An Anemone In A 10 Gallon Tank?
Depending on the clownfish and the type of anemone you use, a clownfish may host an anemone in a 10 gallon tank but one thing that people often overlook is that there is never a guarantee of your clownfish ever hosting an anemone in their tank, especially a small one.
The personality of your pet clownfish will come into play with many people overlooking this as not all clownfish host anemones.
In addition to that, some clownfish kept in captivity will choose to host a random object in their tank rather than an anemone.
Another very common mistake that we see people make with their clownfish is that they will use an unsuitable anemone for their clownfish. Different anemones have different stings and there are only a small number of anemone that clownfish are actually immune too.
Our article going over the best anemones for clownfish to host and our article on using fake anemones for clownfish may be helpful if you do want to try and make sure that your clownfish will host their anemone though.
Can I Add Tank Mates To A 10 Gallon Tank With Clownfish In It?
We would not recommend that you try to add any tank mates other than shrimp and snails to a 10 gallon clownfish tank.
With clownfish often being very active swimmers, they take up a lot of space in the tank which leaves little room for other fish to swim around.
If you do add other tank mates to the 10 gallon tank then there is a high chance of your clownfish being aggressive to the other fish due to the clownfish deeming the tank as its territory.
