Fish stocking help

K

krafty2010

New member
Trying to get ideas on stocking from more than just one person. I understand there is another thread for this but looking for more help and information on these stocking plans.


Stocking two tanks. (I know, Im crazy. I live in an apartment where I cant have too large of a tank and not excited about having to potentially move it in a year.)

14g reef biocube:
-Purple Firefish
-Yellow Clown Goby
-Catalina Goby



29g reef biocube:
-pair of Ocellaris Clowns
-Royal Gramma Basslet

-Green Mandarin
OR
-Longnose Hawkfish and Azure Damsel

Having more troubles trying to stock the 29. Unsure of how well the mandarin would do in that size tank.
 
krafty2010 said:
Trying to get ideas on stocking from more than just one person. I understand there is another thread for this but looking for more help and information on these stocking plans.


Stocking two tanks. (I know, Im crazy. I live in an apartment where I cant have too large of a tank and not excited about having to potentially move it in a year.)

14g reef biocube:
-Purple Firefish
-Yellow Clown Goby
-Catalina Goby



29g reef biocube:
-pair of Ocellaris Clowns
-Royal Gramma Basslet

-Green Mandarin
OR
-Longnose Hawkfish and Azure Damsel

Having more troubles trying to stock the 29. Unsure of how well the mandarin would do in that size tank.
Click to expand...

Catalina goby is a cooler water fish and will not thrive in temps we normally keep our tanks at.

My long nose is very active and is always perching in my Gorgonians or SPS. I have not kept one in a small tank and I personally would not recommend one in a small tank.
 
Hawkfish sounds good, but I wouldn't do the mandarin. Be careful with the azure damselfish. They can be aggressive but if you really want a damselfish try a Sapphire Damselfish!
 
As far as the Catalina Goby needing cooler waters, LiveAquaria says 60-77 degrees. Was planning on keeping my tank around 74. Would this not be okay for the Catalina?
 
Ive seen a lot of people say the same thing. Haha. The sapphire seems to have a little better of a rep than the azure. But seems he might be a touch harder to get ahold of.
 
I agree with what has been said above.

I wouldn't recommend a hawkfish in a 29 gallon. They get to be 5" long, and can be fairly zippy from my research. On some sites I've looked at, despite their small size, they recommend at least a 100 gallon aquarium.

Like it's also been said, Catalina gobies require a colder water tank. Mandarin dragonets need a much larger tank, that has a 55+ gallon refugium to provide them food.

By the way, typically, when you only get one or two responses on a thread, it's usually because people agree with the above posters, and don't have anything to add. :)

I have zero experience with damsels, so I can't offer any advice there. However, unless I read incorrectly, clownfish are part of the damsel family. I'm not sure if they play nicely with others.

Despite it's many flaws, I like playing around with aqadvisor.com when planning a stocking list. It will at least tell you if there are temperature or basic compatibility issues.

Since you already want a "free swimmer" for the 29 gallon, what about a fish species that will occupy a different space in the aquarium?

Edit: Just read the royal gramma.

I'd personally just stick to 3 fish in the 29 gallon cube. The clowns will provide plenty of movement and entertainment, and the royal gramma a burst of color :)

As for the 14 gallon, I'm not a huge fan of gobies/firefish/etc myself. However, a lot of people seem to enjoy the pistol shrimp and watchman goby pair. Might be something to consider.

EDIT: What about a tank raised cardinalfish for 29 gallon? They aren't my cup of tea, but seem to get along with clownfish and royal grammas from what I've read.

Also, I'm not sure where you live, but I usually look on craigslist for fish first. It's a lot cheaper, and if you get a group of fish from the same tank, there's no worrying about them not getting along.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all that helpful information. I have graduated from thinking that I could house a Mandarin or a Catalina Goby. And (not that I haven't done some research on these fish) I wish LiveAquaria was a little more specific about keeping such fish because they make it seem pretty simple and basic.
 
cherryfox22 said:
I agree with what has been said above.

I wouldn't recommend a hawkfish in a 29 gallon. They get to be 5" long, and can be fairly zippy from my research. On some sites I've looked at, despite their small size, they recommend at least a 100 gallon aquarium.

Like it's also been said, Catalina gobies require a colder water tank. Mandarin dragonets need a much larger tank, that has a 55+ gallon refugium to provide them food.

By the way, typically, when you only get one or two responses on a thread, it's usually because people agree with the above posters, and don't have anything to add. :)

I have zero experience with damsels, so I can't offer any advice there. However, unless I read incorrectly, clownfish are part of the damsel family. I'm not sure if they play nicely with others.

Despite it's many flaws, I like playing around with aqadvisor.com when planning a stocking list. It will at least tell you if there are temperature or basic compatibility issues.

Since you already want a "free swimmer" for the 29 gallon, what about a fish species that will occupy a different space in the aquarium?

Edit: Just read the royal gramma.

I'd personally just stick to 3 fish in the 29 gallon cube. The clowns will provide plenty of movement and entertainment, and the royal gramma a burst of color :)

As for the 14 gallon, I'm not a huge fan of gobies/firefish/etc myself. However, a lot of people seem to enjoy the pistol shrimp and watchman goby pair. Might be something to consider.

EDIT: What about a tank raised cardinalfish for 29 gallon? They aren't my cup of tea, but seem to get along with clownfish and royal grammas from what I've read.

Also, I'm not sure where you live, but I usually look on craigslist for fish first. It's a lot cheaper, and if you get a group of fish from the same tank, there's no worrying about them not getting along.
Click to expand...

From what I hear clowns are in the damsel family but they aren't as bad. That said I wouldnt suggest stocking a bunch in a 29. 2 at most. Mine bonded in about 3 days in the 10 gallon qt which was awesome.
 
Clowns are in the damsel family,but not all clowns are the same. IMO Oscelaris and percula clowns seem to the mildest as far as temperament. A bonded pair of these guys will want to claim around 30 gallons of water for territory. The clarki, tomato and skunks are the most aggressive and may try to claim up to 50g. just my 2 cents worth.
 
As far as clowns go, I'm pretty set on Ocellaris. The cardinalfish and Allens Damsel are awesome suggestions. Now I get to go back and try to narrow it down again to what will work and what I finally settle on. Thanks!!
 
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