Stocking/Compatibility Advice

beesnreefs · Oct 28, 2020

Howdy R2R family! I'm looking for some advice, experience, and opinions on a few stocking questions.

Working on the long term fish stocking plan for my 65 gallon. Will be a mixed reef with mostly LPS and a few SPS. Right now we've got a small ocellaris clown and a yellow watchman goby. Will be adding a pistol shrimp soon to pair up with the YWG.

Long term, this is the list of fish we are considering adding (followed with some questions for you fine folks) - Please note, we do not intend to add all these fish, this is just the list of fish we are thinking about. Also, all fish will be purchased from a reputable source that does a full quarantine like TSM Aquatics, Dr Reef, etc.:

Pink Streaked Pygmy Wrasse (just ordered today from TSM Aquatics, arriving late November)
Blue Star or Ornate Leopard Wrasse
Royal Gramma
A Clown Goby of some type
Flame Hawkfish or Longnose Hawkfish
A small Kole or White Tail Bristle Tooth Tang (with the expectation it will have to be re-homed to a larger tank when it grows)

Some questions....

Any of these fish you think should be added last?
Given we already have a YWG, is it OK to add a Clown goby? Will there be goby warfare?
I've read Clown gobies can pick at SPS polyps - what's your experience with this? (we do not have any SPS yet but will add some later)
Is a Hawkfish a problem with a goby or gobies? Will the Hawkfish eat the pistol shrimp?

Thanks!

Angel_Anthias lover · Oct 28, 2020

I would probably recommened adding the clown goby and pink streak first, and then the royal gramma and hawkish sometime after. Maybe try and purchase a medium sized clown goby so it can grow to a large size to reduce any possible issue of consumption from next additions, and get a smaller gramma and hawk, so they wont be able to eat the goby, i wouldnt worry so much about the gramma but my black cap has a massive mouth and it always kinda concerns me when i think about adding small gobies.
The leopard wrasse should be added when the tank is considered mature and full of pods, which is normally around a year or so, but maybe longer. The tang should be added last imo, but probably before the leopard is possible

The clown goby and watchman i imagine wont fight, they both occupy different niches of the reef and wont see each other as competition

Ive never kept clown gobies with sps, but i have seen at my lfs where the pairs lay eggs on sps branches which can cause damage if.you plan on pairing them (which can be extremely hard as if incompatible they will try and kill one another, until the less dominant dies).

Ive never kept hawks to fully attest to what ive said, but i have heard they can eat smaller fish, so id be cautious

I feel like you could probably get away with more fish in that size, if you happen to want anything else, though if your plan is for a minimalistic low bioload, then thats a nice list.