I have some good news, after looking at the amount of available space in my apartment, I might be able to do a 5-foot tank instead of a 4-foot. It's always good to have more swimming space for the fish so they'll be happier. In my stocking list, this is what I have (in order of Introduction). My tank will likely be 1.5m long, 0.7m wide, and 0.6m tall. That's 165 gallons to work with which is pretty awesome.
x1 One-Spot Foxface and x2 Ocellaris (Captive Bred) or Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish) -these three will be my first fish once it cycles
x3 Pajama Cardinals OR x1 species of Bannerfish
x1 Marine Betta
x3 Australian Stripeys (Microcanthus strigaster)
x1-2 Flame Hawkfish
So, there really aren't many changes from my 4-foot stocking plan except the addition of a One-Spot Foxface.
As for the Pajama Cardinal trio, each PJ Cardinal gets to 3.5", so 3 would be 10.5 inches total. For a Schooling / Black and White / Red Sea Bannerfish (heard the brown ones are harder to keep, Singular and Masked get too large). Now I know that the bioload of one Bannerfish will be much larger than the bioload of three PJ Cardinals as it's a very active fish, so I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to have one in my tank in place of the three PJ Cardinals.
1. I know it's still a Butterflyfish, but how hardy are Heniochus compared to the PJ Cardinals and the other fish on my list?
2. Which species is more resilient and disease-resistant?
3. Which species can go into a relatively new tank?
4. Which species is more likely to cause trouble for my other fish?
5. Which would you recommend for a beginner?
Another reason I am considering a faster fish like the Bannerfish is because I'm afraid the trio of PJ Cardinals will have trouble competing for food with the Stripeys and the Foxface, because they're a slow fish. Also, I am considering the butterflyfish experience but without the fragility of an actual butterfly such as a Chaetodon, Chelmon, Forcipigier etc.
Will my tank be good enough for a Bannerfish, any Bannerfish?
Advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
x1 One-Spot Foxface and x2 Ocellaris (Captive Bred) or Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish) -these three will be my first fish once it cycles
x3 Pajama Cardinals OR x1 species of Bannerfish
x1 Marine Betta
x3 Australian Stripeys (Microcanthus strigaster)
x1-2 Flame Hawkfish
So, there really aren't many changes from my 4-foot stocking plan except the addition of a One-Spot Foxface.
As for the Pajama Cardinal trio, each PJ Cardinal gets to 3.5", so 3 would be 10.5 inches total. For a Schooling / Black and White / Red Sea Bannerfish (heard the brown ones are harder to keep, Singular and Masked get too large). Now I know that the bioload of one Bannerfish will be much larger than the bioload of three PJ Cardinals as it's a very active fish, so I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to have one in my tank in place of the three PJ Cardinals.
1. I know it's still a Butterflyfish, but how hardy are Heniochus compared to the PJ Cardinals and the other fish on my list?
2. Which species is more resilient and disease-resistant?
3. Which species can go into a relatively new tank?
4. Which species is more likely to cause trouble for my other fish?
5. Which would you recommend for a beginner?
Another reason I am considering a faster fish like the Bannerfish is because I'm afraid the trio of PJ Cardinals will have trouble competing for food with the Stripeys and the Foxface, because they're a slow fish. Also, I am considering the butterflyfish experience but without the fragility of an actual butterfly such as a Chaetodon, Chelmon, Forcipigier etc.
Will my tank be good enough for a Bannerfish, any Bannerfish?
Advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
