Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

[OscarHaglund]

General question here.
I have heard that it is important to consider the fishes preferred habitat when creating a stock list in order to ensure that you don't end up with all fishes competing for the same living space. However, I am having a hard time finding a resource that provides this information for a large variety of fish. Anyone know of any good resources?

 

[Tbg299]

I have a Melenarus wrasse, starry blenny, and 4 pajama cardinalfish in a 65g DT. Would a 3 green reef chromis get along?

 

[RicanKing]

Any pistol shrimp safe wrasse out there ?

 

[1fastfxr]

Here's my dilemma. I currently have a 90 gallon FOWLR tank that is soon to start becoming a mixed reef. Current livestock includes:
1.) 2 clownfish (1 male onyx - 1 female mocha misbar)
2.) 1 royal gramma
3.) 1 diamond goby
4.) 1 purple firefish
5.) 1 one spot fox face
6.) 4 trochus snails
7.) 3 cerith snails
8.) 2 nassarius snails
Please dont ask why such a light cuc load lol. I'm working on it.
I know what other fish I want to add over time, but am torn about a melanarus wrasse. I want him as a utilitarian fish as I know he will eat flat worms, bristle worms, red worms, etc. My problem is...if I decide to get a cleaner shrimp, how likely is he to eat it and will he devour my snails? My other option I am considering is a cleaner shrimp and a coral banded shrimp. The coral banded would be to descret the pests. I have had a coral banded shrimp years ago, and he was a model citizen, but I have read and heard that as they mature they may prey on shrimp and small fish. Thanks in advance for any opinions and advice.

 

[Rtaylor]

General question here.
I have heard that it is important to consider the fishes preferred habitat when creating a stock list in order to ensure that you don't end up with all fishes competing for the same living space. However, I am having a hard time finding a resource that provides this information for a large variety of fish. Anyone know of any good resources?

The LiveAquaria website actually has pretty good descriptions of each fish. I don’t know of a single source for all the info you are looking for, maybe narrow down the list and start researching each one.

As a general rule of thumb, gobies and jawfish tend to hangout near the sand.

Tangs and Anthias will need lots of mid to high swimming space

dwarf angels, basslets, blennies, clowns hangout in the rocks

Wrasses are a mixed bag, some sleep in the sand, but they also swim around quite a bit and like to hunt the rocks for micro fauna

 

[lcharmeywr]

Hi there,

I recently got a 32 gallon biocube and was wondering how many fish I can have in it. I've read and everyone seems to have a different opinion but roughly .5 inch of a fish per 1 gallon seems fairly common. Does this account for CUC too? Here is what I'm thinking so far...

Fish
2 Clowns
1-2 Banggai Cardinals

Is there other fish I can get or is that pushing limits already with a decent CUC?

CUC
2 Nassarius Snails
1 Emerald Crab?
1 Tuxedo Urchin? (Not sure if I want to deal with it knocking corals and rocks over yet)
Misc algae focused snails

Only CUC I'm set on would be the Nassarius snails (I have a fairly deep sand bed and want something to patrol it often)

 

[Danco1985]

Hey everyone. I am weeks into cycling my new Waterbox 130.4 and am beginning to think through fish stocking. The tank has a 2in sand bed, will have a lot of cuc, and will likely be a mixed reef with a lot of Euphyllia.

Any thoughts on the following stocking list, including what else to add and when? The list is in order of adding to the tank.

1. Clown - Ocellaris – Picasso (Black and White)
2. Clown - Ocellaris - Mocha Storm
3. Yellow Watchman Goby (with pistol shrimp)
4. Melanurus Wrasse
5. Pink Margin Fairy Wrasse
6. Royal Gramma
7. Yellow Tang

Thanks!

 

[tonyc247]

Here's my dilemma. I currently have a 90 gallon FOWLR tank that is soon to start becoming a mixed reef. Current livestock includes:
1.) 2 clownfish (1 male onyx - 1 female mocha misbar)
2.) 1 royal gramma
3.) 1 diamond goby
4.) 1 purple firefish
5.) 1 one spot fox face
6.) 4 trochus snails
7.) 3 cerith snails
8.) 2 nassarius snails
Please dont ask why such a light cuc load lol. I'm working on it.
I know what other fish I want to add over time, but am torn about a melanarus wrasse. I want him as a utilitarian fish as I know he will eat flat worms, bristle worms, red worms, etc. My problem is...if I decide to get a cleaner shrimp, how likely is he to eat it and will he devour my snails? My other option I am considering is a cleaner shrimp and a coral banded shrimp. The coral banded would be to descret the pests. I have had a coral banded shrimp years ago, and he was a model citizen, but I have read and heard that as they mature they may prey on shrimp and small fish. Thanks in advance for any opinions and advice.

You hit the nail on the head - My melanarus wrasse was a great for controlling pest but it also ate all my small snails. It’s a beautiful fish but you have to live with its eating habits.

 

[Karliefish]

I have a 365 mix reef tank tank that currently has approximately 14 fish:
4 clowns
4 cardinals
1 hawkfish
1 yellow Corris wrasae
1 female Laboute wrasse
1 Lineatus wrasse
1 Exquiste Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma

I’m now ready to move on to Tangs now and my question is the correct order to introduce the following tangs:
3 Yellow
1 Orange Shoulder
1 Blonde Naso
1 Blue Hippo
1 Gem
1 Purple
1 Desjardini Sailfin

so far we’ve been quite careful with our new fish additions - minimal fights and no deaths. Would like to do our best to keep it that way as long as possible.

 

[python1369]

I was wondering about wrasse compatibility. Can a melanarus and a leopard wrasse coexist in an 80g?

 

[McPuff]

I have a 365 mix reef tank tank that currently has approximately 14 fish:
4 clowns
4 cardinals
1 hawkfish
1 yellow Corris wrasae
1 female Laboute wrasse
1 Lineatus wrasse
1 Exquiste Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma

I’m now ready to move on to Tangs now and my question is the correct order to introduce the following tangs:
3 Yellow
1 Orange Shoulder
1 Blonde Naso
1 Blue Hippo
1 Gem
1 Purple
1 Desjardini Sailfin

so far we’ve been quite careful with our new fish additions - minimal fights and no deaths. Would like to do our best to keep it that way as long as possible.

I'd suggest stocking them as small as possible and in groups like so:

1- naso, orange shoulder
2- hippo, yellows
3- gem, purple, sailfin

If you have the space to qt all at once, then I'd say stock them all at once. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Ian_B]

I just upgraded from a 28g cube to a 40g tank and am looking to add 1-2 more fish. I currently have 2 Ocellaris clownfish and 1 Midas blenny. I was thinking maybe a wrasse and a goby or jawfish, but I’m open to other ideas. Bonus to fish that can also provide a service like eating algae or pests. Thanks!
Oh, and it is a mixed reef. LPS, SPS, BTA.

 

[CaseyC33]

Hi all,

I’ve both answers to this. What is the ideal stocking for a 10 gallon saltwater tank?

I have seen both answers to can I keep two clowns. I understand the aggression factor. Would I be okay with two smaller clowns (ocellaris) or make sure I buy one thats bigger than the other so they pair? or just go and outright buy a pair?

 

[HelloJessica]

I'm new but not new - had saltwater tanks 10+ years ago. I am paralyzed with indecision about what to put in my Biocube 29, and leaning towards a frog fish, leaf fish (scorpionfish) or a dwarf lionfish. I would like an interesting "specimen fish". I've also considered a mantis.
For about a month I thought I wanted a mandarin so started culturing what I think are tisbe pods in my cold basement.


Biocube specifics:
about 40 pounds of live rock
2 inch sand bed
InTank refugium mod with lighting on opposite schedule
Upgraded pump to Sicce Silent 1.5
LED hood
Sicce Voyager wavemaker
Feather calurpa that I recently trimmed way back
A fighting conch
snails
snail-killer hermits
2 feeder shrimp that I ordered drunk off eBay one night and who have stayed alive since last October
lots of bristleworms (I got the IPSF package a few months ago)
Some recently added graciliara and dragons tongue that may or may not make it
Calurpa prolifora - also recently added
No heater - tank is near a vent and it stays around 76. I have a heater, but have heard horror stories.

This tank has basically been cycled since October and I feed flake food to keep the worms and hermits happy. I dose with Chaeto Gro when I think of it.

 

[SpicierBread]

Hello,

40 gal breeder which has had two clowns in it for a couple of weeks. I want to add two Cardinals (one pajama and one benggai) but want to make sure they will get along with each other and whether or not I should add them at the same time. On the one hand, that would double the bioload (bad) but they would be introduced at the same time (good for pairing). Thoughts?

 

[Seymo44]

Any pistol shrimp safe wrasse out there ?

I have a sixline with my pistol shrimp and goby. No issues whatsoever.

 

[pulpfiction]

I've been rethinking stocking and debating really hard on canceling part of a fish order...I have a 20 high and just decided to convert it to a reef tank. I could potentially have the 2 corals I ordered and my fish + cuc pack come in at the same time. I'm concerned about short term and long term bio load.

Have:
2x Clownfish

Incoming:
1x Chalk bass
1x Yellow clown goby
5x Trochus
5x Cerith
5x Astrae
5x Nerite
5x Nassarius

Other incoming:
2x soft coral frags

I have no sump, only a HOB with a weak skimmer. So I'm worried about bio load. Especially if all of the above are added at the same time.

I am debating canceling the Chalk Bass. Thoughts?

 

[ahuynh616]

<deleted>

 

[MarsReefer]

First reef tank after a decade of keeping freshwater tanks. My tank is a 130g 5x2x2 with a 40G Sump which includes a 12x12x12 refugium, and will be mostly softies and a few LPS corals. A little unsure on appropriate amount of fish, so here is what I am thinking so far (in stocking order):

2x Clowns
1x Fairy Wrasse (not sure if one variety is better than another)
1x firefish
5x Zebra Barred Dartfish
1x flame angel
2x Mandarin's (if I can get a male/female, otherwise just 1)
1x yellow tang
1x whitetail tang (added at the same time as the yellow)

Is that too much? just right? Any incompatibilities I missed?

 

[BamaCoastPyrat]

Hey R2R, I am trying to plan out what I can stock in my 40gallon tank. I'll post details and then what I am thinking about adding.

-40 gallon tank
-29 gallon sump
-Tank sand is a mix of local sand (consistency close to play sand), aragonite, and crushed shells. By the time I get consistency where I want it, it will not blow around with the powerheads.
-Live rock is a mix of live rock, dry rock, and aragrocrete totaling about 70 pounds
-Two 480 gph powerheads.
-I will not have corals, just snails, hermit crabs, and maybe fish one day

In the sump will be:
-2 filter socks
-refugium with chaeto
-protein skimmer - leaning towards the reef octopus classic 150 6"
-HOB Aquaclear 70 that I will be running with just carbon in it
-Return pump is a lifeguard rated at 240gph

I want to have all captive bred fish. These are what I have planned. Will this work and is it too much? Fish will be quarantined following guidelines by jay hemdal and humble fish.

1. One Lemon Damsel (ORA's website says that their captive bred lemons are less aggressive then most damsels in pomacentridae)
2. Two ocellaris or percula clowns
3. Three Pajama Cardinals
4. One Watchman Goby (open to suggestions here on a fun, captive bred, sand dwellar)
5. Three Royal Grammas

That's a total of 10 decently small fish that I believe would all be considered beginner level of care.