Adding Fish all at once?

[shrimpinator123]

Yeah, probably going to be a year or two before I upgrade. Would I be ok with a pair of YWG and a tiger pistol or would that be overstocked? I am guessing I woud take the clown goby out then, if it would work? Thanks for your help.

 

[TangingOut]

I think if you can find a mated pair of ywg with a pistol shrimp plus the clown goby, you should be good there. That's the most I would do.

 

[shrimpinator123]

I think I want to try the pair. Now just to find a pair of YWG. Is there a place online that sells them?

 

[shrimpinator123]

Would the clown goby be ok? I really don't want to stress any of the fish out.

 

[shrimpinator123]

Just wondering because mikem101 said to stick with 2 fish, not sure about adding a third into the mix.

 

[devildog999]

Check out blue zoo https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?did=1&pid=560&cid=18 or live aquaria http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3352+3353+3428&pcatid=3428. Liveaquaria is offering captive bred as well (link I provided) so that's always a good way to go. I would email both of them and ask if you can get a pair and go from there.

 

[shrimpinator123]

I was thinking about using them, I will try to email them. Could I just order two and let them pair? Was wondering if they could change their sex?

 

[bcb577]

Not tryi g to discourage you but I ran a 10 gallon standard for 2 years before slighting uograding to a biocube 14.in my 10 gallon I had 2 fish a yellow watchman goby. And 1 clownfish,and I had to religiously keep up with husbandry, its amazing how just the 2 fish were hard let alone 4-5 fish I do wish you luck however id encourage you to consider how the fish will ferl and I think you have done some consideration for the inhabitants,

 

[tjm9331]

I'll be honest if it were me and I was 13 again, I'd most likely be so itching to get a system up and running that I wouldn't even be asking these questions so first I'd like to give you kudos for checking with this forum first to see what the best course of action is or should be.

As far as your situation goes, if you have the patience I'd actually wait for another Petco $1 per gallon sale, which should be coming soon...I think. That way you can get yourself a nice 20 gallon long for $20 or a even a 40g breeder for $40. I'm willing to bet that most if not all your equipment you have would work with a 20 long. If you get the 40 breeder you might need to upgrade some equipment which may not be in your budget.

But if you're really dead set on getting 4-5 gobies then I'd either wait for the sale and go with a bigger tank or start with the 10 now with say a clown goby and 1 goby/pistol pair and then next spring go up the 20 long and add another clown goby and goby/pistol pair, which was already suggested. If you decide to do that though just make sure that when you upgrade to the new tank that you add all the fish at the same time (existing and new) at the same time so you'll have to have the new fish in quarantine before getting the new tank set up.

 

[shrimpinator123]

That is what I was going to do. The ultimate goal with saltwater is to upgrade to a 55 to 75 predator tank. The 10 gallon that I finally got cycled (took 7 weeks) is ultimately a trial run. I am trying to make sure I can keep up with the maintenance of a 125 gal African cichlid tank and a saltwater tank (upgrading from a 30 gal cichlid tank to a 125 gal cichlid tank near Christmas). Was hoping I could get a bigger tank off of craigslist. Any guidelines on this? I think I will do a yellow watchmen goby and tiger pistol, and a clown goby. Was wondering if there was a guideline for how many gobies or goby pistol pairs I could have in the size tank mentioned above? Also, how do puffers, lionfish, and pistol shrimp mix? Guessing not good, but wondered if it could work? Sorry for the off topic questions. Thanks for the help!

 

[pinnatus]

My two cents:

A freshly cycled tank has a bio filter capable of handling whatever bioload you put in there to cycle it. If you add more bioload, it takes some time for the bacteria to multiply enough to handle the new increased bioload. This happens by ammonia building up and causing the bacteria to increase until a new equilibrium is established. If you add many fish, the ammonia will spike faster and higher than if you only add 1 fish, until the bacteria can catch up. In a small freshly cycled tank, there is very little bioload, and therefore very little bacteria. Adding 4 or 5 fish is a mistake, especially in a tiny tank like a 10 gallon. I am not saying it can't be done, but aside from the aggression issues previously stated, the bioload can easily get out of hand. If you do decide to add all at once, make sure that you monitor ammonia carefully and frequently, and have some type of ammonia removal on-hand, or buy some bacteria to help seed the population and still keep some ammonia removal on hand..

 

[shrimpinator123]

Yeah, I have worked down to two fish. Do you have any idea about what I said before? Also, would I be ok adding 2 fish and a CUC at once to the tank (just finished cycling)?

 

[pinnatus]

That should be fine.

 

[shrimpinator123]

Thanks for everybodies help! I am going to order fish soon. I am going to go with either a green or citrinis clown goby (still trying to decide which one) and a YWG/tiger pistol pair plus a clean up crew.