Is this stock list crazy?

[SnurpFish]

Hi all. I've been using info from the RC forums for months and finally decided to join. I acquired a tank from a neighbor who was moving and I couldn't beat the deal and have been enjoying the hobby since! (7 months or so) It was a pretty well established tank and I have only had fun adding on.

Here's what I got:
40gal with 30-40lbs(?) or so of live rock, live substrate, Marineland Emperor 400 filter, a hang on protein skimmer (psk-100H?), and I don't know the specs on the powerhead. I also have a Current USA Orbit LED aquarium lighting system.

My stock:
Ocellaris Clownfish
Blue Damsel
Bluefin Damsel
PJ Cardinal
Starry Bleny
Royal Gramma
Purple Firefish
Chromi
Powder Brown Tang
Green Mandarin Goby

Non-fish stock:
7 hermit crabs
1 emerald crab
1 turbo snail
1 or two small snails that stay buried in the substrate
1 feather duster
1 small tube anemone
some mushroom corals, a small rock of green star polyps, and a leather toadstool

I know it's a heavy stock, but everybody has been happy and healthy. I'm sure I'll catch some flack for the two damsels, but for the most part they're good (the bluefin being the worst offender). I had an issue with levels a month or so ago; low ph and alkalinity, high salinity and nitrates. 3 of the 4 are about perfect now, and nitrates are coming down. I'm also lucky to have an awesome local fish store with a very knowledgeable owner who genuinely takes an interest in what's going on with my tank and steers me away from things that are too expensive, too difficult, or just plain dangerous.

Ok, so here it goes... Is my stock list crazy? I want more rock and corals, and am thinking of getting a small black longspine urchin and a small brittle starfish. (note: my local library will be getting a 125 gal setup in 2017 that I will be in charge of. I will use it for stock trading if needed/wanted)

 

[vhuang168]

Actually you are not going to get flack for the damsels but rather the powder brown tang and the mandarin.

40g is too short for the tang and the mandarin is going to starve long term because your tank is too small to sustain a big enough pod population to feed it adequately.

 

[SnurpFish]

The tang does well. It's fun to watch it use the space (lots of tunnels it likes to go through), but yes, if it begins to show signs of needing more space it will likely go to my future library tank. And I did allow a pod population to build for 6 weeks or more before adding the mandarin. It's been eating quite well.

 

[reefbroao]

The mandarin will decimate the pod population in days and take another month to starve. Believe me without a sump and being well established there is no chance for him. Even then in a 40g with a sump it may not be enough. They eat hundreds of pods a day.

unless you want to pay $20+ a bottle for pods and feed multiple times

They are perfect fish, but IMHO they are not meant for captivity even if they are trained to eat mysis they need the pods.
The problem is that they can go without food for a while before succumbing to death, so while me may appear to be hunting he could be frantically searching for food that may not even be there.

 

[SnurpFish]

The mandarin may be my favorite fish. I will certainly keep an eye on him. And yes, my intention was to buy the pods to keep the population up. My main source for info on that suggests every 2 to 3 months to keep it going. Is this enough?

 

[reefbroao]

I went down the same route but with all kindness and respect I urge you to consider letting them go. They will absolutely destroy pod populations that figure may be for a well established tank. Don't quote me on this but i'd speculate a mandarin could kill a pod pack in a week or less. I had one and 3 days later knew I had to return him. Let others chime in about this I don't want to be the only devils advocate.

Member Cstickland gave me some figure that convinced me to let them go.

"there are 86400 seconds in 24 hours...and given 12 hours of dark when it is not eating (it actually eats before the lights come on...that is 43200 seconds of daylight, divided by 5 (every five seconds)---meaning that a mandy eats about 8640 pods a day, or 720 an hour. Two thousand pods, if fed to it in the required concentration, will be eaten in less than 3 hours."

 

[Taahirs]

That powder brown will definitely need a bigger tank

 

[C.Eymann]

That powder brown will definitely need a bigger tank

It already does even if its fairly small IMO. Also agree with what the others said about the mandarin needs to be re-homed too.
After both the tang and the mandarin have been removed, I would say the OP is at the max stocking level for a 40B as it is.
just my .02

 

[SnurpFish]

As far as being established I should note that this tank was running for several years before I took possession of it. The last few years it has nothing in it but the clownfish, blue damsel, and mushrooms. I took the whole setup, rock, water, everything. We just moved it across the street.

Thanks for your input though. I'm not discounting any of it, just trying to put it all together.

 

[CHSUB]

I went down the same route but with all kindness and respect I urge you to consider letting them go. They will absolutely destroy pod populations that figure may be for a well established tank. Don't quote me on this but i'd speculate a mandarin could kill a pod pack in a week or less. I had one and 3 days later knew I had to return him. Let others chime in about this I don't want to be the only devils advocate.

Member Cstickland gave me some figure that convinced me to let them go.

"there are 86400 seconds in 24 hours...and given 12 hours of dark when it is not eating (it actually eats before the lights come on...that is 43200 seconds of daylight, divided by 5 (every five seconds)---meaning that a mandy eats about 8640 pods a day, or 720 an hour. Two thousand pods, if fed to it in the required concentration, will be eaten in less than 3 hours."

8640 pods per day? i think you're confusing a mandrin with a humpback whale.....i think a mandy would do fine with 10-20 pods per day.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

8640 pods per day? i think you're confusing a mandrin with a humpback whale.....i think a mandy would do fine with 10-20 pods per day.

No, they are constant grazers, meaning the eat continuously. 10-20 pods is merely a light snack.

 

[Taahirs]

No, they are constant grazers, meaning the eat continuously. 10-20 pods is merely a light snack.

+1. A few thousand is what they eat

 

[reefbroao]

It seems unbelievable until you watch them. They don't stop hunting for a second.

 

[xxsevxx]

So my cousin has a 25gal and hes had a Mandarin in there for over 2 years now. Hes a fatty and hes super active. I have a 45 and have been dying to have one but have refrained from doing so. He seeds his tank with pods 2 times a year. Also he never feeds meaty food to his tank, strictly pellets, which the Manadarin also eats. He feeds the tank once a day after work. I really really want one of these little guys but I'm thinking his tank might be an exception to the rule.

 

[reefbroao]

It's extremely hard to get a mandarin to accept pellets. harder than getting them to accept mysis.

 

[BrianD]

To answer the question posed in the thread title, yes, the stock list is crazy.

And sad.

 

[linelife1474]

I am new to the hobby but seem like a heavily stocked tank compared to most. And from all the research I've done about mandarins there is no way it could survive in a 40 gallon tank it's hard for them to survive in 200 gallon tanks the pods just can not reproduce at the rate they eat them in small tanks. If it's eating other food I guess it's possible but if you're just using pods to feed there's no way trust me its my favorite fish but there is no way I would put it in my 55 gallon tank knowing that he would run out of food at some point

 

[SnurpFish]

To answer the question posed in the thread title, yes, the stock list is crazy.

And sad.

Gee, Brian, thanks for the friendly and helpful comment.

TBH I've had experienced reefers express envy over my setup and have told me my tank is doing great. Not just fine, but great. I've found a lot of helpful tips in these forums, so I thought I'd try it out for myself. Comments like that certainly make it less worth the time.

 

[SnurpFish]

So my cousin has a 25gal and hes had a Mandarin in there for over 2 years now. Hes a fatty and hes super active. ...but I'm thinking his tank might be an exception to the rule.

Not necessarily the exception. I've known a few people who have been successful like this.

 

[gone fishin]

IMO I think your overstocked without even getting into the tang or mandarin.