smallreef July 7, 2012 July 7, 2012 So, now that my tank is finally getting into the end stages of being set up I am thinking about fish... and being that I have never really had a reef tank before nor a tank this small (minus the 12g,lol) Im finding it hard to figure out how many/what kind All I have at this point is a crazy clownfish, 2 peppermint shrimp, some kenya trees and some ricordias... Some of my ideas are: Midas blennies (can you do more than 1?) Flasher wrasses (would like to have a male and female) a Goby (most likely a watchman) a Chalk bass Id also LOVE a bellus or watanabei... but wouldnt get one until I had a larger tank in the works... so, any others I should consider? I literally today just started feeding pellets... never have before and I LOVE them! I will probably have an auto feeder on the tank, just for convenience sake, and will supplement that with a mixed frozen 3 or 4 time a week...
Muddy357 July 7, 2012 July 7, 2012 I have a yellow tang in my 55 gallon tank and he is very happy. also a royal gramma which is beautiful to watch.
dmatt56 July 7, 2012 July 7, 2012 Skip the Kenya tree. They spread like wildfire. Instead, I suggest a pineapple leather. Similar look, but much prettier and it won't go crazy for you. In my old 54 corner I had the following: 2 purple filefish 2 clowns 2 bangaii Yellow clown goby Geometric Pygmy wrasse Mandarin flame angel The flame angel went after my leathers. I have a female wantanabei angel in my 180. It's an awesome fish but very active swimmer. Matt
smallreef July 7, 2012 Author July 7, 2012 Yeah and I had a firefish before in a 35g I had set up for about 3 months, lol... it jumped 2 days after being in the tank...love Bangaiis and Payjama carindinals,, so that is a thought.. Will probably get another clown for the one I have and an anemone when the tank is right... loved my maroons in my last tank :( Already have the kenya trees.. they are on their own little rock island so no where for them to spread to unless they like sand... Was wondering if anyone had/has a jawfish? Im thinking of the pearlyheaded ones...dont know if theyd fight with the midas blennies though?
treesprite July 8, 2012 July 8, 2012 Please don;t put a tang in a 55g tank unless it's very small and you plan either to upgrade before it's full grown or to give it up before it's too big.
smallreef July 8, 2012 Author July 8, 2012 Yeah... it would be along with the angel that I would want... wouldnt put one in unless I had a larger tank in the works... what about anthias???
Rafal July 8, 2012 July 8, 2012 I have 45g Cube: 2x A. Ocellaris 3x Green Chromis 1x Amblyeleotris Randalli + pistol shrimp 1x Cleaner shrimp 1x Peppermint shrimp
smallreef July 8, 2012 Author July 8, 2012 Wow rafal..thats seems very empty to me :( I want to make sure i have fish on each level...a goby or 2the for the bottom...some active (small but active) swimmers for the middle and top.... and of course room for some corals, mainly softies but some lps too... I feel that 7 - 10 fish is ideal for my wants in this tank...that being said I dont want to get to many fish that get larger than 3 inches...
Rafal July 8, 2012 July 8, 2012 Wow rafal..thats seems very empty to me :( I want to make sure i have fish on each level...a goby or 2the for the bottom...some active (small but active) swimmers for the middle and top.... and of course room for some corals, mainly softies but some lps too... I feel that 7 - 10 fish is ideal for my wants in this tank...that being said I dont want to get to many fish that get larger than 3 inches... Yep, it's true. 2-3 months ago I had 8 or 9 chromis but they were fighting and left only 3. I'm thinking to add Mandarin and something else (I had Royal Gramma but disappear).
LCDRDATA July 8, 2012 July 8, 2012 Yep, it's true. 2-3 months ago I had 8 or 9 chromis but they were fighting and left only 3. I'm thinking to add Mandarin and something else (I had Royal Gramma but disappear). I've had scissortail gobies and chalk bass in the past and really liked the look of them. Lost to carpet surfing, though, so make sure they can't escapte
Rafal July 15, 2012 July 15, 2012 My cube is cover by windows screen. BTW. Today I was at BRK and I bought Royal Gramma, Firefish and Cleaner Wrasse. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
smallreef July 15, 2012 Author July 15, 2012 sounds like good choices to me...though I am not big on cleaner wrasses.. I went to Aquatic Obsessions yesterday and bought a VERY small clownfish to go with mine that is turning female and a VERY SMALL bangaii cardinalfish...
zygote2k July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 1 fish per 10 gallons gets you 5 fish. Overcrowded fish tanks lead to problems. Pair o clowns, pair o banggais and a dither fish. Shrimps, crabs, inverts galore.
smallreef July 16, 2012 Author July 16, 2012 1 fish per 10 gallons would depend on the size of the fish... yes overstocking can lead to problems, but i do not believe 7 - 10 fish that are small their whole lives will be overstocked in a tank that has adequate flow, skimming and good husbandry.
treesprite July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 Do you mean 1 fish or 1 inch of fish? Because 1 fish could be a 24" long.
zygote2k July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 1 fish per 10 gallons would depend on the size of the fish... yes overstocking can lead to problems, but i do not believe 7 - 10 fish that are small their whole lives will be overstocked in a tank that has adequate flow, skimming and good husbandry. This is a problem that many people face with small tanks. Flow and filtration are great for the 1" of fish per 10 gallons, but it's not good husbandry to think that you can put 10 fish in a tiny box and think that they have enough space to swim about, hunt, and defend their spot on the reef against each other. Your tank is simply too small for the amount of fish that you want if you want them to thrive. Less is More.
zygote2k July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 I literally today just started feeding pellets... never have before and I LOVE them! I will probably have an auto feeder on the tank, just for convenience sake, and will supplement that with a mixed frozen 3 or 4 time a week... This seems like a recipe for high nitrates to me. I have 45g Cube: 2x A. Ocellaris 3x Green Chromis 1x Amblyeleotris Randalli + pistol shrimp 1x Cleaner shrimp 1x Peppermint shrimp This is a good selection and will probably do well together although the pistol shrimp might eat the other shrimp.
smallreef July 16, 2012 Author July 16, 2012 I appreciate your opinion, but, having tanks for the last 10 years or so and knowing my own personal practices I do not see a problem with the amount of fish for the tank. Most of the fish even at adult size are at 2 inches max. I have about 75 lbs of LR in the DT and another 20lbs in the sump. I currently have the 3 fish I have in my 12g cube and being that I have never used pellets to feed before have been doing water changes every other day to make sure I dont have excess nitrates/nitrites and no possibe ammonia... I will continue this in the new tank until I can figure out a good amount to feed that will not have more than 10 pellets left over (for the clean up crew and corals that seem to like it) I DO believe it all comes down to husbandry techniques, this is probably why it has taken me 3 months to do my 50g tank being that I want it up and working as best as possible BEFORE I put anything in it. The only real new thing for me is LPS.... I have had softies even in my aggressive tanks.... ALl this being said, I understand where you are coming from and your feelings about people packing fish in and not keeping up on their maintenance...
BowieReefer84 July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 I would get a flasher wrasse, 2 clowns, a yellow watchman, a bangai cardinal, a firefish, blue chromi, and a lyrtail anthia. That would be nice imo, and a good mix of color.
smallreef July 16, 2012 Author July 16, 2012 Thats pretty close to what I am wanting... just dont know about the anthias as I know they need to be fed like 4 times a day... I would still be doing W/C every other day then, lol the 2 clowns and bangaai are a given a flasher wrasses is one of the fish I really want... the watchman goby... either 2 firefish or midas blennies (my husband really liked the firefish when we were at Aquatic Obssesion over the weekend) also thinking of the possibility of a pearly headed jawfish? I have about 4 inches of mixed sand... and a chalk bass not a big fan of chromis.. but who knows...
BowieReefer84 July 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 Instead of getting a pair of firefish or a midas, I would do one of each. Odds are you may only end up with one anyways if they do not pair up for you. Also, I think with a single anthia feedings twice a day would be ok. If you just get one there won't be any agression as with a m/f pair. Jawfish are cool, but may present issues with a yellow watchman in a 50gal. Not sure their compatability. Goodluck on your decisions. I know how tough it is. Main thing is only add 1-2 fish at time.
smallreef July 16, 2012 Author July 16, 2012 Yeah im going to keep the 12g up as a QT... The jawfish and goby are considered compatible but im on the fence since ive never had a jawfish before and my watchman i had before was in with 6 inch triggers and could hold his own,lol And yeah i may just do 1firefish and midas...unless i buy a pair that are already mated..
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