Sixlines can be quite aggressive. Getting meaner and more territorial as they mature.Hi everyone,
I have a 29 gallon (12x30x18h) with a 20 high sump that I'll get to start stocking after a 76 day wait for my rock and CUC to ensure it's pest free. The refugium area is 10" x 12" x 8" high with the baffle but the height might be increasing once I get my plumbing issues worked out. I plan to have a reef and I do prefer the look of soft corals over hard corals but I don't want to limit myself with my fish stocking. I used the comparability chart and other information on Live Aquaria to figure out which fish I could potentially get and I wanted to see what sort of advice or recommendations you all have. I will be running a Curve 5 in the sump. 32 lbs live rock split between DT and sump (for aesthetic reasons, it's too much for DT. Probably close to 60 pounds live sand.
These are the fish that I like, it is NOT A STOCKING LIST. It is merely the fish that I am considering, I DO NOT plan on putting all of these fish in my tank. This is a list that I would like to pick my stock from.
I have a peppermint shrimp in my CUC along with a bunch of snails, and a couple hermit crabs.
I definitely want a pair of clown fish, LFS breeds them and I plan on getting them at about 1" in size if a little bit smaller, I like the idea of getting to see them grow.
Other than the clown fish, these are the fish that I like... I know some of them seem to be a border line, and one says on Live Aquaria that you need to have a stocked fuge, now does that simply mean that I need to have pods in my fuge and they will make their way up the return pump on their own, or will I need to spot feed? I do not want anything high maintenance that needs to be spot fed daily, or that are too tricky eaters. I notice Live Aquaria frequently only lists live food as what the fish eat, is this the only food these fish could eat or will any be fine on pellet/flake etc.
+Pair of clownfish- LFS Breeds these
+Royal Gamma- I've heard some mixed review on the temperament of these fish...
+Dusky Jawfish
+Six Line Wrasse
+Kaudern's Cardinalfish- LFS Breeds these
+Cave Transparent Goby
+Diamond Watchman Goby- I'm not sure if my tank and fuge would be big enough for this one and I would much rather play it safe than get a fish that's going to be unhappy in my tank
+Sharknose Goby
+Neon Goby
Another thing that I really care about is where the fish come from, I really do not want to contribute to taking these fish from the ocean so sustainability is important to me, I don't know LFS's status on breeding the other fish. Are there any others that I could have a pair or more of, Live Aquaria says some gobies can be kept in mated pairs, is that unreasonable for a beginner? Are they like clownfish where if you get them young it could work? Do I just have too small of a setup for that?
Any advice and opinions are welcome. Pic of DT rock work since some fish bios say they need 'a lot' of rock work for eating/hiding but don't know what 'a lot' of rock work actually is. The two bottom rocks on either side have a sort of cubby in them, and the branch of coral is a tunnel to the other side
Diamond gobies get too big for a 29g. Most people don't realize how big they get.
Sharknose and neon gobies will fight. Choose one species, but both species can be kept as prs.
Captive bred fish aren't as environmentally better of a choice than wild caught fish. But that is a discussion for elsewhere.
The bristleworm most likely did not eat the snail. Though it may have eaten the dead snail, but that is helping keep the tank clean. They are good scavengers.I think the six line wrasse is moving up in the list to a 'really want' fish, the clowns are 'practically mandatory'. The bristle worms in my tank are getting a bit much for me, I really don't want to look in my tank during the day with the lights on and see them poking out of the rocks, and I think one has contributed in the killing of one of my snails. I know bristle worms don't typically do that sort of thing, but the other day I found a bristle worm living in one of my turbo snail's shells, and today that snail is dead so I'm not a very happy camper, I had it less than a week. Maybe the snail was compromised and the worm did it's thing but it's still left a bad taste in my mouth about them and I'd prefer to keep their population a bit smaller.