Suggestions for fish stocking selection

[Anonymous]

Sure!

Excellent. I'm firming up on the mandarin idea now.

Yeah, light is good. Some people even hang Brillo pads in the water to provide more pod breeding ground. Maybe surface area is the limitation on their production? I'm probably not a good person to ask because I don't really "believe" in refugiums insofar as their role for providing a food source to the fish. Their are plenty of places inside the main display tank where copepods can get to and a mandarin can't already.

Hmm. You're probably right, but I have this drop-in fuge which I've never used and thought I'd give it a go. If nothing else, it should be an interesting place to see some micro-crustacea once it gets going! I will also try and create some rubble piles within my aquascape in the main tank to help as well...

Maybe. A big enough A. leptacanthus might eat a Trimma I'd bet. They might even snag a small A. parvulus. All dependent on the relevant sizes of the individuals of course.

Aah, I hadn't even thought about their potential appetite for fish as well. Fine, I'll discard the A.leptacanthus idea once and for all.

I'd avoid the Chromis viridis. They come in awfully beat up nowadays and most die within a matter of weeks. Besides that, the ones that do make it will end up being surprisingly large and aggressive fish within a few years if they're treated properly. If you've seen adults in big tanks you'll know what I mean. Not really a good fish for small tanks IMO, despite them being a popular nano fish.

Another good tip. I do remember them being fairly rambunctious in my old tank. Will avoid.

Do it! You could buy a 1g Current USA Betta Cube and plumb it into your main system.

I'm seriously tempted. Plus my wife has decided she wants an aquarium and probably won't want to actually get her hands wet. She seemed pretty keen on the Periclemenes tank we saw at the LFS. Maybe I can persuade her to let me set one up for her...

 

[Anonymous]

In any case, I will try and see some of the A.parvulus in person - though the pictures I've seen have failed to excite me so far, I know you wouldn't recommend them if they weren't a great little fish

Speaking for myself, there is no saltwater fish I'd rather keep than these guys. Unfortunately a great deal of their charm is completely lost in pictures. Their neon stripes flash as they swim under bright lighting, but more than that these guys really are pretty tight little schoolers. Get a group of 10 or 20 together and you have a small ball of fish cruising the tank as a group. They also do something hardly any other saltwater fish does in a moderately sized home tank.... they provide a sense of proper scale, at once making the tank appear bigger and making the viewer focus on the tiny details.

That said, tastes differ and if they don't suit yours no worries.

Totally agreed with Chuckmeister on this one.

Will definitely search these guys out. How many do you think I could have in a 70g tank? Would be cool to have a group of 10 or so if I could.

To recap other fish I'd currently like to stock are:

1 Nemateleotris Helfrichi
1 Synchiropus splendidus/picturatus
3 Trimma caudomaculata
1 Gobiodon sp
2 Amphiprion percula

Would a pair of shrimp gobies work in the tank? I'd be a bit worried about the pistol shrimp feasting on the smaller fish. :?

 

[Anonymous]

I think that list is great, and you should add 15 Trimma caudomaculatum and 20 A. parvulus to it.

I have 15 A. parvulus in a 60g cube and I'd say it is "just right" to give the tank a really active appearance but not be too crowded.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, and about the pistol. Just get an Alpheus randalli shrimp. They stay small and would never mess with any fish, besides being the coolest looking Alpheus. There are a ton of small shrimp gobies that naturally pair up with them. Based on your other fish choices, I'd think a pair of Stonogobiops sp. would work out well for your taste. S. yasha is a great one of course. The upside of keeping the shrimp/goby pair is that you may see the Helfrich's firefish share the burrow with them. It's really cool to see!

 

[Anonymous]

I think that list is great, and you should add 15 Trimma caudomaculatum and 20 A. parvulus to it.

I have 15 A. parvulus in a 60g cube and I'd say it is "just right" to give the tank a really active appearance but not be too crowded.

Wow! That sounds like it could look incredible. Really tempted. They don't cost a bomb here either, though 35 fish might add up. It's particularly good that they're common in Okinawa. With the exception of the A.percula, I might end up with a fairly typical selection of small fish for a slice of Japanese reef.

Oh, and about the pistol. Just get an Alpheus randalli shrimp. They stay small and would never mess with any fish, besides being the coolest looking Alpheus. There are a ton of small shrimp gobies that naturally pair up with them. Based on your other fish choices, I'd think a pair of Stonogobiops sp. would work out well for your taste. S. yasha is a great one of course. The upside of keeping the shrimp/goby pair is that you may see the Helfrich's firefish share the burrow with them. It's really cool to see!

The Stongobiops sp were the ones I had in mind. Good tip on the shrimp - I will search one out. Here's hoping I get to see the burrow in somewhere prominent and they all get on with the Helfrich's firefish. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Now I should really hit the sack. It's 2am and this insomnia is killing me.

 

[Anonymous]

Popped into another LFS today to see if they had anything interesting. A couple of gorgeous flasher wrasses, a Paracheilinus cyaneus and a Paracheilinus mccoskeri. More or less convinced I'd like to have one in the tank now I'm ordering a canopy. Did you say I could have a harem in a tank my size Matt? Surprisingly cheap as well...

P.cyaneus

P.mccoskeri - gorgeous

[rimg]http://www.reefhotspot.com/store/images/large/McCoskers_flasher_wrasse_male.jpg[/rimg]

Also saw these guys - in person for the first time in ages - I remember you being a fan of these before Matt. I can see why. A possible for the tank?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, all 3 of those species would do just fine in your tank size. They're all jumpers of course. All will get along well in groups, especially the zebra dartfish. The flasher wrasses should be purchased as several females OR several females and one male. The male can get quite feisty with the females, so a good number of them is better. If you can add that harem to the tank last, even better. Lots of distractions are good.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Matt. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's going to be a little while before the tank is here, let alone wet, and availability of stock will probably mean I stock quite gradually.

Hopefully the canopy I'm going to get with the tank will reduce the chances of jumpers significantly.

 

[Anonymous]

Time for an update and request for new advice.

As I imagine happens with a lot of tanks, my stocking list has in the end deviated from the plan somewhat. The firefish didn't make it and I ended up with a Tailspot Blenny and Dwarf Angel that weren't originally on the list.

Currently, I have a Tailspot Blenny, pair of Oscellaris clowns, one McCoskers Wrasse and a Dwarf African Flameback Angel (order of introduction to the tank). I feel that there is more capacity in the tank for further additions, but am not completely sure to what degree (it's a 3'x2'x18" glass tank: tank thread - http://www.reefs.org/forums/topic136894.html).

Seeing as I haven't added any super small gobies along the lines of my original plans (Eviota etc), nor any tiny Periclemenes shrimp or Sexy Shrimp, I wonder if the original possibility of adding some Apogon leptacanthus might be a good idea? Or is it the wrong stage to be adding them? None of the fish have shown much real aggression (apart from some mild scrapping between the Blenny and Angel).

An alternative is to add a small Yellow Tang, offered to me recently by a friend. The question, of course, is would the tank be big enough/would it pick on the relatively non-aggressive tank mates? I also realise that small Yellow Tangs are only small until they grow bigger and I'll have this tank for at least 3 years.

Open to any other suggestions as well. I assume it's not a good idea to add another Dwarf Angel, though I've seen that some people seem to get away with it in tanks smaller than you'd think possible?

 

[Anonymous]

Get the apogons. I'm biased, though... threadfins are one of my favorites.

 

[Anonymous]

Just what I was hoping one of the RDO sages would say. They're also a lot cheaper than the A.parvulus, at about $8 a fish, as opposed to $30. I was thinking about 8 A.leptacanthus for the tank. Too much? With that, I'd consider myself more or less done I think.

 

[Anonymous]

Considering your existing fish I'd call 8 too much. Go for five maybe.

Just one caveat on the leptacanthus... while totally peaceful, anything tiny enough to get swallowed will get swallowed. If you get them you'll definitely not be able to add the small shrimp you've mentioned in the past, and I'd be worried even if you wanted to try trimma or eviota gobies. Cardinals have big mouths.

 

[Anonymous]

Considering your existing fish I'd call 8 too much. Go for five maybe.

Just one caveat on the leptacanthus... while totally peaceful, anything tiny enough to get swallowed will get swallowed. If you get them you'll definitely not be able to add the small shrimp you've mentioned in the past, and I'd be worried even if you wanted to try trimma or eviota gobies. Cardinals have big mouths.

Thanks for the advice. 5 it is then.

As for the tiny gobies and shrimp, I've given up on them, hence me talking about this option now. Maybe if I get a nano at some stage...

 

[Anonymous]

Would the threadfins be a threat to a blood shrimp?

I was thinking about adding some in my 24G. But I already have the blood shrimp.

 

[Anonymous]

Not at all, Louey. Blood shrimp would be fine, it's just stuff like sexy shrimp or anemone shrimp that are well under 1" long that would be in trouble.