Potential Stocking Plan

[Mischke]

Tank: 60-gallon cube

BTA
2 x Clownfish (A. ocellaris)
3 x Barnacle Blenny (A. macrospilus)
1 x Flame Angle (C. loriculus)
1 x Yellow Wrasse (H. chrysus)
1 x Purple Dottyback (P. porphyreus)
1 x Bi-Color Dottyback (P. paccagnellae)
1 x Watchman goby / Tiger Shrimp (still undecided on speices)

Clean-Up Crew
2 x Scarlet Skunk Shrimp
1 x Debelius' Reef Lobster
1 x Porcelain Anemone Crab
Nassarius Snails
Mexican Turbo Snails
Scarlet Hermit Crab

Is this too many fish? Would they all be compatible?

 

[Ghstwolf]

Your Yellow Wrasse is a reefsafe (with caution) member.. It might go after your shrimp, I was looking into the same one but the wife bought a pistol shrimp and I wasn't going to risk it.

3 Blennies in the same tank is questionable.. Downbeach posted an article about the blenny family and keeping multiple ones in the same tank. Give it a read if you havn't.. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/hcs3/index.php

Dottybacks can give problems, I've seen very nice well mannered ones and I've seen people have to rip the tank apart to get rid of one after it became a butthead.. If you do you really want one I'd put it in absolutely last!

 

[J2T]

Also that porcelain crab will get chased out of the BTA by the clowns should they decide to claim it.

Agreed on the dottybacks, heard they can potentially be real pains. Also is this going to be a mixed reef? Flame angels are also with caution

 

[small alien]

Friedman's dottyback is probably the most peaceful. Get captive bred. Barnacle blennies aren't like "regular" blennies and can live in groups. Dottybacks with wrasses can lead to aggression. I would skip the dottybacks altogether. Do a couple more gobies instead like Rainsford or a firefish. Clown gobies and cleaner gobies are also fun. Good luck.

 

[rssjsb]

Barnacle blennies actually do better in groups. They're hilarious. However, I don't know that I would keep them in a tank with dottybacks. In fact, in a tank that size, your angel, wrasse and watchman goby could even be a problem for them. They're tiny and pretty shy. I put 5 into a very large tank. Nothing was harassing them, but three of them have sort of disappeared. I'm not certain that they're not still in there somewhere, but I don't see them anymore, even when I feed. If I try again with these guys, I would do so in a smaller tank with 10-12 of them alone or with extremely passive tankmates (like firefish).

 

[jaa1456]

I would agree, no dotty backs with barnacle Blennies. There is a guy local to me and he put in a dotty back and he saw it attack and kill 2 of his barnacle Blennies.

 

[Mischke]

Okay, I'm really just looking for fish that are either brightly colored, have "personality", or both. I'm more than open to suggestions.

Are there any fish as purple as the dottyback that could go in my tank?

Would this be a better list, or are there too many bottom dwellers?

BTA
2 x Clownfish (A. ocellaris)
1 x Flame Angle (C. loriculus)
1 x Yellow Wrasse (H. chrysus)
1 x Watchman goby / Tiger Shrimp (still undecided on speices)
1 x Jawfish, Blue Dot (Opistognathus rosenblatti)
1 x Sleeper Gold Head Goby (Valenciennea strigata)
1 x Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus)
1 x Flame Hawkfish (Neocirrhitus armatus)

Clean-Up Crew
2 x Scarlet Skunk Shrimp
1 x Debelius’ Reef Lobster
Nassarius Snails
Mexican Turbo Snails
Scarlet Hermit Crab

Also is this going to be a mixed reef?

No, I planned on just letting the BTA take over the tank. I saw another post like this and really liked the look. I might try to find 2-3 different color BTA's.

 

[rssjsb]

You're getting there, but I still see a few issues with this new list:

1. The bluespot jawfish will likely be harassed by a YWG in a 2x2 footprint. The jaw is hard to keep anyway, since they're prone to a fatal bacterial infection when kept at reef temperatures. YWGs are awesome and hardy and a much better choice.

2. The flame hawk (and any other hawk) will eat your shrimp. Maybe not right away, but it will happen eventually.

3. Recommend that you research that sleeper goby to find out if they will strip your sandbed and then starve. I've never kept one, but I think I've read this before.

4. I've never kept a reef lobster either, but I would also be concerned about it eating your bottom-dwelling fish and your other inverts.

 

[small alien]

The royal gramma has gorgeous purple and would be a good addition I think. Also has super bright yellow. A common but very beautiful and easy fish.

 

[Ambition]

You're getting there, but I still see a few issues with this new list:

1. The bluespot jawfish will likely be harassed by a YWG in a 2x2 footprint. The jaw is hard to keep anyway, since they're prone to a fatal bacterial infection when kept at reef temperatures. YWGs are awesome and hardy and a much better choice.

2. The flame hawk (and any other hawk) will eat your shrimp. Maybe not right away, but it will happen eventually.

3. Recommend that you research that sleeper goby to find out if they will strip your sandbed and then starve. I've never kept one, but I think I've read this before.

4. I've never kept a reef lobster either, but I would also be concerned about it eating your bottom-dwelling fish and your other inverts.

I feel on top of those issues that you are still slightly on the heavy side for stocking.

 

[small alien]

Nothing called a "lobster" goes in with my fish.

 

[small alien]

And no sleeper gobies unless your tank is truly vast.

 

[Mischke]

The jaw is hard to keep anyway, since they're prone to a fatal bacterial infection when kept at reef temperatures. YWGs are awesome and hardy and a much better choice.

Okay, Total newb question. On http://www.liveaquaria.com/ they list temp ranges for fish to be between 72-78 degrees. I wanted to do seahorses in a separate tank but connect them to the same sump. I planned at keeping the water at 74 degrees to accommodate both tanks.

The plan was to have 2 60-gallon cubes and then have a 55-gallon for a sump and another 55 for a refugium down below the two tanks (still working on the plumbing aspect). Does anybody think this would work?

Also what does YWG stand for?

Thanks, Nick

 

[J2T]

YWG = yellow watchman goby

If undecided on a goby for the pistol I would suggest a Randal's goby they are a good size to pair up with a tiger pistol

 

[SecretiveFish]

Are there any fish as purple as the dottyback that could go in my tank? Black cap basslet or royal gramma would be my suggestions although the black cap basslets can be a bit pricey.

Would this be a better list, or are there too many bottom dwellers? - IMO, that is too many fish but then again I tend to stock on the lighter side and have had much better luck since I started doing that. Personally, I would only have 6-7 fish the size of the fish you listed below in that tank.

BTA
2 x Clownfish (A. ocellaris) - Nice fish, pretty and active
1 x Flame Angle (C. loriculus) - This is probably iffy for your tank as LiveAquaria suggests a minimum tank size of 70 and these fish require mature systems to survive/thrive. Sure are pretty though, just can be really touchy.
1 x Yellow Wrasse (H. chrysus) - Don't know anything about these....
1 x Watchman goby / Tiger Shrimp (still undecided on speices) - Another good choice, I really like watchman gobies.
1 x Jawfish, Blue Dot (Opistognathus rosenblatti) - These are extremely touchy fish, and based on your experience (not knowing you, I have no idea what your experience level is) may not be a good choice at all. Experienced aquarists have trouble with these guys. If you really want a jawfish maybe try a yellow-headed jawfish. Just make sure you have a deep enough sand bed and a covered tank.
1 x Sleeper Gold Head Goby (Valenciennea strigata) - I would not get one of these. Among why, they may not get enough food from your sandbed and may slowly starve, they defeat the purpose of a deep sand bed as they sift the sand constantly, you will probably get 'sand storms' making the water cloudy, they will knock your rocks over if you don't have them set below the sandbed and glued together, and this fish will be a direct competitor with the jawfish.
1 x Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus) - Great fish! I love mine.
1 x Flame Hawkfish (Neocirrhitus armatus) - I love mine, but he almost positively will eat the cleaner shrimp. He may not for awhile, but sooner or later he will probably go after them when they molt.

Clean-Up Crew
2 x Scarlet Skunk Shrimp - Pretty, active shrimp. However, you should make the effort to buy a pair as I believe same genders will fight/kill each other.
1 x Debelius' Reef Lobster - I would not. There is one at my LFS that is currently clawless. Why, you ask? The former lobster owner caught the little bugger with both claws clamped on his yellow tang. Former owner was able to grab fish and lobster, but the lobster would not let go. He had to rip the lobsters claws off to save the fish. Uhhh...
Nassarius Snails - Fine.
Mexican Turbo Snails - Should be ok, require a lot of food though
Scarlet Hermit Crab Fine.

Best of luck in whatever direction you decide to go!

 

[Mischke]

Okay, how's this?

BTA
2 x Clownfish (A. ocellaris)
1 x Flame Angle (C. loriculus)
1 x Yellow Wrasse (H. chrysus)
1 x Watchman goby / Tiger Shrimp (Amblyeleotris randalli)
1 x Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus)
1 x Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)

Clean-Up Crew:
2 x Scarlet Skunk Shrimp
Nassarius Snails
Mexican Turbo Snails
Scarlet Hermit Crab

 

[small alien]

For your clean up crew, add slowly. In a 60, I would do 10 small nasarius snails, 2 turbos and also 4 astrea snails. Astrea snails can't right themselves so if one tips over or falls off the glass, make sure it's upright.

Many people add too large of a cuc and loose animals because of it.

Good luck.

 

[small alien]

I think your fish list looks good. I would add the blenny and angel last. I would add the clowns first but others may disagree. They're just very hardy in general. I don't mean to suggest you should cycle with them. Don't cycle with live animals.

 

[rssjsb]

Looks like a good list.

By the way, the nassarius snails are scavengers, so they can eat detritus or leftovers from whatever you're feeding. But I would wait on the turbos until you get some algae in your tank, and don't overdo it.

 

[nickbuol]

Of the fish that you list, we've had the flame angel, royal dottyback, and the same clownfish and all did very well. Easy to care for, and good eaters, We did call the dottyback the "royal pain-in-the-butt" though. It was due to it thinking that it was a bigger fish than it really was and it got a little aggressive, but not too bad. Not bad enough that ay other fish got chased around the tank, and it never nipped. It just wasn't as peaceful as the other tankmates. Still a great colorful fish that I am sure you will enjoy.