PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[firemangrover]

fish wish list

fish wish list

New to the hobby and still building tank. Interested on any advice on tank set up to help accommodate my wishes. I plan to grow corals and would appreciate any suggestions. I would like a couple clown fish since my kids love them. Not sure of the type of clown yet. A tang of some sort and a cow fish. My wife loves mandarin fish and hopes to get one. Any suggestions on small compatible fish will be considered. The tank will be a 55 gallon with t5 lighting (2 10k bulbs, 2 acitinic bulbs, blue moon lighting). Water goes into 3 gallon wet/dry sump with bio balls then to a 10 gallon refugium. Refugium has protein skimmer and normal set up. Thanks for any advice and I look forward to this long fulfilling hobby.

 

[snorvich]

New to the hobby and still building tank. Interested on any advice on tank set up to help accommodate my wishes. I plan to grow corals and would appreciate any suggestions. I would like a couple clown fish since my kids love them. Not sure of the type of clown yet.

species of clownfish is a critical decision since the aggressive species will want to control your entire tank

A tang of some sort and a cow fish.

tangs of any species are not appropriate to this sized tank and a cowfish needs a much larger tank

My wife loves mandarin fish and hopes to get one.

a mandarin is a difficult fish because they eat copepods and their metabolism is such that they eat constantly. Unless you add a producing refugium, a mandarin would not do well long term without exceptional effort.

Any suggestions on small compatible fish will be considered. The tank will be a 55 gallon with t5 lighting (2 10k bulbs, 2 acitinic bulbs, blue moon lighting). Water goes into 3 gallon wet/dry sump with bio balls then to a 10 gallon refugium. Refugium has protein skimmer and normal set up. Thanks for any advice and I look forward to this long fulfilling hobby.

[welcome]

 

[Noah 123]

Hermit crab tank

Hermit crab tank

I would like to start up a small tank (1-5 gallons) for a few blue leg and scarlet hermit crabs. I know water quality and salinity would be a bit hard to maintain, but I'd be willing to take the challenge. Does anyone see a problem with this? The tank will have live rock and sand, and I want a starfish so a micro brittle star probably. No coral or anything else, just the crabs and brittle star.


Current tanks: 21 gallon freshwater (lyre tail Molly, lyre tail sword, neon tetras, glow light tetras, unknown tetra, pictus catfish, South American bumblebee catfish, indian glass fish, nerite snail, rock shrimp)
10 gallon semi aquatic brackish tank ( fiddler crabs, Chinese algae eater, zebra danios, amano shrimp

 

[snorvich]

I would like to start up a small tank (1-5 gallons) for a few blue leg and scarlet hermit crabs. I know water quality and salinity would be a bit hard to maintain, but I'd be willing to take the challenge. Does anyone see a problem with this? The tank will have live rock and sand, and I want a starfish so a micro brittle star probably. No coral or anything else, just the crabs and brittle star.


Current tanks: 21 gallon freshwater (lyre tail Molly, lyre tail sword, neon tetras, glow light tetras, unknown tetra, pictus catfish, South American bumblebee catfish, indian glass fish, nerite snail, rock shrimp)
10 gallon semi aquatic brackish tank ( fiddler crabs, Chinese algae eater, zebra danios, amano shrimp

This thread is only about Marine Fish Compatibility. For this question it would be best to start your own thread in New to the Hobby.

 

[msderganc]

Hi Steve,

Quick question for you - I was sold two bangaii cardinals as a "mated pair" but it's become apparent that they are both female (by vent method).

What's your experience with two female bangaiis existing in a tank together? It's about 200gal.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[snorvich]

Hi Steve,

Quick question for you - I was sold two bangaii cardinals as a "mated pair" but it's become apparent that they are both female (by vent method).

What's your experience with two female bangaiis existing in a tank together? It's about 200gal.

Thanks,
Matt

Two males will not work for sure. Two females may pick opposite locations, depending on aquascaping, and coexist. Subjective odds: 50/50

 

[msderganc]

Two males will not work for sure. Two females may pick opposite locations, depending on aquascaping, and coexist. Subjective odds: 50/50

Thanks Steve. Some more info - up until a couple of days ago, they would stay mostly in completely opposite corners unless it was feeding time. We'll call them A&B. A would stay on the right, and lightly defend her half of the tank, but it was just occasional chasing (B was very passive). Strangely, at night, B would go over to A (sometimes vice versa) and they would swim together. It was similar to the pairing behavior I've researched, where they would continuously switch positions.

Cut to a couple of days ago. I wake up and I find B in her normal spot. A, the generally more aggressive of the two, was hiding in a dark corner between my overflow and return. She has been hanging out in weird spots like that, but will come out for food and eat fine.

I haven't seen B act aggressively towards A, but A has a split top caudal fin. No bite marks, just the top fin is split. I thought it might have been a powerhead injury or something, but she's acting very shy.

 

[snorvich]

Thanks Steve. Some more info - up until a couple of days ago, they would stay mostly in completely opposite corners unless it was feeding time. We'll call them A&B. A would stay on the right, and lightly defend her half of the tank, but it was just occasional chasing (B was very passive). Strangely, at night, B would go over to A (sometimes vice versa) and they would swim together. It was similar to the pairing behavior I've researched, where they would continuously switch positions.

Cut to a couple of days ago. I wake up and I find B in her normal spot. A, the generally more aggressive of the two, was hiding in a dark corner between my overflow and return. She has been hanging out in weird spots like that, but will come out for food and eat fine.

I haven't seen B act aggressively towards A, but A has a split top caudal fin. No bite marks, just the top fin is split. I thought it might have been a powerhead injury or something, but she's acting very shy.

You are seeing aggression resulting in intimidation. I would take one out. Remember cardinals are out and about at night.

 

[msderganc]

You are seeing aggression resulting in intimidation. I would take one out. Remember cardinals are out and about at night.

Thanks Steve. I'll try to catch her.

 

[jonathanyhsu]

I tried digging through LiveAquaria for fish that are suitable for my smaller 36gallon tank, as well as relatively easy to care for and hardy. Right now the tank is empty (and quite bare, see picture) except for a dozen Nassarius snails, and the water parameters are 0.0 ammonia/nitrites/nitrates now that it's cycled.

I'm open to the timing of introducing the fish, I just wanted to get feedback on the longer term stocking plan.

1. 2 Blue Green Chromis
2. 1 Gold Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish
4. 1 Azure Damsel

Additionally, are there any recommended further steps I should perform on the tank before purchase and quarantine? Any other life I should establish first?

 

[snorvich]

I tried digging through LiveAquaria for fish that are suitable for my smaller 36gallon tank, as well as relatively easy to care for and hardy. Right now the tank is empty (and quite bare, see picture) except for a dozen Nassarius snails, and the water parameters are 0.0 ammonia/nitrites/nitrates now that it's cycled.

I'm open to the timing of introducing the fish, I just wanted to get feedback on the longer term stocking plan.

1. 2 Blue Green Chromis will become one over time
2. 1 Gold Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish
4. 1 Azure Damsel will limit tank mates due to aggression

timing is always most aggressive last, most passive first; there are lots of other small peaceful fish that would work in your tank

Additionally, are there any recommended further steps I should perform on the tank before purchase and quarantine? Any other life I should establish first?

 

[jonathanyhsu]

Thanks for the super quick response! Could you elaborate more on your comment regarding the Blue Green Chromis? Everything I've read says they are peaceful towards each other and school, so I wasn't sure why it would become one fish over time. Is it because of intra-species aggression or some other species on my list?

 

[snorvich]

Thanks for the super quick response! Could you elaborate more on your comment regarding the Blue Green Chromis? Everything I've read says they are peaceful towards each other and school, so I wasn't sure why it would become one fish over time. Is it because of intra-species aggression or some other species on my list?

With chromis, especially in small tanks, one dominant one will kill the remainder. Not immediately, but over time. Unfortunately books are books and are often incomplete or wrong.

 

[deltafish]

just started a ten gallon nano....

would an ocellaris pair be too much? or should i just stick to a single clown

 

[snorvich]

just started a ten gallon nano....

would an ocellaris pair be too much? or should i just stick to a single clown

clownfish either singly or as a pair need a 25 gallon tank minimum (or with some species more).

 

[jonathanyhsu]

I modified the planned stocking list based upon the previous comment regarding aggression. I also am trying to ensure that all various habitats present in my tank (water column, perched on rocks, sand) are utilized by the few fish I can fit in my 36gallon tank. My main question is whether these fish do prefer different habitats and thus will space themselves out.

1. 1 Blue Green Chromis
2. 1 Gold Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Neon Goby
4. 2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish

 

[snorvich]

I modified the planned stocking list based upon the previous comment regarding aggression. I also am trying to ensure that all various habitats present in my tank (water column, perched on rocks, sand) are utilized by the few fish I can fit in my 36gallon tank. My main question is whether these fish do prefer different habitats and thus will space themselves out.

1. 1 Blue Green Chromis
2. 1 Gold Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Neon Goby unless a bonded male female pair, will not work as a pair
4. 2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish

 

[jonathanyhsu]

Thanks! One last question was the suitability of various clownfish; it's possible I can't easily get a Black & White Ocellaris that was tank bred in my area, but there is a large number of tank bred Percula Clowns. Would they be an appropriate substitute as a pair? Can they be introduced one at a time, or would I need to buy them as a pair?

1. 1 Blue Green Chromis
2. 1 Yellow Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Neon Goby @ mated pair
4. 2 Percula Clownfish (?)

 

[snorvich]

Thanks! One last question was the suitability of various clownfish; it's possible I can't easily get a Black & White Ocellaris that was tank bred in my area, but there is a large number of tank bred Percula Clowns. Would they be an appropriate substitute as a pair? Can they be introduced one at a time, or would I need to buy them as a pair?

1. 1 Blue Green Chromis
2. 1 Yellow Assessor Basslet
3. 2 Neon Goby @ mated pair I am not sure how you would find a mated pair, very unlikely.
4. 2 Percula Clownfish (?)

A. percula and A. ocellaris or any phenotype of these species are similar in behavior or territorial requirements. Always buy 2 small or if you wish, a bonded male/female pair.

 

[JMorris271]

will these guy be ok?

will these guy be ok?

I am in the process of deciding on a estblished 90 tank. It has this stock already. these are not my choices.
small blue tang
2 cardinals
azur dsmsel
2 striped damsal
diamond goby
tuxido urchin
serpent star
paruvian redoral
mushrooms
zoantha

The owner does not know the species of most of these

Craba and snails

What do you think
If I hijacked someone elses thread, I apologize