Comments on my population plans

[Marteau]

My tank will be 48.3 Gal, open top with a 20 Gal sump with refugium (5gal)

I would like to put:

1 Barnacle Blennie
1 Clown goby
2 True percula
1 Orange Spotted goby
1 Jawfish yellow head
1 Bengai Cardinal

Plus ONE of these:
Flame Angel fish
Fairy Wrasse
Mandarin (this is my favorite but i know its hard to feed in such a small setup)
Six line Wrasse


Is this over-stocked, this is a lot of fish but they are small...

Thanks for your comments

 

[Tc269]

I am not possitive but it doesnt sound like over kill to me seeing as most of the fish say pretty small. But I am going to warn you Yellow headed Jawfish with an open top prob isnt good idea. I had one and it was a jumper.

 

[flashyleopard]

My problem with the intended stocklist is not about numbers, but in regards to the type of fish you have chosen. Many of the fish you want are bottom dwellers and there simply is not enough space for them all to coexist. My suggestion for your stocklist would be:
1 Barnacle Blennie= why not go for an algae blenny, something smaller and more apt to provide you the service of eating unwanted algae. A tailspot blenny is very endearing and not known to eat corals or bother fish.
1 Clown goby=Some report that these fish bother corals by sitting on them.Otherwise, it is fine.
2 True percula=I would suggest one, in a smaller community. A pair can be nasty in a smaller community, when they pair off/ have eggs.
1 Orange Spotted goby=I have had this fish on and off of my own stocklist. I would pick either this fish or the mandarin, not both. I simply wouldn't want a belnny,peraly jawfish,orangespotted goby, and the mandarin, all trying to occupy the bottom of a smaller tank.
1 Jawfish yellow head= a very endearing fish, but in smaller tank, I'd worry about sand all over my corals. Also, be sure the liverock is placed on the tank bottom and not the sand, to avoid his digging causing a rock slide.
1 Banggaii Cardinal= a fine fish to add, a pair would add intrest

Plus ONE of these:
Flame Angel fish=I don't see why you couldn't have a dwarf angel, if you don't mind the risk to your corals, which varies. My Flame angel was fine in my 46g bow front.
Fairy Wrasse=not with the mandarin/eats pods
Mandarin (this is my favorite but i know its hard to feed in such a small setup)If your tank matures and you incorporate fuge section in your sump, you might have luck. You would have to avoid other pod eating fish, like wrasses.
Six line Wrasse=These fish will eat the pods the mandarin needs and will become a bully later on to other fish. I would avoid this fish all together. You could possible add a yellow tailed damsel(C.parasema) or a swissgaurd basslet, a royal gramma, or a firefish for some color and activity, if you think you need to.


2 banggaiis
1 clown
1 jawfish
1 mandarin
1 tailspot blenny
1 flame angel
1 clown goby( I would suggest a neon goby instead)
and 1 damsel/basslet/firefish

That is a very full tank and at the limits of your stocking capacity. It should coexist well and a good skimmer, proper feeding, some Chaeto added to the sump, and stocking slowly, should allow you keep that list, with no problems.

 

[kevin1234]

I wouldn't even put a mandarin.
as for pygmy angels, for me the flame was not reef-safe at all he would nip at everything even soft coral, I'd try a flameback, golden, half-black or bicolor, they are alot more nice especialy the golden, its just too wow

 

[flashyleopard]

I have read that the bicolors angels are very prone to nip clams and corals. I don't think any pygmy angel can be 100% endorsed as reef safe. I agree that the chances of success with the mandarin are marginal, but not impossible.

 

[Marteau]

Thanks all!

For the mandarin, i'll probably wait until i find one that eat frozen food at the LFS. Am in no hurry at all.

I like the idea of having a pair of bangaii cardinal, should i put three at first and remove the 3rd wheel after the couple is formed?

I choosed the barnacle blenny because i love their behavior and i think they are not a bottom dweller but hide in holes like theses: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1142/1469431327_681064d37c.jpg?v=0

I also want a Orange spotted tail goby or a Yellow watchman because i want to put a pistol shrimp in there.

The jawfish might be a bad idea, since they are well known to be jumpers.

My population will probably go like this for now:

1 pair of Bangaii Cardinal
1 Orange spotted goby or Yellow watchman goby
1 (or maybe a small colony???) Barnacle blenny
1 Red Flame angel fish

MAYBE: Blue Mandarin

 

[flashyleopard]

The blenny will utilize holes in the rock, but they still primarily occupy the lower reaches of the tank. Let you tank mature for 6 months at least, before the mandarin addition, if you chose to try one. For getting a pair of bangaiis, just wait until they have pairs available online or select from a group, the two that are not swimming with the rest. A thrid may be killed, before you can intervene. Due to the limited range of the Banggaiis, please purchase Tank-bred specimens and your clown will be much hardier if you do the same with him. In regards to the jawfish being a jumper, many fish are prone to jump, wrasses included. Please use bird netting to cover your aquarium. Even the unlikely clown could be found, dried and stuck to the carpet one day.
I once had a 60gallon saltwater tank and a 55 gallon freshwater tank across from it. I came in one day, missing 2 damsels from the sw tank. I looked everywhere and could not find them. I was feeding my fw tank and noticed the damsels corpses. They jumped across the room and into the other, fw tank!!! How, why, I don't know, but let it be a lesson that any fish can be a jumper and do so in the least expected manner.

You have a good start with your list above. Good Luck


If you want the orange spotted goby or watchmant then avoid any other bottom dwellers, besides the mandarin. Watchman gobies can be pushy too, so maybe not the pest, sat with the OSG.

 

[sunfishh]

One more problem. Most fish sold as barnacle blennys are social fish and do far better in groups

 

[Packersfan21]

I would definitely add a royal gramma, they are great community fish, especially for smaller tanks.

 

[Marteau]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13200566#post13200566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Packersfan21
I would definitely add a royal gramma, they are great community fish, especially for smaller tanks.

Thanks for the suggestion, but i dont really like the color :sad2:

I'll probably have to re-think about all this... i just felt in love with a marron clownfish yellow stripe that i saw in the LFS... Those are WAY nicer in real-life! But i have time, my tank setup is not even finish yet!

Vincent

 

[pammy]

Hi Marteau. The size of my tank is close to what you're setting up. I have a 53 gallon open top Elos with a 7 gallon sump (picture and video below) You can see the list of fish I have below. Tank has been set up for 15 months now. I know an open top limits you as to what fish you can have in it, but covering it with anything is not an option for me, because the reason I bought an open top, is because of the beauty of it. What I've tried for fish and how they did.....

Coral Beauty.... I thought this angel was one of the safer ones as far as nipping corals, and didn't think it was nipping much at all. He would quickly just pass by corals and act like he would taste them, but wasn't interested in them. He did the same with my Crocea clam. Well, that clam wasn't opening as much as it normally would open, for a couple months after I added the CB, and I had a couple SPS corals that had no polyp extension. I decided to pull the Coral Beauty out of my tank, and the next day, I couldn't believe how open and beautiful my clam was!!! And it has stayed that way since I pulled the CB out of my tank. Within a couple days of pulling out the CB, the SPS also regained the polyp extension.

Firefish. I knew they could be jumpers, but I was told by a couple guys at my LFS, that they had them in an open tank and they never jumped, so I took a chance. I had a purple firefish for 4 months and one day he jumped. I then got a red firefish, and also had him for 4 months, and then he jumped. So...won't be trying another firefish.

Tailspot Blenny - Very cool fish. I had him for about a year and he mysteriously died one day. I definitely want another one.

Yellow Coris Wrasse - Beautiful fish, extremely bright yellow. He was exibiting some strange behavior so I brought him back to the LFS. He was constantly going to the surface of the water and splashing water EVERYWHERE!! He was making a big mess. Salt water all over the glass of my light fixture, dripping down the outside of the tank, etc. Other than that, I loved him.

Pygmy Possum Wrasse - I wanted something unique looking, and thought these were really cool looking. Neat fish, but he hid a lot, especially after I added the Coral Beauty. The CB was such a FAST active swimmer, that I think it made the possum hide. He hid a LOT more after I added the CB. The Possum Wrasse mysteriously vanished after I had him for about a year. I decided not to replace him because I had hopes of trying a Mandarin and didn't want a wrasse to compete for pods.

I have what I feel is a great mix of fish now. They are all peaceful and get along great. They all stay out in the open which is important to me because I am limited on how many fish I can have with a 53 gallon tank. What I have now....

Longnose Hawkfish.... what a COOL FISH!!!! Great personality. Very bold but peaceful. Looks cool how he perches and then darts off.

Royal Gramma, I love the combination of colors and how vibrant he is.

Bartletts Anthias. Gorgeous bright active fish.

Wildcaught True Percula and a Onyx Percula that I just picked up a couple weeks ago.

Psychedelic Mandarin - I waited until my tank was over a year old to try a Mandarin. I like the looks of the Green Mandarins more, but I had read that Psychedelic Mandarins are easier to get to eat frozen food, and since my tank is only 53 gallons, I thought that was important. I picked up a Psychedelic Mandarin that I saw eating frozen Mysis at the LFS. I brought him home about 5 weeks ago. I didn't notice this at the LFS, but when I brought him home, he looked REALLY skinny and his stomach was sunken in. I didn't have a lot of hope for him surviving, especially because of the size of my tank, and even thought I've added some pods a few times to my tank, and added some a month before I brought the Mandarin home, I never have been able to spot pods in my tank, so that worried me. Luckily, not only has he survived, but he's fattening up nicely !! His belly no longer looks sunken in. He's doing really well. I use a turkey baster to put some frozen food right next to him, and he comes right up to the turkey baster. Last night he was eating frozen blood worms with gusto, and he also eats frozen enriched brine and mysis. There's a video below of my mandarin. That video was taken about 3 weeks ago, and he's filled out a lot more since then.

VIDEO OF MY TANK

VIDEO of my LONGNOSE HAWKFISH

VIDEO of my PSYCHEDELIC MANDARIN

 

[Marteau]

Wow Pammy thanks a lot for your post, i appreciate the fact that you took the time.

I LOVE you Anthias, i didint knew u could put a single specimen in smaller setup like ours...

Thanks again for all the infos, and BTW Nice Tank!

Vincent

 

[pammy]

Your welcome Vincent. It's nice to be able to finally be at the point where I might have some helpful info for another reefer, after all of the help I've gotten on RC since I started in the hobby 15 months ago. I would have NEVER gotten where I am now without RC. Keep us posted with pics as your tank progresses.
Oh...and thanks for the complement on my tank!
Pam

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13205476#post13205476 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marteau
Wow Pammy thanks a lot for your post, i appreciate the fact that you took the time.

I LOVE you Anthias, i didint knew u could put a single specimen in smaller setup like ours...

Thanks again for all the infos, and BTW Nice Tank!

Vincent

 

[Marteau]

Pammy, how much live rock do you have in your tank and what kind? Am planning my aquascape, and am having a hard time figuring how big is 50 lbs of live rock...

Thanks!
Vincent