Stocking Advice - 40G Aquatop Cube

[mrmatzah]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for all your advice on potential upgrades to my tank. I really appreciate the warm welcome. Good news - I just tested my tank and it's completely cycled! It's so exciting, but I'm definitely working to be patient as hard as that might be - hah!

I'm looking to get your help on potential stocking for a 40g Cube. I eventually want to add at least Zoas and Frogspawn, so looking for fish that are safe for LPS and Zoas (I'm looking to add at least the Zoas in a couple of months).

So far I'm considering at least the following:

Purple Firefish Goby
A watchman goby would be really cool - had one of those in a tank about a decade ago and he was a blast
I really like blennies as well, but not sure how well they do in captivity or if they are reef friendly
Royal gramma

I'm looking for something, though, that will add some color and activity to the tank. Good fish with personalities (like a freshwater parrot fish). Are there are good saltwater newbie, reef friendly fish that would meet that criteria?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Seffner]

Are you avoiding clownfish for any reason? They have enough choices, and I would argue that there's a reason so many people keep them. I know most will say to be careful with damsels, but you might look for one of the more "peaceful" ones (the bright blues are at least colorful). I like the vanderbuilt chromis. Are you thinking about inverts? A couple of skunk cleaner shrimp or fire shrimp add some red. The trick is finding something that will handle a 40 gallon and is reef safe.

I still scroll through liveaquaria to try to imagine how I would stock aquariums of various sizes. Depending on your budget, their Diver's Den occasionally has some unique fish that you might find interesting.

Like everything in this hobby, patience is rewarded. It looks like you have a good beginning with the list you posted.

(I would also make sure you have a cover if you get certain fish, I learned the hard way on a couple of purchases!)

 

[mrmatzah]

Thanks Seffner. Not intentionally on the clowns. Do they do best as pairs? I definitely want to add some fire or cleaner shrimp. They are awesome!

I haven’t looked on Divers Den in a while. I’ll check them out. Is having fish shipped pretty safe and easy? I’ve always gone the LFS route.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Spare time]

I highly recommend blennies! Lawnmowers are nice. There are lots of varieties and most are coral safe (however there is the occasional oddball that nips at them however I doubt the fish is actually targeting the coral but rather thinks its a rock. All the fish you listed would be fine. Firefish love to jump so try and get something like a mesh lid kit from BRS.


Also, divers den is nice since the fish have already gone through qt.

 

[mrmatzah]

That’s so awesome to hear on the blennies. Thanks for the advice on the fire fish. It’s got two glass covers and a light that fits pretty smugly between them. There are still ever so small holes around the corners of the light though. I’ll see if I can find a good solution.

 

[Seffner]

It's been a while since I ordered from them. I'm in the Tampa area and we have enough LFS that I figured I could get what I wanted from them. I've only got a 30 gal FOWLR, so I'm limited on how many creatures I can put into my tank. The pair I had were the only ones that survived a heater malfunction. I have a black and white and a standard orange as my pair and the original orange one disappeared about a month ago (I'd had him as part of the pair for over four years, probably closer to six). I'm not sure if he jumped and the dog ate him or something else got him and the cleanup crew took care of him before I could find him.

Anyway, I just replaced him with another orange clownfish and he seems to get along fine with my black and white. I hadn't realized how big the black one had gotten until I put a juvenile in with her.

I think the ocellaris are reasonably priced and easy to keep. With all the designer ones out there (for a price) there are some really eye-catching fish to be had.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Flame hawkfish are really cool looking and have great personalities (I’m sure other hawks are great too, I just prefer flames.). I know that you said that you wanted shrimp though, and that wouldn’t be an option with them. Also take a look at tail spot blennies.

On a side not, a piece of tape should fix those small holes in your lid easily.

 

[mrmatzah]

Good idea on the tape. I went by the LFS today to look around. I remember when the standard clowns were all you'd usually see. They had all sorts of colors this time. I did end up picking up some more snails and hermit crabs, and got a really awesome lawnmower blenny. He's settling in now, but he's already set up some perches to keep an eye on everything.

 

[mrmatzah]

So Lenny the Blenny is doing really well. He's having a blast in his tank. Looking forward to adding another fish or two in a week or so!