How To Plan a Livestock List

mcarroll · Nov 8, 2016

This being a livestock-oriented thread...

Geno · Nov 8, 2016

mcarroll said:
Well, not to be critical of any move you made, as I'm sure you were doing the absolute best you could.....but I think as a hobby we need to start defining what it really means to "go slow".

For example, I've been thinking that one or two fish per year might be fast enough. I wouldn't expect you or anyone to be going that slow at this point because not too many really think on that scale. But it would surely yield better results and better reefers.

I most def think on that scale now. I learned that fact as I've gone through these last two years. I always say "if I had it to do over, I would have...." I understand

Phil Cusimano · Nov 9, 2016

melypr1985 said:
To get this back on topic I'll give an example:
I've always wanted an Achilles Tang. Of course, when I was gifted a 75 gallon tank I thought "yeah! I can finally do it!" I upgraded everything from my 40 gallon to the 75 and started doing research. Come to find out the Achilles tang needs quite a bit more room to roam than a 75 will provide. I spent a lot of time and money on my 75 getting it nice, all the while knowing that I was going to upgrade to something bigger. Everything I purchased is able to be moved over to the new 180- that was planning and a bit of luck. Had I did my research on the Achilles Tang first, I probably would have waited -and saved- a bit longer and skipped the 75 all together.

Another: I had a customer come in the store and tell me they had a 55 gallon reef tank. They had a pair of clownfish and some cardinals and wanted to add a tang. They told me literally "I have a huge tank. I want to add a Dory." They were quite frustrated with me when I explained that they shouldn't put any tangs in a 55 gallon tank. I told them they could always upgrade to accommodate the tangs they wanted, but of course that adds the frustration. I spent a long time showing them options that would fit their current livestock and the tank size, but they weren't really happy with any of them. If they had decided that they wanted the dory first and researched it's requirements, they would have (hopefully) gotten the appropriate sized tank and walked out of the shop happy as clams.

Point: Figure out what you want the end product to be and figure out what you need to make that happen. If you want sharks and rays, then research them and figure out what other fish can go with them. Then figure out how large a tank they need along with filtration requirements. Is that something you still want to do? Is it going to match your dream? Then do it! Research is the key ladies and gents.

You're absolutely correct, can't tell you how many times I've seen large fish in an unsized tank. Make an informed decision, I can't tell you how many times I've seen newbies I want a 55 gallon tank when