Biocube 32 Stocking Advice

j.register3

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Hello everyone,

I am in the process of starting up a Biocube 32 & working on the aquascape, I’m trying to get an idea of what kind of fish & corals I want to keep in the tank. I’m trying to go by the 1/2in to gallon ration for fish & have a total of 15in or adult fish in the tank. As far as stocking, I’m thinking something a bit different. I am taking my time building aquascape, getting equipment, & taking it slow with this build as it will be a living room display. Let me know what you think about compatibility, your experience, if you think this is a good list.

To start:
1 Midas Blenny

After tank is established:
2 Green Mandarin Dragonets
1 Pygmy (Cherub) Angelfish
 

Bleigh

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Welcome to the club!

The dragonettes may be hard to keep fed in a smaller tank. Especially two of them.

I love the cherub angels. I am thinking about getting one to help with a few hydroids I have popping up. I am not sure if they are recommended for a smaller tank though. Also, are you keeping corals? If so, you may need to keep an eye out for any nipping.

When I had my 32 gallon biocube, I had 2 clowns, a diamond goby and a 6 line wrasse. I feel like I am forgetting a fish.
 
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Welcome to the club!

The dragonettes may be hard to keep fed in a smaller tank. Especially two of them.

I love the cherub angels. I am thinking about getting one to help with a few hydroids I have popping up. I am not sure if they are recommended for a smaller tank though. Also, are you keeping corals? If so, you may need to keep an eye out for any nipping.

When I had my 32 gallon biocube, I had 2 clowns, a diamond goby and a 6 line wrasse. I feel like I am forgetting a fish.
Good point about the dragonettes! I was originally thinking one dragonet anyway, but yeah that might be difficult/expensive keeping up a pod population.
& yes I’ll be keeping corals & I’ve read of the dangers of them nipping at corals & im willing to take that risk. Just gonna be super careful :)

I have a pair of clowns & a yasha goby in my 13.5 nano, so I wanted something a bit different. A 6 line is a great idea, especially for pest control. I’ll take that into consideration too! I’ve got a friend who’s got a 65 gallon tank I work on that I could rehome to when it outgrows the Biocube.
Thanks for your reply!! Much appreciated!!
 

Bleigh

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Good point about the dragonettes! I was originally thinking one dragonet anyway, but yeah that might be difficult/expensive keeping up a pod population.
& yes I’ll be keeping corals & I’ve read of the dangers of them nipping at corals & im willing to take that risk. Just gonna be super careful :)

I have a pair of clowns & a yasha goby in my 13.5 nano, so I wanted something a bit different. A 6 line is a great idea, especially for pest control. I’ll take that into consideration too! I’ve got a friend who’s got a 65 gallon tank I work on that I could rehome to when it outgrows the Biocube.
Thanks for your reply!! Much appreciated!!

6 lines stay small. They can be mean boogers though, so you want to make sure they are the last fish you add. You could try a yellow coris wrasse, but I think they are best suited for slightly bigger tanks too.

Flame hawkfish are different and I love watching them. You might want to consider one of those.
 

Zoa_Fanatic

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Green coris wrasse for sure. I kept one for five years in a biocube 32. Never once picked at my coral and DESTROYED my bristle worm population and my Zoa spiders. Dude was a hoss. He stayed like 2” long max. I’d highly recommend one over a six line. Super chill fish.

as far as stocking the 1/2” to gallon is a misnomer. I have a nearly 2’ engineer goby in my 32 and he’s happy as can be. Going on 10 years now.
 

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Your going light. 5 or six small fish. 20-30 cuc. Maybe a shrimp. Coral....good to go.
I second this. I only have two fish in mine but one is basically a sea monster so it counts. Last count I had 31 snails, including a sand sifting conch, and 5 hermits. I have 7 (soon to be 10) zoa frags, a hammer coral, and two candy canes, oh and a blasto with no issues. Everything is healthy and rocking.
 
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j.register3

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Your going light. 5 or six small fish. 20-30 cuc. Maybe a shrimp. Coral....good to go.
I plan on going heavy with corals, but as far as fish I’ve narrowed it down to this:

White Banded Possum Wrasse x 1
Tail Spot Blenny/Midas Blenny/Bicolor Blenny
x1
Mocha Storm Clowns x 2
Mandarin Dragonette x 1
Cherub Angel x 1

They will be added In that order. Can anyone confirm if Tail Spot Blennies nip at corals?

Also, can anyone confirm if these fish will fight for territories? Wrasses, Blennies, Dragonettes, & Angels all eat off of rocks & I would like to avoid aggression if possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 

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I plan on going heavy with corals, but as far as fish I’ve narrowed it down to this:

White Banded Possum Wrasse x 1
Tail Spot Blenny/Midas Blenny/Bicolor Blenny
x1
Mocha Storm Clowns x 2
Mandarin Dragonette x 1
Cherub Angel x 1

They will be added In that order. Can anyone confirm if Tail Spot Blennies nip at corals?

Also, can anyone confirm if these fish will fight for territories? Wrasses, Blennies, Dragonettes, & Angels all eat off of rocks & I would like to avoid aggression if possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Dragonettes are hard to keep alive in a small tank. The wrasse will compete for the same food source (pods) and its super likely the dragonette will starve. I don’t know about no colors but I know coral beauty dwarf angels nip at corals, especially LPS. (Pretty sure most dwarf angles nip corals).

clowns can be turds also. I had a single clown after my other went carpet surfing I added last to my nanocube 29 and he bullied my corris wrasse to death. If I were you I wouldn’t do clowns in a tank with a dragonette or one of the more peaceful wrasses.

Honestly I’d skip the clowns and the dragonette all together and get the blenny and your angel (If it’s coral safe) and wrasse. That’s three good fish and you won’t have too much competition for food between them if you get a seaweed clip. Your angel will eat that once he figures out it’s food. You may also consider changing the blenny for a sand sifting goby. They’re super cool. Better yet a goby and pistol shrimp pair. Just make sure the angel is reef safe and isn’t going to go snacking on your shrimp.
 

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I would NOT keep clowns with other social fish, I have a 29gal biocube and I had 2 clowns, 1angel, 2cardinals and plenty of coral and hiding spots. Within 2 weeks the clowns bullied the other 3 fish to death. I would go with a possum wrasse and a hawk fish:) hawk fish are amazing!! Note that mandarins are very delicate/finicky fish and even I couldn’t keep him healthy with dosing 200 pods a week. I say starting with corals first will be easier to determine what fish you will want. Say you find yourself in a zoa garden predicament and a euphyllia garden predicament that take up LOTS of room, you’ll be able to decide if a blenny or goby will be a must, or if you would like a more social fish like a wrasse. (If your looking for an angel fish though, def a cherub, love those guys, so amazing!)
 
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j.register3

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I would NOT keep clowns with other social fish, I have a 29gal biocube and I had 2 clowns, 1angel, 2cardinals and plenty of coral and hiding spots. Within 2 weeks the clowns bullied the other 3 fish to death. I would go with a possum wrasse and a hawk fish:) hawk fish are amazing!! Note that mandarins are very delicate/finicky fish and even I couldn’t keep him healthy with dosing 200 pods a week. I say starting with corals first will be easier to determine what fish you will want. Say you find yourself in a zoa garden predicament and a euphyllia garden predicament that take up LOTS of room, you’ll be able to decide if a blenny or goby will be a must, or if you would like a more social fish like a wrasse. (If your looking for an angel fish though, def a cherub, love those guys, so amazing!)
Thank you so much!! This is the kind of advice I needed. I like the idea of starting with corals & progressing from there. The Cherub Angel is my only must-have in this tank, then I was hoping for some utility fish as far as algae/sandbed. It seems compatibility will be the main concern.
 
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Dragonettes are hard to keep alive in a small tank. The wrasse will compete for the same food source (pods) and its super likely the dragonette will starve. I don’t know about no colors but I know coral beauty dwarf angels nip at corals, especially LPS. (Pretty sure most dwarf angles nip corals).

clowns can be turds also. I had a single clown after my other went carpet surfing I added last to my nanocube 29 and he bullied my corris wrasse to death. If I were you I wouldn’t do clowns in a tank with a dragonette or one of the more peaceful wrasses.

Honestly I’d skip the clowns and the dragonette all together and get the blenny and your angel (If it’s coral safe) and wrasse. That’s three good fish and you won’t have too much competition for food between them if you get a seaweed clip. Your angel will eat that once he figures out it’s food. You may also consider changing the blenny for a sand sifting goby. They’re super cool. Better yet a goby and pistol shrimp pair. Just make sure the angel is reef safe and isn’t going to go snacking on your shrimp.
Thanks for the advice!! I definitely will hold off on the mandarin & I already own a pair of clowns, but I love your idea. Thanks!
 

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Thank you so much!! This is the kind of advice I needed. I like the idea of starting with corals & progressing from there. The Cherub Angel is my only must-have in this tank, then I was hoping for some utility fish as far as algae/sandbed. It seems compatibility will be the main concern.
That’s a tough one, utility fish are usually classified as gobys and blennys. (I’m sure there are much more, but for your tank size, I think one of these 2 would supplement). Lawn mower blenny is super tough worker but not the prettiest fish, while sand sifting gobys can be super pretty. As @claudius_galin stated, goby and a pistol shrimp pair would be amazing... but, shrimp can be a$$holes and I recommend against housing them, but it’s your choice!! (I think the cherub is a must too)
 
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That’s a tough one, utility fish are usually classified as gobys and blennys. (I’m sure there are much more, but for your tank size, I think one of these 2 would supplement). Lawn mower blenny is super tough worker but not the prettiest fish, while sand sifting gobys can be super pretty. As @claudius_galin stated, goby and a pistol shrimp pair would be amazing... but, shrimp can be a$$holes and I recommend against housing them, but it’s your choice!! (I think the cherub is a must too)
I have a pistol shrimp in my other tank & will probably not own another in the future haha thoughts on the Diamond Goby route? Possum Wrasse, Cherub Angel..anything else?
 

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