[Gayle66]

Hi all, I have some stocking questions:
Here is what I have:
40 breeder (36x18x16.75, actually 45 gallons), koralias: two 750, two 425, one 240, octopus HOB bh-800sbs skimmer, 50 lbs LR, 75 lbs LS, two marineland 36" LED fixtures, and a bunch of snails. Running for about 4 wks. NH3=0, NO2=0, NO3=15 ppm, pH 8.0, sg 1.025, Ca=460, dKH=12, PO4=0

I would like to add:

2 false percs
1 citinus clown goby
1 high fin red banded OR yasha goby w/candy cane pistol shrimp
1 bicolor blenny
1 royal gramma
1 filamented flasher wrasse
cleaner shrimp/pepperment shrimp (maybe one cleaner, 2-3 pepperment, or just 3 cleaners???)
8 or so dwarf hermits

I have:
14 g biocube, stock lighting, cut the tab, oceanic skimmer, no foam, have a rio 4hf but cant figure out how to hook it up (for filter thing) bcuz the outlet is not the same size as the stock one, one koralia 425, 25 lbs LS, 15 lbs LR, I use a bit of floss in ch 2, and a bunch of snails. Running for about 4 wks. Same stats as above.

Want to add:

1 or 2?? firefish
1 green clown goby
1 tailspot blenny
1 cleaner shrimp
few dwarf hermits

My questions are: Does this sound like a good mix? Which one first, second, thrid, etc? Would it be ok to add the first fish and hermits/shrimps at same time? Any other suggestions?

I would like to have a few polyps/mushrooms but I am not sure that my lighting is sufficient.

Thank you all very much for your help.

 

[Crazy_About_Salt]

ok, for the bio cube, all looks good, for the breeder... if you have several coves for the fish to hide in, the that will be fine. I would pick between the golby and wrasse because they seem not to like each other very much.. I would add the Royal gramma/ wrasse last because they are both very teritorial.

 

[Chad]

Fish should be added slowly to a marine system as each fish added alters the water. Too many at once and the nitrates go up and the tank has issues, so go slow!

I would recommend starting with the clean up crew, then wait a week or so, and add the first of the fish, wait at least a week between. Patience is a huge factor in keeping a marine/reef tank.

My suggestion would be to start with the clowns since they are going to be a pair you want to add them at the same time. At 4 weeks old the tank is either still in cycle or just ended its cycle so it is still in a sort of precarious place. I suggest waiting for a while after the clowns to add anything else. A bottom dweller would be a good second one to add.

The first list seems a bit much for a 40 gallon tank to me.

The two clown goby you list are not species I would recommend. Especially the green. It's natural food is SPS polyps and they don't easily convert to prepared foods. I recommend the yellow or black clown goby. Even though the citron is yellow in color, it's not the same species. Here's some information on them.

Firefish are definately better in the BioCube since it has a lid and they are jumpers, just make sure they can't get into the back. Here's a place that sells a fish guard and some other great stuff for the BioCube.

The lighting in the BioCube should be good for mushrooms, some paly (button polyps) and lower light zoanthus. Zoos can be tricky because some like lower light than others. Although it isn't a 100% surefire method, one way to tell is the stems and spacing. Zoos that have longer stems and more distance between polyps are often from lower light settings and can do better. Closer packed and shorter stems usually denote zoos from the tidal zone, which of course has plenty of light so they won't do as good in a tank with PC lighting like the BioCube.

 

[Gayle66]

Yes, I know to add slowly. I already have snails. I live in a rural area, but I will be going to Little Rock, AR on Friday. My plan is to get one fish for each tank and the hermits and shrimp. The tanks have been cycled for about 10-12 days now. I used sand from friends tank.
Re: starting with clowns, do you think that they will think that the whole tank belongs to them if they go in first? How do the clowns do if there is only one?

Re: firefish, do you think that I should do one or two? Would two be too many with the tailspot and I don't know what else, since I don't want to get something that I can't feed.

Good info on shrooms, palys, etc. thanks.

 

[Chad]

A. Ocellaris (false perc) is my favorite clown fish. Tank raised specimens do exceptionally well. They general do very well with tank mates. I've not had an issue.

While clown fish can live singly, I really feel they do better in pairs. Introduce two juvenile fish at the same time and one will change sex so you will have a male/female pair. The female is rather protective of her male but not aggressively so as with some other clown species.

Note: Clown fish do not need an anemone to thrive. If you plan on getting one, it's best to wait about a year before doing so since they require a mature tank.

The Firefish is a goby and they can sometimes be aggressive toward other goby unless it's a pair. If you can be sure you have a male and a female, 2 would be good, if not 1.

It's hard to resist a Tail spot blenny, they are peaceful, have great colors, and look like something Dr. Seuss drew!

Personally, I would not worry about replacing the clown goby with another fish. You have smaller tanks and if you plan on putting any corals the fewer fish the better, especially in the BioCube.

I also highly recommend the peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni not L. californica). I have several of them in each tank. They get along fine with the skunk cleaner (L. amboinensis) and are themselves prone to clean. Mine climb on my hands and clean my cuticles for me. A very satisfying animal, and affordable as well. I have only 1 skunk cleaner per tank, but several peppermints.

 

[Gayle66]

Ok, so two clowns, no clown gobies, and probably only one firefish. No nem for me, at least not for a few years, my lighting is not good enough. No corals either, except shrooms, and maybe palys.

As for the shrimp, maybe two, or do you think three, peppermints in the bio-no skunk???
In the breeder, one skunk and how many peppermints???

Thanks for your help.

 

[Chad]

I consider peppermint shrimp as part of my clean up crew. In fact, I think they are better at this than most hermit crabs! I've also had great luck with them eating Aiptasia...I have zero Aiptasia in my tank.

So, keeping that in mind...

Breeder: 1 skunk, 3 peppermints
BioCube: 3 peppermints, no skunk

The peppermints will regularly breed in the tank. The larvae will not survive, but they do provide added nutrition for small fish and corals...so bonus!

 

[Gayle66]

Ok, sounds like a good plan. Thanks for helping me decide.

Oh, what do you think about the little sexy shrimp? I was considering a few of them for the Biocube. Maybe 2 peps, and 3 sexys? or would that be a bad idea? I think those little guys are adorable. I know that the breeder would not be a good place for them though.

Also, how many dwarf hermits? Maybe 2-3 in bio and 6 in breeder? What do you think about the emerald crab? I was thinking one in the breeder? No/Yes?

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

[Chad]

I would worry that the sexy shrimp would get bullied or eaten by the other shrimp or become food for one of the fish.

For hermits, 2 is probably fine in the BC and maybe 4 in the breeder.
I have an emerald crab in each of my tanks, as well as a black Mithrax (related) in my larger tank. No crab can be considered 100% reef safe, but the Mithrax comes as close as you are going to get (minus the porcelain crabs of course). They are good scavengers and algae eaters. I love mine and to date have had no issues with them.

 

[Gayle66]

Ok, no sexys, one emerald in breeder.

I really do appreciate the time that you have taken to help me with this. From reading some of your posts, I get the feeling that you know what you are talking about; hence, I feel that I can trust your opinion.

I don't want to do something wrong and end up regretting it and then getting discouraged and giving up.

Thanks again.

 

[Chad]

Glad to help! I hang out here at TRT because I think it's the best and most friendly reef community on the net.

We also love photos here, so post a few when you can!