Tentative Stocking Plan

[Lynx]

Planning on a Coralife Biocube 32 been doing freshwater for many years and have always been interested in reefs but never had the time/$$$ to make the plunge! The past few weeks has been tons of researching/obsessing so here's my general ideas for livestock! My goal is a super cool aquascape with a mix of macroalgae and all the different coral types, lots of inverts, and a few display fish.

Working on setting up 2 quarantines (fish and inverts) and planning to introduce to DT in small batches

I'd love feedback on my stocking! Firefish is an absolute must have, no negotiating. Not interested in clowns if any kind. Everything else is up for discussion!

Firefish, chalk bass, red bar shrimp goby, starry blennies, shark nose goby

Pom pom crab, tiger pistol shrimp, feather duster, coral shrimp, lots of hermit crabs

Finger leather, mermaid fan (macro), blue plate sponge, toadstool, dragon's tongue, polyps, hairy rhodactus, green poci, zoas, branching GSP, Hulk lepto

 

[JumboShrimp]

Two thumbs up on the Chalk Bass. They are even nicer in person that in photos.

 

[davidcalgary29]

...but chalk bass can also be domineering and territorial. I'd arrange aquascaping so that it can have a few caves it can claim. Mine certainly chases every other fish out of the arch it's chosen.

Don't do a firefish without some type of lid. My red firefish went carpet surfing out of my IM40, and it actually did have a screen top on it. It couldn't have had more than three mm of clearance on one side where a cable ran through it, and the fish still managed to escape (and died). And I'd go for the purple firefish, myself: it's one of the most stunning fish you can get for the home aquarium.

 

[damsels are not mean]

The Regular coral banded shrimp Stenopus hispidus is known to be aggressive when they grow up. Especially towards other shrimp or small fish like you're planning. It may try to catch and eat things too but I think that's rare.

I suggest instead you consider Stenopus cyanoscelis (Yellow banded coral shrimp) or Stenopus tenuirostris (blue banded coral shrimp). They have the same body plan and similar behavior but are much smaller, more docile, and prettier IMO. The blues are more expensive and rare but the yellows are pretty easy to get and well worth the extra few $ over the classic white/red ones. I would not go for the "Gold" coral banded shrimp (S. zanzibaricus) as it is a bit bigger than those others, and also rare anyways.

I would also recommend instead of the tiger pistol shrimp you go with a randall's. They are the smallest of the pistol shrimps in the trade and the safest bet with the many inverts (I am especially concerned about the pom pom crab).

Hermit crabs are controversial but I think they all get blamed for the actions of some problem species. The common blue leg is in my experience a problem species. In my experience they always end up killing other snails or eachother until there's one left. Maybe they are very territorial. On the other hand the scarlet reef hermits (Paguristes cadenati) have always been a saint for me. Never killed any other hermits or snails in the 10 years I have been keeping them. And they live for several years. In fact they seem to not need a shell change at all once they are "collection sized" because no matter how many and what shells I provided they always kept the same one they grew up in and never looked for others. Maybe I've been lucky.

I see hermits as an ornamental and not much of a janitor. While they will clean up and scavenge they don't do anything special and should not in my opinion be housed in large numbers like you will often see them sold in (like 1 snail and 1 hermit per gallon rules etc.). I have 3 in my28gal and that tank is opld and dirty for them to eat a lot. Any more and I think the balance shifts.

If you want a hermit with blue legs consider the electric blue. It is larger but still reef safe and too large to be interested in the shells from any of the common snails we keep in our tanks. They may be territorial to other hermits but I have had one that did not do any damage to anything including my other similarly sized scarlet hermits. A little pricey for a hermit, but another longer lived (3-4 years in my case) species that you don't need a lot of to enjoy.

My last comment is that I would worry about the chalk bass trying to eat smaller inverts (such as pom pom or porcelain crabs). The bass is small, but it has a big mouth and is not afraid to go after things that just barely fit in that mouth. I don't think it's a big risk but one to consider. I can't really offer a great alternative so if you like the fish get the fish and understand it might eat tiny shrimps and possibly those pom pom crabs. Everything else on the list should be safe though.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

The Regular coral banded shrimp Stenopus hispidus is known to be aggressive when they grow up. Especially towards other shrimp or small fish like you're planning. It may try to catch and eat things too but I think that's rare.

I suggest instead you consider Stenopus cyanoscelis (Yellow banded coral shrimp) or Stenopus tenuirostris (blue banded coral shrimp). They have the same body plan and similar behavior but are much smaller, more docile, and prettier IMO. The blues are more expensive and rare but the yellows are pretty easy to get and well worth the extra few $ over the classic white/red ones. I would not go for the "Gold" coral banded shrimp (S. zanzibaricus) as it is a bit bigger than those others, and also rare anyways.

I would also recommend instead of the tiger pistol shrimp you go with a randall's. They are the smallest of the pistol shrimps in the trade and the safest bet with the many inverts (I am especially concerned about the pom pom crab).

Hermit crabs are controversial but I think they all get blamed for the actions of some problem species. The common blue leg is in my experience a problem species. In my experience they always end up killing other snails or eachother until there's one left. Maybe they are very territorial. On the other hand the scarlet reef hermits (Paguristes cadenati) have always been a saint for me. Never killed any other hermits or snails in the 10 years I have been keeping them. And they live for several years. In fact they seem to not need a shell change at all once they are "collection sized" because no matter how many and what shells I provided they always kept the same one they grew up in and never looked for others. Maybe I've been lucky.

I see hermits as an ornamental and not much of a janitor. While they will clean up and scavenge they don't do anything special and should not in my opinion be housed in large numbers like you will often see them sold in (like 1 snail and 1 hermit per gallon rules etc.). I have 3 in my28gal and that tank is opld and dirty for them to eat a lot. Any more and I think the balance shifts.

If you want a hermit with blue legs consider the electric blue. It is larger but still reef safe and too large to be interested in the shells from any of the common snails we keep in our tanks. They may be territorial to other hermits but I have had one that did not do any damage to anything including my other similarly sized scarlet hermits. A little pricey for a hermit, but another longer lived (3-4 years in my case) species that you don't need a lot of to enjoy.

My last comment is that I would worry about the chalk bass trying to eat smaller inverts (such as pom pom or porcelain crabs). The bass is small, but it has a big mouth and is not afraid to go after things that just barely fit in that mouth. I don't think it's a big risk but one to consider. I can't really offer a great alternative so if you like the fish get the fish and understand it might eat tiny shrimps and possibly those pom pom crabs. Everything else on the list should be safe though.

Spot on with this post!

Personally I'd look at grammas (particularly the black cap) instead of the chalk bass.

I'd also suggest a blood shrimp or a blue coral banded vs the regular coral banded, which is known to hunt small fish and inverts.

The candy cane pistol shrimp is much more aquascape and cleanup crew friendly in a tank this size as well

 

[Lynx]

...but chalk bass can also be domineering and territorial. I'd arrange aquascaping so that it can have a few caves it can claim. Mine certainly chases every other fish out of the arch it's chosen.

Don't do a firefish without some type of lid. My red firefish went carpet surfing out of my IM40, and it actually did have a screen top on it. It couldn't have had more than three mm of clearance on one side where a cable ran through it, and the fish still managed to escape (and died). And I'd go for the purple firefish, myself: it's one of the most stunning fish you can get for the home aquarium.

Definitely planning on having a full lid! I have read they can be jumpy especially while adjusting

 

[Lynx]

The Regular coral banded shrimp Stenopus hispidus is known to be aggressive when they grow up. Especially towards other shrimp or small fish like you're planning. It may try to catch and eat things too but I think that's rare.

I suggest instead you consider Stenopus cyanoscelis (Yellow banded coral shrimp) or Stenopus tenuirostris (blue banded coral shrimp). They have the same body plan and similar behavior but are much smaller, more docile, and prettier IMO. The blues are more expensive and rare but the yellows are pretty easy to get and well worth the extra few $ over the classic white/red ones. I would not go for the "Gold" coral banded shrimp (S. zanzibaricus) as it is a bit bigger than those others, and also rare anyways.

I would also recommend instead of the tiger pistol shrimp you go with a randall's. They are the smallest of the pistol shrimps in the trade and the safest bet with the many inverts (I am especially concerned about the pom pom crab).

Hermit crabs are controversial but I think they all get blamed for the actions of some problem species. The common blue leg is in my experience a problem species. In my experience they always end up killing other snails or eachother until there's one left. Maybe they are very territorial. On the other hand the scarlet reef hermits (Paguristes cadenati) have always been a saint for me. Never killed any other hermits or snails in the 10 years I have been keeping them. And they live for several years. In fact they seem to not need a shell change at all once they are "collection sized" because no matter how many and what shells I provided they always kept the same one they grew up in and never looked for others. Maybe I've been lucky.

I see hermits as an ornamental and not much of a janitor. While they will clean up and scavenge they don't do anything special and should not in my opinion be housed in large numbers like you will often see them sold in (like 1 snail and 1 hermit per gallon rules etc.). I have 3 in my28gal and that tank is opld and dirty for them to eat a lot. Any more and I think the balance shifts.

If you want a hermit with blue legs consider the electric blue. It is larger but still reef safe and too large to be interested in the shells from any of the common snails we keep in our tanks. They may be territorial to other hermits but I have had one that did not do any damage to anything including my other similarly sized scarlet hermits. A little pricey for a hermit, but another longer lived (3-4 years in my case) species that you don't need a lot of to enjoy.

My last comment is that I would worry about the chalk bass trying to eat smaller inverts (such as pom pom or porcelain crabs). The bass is small, but it has a big mouth and is not afraid to go after things that just barely fit in that mouth. I don't think it's a big risk but one to consider. I can't really offer a great alternative so if you like the fish get the fish and understand it might eat tiny shrimps and possibly those pom pom crabs. Everything else on the list should be safe though.

Thanks for all the feedback! Definitely switching to the blue banded coral shrimp - bonus they're even prettier!

100% planning on hermit crabs being ornamental they definitely are one of my favorite inverts and I love their antics. Literally spent almost an hour watching them in rock tide pools at the beach one time! Planning on having plenty of shell gardens to choose from but definitely understand a few snails may be targeted.

The chalk bass is definitely a back and forth decision for me - I love their look but keep seeing debate on if they're safe or not for my setup. I'll probably end up choosing something else!