How to Find Nemo Tank Mates

Understand the story line. A clown fish named Marlin loses his only son Nemo when Nemo ventures into the open ocean on a school trip. Far away from his home in the Great Barrier Reef, Nemo is suddenly lost, and then his world crashes around him as he is captured in a diver's net and taken away from home and safety. He is put into a dentist's fish tank. Nemo soon makes friends with his new tank mates Jacques, Gurgle, Peach, Deb and bubbles and starts plotting a way for them to escape. In the meantime a very heartbroken Marlin is making his tenacious way across the seas to rescue his son. His only companion on this long, arduous journey is Dorey, a rather absent-minded blue tang.

Read up on Nemo's tank mates and you will soon be able to give your children the aquarium they are so wanting. Once you know what you are looking for, finding Nemo tank mates becomes a piece of cake!

Call fish stores or aquarium stores and ask if they carry these specific fish: Jacques is a cleaner shrimp, who helps to keep the aquarium fish healthy. He also cleans up after the other fish by eating all the food scraps they miss; he is an omnivore. Gurgle is a royal gamma and a very good aquarium fish that measures 3" when fully grown. The royal gamma is a carnivore and enjoys swimming through caves. Peach is a starfish that is shaped like a peach--hence the name. While peach is a good fish, starfish may eat reef invertebrates and are not always reef safe. On the other hand, the serpent stars with their large central disc and skinny legs are more reef safe and easier to care for in a large tank. serpent stars may be carnivores or omnivores depending on the species.

Purchase the right size tank to accommodate the fish. These tank mates of Nemo will fill a good-sized tank and will require approximately a 40-gallon tank. If you only have space for a 20-gallon tank, then you will have to limit the number of fish to Gurgle and the invertebrates and maybe Nemo himself. On the other hand, if you have the space and are ready to splurge to please your kids, get a 125-gallon tank and put all the above and Nemo in and still have room for Deb, the three-stripe damselfish who is very hearty but a big bully--and Bubbles, a yellow tang who is big at 8" and needs lot of swimming space. She will need macro algae to feed on. Safety precautions should be taken when you purchase your aquarium (like safety cycling the filter before adding fish and only adding one fish at a time every 5-7 days).

Buy the appropriate fish food to feed all of them .Someone who works at the store where you purchase the fish will be able to help you with the selection and explain the fish's feeding cycles.