First Tank Stocking Help

CleanRiversDirtRoads

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Hey everyone, it’s been great getting to know some of you on the newcomers thread! I could use some help for some stocking tips for my first reef tank which is a 40gal cube open top. I was thinking about some of the following but I would love your input on which ones in which order or other suggestions altogether. The fish I’m considering are:
- Clown Pair
- Baby Tang (For algae until it outgrows and goes in next tank)
- 6 Line Wrasse
- Banggai Cardinal
- Purple Firefish
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Maybe Mandarin down the line
- I had thought about a snowflake eel as a substitute to one or more of the fish, but am definitely open to advice.

For CUC, I was thinking hermits, snails and a cleaner shrimp

Thank you in advanced for all of your help!

F72C0697-4F50-4D7E-8AE7-6AB87726EB8C.jpeg
 

blaxsun

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Mandarin will be hard to keep in that size unless you continually supplement pods. Not impossible, just more challenging.

Cleanup crew I recommend:
* Spiny astrea snails and ring cowries for the rocks
* Nassarius, cerith snails and strawberry/orange lip conches for the sand bed
* Trochus and turbos for the tank sides
* At least one blue tuxedo urchin down the road

Love my sixline - YMMV.
 

Lineatus

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A snowflake would outgrow a 40 cube rather quickly and six lines can be aggressive so personally I wouldn’t chance those two. A mandarin in that sized aquarium is doable but you’d have to wait a long time for the tank to be mature enough (years in my opinion).

In my opinion buying a tang just to be a temporary algae eater in a small tank is unethical, but that’s a whole other conversation! (Unless you have a full time home waiting already, then I don’t see why not :))

All the other suggestions sound great tho! :)
 

Mr. Mojo Rising

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my unpopular advise is not to get "some" of the following, but only one of the following. One at a time, and added slowly and a few weeks apart, this will give your new fishes the best chances at surviving.
 

bnord

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congrats on getting up and running. Couple of comments, I agree the snowflake can and will rapidly outgrow that tank, also if you’re going with a mandarin wait for a while and then finally get a captive bred from Biota, might want to add a lawnmower/starry blend to the mix, and lastly lots of folks will tell you, and I am one of them, that six line wrasses are troublemakers.
 
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foxt

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What kind of coral, if any, do you plan to keep?
 

Tamberav

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If you don’t plan on a lid then the firefish will become a French fry on the floor.

Gobies, blennies, wrasses, jawfish, mandarins, and that eel are also jumpers/escape artists.

Also a sixline and mandarin are not compatible in a 40 imo.
 

Tamberav

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YMMV. I had a sixline and pair of mandarins in a 25-gallon. Other fish don't like the mucous coating on the mandarins.

I have remember a post of a sixline removing the eyeballs of their mandarin (since the slime coat is gross). I was more questioning them both being pod eaters and the OP probably being new to the hobby. But yes, sixlines can sometimes be very aggressive and some more relaxed.
 

blaxsun

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Yeah but I have also heard of sixlines removing the eyeballs of mandarins (since the slime coat is gross). I was more questioning them both being pod eaters and the OP probably being new to the hobby.
Ah, from a food source/competition aspect. All wrasses will compete to a certain extent, that's true. No love for nicki, huh? :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:
 

Anemone_Fanatic

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There are two areas where it gets difficult, other than those it looks good. The mandarin will need supplementary pods, and that can be more of a pain than it's worth. Also, be sure to get the tang out as soon as it gets 1/8th of the tank length.
 

SlugSnorter

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Hey everyone, it’s been great getting to know some of you on the newcomers thread! I could use some help for some stocking tips for my first reef tank which is a 40gal cube open top. I was thinking about some of the following but I would love your input on which ones in which order or other suggestions altogether. The fish I’m considering are:
- Clown Pair
- Baby Tang (For algae until it outgrows and goes in next tank)
- 6 Line Wrasse
- Banggai Cardinal
- Purple Firefish
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Maybe Mandarin down the line
- I had thought about a snowflake eel as a substitute to one or more of the fish, but am definitely open to advice.

For CUC, I was thinking hermits, snails and a cleaner shrimp

Thank you in advanced for all of your help!

F72C0697-4F50-4D7E-8AE7-6AB87726EB8C.jpeg
snowflakes are not really reef safe. And also need a larger tank.

I guess the tang could work, some grow pretty fast though, maybe better to use inverts or a smaller fish (like a tailspot or smth) for algae control instead.

make sure all rocks are stable and are beneath the sand-bed and not on top.

also maybe could use a lid, fire fish can be jumpers

You can start to ramp up CUC once algae gets going, but I would recommend these when algae shows up and/or the first fish are in:

5 x FL ceriths (eats algae and detritus on the rocks but mostly sandbed, burrows and stirs sand, small)

3 x Banded Trochus (eats many types of algae on the rocks, can breed, may need help if it gets flipped, only add if any algae is present)

1 x Nassarius Vibex (fairly active, eats detritus and scraps but not algae on the sandbed and sometimes rocks, very good sandbed stirrer)

You can add more as you get more fish and such, this crew is small, but a good start.
 

907_Reefer

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Agree with the comments on the snowflake, we had one in our last 55 and it was trouble, had to remove and bring it back to the LFS. We won't be messing with those in 55s again.

We might have been lucky as well, as we had a mandarin and 6-line wrasse doing just fine in that same 55.. The tank was super healthy and quick to establish however. This pic is from less than 2 years of it running. The live rock that we got at the time (2012) was fantassttticcc.

Otherwise the yellow watchman & pistol shrimp combo are one of our all time favorites :)

DSC_0496.jpg
 
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CleanRiversDirtRoads

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my unpopular advise is not to get "some" of the following, but only one of the following. One at a time, and added slowly and a few weeks apart, this will give your new fishes the best chances at surviving.
Thanks. The plan is definitely not to add them all at once. That’s actually the advice that I was looking for — which order to add them in based on their temperament.
 
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CleanRiversDirtRoads

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snowflakes are not really reef safe. And also need a larger tank.

I guess the tang could work, some grow pretty fast though, maybe better to use inverts or a smaller fish (like a tailspot or smth) for algae control instead.

make sure all rocks are stable and are beneath the sand-bed and not on top.

also maybe could use a lid, fire fish can be jumpers

You can start to ramp up CUC once algae gets going, but I would recommend these when algae shows up and/or the first fish are in:

5 x FL ceriths (eats algae and detritus on the rocks but mostly sandbed, burrows and stirs sand, small)

3 x Banded Trochus (eats many types of algae on the rocks, can breed, may need help if it gets flipped, only add if any algae is present)

1 x Nassarius Vibex (fairly active, eats detritus and scraps but not algae on the sandbed and sometimes rocks, very good sandbed stirrer)

You can add more as you get more fish and such, this crew is small, but a good start.
Thanks for the suggestions on CUC! And good to know about the snowflakes on reef!
 

foxt

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An algae blenny might be a better option than a tang in that size tank. They have lots of personality and in my experience have kept algae in check along with a CUC. If you were thinking of the 6 line wrasse for pest control, a yellow coris wrasse is an alternative that adds a splash of color. A 40 gal tank may be a bit small for it though.
 
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