Looking to restock my nuvo 40 after battling Brook/velvet and loosing 3 of my fish. I'm almost through my fallow period so I'm starting to think about restocking. I currently have 2 clarkii clowns in quarantine waiting to go back in. What would you guys add? Also any good "larger" fish for a tank my size? Something like a dwarf angle possibly. TIA!
Nuvo 40 stocking
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My 25 nuvo has a royal gramma, tailspot blenny, kupang damsel and a clown goby. They add a lot of movement and get along well in my tank which has the same footprint. You could probably get away with another slightly larger inhabitant or two as well
I really like the mix as they all have a good demeanor and have staked out their parts of the tank so I have good movement
I really like the mix as they all have a good demeanor and have staked out their parts of the tank so I have good movement
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The Pygmy Angel aka Cherubfish is the only one I would recommend for a 40 gallon and only if that has a 3 foot length or more. They need horizontal swimming room. Also be aware that any dwarf or pygmy angel can go rogue on corals. For a 3 foot long 40 gallon I am also a big fan of the Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse which is very active, colorful, full of personality and completely reef safe:
The tank is 24*16*19 so maybe to small for a dwarf angle. I was thinking my 2 clarkii's, a six line wrasse, some kind of prawn goby to go with my pistol shrimp just not sure which one yet, starry blenny, a tail spot, some kind of hawk fish, ref scooter dragonet. Not all of them but just some thoughts I had. Hoping to find one show stopper just not sure what.
Shane808262
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The only fish I would be concerned about Is the Dragonet because they can destroy a coco pod population in a tank that size. I would do a dwarf angel IMO it would be ok just do a species that is less aggressive like a coral beauty. IMO all the Pygmy Angels are pricey and don’t look as nice as something like a flame or lemon angel. Don’t get a Pygmy just get a dwarf and It will be fine and eventually you can upgrade but you wouldn’t need to. Good luck.
Shane808262
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Out of all the dwarf angels the bicolor gets the biggest so I wouldn't get that one. Flame back would do great in a 40. lemon Peal would do ok but it is the most territorial. A flame angel would do good but though not as aggressive/ territorial as lemon it is still somewhat aggressive. Cherub IOM is the ugliest angel but if you like it get it since it is smaller like the flame back. Coral beauty’s are the least aggressive dwarf angel and would also be a good candidate.
ZipAdeeZoa
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Standard disclaimer, I have not kept these fish but I've done absurd amounts of research on the ones I'll mention. I'm also new to saltwater and have yet to get a feel for what stocking levels are acceptable for different sized tanks so the list below are possibilities to mix and match not to have them all at the same time
Sixline wrasses have really bad rep, a recent thread somewhere on here asked what fish you'd never have again and sixline wrasses are a sizable portion of the listed fish. The pink streak wrasse is probably the best alternative in that they look similar (even cuter in my opinion with their bug eyes) and are supposedly one of the most peaceful wrasses. Although any wrasse small enough to fit in your tank will be competing with the dragonet.
Your stock list seems to be a little mixed with peaceful (Tailspot blenny, dragonet, prawn gobies) and aggressive (dwarf angels, sixline wrasse, hawkfish, clownfish) and typically mixing these two groups isn't advised. Also keep in mind if this tank has coral that most dwarf angels seem to go off the rails at some point or another and start snacking on polyps.
However like the six lined wrasse, some of the fish you like have peaceful alternatives, so a stocking list could include some of the following:
Pink streak wrasse instead of sixline
Unarmed perchlet instead of hawkfish
Tailspot or starry blenny (they are conspecifics so they might bicker, solved by picking your favourite one)
Dragonet (Provided you are prepared for the challenges/expenses of feeding them like adding a pod hotel or supplementing stupid amounts of pods and also wrasses would compete for pods)
Pistol shrimp and goby pair as long as your rock is secure and was added before the sand or secured via acrylic rods or something to that caliber. Otherwise you could be in for some rock slides.
One idea I saw on here for small to medium tanks that blew my mind was instead of focusing on that one awesome fish- to focus on a group of awesome fish. A group of select species of cardinals can make a fascinating display!
Thanks for all the info zipadeezoa would a yellow coris wrasse be a good substitute to the 6 line as well? I'm looking for something the help with pest control, I have started to notice flat worms now that my tank has been fallow. I have the clowns already so they are here to stay unless they get really aggressive, unfortunately they did kill my yellow watchman goby in quarantine after copper treatment. But I'm hoping once they have more room they will be ok. They had been fine in the tank before with all the other fish so I'm thinking it was just the tight quarters. I currently have a tiger pistol shrimp that goes to town digging and my aquscape has seemed pretty solid so far. I think I'm going to hold off on the dragonet especially if I'm getting a wrasse of some sort, I do have a refugium to help with pods and they have been going rampant with no fish in the tank.
ZipAdeeZoa
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Anytime!
I Can't really comment on the corris wrasse (haven't really looked into them) but I do think the pinkstreak wrasse seems to check most of your boxes (although I don't know for certain that they are as effective as the sixline wrasse in pest control. Another wrasse group you may want to look into would be the possum wrasses (Wetmorella sp) although again I don't know if they are as effective as the sixline however I'm confident both are more peaceful.
I Can't really comment on the corris wrasse (haven't really looked into them) but I do think the pinkstreak wrasse seems to check most of your boxes (although I don't know for certain that they are as effective as the sixline wrasse in pest control. Another wrasse group you may want to look into would be the possum wrasses (Wetmorella sp) although again I don't know if they are as effective as the sixline however I'm confident both are more peaceful.
ZipAdeeZoa
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They are really cool! I forgot to mention that they are much more reclusive than some other wrasse so you may not see them to much but when you do (to me anyway) it makes it that much more special when you do. you may want to checkout this article as well to learn about reef safe wrasses and general and if you want someone with actual experience with wrasses I'd tag the author
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/all-about-reef-safe-wrasses-in-aquaria.259894/
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