PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[snorvich]

newbie to the site and the hobbie, just got my 60 gallon 2'x2' acrylic tank going this weekend . 30 # of live rock , 2 1/2 inches of live sand , rio 1700 return pump , bio balls , hydor wave maker .. 20' white and blue led strip ( working on getting more light and my protein skimmer going

looking to do a mixed reef soft corals and fish , not sure about the details yet.

Question is i was told after my tank set up for 4-5 days i needed to get a few fish in there to keep the cycle going for my live rock . Suggested damsel fish . or clownfish and i heard clownfish were aggressive so i oped for the damsel , I picked up 3 . After reading a lot of pages of your guys desired fish , did not see the damselfish mentioned not once ! Now im worried lol i have a neon blue, black and white striped and a yellow tipped ..

I was going to pick up some cleaners today .. steer me in the right direction ?
totally down for a suggested list of animals that would be friendly together , want a non aggressive tank

Using fish to cycle a tank is very out of date. It benefits the LFS (sales) but hurts the fish (ammonia burn in their gills) and eventually causes problems for the aquarist due to the aggressive nature of damsels. Take the fish back to the LFS and put a single table shrimp or a pinch of flake food in the tank to cycle it.

 

[highaltitude]

So is my tank not ready for fish yet? I had my water tested they said i was good . I like the fish i picked , just not sure what else will get along with them , was going to pick up some cleaners tonight , is that not the way to go ? Im so confused , i read one thing and am told 4 other things by 5 different people ! AWWW lol

 

[snorvich]

So is my tank not ready for fish yet? I had my water tested they said i was good . I like the fish i picked , just not sure what else will get along with them , was going to pick up some cleaners tonight , is that not the way to go ? Im so confused , i read one thing and am told 4 other things by 5 different people ! AWWW lol

There is certainly no obligation to follow my advice although I have no financial incentive behind it. And I certainly have no intention of getting into a discussion about whether what others say is good bad or indifferent; this is not a discussion thread. Damsels will limit your choice of tank mates going forward. You should learn to test your own water so you can see whether your tank is ready for inhabitants.

 

[jrf003]

A puffer of any type will not do well in a 29 gallon tank but the closest would be a Saddle Valentini Puffer which, as the only fish would do ok.

The 29gal was the first marine tank I had and I did have the saddle valentini, I am currently setting up 135gal

 

[snorvich]

The 29gal was the first marine tank I had and I did have the saddle valentini, I am currently setting up 135gal

Please remember, that I have done literally thousands of these analysis/commentaries so I am not likely to remember from post to post what happened on preceding pages. I set up my page size to be as large as possible to minimize this issue, but going back to preceding pages is infeasible.

That being said, looking back to your original stocking list, I indicated I do not provide commentary on aggressive tanks with eels, etc. We do have a forum for that, and I am sure you will get lots of good advice.

 

[jrf003]

Please remember, that I have done literally thousands of these analysis/commentaries so I am not likely to remember from post to post what happened on preceding pages. I set up my page size to be as large as possible to minimize this issue, but going back to preceding pages in infeasible.

That being said, looking back to your original stocking list, I indicated I do not provide commentary on aggressive tanks with eels, etc. We do have a forum for that, and I am sure you will get lots of good advice.

I did not get much of a response on the aggressive tank post I put up. I was just searching for advice thanks I will keep looking.

 

[snorvich]

So, I would be better off getting rid of the damsels and buying another type of fish such as a clownfish?

short answer is yes (although clownfish are damsels) but only after the tank is cycled.

 

[snorvich]

Tank has been up for 5 months. We have a mixed reef 150 gallon 6ft long dt and 40 gal sump. want to make sure everything will be compatible before we make our next purchases.

sorry, I missed this at first. Page changes cause problems for me that way.

We already have:
1 PJ cardinalfish
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 tiger pistol shrimp(had a goby but it jumped out)putting cover on tomorrow before next fish purchases
green brittle star careful, may take fish
several nerite snails, nassarius snails, couple scarlet hermits
several corals: acans, mushroom, hammer, frogspawn, zoa, duncan

our next intended purchases
symbiotic goby(orange stripe prawn) to match with the pistol shrimp it will find the shrimp with no problem
3-5 blue reef chromis chromis have been coming in less than healthy recently; in any case, a group more often than not is reduced to one or at most two.
lawnmower blennie
tanaka pygmy wrasse superb fish
mccosker's flasher wrasse make sure your tank is covered with 1/4 inch holes; these are prolific jumpers
kole tang excellent fish
yellow tang I would not do a yellow tang as they limit additions later on but if you do, be sure it is last
and several months down the road a mandarin dragonet this should do fine in this sized tank with about 9 months maturity. I advise getting a wild caught one but be sure they are hunting when you select one (pecking the rock or the chaeto) as many are captured with cyanide; those never make it

Thanks so much

always a pleasure

 

[ALR]

short answer is yes (although clownfish are damsels) but only after the tank is cycled.

Thank you for your help.
My kids were wanting "nemo" which is why I mentioned the clownfish. Am I right in assuming I am limited to 2 fish max with my size tank? If so, what fish would you recommend? I would like some active fish as opposed to the damsels that just like to hide out in the live rock.

 

[Billy0690]

coral beauty lol i only know cause thats my next fish

 

[Billy0690]

i have a flame angel and it is really active and he is bright and colorful

 

[snorvich]

Thank you for your help.
My kids were wanting "nemo" which is why I mentioned the clownfish. Am I right in assuming I am limited to 2 fish max with my size tank? If so, what fish would you recommend? I would like some active fish as opposed to the damsels that just like to hide out in the live rock.

two small fish in a 14 gallon tank; not really large enough for two clownfish, however.

 

[snorvich]

coral beauty lol i only know cause thats my next fish

This is an expert thread answered by Reef Central Staff and is not a discussion thread. While we strongly encourage your participation elsewhere in Reef Central, we would ask that you not comment in this thread. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

 

[meegwell]

Im new and getting ready to start my cycle. Im primarily choosing fish on tank size, "common" or easy to find, and then "beauty" - I have four young kids so Im keeping in mind what might get them excited.

Tank: 90g (48 18 24) 30g sump. Minimalist aquascaping (more open space than normal) will have mixed corals, would like a clam, maybe a crab.

Havent decided a CUC yet (input welcome!)

Fish Selection (Round 1)

Foxface - 1 (like the one spot)
Angel - (I like flame, coral beauty, bicolor) - 1 of these or would more than one work?
Hi Fin Goby - 1
Midas Blenny - 1
Ocell clowns - pair
purply dottyback 1

Can I do more than 1 of any of the smaller fish?

what is a good very small fish that I could have a school of (I dont know if school is the correct term but I'm picturing a pack of little guys that cruise together...you know, a gang)

I'm looking for size variety and color variety w/ some extra yellow. Any suggestions not on my list would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[ALR]

two small fish in a 14 gallon tank; not really large enough for two clownfish, however.

So, if I decided to get "nemo" for the kids, what other small fish is compatible with a clownfish since they are semi aggressive?

 

[snorvich]

Im new and getting ready to start my cycle. Im primarily choosing fish on tank size, "common" or easy to find, and then "beauty" - I have four young kids so Im keeping in mind what might get them excited.

Tank: 90g (48 18 24) 30g sump. Minimalist aquascaping (more open space than normal) will have mixed corals, would like a clam, maybe a crab.

Havent decided a CUC yet (input welcome!)

Fish Selection (Round 1)

Foxface - 1 (like the one spot)
Angel - (I like flame, coral beauty, bicolor) - 1 of these or would more than one work? You could do two, the first two would be the better pairing but they should be introduced concurrently for best behavioral adaptation
Hi Fin Goby - 1
Midas Blenny - 1
Ocell clowns - pair
purply dottyback 1 pretty but overly aggressive

Can I do more than 1 of any of the smaller fish? In general, no. Exceptions would be a true male female pair; this is difficult to accomplish, however.

what is a good very small fish that I could have a school of (I dont know if school is the correct term but I'm picturing a pack of little guys that cruise together...you know, a gang)

In your sized aquarium, unfortunately, that will not happen. Many people suggest cardinals, but while they will initially aggregate, in the longer term they will simply pair off. The other downside is they are primarily nocturnal.

I'm looking for size variety and color variety w/ some extra yellow. Any suggestions not on my list would be greatly appreciated.

I never provide recommendations for a variety of reasons, however I am quite willing to reanalyze your stocking list with revisions

Thanks!

 

[snorvich]

So, if I decided to get "nemo" for the kids, what other small fish is compatible with a clownfish since they are semi aggressive?

One that would not be perceived to occupy the same ecological niche. Probably a shrimp/goby commensal pair would work IF you have sand.

 

[ALR]

One that would not be perceived to occupy the same ecological niche. Probably a shrimp/goby commensal pair would work IF you have sand.

I do have sand, so I will heed your advice and go that route. Thank you for all your help and quick responses.

 

[snorvich]

I do have sand, so I will heed your advice and go that route. Thank you for all your help and quick responses.

The question you will invariably have is whether or not the goby will find the shrimp. In fact, they always do, and in fact you can have a pair of shrimp bonded with one goby.

 

[meegwell]

Thanks so much. Ok i'll ax the small gang idea. Can i get a tang in here maybe a yellow tang?