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

[Slocke]

Sorry everyone I’ve been busy with real life and have fallen behind in this thread.

Hello!

I have a 38 gallon Hex tank (Taller than it is long)

I have some bristleworms and it's not a huge problem yet (I hope it stays that way)

Will a wrasse solve my problems? Will I be able to house one, which one? I am working on a refugium with macro and pods coming as well.

Bristle worms are generally good. They eat detritus and will help your tank look clean. However if you over feed they can explode in population.
In that size tank your options are only possum wrasse or a pink streak. They will eat baby worms and may help keep the population low.

Housemates:
Watchmen goby (actually saw him eat a bristleworm, you go bud!)
Pair of baby clowns
firefish
yellow clown goby
like 2 astreas, 2 turbos, sand conch, hermits

Can I eventually keep a shrimp lol like a cleaner shrimp.

Yes! Skunks are the bravest and will happily clean you if you let them. Fire’s are far more shy but very pretty.

 

[Slocke]

Hello Everyone,

I just set up my first saltwater fish tank, a 40-gallon breeder. I followed the BRStv 5-minute guide and purchased all of the recommended equipment.

I have just finished my cycle and am now thinking about stocking. Below is my current list:

1. 2 Clownfish
2. Buan's Goby
3. Cherub Angel
4. Purple Firefish
5. Cleaner Shrimp

CUC - Astrea and Cerith snail and a few hermits

Are there any additional utilitarian or shoaling fish I can add? I am interested in a few pajama cardinalfish or Chromis. However, I am most interested in utilitarian fish.

I do eventually plan to add soft corals once everything is stabilized.

There are no easy shoaling fish. I suggest getting a variety of fish instead. Shoaling fish tend to kill each other off in tanks. If you can get a male female pair of cardinal it may work but they are in my opinion very boring.

Consider a basslet like a royal gramma or a wrasse like a possum, pink streak, or small Halichoeres like a yellow wrasse H chrysus

 

[Slocke]

I need someone to talk me in/out of getting a sharpnose puffer in my mixed reef tank

Tank size, tank mates?

 

[William Chiavetta]

Tank size, tank mates?

125g
Common ocellaris clownfish
Mocha ocellaris clownfish
Blue hippo tang
Powder blue tang
Cleaner shrimp
Common firefish
Mandarin fish
Coral beauty angel
Leopard wrasse
Nudibranch
Scallop
Linkia sea star
Short spined sea urchin
Dwarf golden moray eel

 

[Slocke]

125g
Common ocellaris clownfish
Mocha ocellaris clownfish
Blue hippo tang
Powder blue tang
Cleaner shrimp
Common firefish
Mandarin fish
Coral beauty angel
Leopard wrasse
Nudibranch
Scallop
Linkia sea star
Short spined sea urchin
Dwarf golden moray eel

Wow
Got a GDE! Congrats.

The puffer is generally a pretty easy fish. There is one down side to them which is that like most puffers they love to nip fins. I think most of your stick will be fine as you don’t have any easy targets but it is a consideration.

 

[William Chiavetta]

Wow
Got a GDE! Congrats.

The puffer is generally a pretty easy fish. There is one down side to them which is that like most puffers they love to nip fins. I think most of your stick will be fine as you don’t have any easy targets but it is a consideration.

thank you!

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Flame angel- 69g tank... 36x22

 

[litsoh]

Getting towards the end of my stocking now so I just wanted to see how feasible this would be . I currently have

1 Threadfin Butterfly
1 Juvenile Yellow Longnose Butterfly
1 Exquisite Firefish
1 Royal Gramma
1 McCosker's Wrasse
1 Exquisite Wrasse
1 Juvenile Mandarin Dragonet
2 Banggai Cardinals
2 Clownfish (In timeout at a separate tank)

What I have in mind would be
Regal Angelfish
Canary or Purple and Yellow Wrasse
Radiant Wrasse
3-5 Lyretail Anthias

I know that I likely wouldn't be able to add all of those in, so which combination would be best to finish out my tank? Running a 125 gallon fowlr system

 

[Slocke]

Getting towards the end of my stocking now so I just wanted to see how feasible this would be . I currently have

1 Threadfin Butterfly
1 Juvenile Yellow Longnose Butterfly
1 Exquisite Firefish
1 Royal Gramma
1 McCosker's Wrasse
1 Exquisite Wrasse
1 Juvenile Mandarin Dragonet
2 Banggai Cardinals
2 Clownfish (In timeout at a separate tank)

What I have in mind would be
Regal Angelfish
Canary or Purple and Yellow Wrasse
Radiant Wrasse
3-5 Lyretail Anthias

I know that I likely wouldn't be able to add all of those in, so which combination would be best to finish out my tank? Running a 125 gallon fowlr system

With enough hiding spots you could do all. Though I find anthias to be difficult. Too few and they kill each other off and you need to feed them constantly.

Also Regals can be tough to get eating. Great once established though. Red Sea/yellow bellies tend to do better Indonesien/silvers worse.

 

[litsoh]

With enough hiding spots you could do all. Though I find anthias to be difficult. Too few and they kill each other off and you need to feed them constantly.

Also Regals can be tough to get eating. Great once established though. Red Sea/yellow bellies tend to do better Indonesien/silvers worse.

Does this look like enough hiding spaces to fit everything in? Or would more rockwork be better? I’m always worried about the balance of having enough rock to provide spots to hide and having enough open space for swimming. It’s 72.5” L, 18.5” W, 23.5” H

 

[Slocke]

Does this look like enough hiding spaces to fit everything in? Or would more rockwork be better? I’m always worried about the balance of having enough rock to provide spots to hide and having enough open space for swimming. It’s 72.5” L, 18.5” W, 23.5” H

That looks great
Plenty of hiding holes

 

[Mizu]

I just set up my first tank and i'm getting ready to start stocking soon, Its a 32.5 FOWLR tank (I might add some macroalgae) here is my stocking list:

1x Pearl/blue spot toby pufferfish
1x helfrichi firefish
2x Lyretail blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris hanae)
1x Clown goby (probably yellow)
1x Sleeper gold head goby

I don't really have a COC yet but I think Harlequin shrimps look really cool

Is this a reasonable list & does it look like a tank that will have a lot of personality?

 

[Slocke]

I just set up my first tank and i'm getting ready to start stocking soon, Its a 32.5 FOWLR tank (I might add some macroalgae) here is my stocking list:

1x Pearl/blue spot toby pufferfish
1x helfrichi firefish
2x Lyretail blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris hanae)
1x Clown goby (probably yellow)
1x Sleeper gold head goby

I don't really have a COC yet but I think Harlequin shrimps look really cool

Is this a reasonable list & does it look like a tank that will have a lot of personality?

It’s pretty good but there are a couple possible issue. Pufferfish are often fin nippers. Also the sleeper goby is a fish that gets its food by eating micro vertebrates in the sand. They often struggle in tanks. Especially early tanks. You might want to look at a shrimp goby and get a pistol shrimp to go with it.

Unfortunately harlequin shrimp only eat starfish feet. So unless you want to continue my buy starfish for it it will die. I suggest a skunk or flame cleaner shrimp. Great personality and pretty.

 

[Mizu]

It’s pretty good but there are a couple possible issue. Pufferfish are often fin nippers. Also the sleeper goby is a fish that gets its food by eating micro vertebrates in the sand. They often struggle in tanks. Especially early tanks. You might want to look at a shrimp goby and get a pistol shrimp to go with it.

Unfortunately harlequin shrimp only eat starfish feet. So unless you want to continue my buy starfish for it it will die. I suggest a skunk or flame cleaner shrimp. Great personality and pretty.

Noted - Thanks for the advice!

If I added the pufferfish last, would that potentially decrease its odds of fin-nipping?

I'm ok with substituting the sleeper head goby, you're not the first person to mention them needing more established tanks so its probably for the best. Does anyone have any pretty/colorful shrimp gobies they recommend?

As for the shrimps, i'll definitely hold out on the Harlequin shrimps until I'm more experienced, should I only include 1 shrimp in my 32 gallon tank or can I have both the pistol and the skunk cleaner together?

 

[Slocke]

Noted - Thanks for the advice!

If I added the pufferfish last, would that potentially decrease its odds of fin-nipping?

It could help yes

I'm ok with substituting the sleeper head goby, you're not the first person to mention them needing more established tanks so its probably for the best. Does anyone have any pretty/colorful shrimp gobies they recommend?

Yasha or vampire goby?

As for the shrimps, i'll definitely hold out on the Harlequin shrimps until I'm more experienced, should I only include 1 shrimp in my 32 gallon tank or can I have both the pistol and the skunk cleaner together?

Yes!
Just drop some pellets in their general area in the evening.

 

[Mizu]

Awesome! Updated stocking list:

1x Pearl/blue spot toby pufferfish
1x helfrichi firefish
2x Lyretail blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris hanae)
1x Clown goby (probably yellow)
1x Yasha goby w/ pistol shrimp

COC:
1 Pistol Shrimp
1 Skunk cleaner shrimp
1x blood Red Fire shrimp
3? gold mystery snails

Can I just choose whichever snails look the prettiest to me? Not sure how many I need in this tank and if there are any other COC members I should look into like hermit crabs


Oh I should ask, once my tank cycles and I add my first livestock, can I add the two lyretail dartfish and maybe a COC member on day 1? Two weeks later add the yasha goby w/ pistol shrimp and go from there? Also when adding in my fish is it a good idea to add seachem prime into the tank to protect them or is that a waste?

 

[Slocke]

Awesome! Updated stocking list:

1x Pearl/blue spot toby pufferfish
1x helfrichi firefish
2x Lyretail blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris hanae)
1x Clown goby (probably yellow)
1x Yasha goby w/ pistol shrimp

COC:
1 Pistol Shrimp
1 Skunk cleaner shrimp
1x blood Red Fire shrimp
3? gold mystery snails

Can I just choose whichever snails look the prettiest to me? Not sure how many I need in this tank and if there are any other COC members I should look into like hermit crabs

Yes though getting a variety of CUC can help. I do suggest some species of nassarius snail as they can help keep your sand clean. A fighting conch is great for this too.
Hermit crabs are great for hair algae but make sure to get a small species.

Oh I should ask, once my tank cycles and I add my first livestock, can I add the two lyretail dartfish and maybe a COC member on day 1? Two weeks later add the yasha goby w/ pistol shrimp and go from there? Also when adding in my fish is it a good idea to add seachem prime into the tank to protect them or is that a waste?

That should work. I usually test ammonia for two to three days after adding the first fish. Seachem shouldn’t be needed but can give you some peace of mind.

 

[niccumec]

Looking for guidance on next step for stocking my new tank.

New tank on day 35. Cycle went pretty much textbook with fishless cycle. I added benthic pods to both the DT and Refugium to try to establish a colony. Dosing phyto daily. Pods doing great and doing a good job working on film algae on glass.

I have a bonded pair of Black Ice Clowns from @Dr. Reef that are still in my QT tank. Even though already QT’d by Dr. Reef, I plan on adding all to QT for at least a couple weeks for observation and to make sure they are eating well. I plan on transferring the two clowns to DT this weekend as they are very healthy and eating everything I throw at them.

Current Inhabtants:
Bonded Black Ice Clown’s
Lots of Pods
Small ball of Chaeto in Refugium

Next step is to add:
Midas Blenny
Royal Gramma
Firefish Exquisite
Watchman / Pistol pair
And possibly a McCosker Wrasse
CUC - 5 or 10 each?? (Cerith | Nassarius | Margarite | Nerite)

Future Possible Inhabitants:
Pair of Bluethroat Triggers
Pair of Mandarinfish - once pods are colonized
Pair of Genicanthus Angelfish - juveniles
Pair of Engineering Gobies
Purple Tang
Yellow Tang
Atlantic Blue Tang

Ultimately this will be a mixed reef, but starting with fish only that are “mostly reef safe”.

Questions:
1. Is my “next step” above to big of a step adding this 4-5 fish? I would probably get them in the next 3-4 weeks and then QT for further observation for another 2-3 weeks before adding to DT.

2. Initial CUC crew. I still only have film algae on the DT glass. The pods have been cleaning a lot of it on their own. Nothing on the Marco Rocks or sand yet. I am skimming out some diatoms and see some settling in low flow areas in my sump but none in DT. I was thinking of just starting out with a small CUC crew to stay ahead of what is to come… 5 or 10 of each of the above?? Any other suggestions are welcome.

3. Any incompatibility issues in the above desired inhabitants? Or other recommendations?

Display Tank - 150 gal 54”x30”x24”
Sump - 70 gal
External Refugium - 25 gal
40 Watt UV | 36” LifeReef Venturi Skimmer

 

[Slocke]

Looking for guidance on next step for stocking my new tank.

New tank on day 35. Cycle went pretty much textbook with fishless cycle. I added benthic pods to both the DT and Refugium to try to establish a colony. Dosing phyto daily. Pods doing great and doing a good job working on film algae on glass.

I have a bonded pair of Black Ice Clowns from @Dr. Reef that are still in my QT tank. Even though already QT’d by Dr. Reef, I plan on adding all to QT for at least a couple weeks for observation and to make sure they are eating well. I plan on transferring the two clowns to DT this weekend as they are very healthy and eating everything I throw at them.

Current Inhabtants:
Bonded Black Ice Clown’s
Lots of Pods
Small ball of Chaeto in Refugium

Next step is to add:
Midas Blenny
Royal Gramma
Firefish Exquisite
Watchman / Pistol pair
And possibly a McCosker Wrasse
CUC - 5 or 10 each?? (Cerith | Nassarius | Margarite | Nerite)

I suggest Mexican turbos. They can be bulldozers but are a great way of staying ahead of algae. Just a couple to start.

Future Possible Inhabitants:
Pair of Bluethroat Triggers
Pair of Mandarinfish - once pods are colonized
Pair of Genicanthus Angelfish - juveniles
Pair of Engineering Gobies

Can become territorial. I suggest just one.

Purple Tang
Yellow Tang
Atlantic Blue Tang

Ultimately this will be a mixed reef, but starting with fish only that are “mostly reef safe”.

Questions:
1. Is my “next step” above to big of a step adding this 4-5 fish? I would probably get them in the next 3-4 weeks and then QT for further observation for another 2-3 weeks before adding to DT.

Nope but after any big additions monitor ammonia for a day or two.

2. Initial CUC crew. I still only have film algae on the DT glass. The pods have been cleaning a lot of it on their own. Nothing on the Marco Rocks or sand yet. I am skimming out some diatoms and see some settling in low flow areas in my sump but none in DT. I was thinking of just starting out with a small CUC crew to stay ahead of what is to come… 5 or 10 of each of the above?? Any other suggestions are welcome.

See above also all tanks IMO should have a cleaner shrimp. I also like to have peppermint shrimp as they are great for aiptasia.

3. Any incompatibility issues in the above desired inhabitants? Or other recommendations?

Your big issue is you are wanting to mix small peaceful fish with large more aggressive fish. The firefish and McCoskers may well be killed by the triggers and tangs. The key to a peaceful tank is a relative balance in fish size and aggression. I personally don’t keep tangs because they are mean. If you want the more peaceful fish replace the tangs and triggers with a Foxface and more peaceful wrasse or anthias. If you are set on the tangs then the firefish is out and you’ll want more hardy wrasse like a Halichoeres. Also those triggers will eat some of your CUC and perhaps the pistol shrimp.

Display Tank - 150 gal 54”x30”x24”
Sump - 70 gal
External Refugium - 25 gal
40 Watt UV | 36” LifeReef Venturi Skimmer

 

[niccumec]

Thanks for your responses. Very helpful. Perhaps I should rethink the future Triggers and Tangs. I am not set on Tangs, but I really do like the Triggers and thought that perhaps the more “reef safe” Bluethroat would be possible, especially if I could find juveniles to start with. Some invert casualties would be acceptable, but wreaking havoc on the rest of the fish and coral would not be good.

On the wrasses, I had read that many of the Halichoeres may find future coral tasty. Any species recommendations in this Genre?