AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 OK, so I have been trying to avoid asking this questions and trying to find the answer with my own research but I keep finding contradictory information. I would like to know what are good fish to keep in a 40 gallon breeder tank? I would like 2 clown fish with an anemone. After that I am open to options. I would like to keep SPS coral and some zoos. I would like to have a coral beauty angel but I have read they will nip at corals. I would like to keep a small blue hippo tang but have read they should be kept in larger tanks. I am looking for peaceful, colorful, reef safe and invertebrate safe fish. Any and all opinions are appreciated and all stories from experience are appreciated. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 Here is a list of 39 fish that I'd recommend looking through: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124&count=39&s=ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 Thanks Ryan, I was just looking there before I posted this. I am unsure about some of those on that list. For example, the clown gobies, it says they are reef safe but in their description it says they can nip at the plops of the SPS coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truestelf September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 Here is what I have in my 40 breeder. 2 tomato clowns 4 Pam Cardinals and a small yellow tang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 A key piece of information is that while generalities can be made of species, most things you add to your system will carry a some risk. It is all about intellegently choosing your livestock after fully understanding the risks involved. Individuals will vary somewhat. Environment affects things significantly, for example, aggression is usually more of a problem in smaller tanks. Both of these things lend themselves to generating contradicing information. For example, the coral beauty. It is a risk that it will nip at fleshy LPS and clams. Do you like the fish more or the corals more? If you like the fish enough to accept the risk of it eating your corals, then go for it. Otherwise, it would be wise to make another choice. If you had a very large aquarium, you can get away with more (a single nip on a given coral will generally not harm it in the long-term). In general, tangs will get too large and are too active for your tank. However, (and I can feel the tang police eye in the sky for me saying this) a small scopas tang, may be a reasonable choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 Here is what I have in my 40 breeder. 2 tomato clowns 4 Pam Cardinals and a small yellow tang. How is the yellow tang holding up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 For example, the coral beauty. It is a risk that it will nip at fleshy LPS and clams. Do you like the fish more or the corals more? Chad - I am not intending to put LPS corals in my tank, a clam yes, do you think the coal beauty would nip at SPS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 In general, tangs will get too large and are too active for your tank. However, (and I can feel the tang police eye in the sky for me saying this) a small scopas tang, may be a reasonable choice. Scopas = 125 gallons. Yellow = 100 gallons. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+43 Personally, I'd recommend at least 75g for either. 40g isn't big enough for any tang IMO, hence the badge I suppose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 How fast do the fish grow in an aquarium? Will the tank size stunt the growth of a salt water fish like sometimes happen to gold fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 Scopas = 125 gallons. Yellow = 100 gallons. http://www.liveaquar...ies.cfm?c=15+43 Personally, I'd recommend at least 75g for either. 40g isn't big enough for any tang IMO, hence the badge I suppose... ^lol, that is awesome. I love this article, btw. It is very thinly veiled as to which site they are talking about. http://www.coralmaga...-refuse-confess On second thought, I am not sure I buy the 12" length on a scopas. In the hundreds of them that I have seen in both captivity and the wild, they are always smaller than the yellows... odd. How fast do the fish grow in an aquarium? Will the tank size stunt the growth of a salt water fish like sometimes happen to gold fish? How fast depends on the fish and its age. Stunting growth is largely a myth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 How fast depends on the fish and its age. Stunting growth is largely a myth. I have experienced the stunting growth phenomena with gold fish personally. I had 2 gold fish in a 3 gallon tank for 2 years and they never really grew much. I set up a 10 gallon tank and they grew twice the size in about a week after moving them to a larger tank. Then I put them in a 55 gallon tank and they grew so fast that the one I think grew so fast it died. I will agree with you that is most likely, only true with gold fish but I thought I would ask the questions anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 September 20, 2011 Author Share September 20, 2011 Any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel not fish September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 gold acessor basslet pygm cherub angel royal gramma maybe a angler. I do not recommend an wrasse if there's no lid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 Some really cool smaller tank fish: pseudochromis fridmani/springeri pearly jawfish (with deep sand bed) shrimp + goby (i like the yashihashi) tailspot blenny (pretty much any small blenny) pyramid hawkfish tanaka's wrasse most smaller flasher wrasses trimma gobies neon gobies (generally colder water) pygmy angels firefish sixline yellow clown gobies are reef safe. They do tend to disturb sps polyps in a small tank as they normally make their nests in corals. a scopas tang should be fine. A kole should also be fine imo. that should be a good start. All of these except trimma gobies and neon gobies are generally fairly hardy and would work well. If I were setting up a 40 and stocking it as I wanted, I'd probably do yashihashi goby + shrimp carpenter's flasher wrasse atlantic pygmy angel (or flameback) tanaka's wrasse pyramid hawk tailspot blenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 ^Roni's list is awesome (it is like he has thought about this before)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 September 20, 2011 Share September 20, 2011 Lawnmower Blenny's are nice imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni September 21, 2011 Share September 21, 2011 ^Roni's list is awesome (it is like he has thought about this before)!! maybe a little It's pretty much the list I thought about for the 70 but scales down pretty well. I basically think that a 40 allows you to really showcase some of the really cool smaller fish that get a little lost in a big reef with big fish. There are also several cardinal species that would do well in a tank like that. What I would do is take a look at some nano reefs and other tanks your size and figure out what fish you really like, then make a proposed stocking list and post it here. It's hard to really give good advice in general terms as some fish do well with others and some don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwaterworx September 21, 2011 Share September 21, 2011 Going by the book, your choices are narrowed down to gobies, dwarf angels, clowns, certain wrasses, blennies, cardinals, damsel/chomis, hawks (be cautious) and pipefish. Yeah like anything else saltwater, having a thought out plan before buying usually saves and does better in the long run. Tang police huh?? Hilarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad September 30, 2011 Share September 30, 2011 On second thought, I am not sure I buy the 12" length on a scopas. In the hundreds of them that I have seen in both captivity and the wild, they are always smaller than the yellows... odd. Check out the graph at the top-right page 21 in the magazine, 7 of 12 in the document, http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/134/m134p015.pdf. This goes more along what I have observed in both wild and captive scopas (I will admit, though, I have never done the measuring ), average max size of 125 mm or ~5" some of the high outliers are in the 6" range. On a separate issue, I find it very interesting that most of the fish in this study seemed to be in the 5-15 year old range. (Didn't we recently have a topic on that?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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