Ideas on stocking a 36 gallon reef tank

[mrjohnreed]

I am finally ready to begin the slow and methodical stocking of my reef tank. I am looking for ideas on what types of fish to stock this tank with. I look forward to everyone's input. I am pretty open to the types of fish.

 

[reefnfeef]

Bangaii cardinal pair

 

[Tahoe61]

So do you want a pair of clowns? Almost everyone does.

Royal Gramma
Dartfish/Fire Fish, need a lid
Yellow Watchman Goby, do not get a Pistol Shrimp unless you like a constant sand storm.
Damsels, pretty much only the Yellow Tail, most get really aggressive.
Chalk Basslet.
Pygmy Wrasse or Pink Lined. Six and Eight lines can be really aggressive.
Some Blennies but I am not that familiar with Blennies.
Flame Hawk Fish

 

[Joeganja]

You want a really good reef fish? Just my opinion. But get an ornate wrasse or mystery wrasse. Both beautiful fish! But no damsels. Even clownfish get aggressive and territorial especially when they pair up. A diamond goby would be a good Sand cleaner. A royal grama is great. With dotty backs I reccomend an orchid not a neon they get aggressive

 

[eatbreakfast]

You want a really good reef fish? Just my opinion. But get an ornate wrasse or mystery wrasse. Both beautiful fish! But no damsels. Even clownfish get aggressive and territorial especially when they pair up. A diamond goby would be a good Sand cleaner. A royal grama is great. With dotty backs I reccomend an orchid not a neon they get aggressive

Tahoe's suggestions are all good.

Ornate and mystery wrasses, as well as diamond gobies would not do well in a 36g tank.

Other possible suggestions include: swales basslet, yellow assessor, a group of barnacle blennies, grammistes blenny, tail spot blenny, neon goby, clown gobies.

 

[Joeganja]

Tahoe's suggestions are all good.

Ornate and mystery wrasses, as well as diamond gobies would not do well in a 36g tank.

Other possible suggestions include: swales basslet, yellow assessor, a group of barnacle blennies, grammistes blenny, tail spot blenny, neon goby, clown gobies.

They would do well. I've had them in a 36 gallon for 3 years then I transferred to a 90 lol. I've had 10 years of experience in this hobby and I'm positive they will be just fine. Especially the wrasse because they don't get larger than two and a half inches.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I have also had a bit of experience, especially with wrasses.

Both mystery and ornatus wrasses grow to over 4.5". In most cases they will reach that size in less than 3yrs, if it takes longer than that something has stunted it's growth.

Leopard wrasses also can be difficult to get acclimated to aquaria, so being in larger tanks help them settle, as the environment is more stable and there are more pods to supplement their diets.

Mystery wrasses can get beligerent, especially in small tanks, and especially toward any fish added after them. In fact, in captivity some will reach well over 4.5".

Diamond gobies can get to over 6", and are constantly digging, which in a tank that small can quickly deplete benificial microfauna in the sand bed.

There are always exceptions, where someone will put them in a tank too small, but it is not a recipe for success in most cases.

 

[clee36]

my favorite in my tank right now, a 34 cube, is my harptail blenny.
lots of personality, when it feeding time he swims up, begs, and literally jumps out of the water just a bit, to eat the food before it hits the water.
great guy and he was only 14 bucks!

 

[mrjohnreed]

Thanks everyone for their input so far. I am really torn about what to put in this small tank. I don't want too big of a bio load but would like to see a fish or two swimming around the corals. I am in the beginning stages of populating the tank now. I will start with my corals and then move on from there.

 

[Wills Gills]

You should get a cherub angelfish! They are beautiful fish.

 

[mrjohnreed]

So I have begun to stock the tank. Currently in the tank is a CUC with a sand sifting starfish, and two corals. One is a rock with hairy mushrooms and the other I believe is a hammer coral but am not 100% for sure. I have attached a picture of both of the new corals,

 

[clee36]

looks like a hammer to me. and those are cool shrooms!

 

[mrjohnreed]

Thanks. I am going to slowly stocking the tank and trying to get a real cool look.

 

[zoacrazy42]

I like the hairy shroomies!

 

[mrjohnreed]

Got some new additions today.

 

[Justiful]

So do you want a pair of clowns? Almost everyone does.

Royal Gramma
Dartfish/Fire Fish, need a lid
Yellow Watchman Goby, do not get a Pistol Shrimp unless you like a constant sand storm.
Damsels, pretty much only the Yellow Tail, most get really aggressive.
Chalk Basslet.
Pygmy Wrasse or Pink Lined. Six and Eight lines can be really aggressive.
Some Blennies but I am not that familiar with Blennies.
Flame Hawk Fish

I got the first three fish on that list, first 4 if you count green chromis as damsels... I feel like your stalking me, and predicting my future buys.:eek::eek:

 

[mrjohnreed]

So here we are so far....was looking for an idea for the large open space in the back left to place a coral there. Any suggestions?