Another stocking list...

[245013]

I have read several other post about fish stocking and done a ton of research but I am overwhelmed by all the information and choices. We have a mixed reef tank that is 69 gallons total and 55 gallons in the display. Currently we have 2 mocha ocellaris clownfish, 3 PJ cardinalfish, 1 Banggai cardinalfish, and 1 lawnmower blenny. So far everyone is doing good but we are getting to the point where we have to narrow down our choices for the remaining fish that we want to add and how many more we can add. Below is a list of fish were are considering.

-McCosker Flasher wrasse or a peaceful reef safe wrasse
-Royal gramma basslet
-Firefish or purple firefish
-Flame or longnose hawkfish (we don't have shrimp only snails)
-Orchid dottyback
-Damsel or chromis (haven't herd many positives about them but they are still on our list for some reason)

I would appreciate anyone's input on how many more fish we can add and which ones will work in our setup.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

#reefsquad

 

[i cant think]

I have read several other post about fish stocking and done a ton of research but I am overwhelmed by all the information and choices. We have a mixed reef tank that is 69 gallons total and 55 gallons in the display. Currently we have 2 mocha ocellaris clownfish, 3 PJ cardinalfish, 1 Banggai cardinalfish, and 1 lawnmower blenny. So far everyone is doing good but we are getting to the point where we have to narrow down our choices for the remaining fish that we want to add and how many more we can add. Below is a list of fish were are considering.

-McCosker Flasher wrasse or a peaceful reef safe wrasse
-Royal gramma basslet
-Firefish or purple firefish
-Flame or longnose hawkfish (we don't have shrimp only snails)
-Orchid dottyback
-Damsel or chromis (haven't herd many positives about them but they are still on our list for some reason)

I would appreciate anyone's input on how many more fish we can add and which ones will work in our setup.

Do you have any shots of the tank’s rock work? Also what are the dimensions?

 

[Rocks reef]

@i cant think has a good question.
Is it a regular 55 gallon tank? If so, it is 48x12x21. That is a really narrow tank for a reef tank and aquascape.
Your fish selection listed all stay small, but you also have to keep in mind swimming area. Yes, it is 4 feet long, but it is only a foot wide.
Aquascape will need to allow for hiding places and safe areas for the fish. The fish mentioned, aside from the hawk fish, are active swimmers. The hawk fish swims of course, but will spend most its time perched on the rock work.
The McCosker wrasse will definitely need a place in the rock work to sleep as they are not sand dwellers, they form a mucous cocoon in a safe place to sleep.
I hope this helps in your decision. It sounds like you have planned and researched quite well! Keep us posted on the progress!!

 

[Savage Henry]

I have a royal gramma in my 30 gallon display tank. It is out most of the time (I currently have a pair of ocellaris clowns and a yellow assessor). It looks great!

I also had a flame hawkish in a previous tank and it was out all the time.

I think both these fish would be suitable for your tank with your current fish and look great (regardless of the dimensions). The hawkfish has the added bonus of a droll personality.

If it were my tank I’d also consider a dwarf angelfish and/or small tang.

 

[245013]

Do you have any shots of the tank’s rock work? Also what are the dimensions?

The dimensions are 35x22x21. I will admit our aquascape is not the greatest but this is our first tank.

 

[245013]

@i cant think has a good question.
Is it a regular 55 gallon tank? If so, it is 48x12x21. That is a really narrow tank for a reef tank and aquascape.
Your fish selection listed all stay small, but you also have to keep in mind swimming area. Yes, it is 4 feet long, but it is only a foot wide.
Aquascape will need to allow for hiding places and safe areas for the fish. The fish mentioned, aside from the hawk fish, are active swimmers. The hawk fish swims of course, but will spend most its time perched on the rock work.
The McCosker wrasse will definitely need a place in the rock work to sleep as they are not sand dwellers, they form a mucous cocoon in a safe place to sleep.
I hope this helps in your decision. It sounds like you have planned and researched quite well! Keep us posted on the progress!!

Ok thank you for the response. Would the hawkfish have any problems with our lawnmower blenny?

The wrasse is definitely high on my list. We don't have the setup for a tang or angel so we wanted to do some sort of flashy kind of showcase fish and that seems to be a good option. We do have a lid.

 

[245013]

I have a royal gramma in my 30 gallon display tank. It is out most of the time (I currently have a pair of ocellaris clowns and a yellow assessor). It looks great!

I also had a flame hawkish in a previous tank and it was out all the time.

I think both these fish would be suitable for your tank with your current fish and look great (regardless of the dimensions). The hawkfish has the added bonus of a droll personality.

If it were my tank I’d also consider a dwarf angelfish and/or small tang.

I have considered a Pygymy cherub angelfish but I'm nervous due to aggression and picking at our coral. Plus I feel our tank is on the small end for these guys.

I am liking the idea of the royal gramma, the hawkfish, and the wrasse to wrap everything up.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I think you have room for 1 or 2 more fish, I wouldn't add much more than that. I would drop the damsels and dottyback from the list, your rockwork is too wide open and no fish can hide if they get aggressive. I would also drop the royal gramma and firefish as they like to hide in caves all day and you don't really have any caves.

Have look at assessor basslets, they they are colorful peaceful fish that hang out in the open water. Maybe another blenny like a tail spot or flametail blenny.

 

[245013]

Personally I think you have room for 1 or 2 more fish, I wouldn't add much more than that. I would drop the damsels and dottyback from the list, your rockwork is too wide open and no fish can hide if they get aggressive. I would also drop the royal gramma and firefish as they like to hide in caves all day and you don't really have any caves.

Have look at assessor basslets, they they are colorful peaceful fish that hang out in the open water. Maybe another blenny like a tail spot or flametail blenny.

Okay. The dottyback and damsel were already pretty low on my list due to the things I have read about them.

 

[Red_Beard]

Vert good stock list, and very well thought out addtion ideas! Some great advice given above, and I would just add what I think. The hawkfish would be a big personality addition, they are really neat fish. They can be aggressive towards tankmates, but it should play nice with the fish you currenly have. A McCosker or peaceful reef-safe wrasse(stick to flashers though the others get quite large) would be another great addition. I would lean towards those 2. They will not compete with your other fish for real-estate and be active visible fish. Another blenny will fight with your lawnmower and will likely never be able to settle in, angels will need a bit more space and can get aggressive. Aggression will be amplified in a smaller tank because the territory some fish will want to lay claim to will cover half the tank, and the bullied fish cannot get away as easily. Dottybacks grammas and damsels have some very aggressive tendencies that could be amplified in your tank and i would not recommend them.

 

[i cant think]

The dimensions are 35x22x21. I will admit our aquascape is not the greatest but this is our first tank.

Okay, what I’m about to say slightly opposes the above advice (which is all really good information! I just have a partially different view).

TLDR: Hawkfish are a bad idea from my experience - I’ve lost many peaceful fish to them. And wrasse wise, look into smaller Cirrhilabrus species, smaller Halichoeres, easier Macropharyngodon species and Pseudocheilinops ataenia rather than Flashers (Paracheilinus sp).

But, the Hawkfish I would personally skip if you want other peaceful fish. Especially wrasses and gobies. I’ve had some horrible experiences with hawkfish and mixing them. I have lost several fish to hawkfish including;
Various Leopard Wrasses (Meleagris, Bipartitus, Negrosensis)
Male Radiant Wrasse
A Copperband (I had this guy for 4 years)
And almost a Diamond Tail Flasher

I’ve lost more than just that, but that was from personal experiences in my own tanks/LFS displays, when mixing Hawks in LFS fish systems I now make sure they’re only with tangs and other nasty (often predatory) fish which keeps them in check.

With the dimensions being pretty much 3’x2’, I wouldn’t go for a Flasher. If you want one, I’d only go for a flasher if it’s an Angular Flasher, Paracheilinus angulatus, the reason why is the species within the Mccoskeri complex (the most common of the small flashers) love to dart around, when they display they use the whole of a 4 foot tank so I personally recommend 4 foot length as a minimum for these fish. A good alternative to flashers are fairies - they don’t use a huge amount of the tank when it comes to it.

Also, if you’re after pest hunters and have a sandbed look at smaller Halichoeres. These guys have a huge array of bright colours, and well, their utility is amazing. If you’re up for an intermediate species, look at some of the Macropharyngodon species (Leopards). These do require a sandbed but, their colours are difficult to find in other wrasses.

Another good choice to look at are the Wetmorella species. These are much smaller wrasses (maxing out at 3 inches for the largest of them). They are also quite useful for pest hunting and don’t require a sandbed either! Another species very similar to these, but it looks more like a sixline (without the nastiness) is Pseudocheilinops ataenia. Also called Pink Streak Wrasse, these guys are amazing with personality, whilst setting they can be shy (which the Wetmorella species are very similar to this) but once settled and used to their surroundings, you’ll find them constantly gliding around the rockwork.

a starting list for fish to look at would be;
Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Cirrhilabrus isosceles
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres leucoxanthus
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres chrysus
Macropharyngodon meleagris
Macropharyngodon negrosensis
Macropharyngodon bipartitus/marisrubri
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Pseudocheilinops ataenia
Wetmorella albofasciata
Wetmorella tanakai
Wetmorella nigropinnata

 

[Savage Henry]

As I mentioned above I currently have a yellow assessor and royal gramma together and the Royal gramma is always out. If you have few “dither” fish together, it helps to give each confidence to come out. It sounds like you are after a peaceful tank. Dither fish tend to be peaceful and bring other fish out so if you had maybe a royal gramma, a yellow assessor and some other fish, I don’t know maybe a firefish, they would all help each other to be confident to stay out.

My flame hawkfish did push the fish like assessor’s around, but the assessor’s learnt to stay out of its way. Sounds like others have had meaner tempered hawkfish than mine.

I’m a big fan of canary or yellow wrasse. But they need a deeper sand bed to sleep in. They have a nice nature and because they are always out and about they also help encourage your other fish to come out.

I would not hesitate with a coral beauty. I had one for over twelve years, but again it sounds like my one was more milder tempered than what others suggest.

I think your rock work is fine for most fish. But you would have to wait some months to get enough growth on it for a wrasse or angelfish. In the meantime, just feed more frequently and add nori or macro algae for the fish to pick at.

 

[245013]

Okay, what I’m about to say slightly opposes the above advice (which is all really good information! I just have a partially different view).

TLDR: Hawkfish are a bad idea from my experience - I’ve lost many peaceful fish to them. And wrasse wise, look into smaller Cirrhilabrus species, smaller Halichoeres, easier Macropharyngodon species and Pseudocheilinops ataenia rather than Flashers (Paracheilinus sp).

But, the Hawkfish I would personally skip if you want other peaceful fish. Especially wrasses and gobies. I’ve had some horrible experiences with hawkfish and mixing them. I have lost several fish to hawkfish including;
Various Leopard Wrasses (Meleagris, Bipartitus, Negrosensis)
Male Radiant Wrasse
A Copperband (I had this guy for 4 years)
And almost a Diamond Tail Flasher

I’ve lost more than just that, but that was from personal experiences in my own tanks/LFS displays, when mixing Hawks in LFS fish systems I now make sure they’re only with tangs and other nasty (often predatory) fish which keeps them in check.

With the dimensions being pretty much 3’x2’, I wouldn’t go for a Flasher. If you want one, I’d only go for a flasher if it’s an Angular Flasher, Paracheilinus angulatus, the reason why is the species within the Mccoskeri complex (the most common of the small flashers) love to dart around, when they display they use the whole of a 4 foot tank so I personally recommend 4 foot length as a minimum for these fish. A good alternative to flashers are fairies - they don’t use a huge amount of the tank when it comes to it.

Also, if you’re after pest hunters and have a sandbed look at smaller Halichoeres. These guys have a huge array of bright colours, and well, their utility is amazing. If you’re up for an intermediate species, look at some of the Macropharyngodon species (Leopards). These do require a sandbed but, their colours are difficult to find in other wrasses.

Another good choice to look at are the Wetmorella species. These are much smaller wrasses (maxing out at 3 inches for the largest of them). They are also quite useful for pest hunting and don’t require a sandbed either! Another species very similar to these, but it looks more like a sixline (without the nastiness) is Pseudocheilinops ataenia. Also called Pink Streak Wrasse, these guys are amazing with personality, whilst setting they can be shy (which the Wetmorella species are very similar to this) but once settled and used to their surroundings, you’ll find them constantly gliding around the rockwork.

a starting list for fish to look at would be;
Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Cirrhilabrus isosceles
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres leucoxanthus
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres chrysus
Macropharyngodon meleagris
Macropharyngodon negrosensis
Macropharyngodon bipartitus/marisrubri
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Pseudocheilinops ataenia
Wetmorella albofasciata
Wetmorella tanakai
Wetmorella nigropinnata

Thank you for the detailed response. I have read some similar things about hawkfish. We are planning on doing a much larger tank in the future with some more aggressive fish so a hawkfish would probably do great there.

I appreciate the info on the wrasse. I have looked at the leopard and the melenarus but unfortunately we decided to go with the caribsea black sandbed which is a heavy grain almost like gravel. We have been regretting that decision. The Pink Streak did stand out to me as well so that might be one we consider.

I was thinking an alternative to the hawkfish could be a clown goby? They are a rock dweller but much more peaceful it seems and we don't have any gobies.

 

[245013]

As I mentioned above I currently have a yellow assessor and royal gramma together and the Royal gramma is always out. If you have few “dither” fish together, it helps to give each confidence to come out. It sounds like you are after a peaceful tank. Dither fish tend to be peaceful and bring other fish out so if you had maybe a royal gramma, a yellow assessor and some other fish, I don’t know maybe a firefish, they would all help each other to be confident to stay out.

My flame hawkfish did push the fish like assessor’s around, but the assessor’s learnt to stay out of its way. Sounds like others have had meaner tempered hawkfish than mine.

I’m a big fan of canary or yellow wrasse. But they need a deeper sand bed to sleep in. They have a nice nature and because they are always out and about they also help encourage your other fish to come out.

I would not hesitate with a coral beauty. I had one for over twelve years, but again it sounds like my one was more milder tempered than what others suggest.

I think your rock work is fine for most fish. But you would have to wait some months to get enough growth on it for a wrasse or angelfish. In the meantime, just feed more frequently and add nori or macro algae for the fish to pick at.

Those pictures are from when we first set up the tank back in November. We added a few more pieces a few months ago to create some caves and overhang but its not much. We did have a decent alage bloom but its died back and now there is just a mild covering that the snails control.

I think I'm leaning towards a Pink Streak Wrasse and a clown goby for our final additions. In the future we are going to do a large tank were we can keep tangs and angelfish.

 

[Nano Reef Guy]

I have read several other post about fish stocking and done a ton of research but I am overwhelmed by all the information and choices. We have a mixed reef tank that is 69 gallons total and 55 gallons in the display. Currently we have 2 mocha ocellaris clownfish, 3 PJ cardinalfish, 1 Banggai cardinalfish, and 1 lawnmower blenny. So far everyone is doing good but we are getting to the point where we have to narrow down our choices for the remaining fish that we want to add and how many more we can add. Below is a list of fish were are considering.

-McCosker Flasher wrasse or a peaceful reef safe wrasse
-Royal gramma basslet
-Firefish or purple firefish
-Flame or longnose hawkfish (we don't have shrimp only snails)
-Orchid dottyback
-Damsel or chromis (haven't herd many positives about them but they are still on our list for some reason)

I would appreciate anyone's input on how many more fish we can add and which ones will work in our setup.

I have read several other post about fish stocking and done a ton of research but I am overwhelmed by all the information and choices. We have a mixed reef tank that is 69 gallons total and 55 gallons in the display. Currently we have 2 mocha ocellaris clownfish, 3 PJ cardinalfish, 1 Banggai cardinalfish, and 1 lawnmower blenny. So far everyone is doing good but we are getting to the point where we have to narrow down our choices for the remaining fish that we want to add and how many more we can add. Below is a list of fish were are considering.

-McCosker Flasher wrasse or a peaceful reef safe wrasse
-Royal gramma basslet
-Firefish or purple firefish
-Flame or longnose hawkfish (we don't have shrimp only snails)
-Orchid dottyback
-Damsel or chromis (haven't herd many positives about them but they are still on our list for some reason)

I would appreciate anyone's input on how many more fish we can add and which ones will work in our setup.

The orchid dottyback and royal gramna may not get along long term. If it is a must, I would put the royal gramma in first before adding the orchid. Make sure the royal gramma is larger.

As for damsels, make sure you do your research.

 

[Zionas]

Choose 1 from the Royal Gramma or Orchid Dottyback and if you have a spawning pair of PJs expect the shoaling to loosen up. Plenty of people are fans of Hawkfish although I’ve seen them get bad press as of late due to reasons mentioned above (compatibility with peaceful fish and tendency to eat inverts), so you’d want to skip it if you want a peaceful tank.

A few Wrasses would be nice. I’d get a dwarf Angel too.

 

[sjfishguy]

Orchid dottyback is a nasty fish. I would take that one off your list

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Both flame hawkfish, and long nose . Hawks are super cool. Don’t require a lot of swimming area. I have both neither one bothers anybody else in the tank and they are hardy outgoing and beautiful

 

[245013]

Thanks for the replies! It has been a huge help. Our final list is as follows....

Already have:
- Clownfish x2 (Coco and Toffee)
- PJ Cardinals x3 (Blankie, Pillow, and Slippers)
- Lawnmower blenny x1 (Toro)
- Royal Gramma x1 (Skittles, currently in QT)

Want to get:
- Yellow Clown Goby
- Lubbock Fairy Wrasse
- Pink Streak Wrasse