First Reef Tank

[Grace2023]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to startup my first tank in the near future. I have done a lot of research into the tank I want and the stocking list. The tank I will be getting is the Planet Aquarium 47 gallon Lagoon AIO. I want it to be a reef tank, so I will be adding mostly soft corals, maybe some hard, and at least one anemone once the tank is setup and more established. I have some fish in mind that I really want but I’m not 100% sure if they will all work together, so that’s why I wanted to make a post here before I even set the tank up.

The stocking list I want is:
2 clownfish
1 purple firefish
1 Yellow watchman goby
1 blenny- either bi color or tailspot
1 pink streaked wrasse
1 Royal gramma
1 yellow head jawfish
Possibly (1) either flame hawkfish or pixy hawkfish

The problem I have is I’m seeing mixed opinions on adding the hawkfish with those other fish I have listed. So, my question is could a hawkfish work in this tank with the other fish? If not, which fish could I take away to add the hawkfish, if at all? And if the stocking is too much for that size aquarium? I read that I could fit around 9-10 fish in a tank that size, depending on size but I know personal experience is better than reading the internet. I just want my tank to be successful and all of the occupants to be happy/healthy. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[lapin]

I would figure out how you will Qt your fish before deciding what fish, how many and when you will add them.
I would work on the rock scape and coral placements first.

 

[Evil1]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

IMO 9 fish in that tank is pretty optimistic, I would do 6-7 fish. The list looks good to me, but a lot of those fish need some good rockwork and hiding spots. Good luck

 

[Biokabe]

That's a few too many fish for a tank of that size, though most of them are on the smaller size so it might work out. With that said:

Hawkfish can be problematic for any fish that dwells in the sand. So your watchman, your jawfish, and your blenny would potentially be at risk.

And for that matter, I would honestly skip the jawfish altogether. They're a pretty fish and very fun to watch, but they're heartbreakers. Every single jawfish I've ever tried has killed itself within 2-3 weeks. Even with a well-fitted lid, they have always found ways to put themselves into stressful situations, and the stress eventually killed them. My first jawfish was in my old Biocube, and he launched himself into the filtration tray (where the water is only about 1-2" deep) on three separate occasions, before finally finding a way to launch to the floor. My second tried out a series of burrows before, once again, launching himself to the floor through my mesh lid. My third jumped out of the acclimation bag into a pile of dust that got all over his gills, and he died a couple days later. And that was the last time I tried one.

Other than those two (hawkfish and jawfish) I don't see any problems with your stocking list.

 

[Grace2023]

I would figure out how you will Qt your fish before deciding what fish, how many and when you will add them.
I would work on the rock scape and coral placements first.

I do plan to setup a quarantine tank as well- maybe 20-30 gallons. And I will definitely have the rock work setup right away before adding anything. I’m not in a rush, I plan to startup the tank-sand-rock work, and saltwater. Then when I’m sure the tank is cycled, I will begin to add fish one at a time (of course each one going through quarantine before being introduced). I don’t plan on adding corals until around the 6 month mark because I want to make sure the tank is well established first and I know most are sensitive to newer tanks- especially anemones.

 

[Grace2023]

IMO 9 fish in that tank is pretty optimistic, I would do 6-7 fish. The list looks good to me, but a lot of those fish need some good rockwork and hiding spots. Good luck

Thank you for your response. I thought it may be pushing it but I thought since they were smaller, I maybe could do the 8 without the hawkfish. I think I may get a bigger tank or do two tanks- the 47 gallon and add another 30-40 gallon down the road. For now, I’ll plan for sure no hawkfish since it’s already pushing it / has the chance for aggression and maybe decide which 2 I can do without. I do plan on adding lots of rock work and many hiding spots/ caves.

 

[Grace2023]

Welcome to R2R

Thank you!

 

[Grace2023]

That's a few too many fish for a tank of that size, though most of them are on the smaller size so it might work out. With that said:

Hawkfish can be problematic for any fish that dwells in the sand. So your watchman, your jawfish, and your blenny would potentially be at risk.

And for that matter, I would honestly skip the jawfish altogether. They're a pretty fish and very fun to watch, but they're heartbreakers. Every single jawfish I've ever tried has killed itself within 2-3 weeks. Even with a well-fitted lid, they have always found ways to put themselves into stressful situations, and the stress eventually killed them. My first jawfish was in my old Biocube, and he launched himself into the filtration tray (where the water is only about 1-2" deep) on three separate occasions, before finally finding a way to launch to the floor. My second tried out a series of burrows before, once again, launching himself to the floor through my mesh lid. My third jumped out of the acclimation bag into a pile of dust that got all over his gills, and he died a couple days later. And that was the last time I tried one.

Other than those two (hawkfish and jawfish) I don't see any problems with your stocking list.

Thank you for your response. I knew it was pushing it but wanted to hear if anyone had any experience keeping similar/the same fish in a tank around that size. Im going to plan on no hawkfish and narrow it down to 6-7 for now and go from there. Since I like all of the fish on my list and really would love to have them all, I may add another tank later on.
I do for sure want to try a jawfish, but I may do a species only tank that has plenty of space and a tight lid. I worked at an aquarium and we had two yellow heads and I fell in love with them, I just love their look and personality. They are by far my favorite fish, along with blennies! Did you have yellow headed or blue spot? I hear that blue spots are harder to keep.

 

[Biokabe]

Thank you for your response. I knew it was pushing it but wanted to hear if anyone had any experience keeping similar/the same fish in a tank around that size. Im going to plan on no hawkfish and narrow it down to 6-7 for now and go from there. Since I like all of the fish on my list and really would love to have them all, I may add another tank later on.
I do for sure want to try a jawfish, but I may do a species only tank that has plenty of space and a tight lid. I worked at an aquarium and we had two yellow heads and I fell in love with them, I just love their look and personality. They are by far my favorite fish, along with blennies! Did you have yellow headed or blue spot? I hear that blue spots are harder to keep.

Always yellow-head (AKA pearly). Personally I think they actually look nicer, and on top of that I've never had pockets so deep that I wanted to drop that much on something that was likely to end up dead. I believe the reason blue spots are harder is that they're actually adapted to colder water than most reef tanks run at, so they're basically always in less-than-ideal conditions.

I think a species-only tank is the way to go if you want to keep jawfish. They're very skittish if they don't have their burrow, and they're quick to abandon a burrow if they think they're being harassed. And until they get that burrow, their threshold for harassment seems to be, "OMG, a fish swam within two feet of me!"

There's a chance that you could get a jawfish to work in a regular tank if you let it be the first fish and establish its burrow before adding in tankmates. Certainly other people have had success with them.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

that’s a nice community of fish. If you want any shrimp, the flame hawk could possibly eat them.

If you don’t already get a tank, I say go up to a 75 g. The price difference is negligible