Are these fish ok in a 35g cube?

[charlesgage]

I have a Red Sea 170 that I am setting up. Moving away from a 24g aquapod. Red Sea 170's are nearly cube shaped, 24" at the front.

A new LFS near me recommended three wrasses for this tank. Probably fairy, flasher or leopard. That seemed a lot to me. Opinions?

Also if I went with one or more wrasses would I need an auto feeder? We go to the lake all weekend and most of Friday in the summer.

Awuascape is minimalist with a couple mad made caves and coves for gobies and fish to hide in. Total volume is 34g display and 9g sump

Other stocking would be: yasha/pistol pair, and perhaps a pair of ORA occelaris.

The tank has both a sand bed and an acrylic top!

Thanks in advance for any help. 5 years running the aquapod and I still feel very new to this. The aqua pod was skimmer less, and only had a koralia and filter floss for filtration. This new tank has sump, skimmer, apex, twin MP 10's and some high end lighting. Hoping for some cool fish and cool corals with low maintenance as we are gone 3 days a week in the summer.

 

[TokiHacker]

I don't know if three wrasses in such a small tank would be the best choice. I have never had more than one in a tank (although in my 180 I might). In my mind that doesn't sound to smart but at others might have better experiences. I have had a leopard and would dive into the sand anytime anyone walked up to the tank. Never had a fairy or a flasher. To my knowledge they are fairly community style fish.

 

[Jonviviano]

Multiple wrasses will most definitely be problematic. Keep to a single wrasse in an aquarium than size. Another concern is the fact that the LFS is recommending a leopard wrasse for a beginner. These fish can be a challenge and are deemed " expert only" on Live aquaria. I have had luck in larger aquariums. Remember to do plenty of research on the fish you wish to keep, And take everything you hear from your LFS with a grain of salt...

 

[charlesgage]

Multiple wrasses will most definitely be problematic. Keep to a single wrasse in an aquarium than size. Another concern is the fact that the LFS is recommending a leopard wrasse for a beginner. These fish can be a challenge and are deemed " expert only" on Live aquaria. I have had luck in larger aquariums. Remember to do plenty of research on the fish you wish to keep, And take everything you hear from your LFS with a grain of salt...

Agreed on all points. However this guy does a full 6 week quarantine on all fish (I toured behind the scened to see his quarantine area) and has spent many years perfecting converting leopard wrasses to frozen and pellet foods. I would feel more comfortable with a single wrasse.

I was under the understanding that Leopards were expert mostly because of the difficulty in converting them to prepared foods and their need for a sandbed and hiding area. I was hoping that with proper feeding it could be a nice addition to the tank.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

I really think it depends on the type of wrasse you get. I have a leopard and two melanarus wrasse in one tank and they do not fight or have issues at all. There is plenty of food so nothing to fuss about. Some wrasses are a lot more intolerant and others not so much so. I also think the reason why mine works is I have only ONE male. The other two are females. If you get multiple wrasses, of different kinds even, I'd recommend females.

 

[gone fishin]

I would suggest staying with one or two flashers, they tend to stay smaller. Depending on the fairy wrasse they can get rather large for your tank and aggressiveness varies by type. A 5" or larger fairy wrasse would more than likely feel cramped IMHO.

I would wait a bit on the leopard until the tank is a bit more mature. good luck just my 2 cents

 

[swiftvision]

All expert-level fish. Also need a huge pod population.

 

[charlesgage]

All expert-level fish. Also need a huge pod population.

Even if eating pellets?

 

[TokiHacker]

Even if eating pellets?

The problem you run into like when I had my leopard is what if he stops?

Mine was eating brine like a piggy then one day stopped. Thank God at the time the tank I had him in had copious amounts of pods and it never became an issue. But ultimately you never know. The eating habits remind me a lot of Moorish Idols. Eating great then not eating.

 

[charlesgage]

Points well taken all! Any ideas for a good open swimmer? Part of me wants to take a chance at a flame angel or better yet get one from an existing system with corals...

I will be coral focused at first

 

[TokiHacker]

Points well taken all! Any ideas for a good open swimmer? Part of me wants to take a chance at a flame angel or better yet get one from an existing system with corals...

I will be coral focused at first

if dwarf angel is what you are looking for you would probably be more successful with a coral beauty. Flames, to my knowledge unless in a large system, is pretty notorious nipper.

 

[gone fishin]

Points well taken all! Any ideas for a good open swimmer? Part of me wants to take a chance at a flame angel or better yet get one from an existing system with corals...

I will be coral focused at first

All angels other than the Genicanthus angels, they will get to large for your tank, may or may not munch coral. It is a roll of the dice. Flasher wrasses are open swimmers. You will need to choose wisely due to your tank size. Aggression can become an issue. For example a pair of clowns will want to control most of the tank once they pair up.

IMHO stocking a tank is as much an art as it is about the biology.