Stocking questions: How much should I add at once or at all?

W

Weboh

Member
I have a fairly new tank. It cycled for a week and a half with only live rock, and then I added some percula clowns and a BTA (too soon on the anemone, I know now. It seems to being doing fine though). I added some of the "starter" live bacteria immediately after adding them to speed up the cycling. The water parameters are stable and I've had it about a week and half since adding them.

I want to add some more livestock. What I want to add soon are a mandarin goby, a cleaner shrimp, and a feather duster. They all seem pretty low maintenance and don't seem to have any special requirements (beyond plankton for the feather duster, but I already have that for the BTA). If the anemone is doing fine, surely these will, right? How much can I add once? I at least want to get a cleaner shrimp soon because there's some algae (or something) starting to grow on the rock.

Also, it's pretty cold today (for me in Florida. It's 52°F :lol2:). The pet store is a 15 minute drive away. Would that be a problem for the livestock?

Thanks.
 
I would suggest slowing down and do some more research. I highly doubt your tank is anywhere near ready for a mandarin, they have a very specific diet.

What size is your tank?
 
My tank is 30 gallons. Kind of important detail there. :P

Good catch there about the mandarin. That was the one I hadn't done research on yet. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now with the anemone... It looks like they need an established aquarium too. What do I have to do to get my tank ready for one of them? Is there a good, reliable site you've found with lots of fish care information? I've been using saltwaterfish and liveaquaria, but they only tell basic stuff (like that mandarins need "special care" and eat, among other things, "natural prey on live rocks." What special care? Do they eat algae off the rocks? Filter feed by them? It's good enough listing tank specs and everything that I can tick off fish that look neat but I can't have... It'd be nice to have another single site like them.
 
Weboh said:
My tank is 30 gallons. Kind of important detail there. :P

Good catch there about the mandarin. That was the one I hadn't done research on yet. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now with the anemone... It looks like they need an established aquarium too. What do I have to do to get my tank ready for one of them? Is there a good, reliable site you've found with lots of fish care information? I've been using saltwaterfish and liveaquaria, but they only tell basic stuff (like that mandarins need "special care" and eat, among other things, "natural prey on live rocks." What special care? Do they eat algae off the rocks? Filter feed by them? It's good enough listing tank specs and everything that I can tick off fish that look neat but I can't have... It'd be nice to have another single site like them.
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Yea, this site has info on fish care, use the search function you'll find a ton. As for the mandarin, they eat copepods. Lots of them. You'll need a refugium to really give them a spot to reproduce without the mandarin eating them all.
 
Weboh said:
My tank is 30 gallons. Kind of important detail there. :P

Good catch there about the mandarin. That was the one I hadn't done research on yet. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now with the anemone... It looks like they need an established aquarium too. What do I have to do to get my tank ready for one of them? Is there a good, reliable site you've found with lots of fish care information? I've been using saltwaterfish and liveaquaria, but they only tell basic stuff (like that mandarins need "special care" and eat, among other things, "natural prey on live rocks." What special care? Do they eat algae off the rocks? Filter feed by them? It's good enough listing tank specs and everything that I can tick off fish that look neat but I can't have... It'd be nice to have another single site like them.
Click to expand...

I am not trying to deter you on a mandarin but a 30g tank is pretty difficult to keep one long term especially for someone starting out. They eat pods by the thousands, they really do not have much of a stomach so they are constantly grazing while they are awake. If your set on keeping one in a 30g tank then I would look into making a species only tank with a refugium to breed pods.
 
Nah, you deterred me. I only have one tank, and that's enough for me to manage now. I don't want to get into a refugium now. Unless there's another way to feed them...

I guess it'd be fine to get just a cleaner shrimp and feather duster now, right? I'm pretty sure I have enough water flow for the anemone, so the feather duster should be fine with it too.
 
The shrimp should be fine. Feather dusters have been hit or miss for me good luck.

Forgot to add just go slow your tank is still in a pretty shaky spot as far as cycling goes.
 
BTW, the cleaner shrimp isn't going to help with the algae. They clean fish, not rocks.


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CarrieB said:
BTW, the cleaner shrimp isn't going to help with the algae. They clean fish, not rocks.


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The guy at the store told me they eat pretty much everything though. If I don't have any fish that need cleaning, (and don't feed the clowns too much excess) will they eat the algae?

The other option to clean the algae was peppermint shrimp. But they don't look as neat and the guy told me some like to nip at feather dusters. He also recommended some turbo snails, but those aren't the most visually appealing to me either. What can I get for algae management? Or do I want some for filtration/whatever?
 
Stocking questions: How much should I add at once or at all?

Hmm, well I suppose a cleaner shrimp might eat some algae, but I've never seen one recommended for that function. It will clean up leftover fish food though, and shrimp are cool so don't need a reason.

On the other hand, most recommend some combination of snails and hermit crabs as clean up crew. I recommend the stickies at the top of the section to learn more or search "CUC". If you really don't like snails, consider a tuxedo urchin or lawnmower blenny for significant algae consumption.


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Weboh said:
Right, that's why I posted here. How slow is "slow?" A feather duster and a shrimp now, in a week or so, another fish or two? Or?
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since you added fish and some bacteria in a bottle to the tank I would check your ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple weeks before adding anything else. any ammonia or nitrites will give you trouble with the anemone and any inverts you have in the tank. Also, any fish could have issues as well.

There is a sticky at the top of the forum page called setting up, look for the big red arrow. It is full of good info.
 
The shrimp will scavenge any excess food, not really for algae. either some snails or hermits will help algae.

FWIW your more than likely still in for algae, diatoms, cyano and possibly some bubble algae as well. it is just part of a new tank.
 
Slow enough that you have no ammonia in the tank and that you have a regular schedule put together for taking care of the tank and cleaning etc.

Shrimps are cool. They won't eat algae. Just not gonna do it. Get some emerald crabs if you want algae eaten.

You also need to figure out if you are going to have corals or not. Making that decision will set limits on the fish you can or can't have.

I'd wait another month before you add anything else. You don't qt the fish so you want time while they are in the tank before you add something new for them to get used to. When I added my tang it took it three weeks before he came out of the rocks regularly. You don't want to have a million fish trying to destress on the rocks and never get a chance to calm down.


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Weboh said:
Right, that's why I posted here. How slow is "slow?" A feather duster and a shrimp now, in a week or so, another fish or two? Or?
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slow is slower than you would think in the salty world...good things happen very slowly bad things happen at lightning fast speed...

Personally i would wait another 4 weeks before i add anything. i dont know exactly what you have growing in your tank(pics would help)..i am no salty expert but iam guessing from time frames you are listing that your tank is still cycling..your tank MUST stabilize before you add any more
 
I would really recommend you getting and setting up a hospital tank so that you can observe and treat any new fish you get. Petco has the dollar a gallon sale so you can get a 10 or 20 gallon for those prices. Nothing worse than buying an infected fish and having it wipe out some or all of your fish in the tank. Depending on the fish you might want to add one at a time or multiple. But remember to account for the new bio load so you tank doesn't get overloaded. Good luck!
 
I hate to sound harsh but you need to slow way down. You are setting yourself up for failure sooner rather than later. Just because you think you quick cycled an aquarium doesn't make it so. You need to realize when a tank cycles it has a certain level of bacteria. So just throwing in a bunch of fish or whatever isn't advised. The levels of good bacteria need to grow at a rate with each few additions, kinda like ramping up.

This is why I see soo many people fail in this hobby.

You need to learn patience in this hobby cause rushing will eventually cost you a lot of $$$ and headache. You need to stop adding stuff for a while. You need to read and research things. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your tank. It doesn't take much in a 30-gallon tank for things to go south real quick. So while it is fine today as you say, tomorrow could be a whole new story or even next week.

It sounds like you have been lucky so far. I wouldn't press your luck too much.
 
gone fishin said:
FWIW your more than likely still in for algae, diatoms, cyano and possibly some bubble algae as well. it is just part of a new tank.
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So do I not need to worry about the algae in there currently? It'll work itself out soon? I'd post pictures of everything, but then the post would be blocked. Happened with two threads already that still aren't cleared.
2015GaTor said:
I would really recommend you getting and setting up a hospital tank so that you can observe and treat any new fish you get. Petco has the dollar a gallon sale so you can get a 10 or 20 gallon for those prices. Nothing worse than buying an infected fish and having it wipe out some or all of your fish in the tank. Depending on the fish you might want to add one at a time or multiple. But remember to account for the new bio load so you tank doesn't get overloaded. Good luck!
Click to expand...
I have a 20 gallon tank somewhere, but I wouldn't be sure how to set up a hospital tank. Would I need another filter/skimmer and more live rock for it? It seems like that would be worse for the fish since they'd have to get acclimated to new water and get stressed by being transported twice. Does everyone else recommend a hospital tank? Is it worth the trouble (seeing as how I don't have any sick fish now, nor any plans to buy any)?

niladride said:
@Op,

How many clowns you have? For a 30 gallon, you have got very limited fishes to choose from, also less in numbers.
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2 Percula clowns. I think they get 3 inches long, and I've heard of the "one inch of fish per gallon of water" rule, so I won't be getting too many fish. I'm not sure how that applies to eels and inverts like shrimp, feather dusters, and urchins though.

Ou8me2 said:
I hate to sound harsh but you need to slow way down. You are setting yourself up for failure sooner rather than later. Just because you think you quick cycled an aquarium doesn't make it so. You need to realize when a tank cycles it has a certain level of bacteria. So just throwing in a bunch of fish or whatever isn't advised. The levels of good bacteria need to grow at a rate with each few additions, kinda like ramping up.
Click to expand...
Right. That's why the guy at the store recommended Dr. Tim's Live Nitrifying Bacteria (http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/treat-aquarium-nitrite-ammonia-levels) to get started. That's why I thought it's cycled for the most part"”I know I have the bacteria in there, and the conditions have been stable for the past week and a half. I don't know if that's actually true; based on what everyone has said here, I would say it is not.


Ou8me2 said:
You need to learn patience in this hobby cause rushing will eventually cost you a lot of $$$ and headache. You need to stop adding stuff for a while. You need to read and research things. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your tank. It doesn't take much in a 30-gallon tank for things to go south real quick.
Click to expand...
I thought I was taking it very slow and careful. Is there anything else I do (yes, in addition to waiting a few weeks... :()to ensure things don't go south real quick?
 
Weboh said:
I have a 20 gallon tank somewhere, but I wouldn't be sure how to set up a hospital tank. Would I need another filter/skimmer and more live rock for it? It seems like that would be worse for the fish since they'd have to get acclimated to new water and get stressed by being transported twice. Does everyone else recommend a hospital tank? Is it worth the trouble (seeing as how I don't have any sick fish now, nor any plans to buy any)?



2 Percula clowns. I think they get 3 inches long, and I've heard of the "one inch of fish per gallon of water" rule, so I won't be getting too many fish. I'm not sure how that applies to eels and inverts like shrimp, feather dusters, and urchins though.
Click to expand...



How will you know if a fish is sick, has a minor bacterial infection you may not see, or an internal parasite? No guarantee you won't buy a sick fish. I've skimped on my QT and been lucky so far. I won't be adding more fish that way, only because as I add more fish the risk I don't get lucky grows.

Also, inch per gallon rule is garbage. If you want to use it, it's inch per 5 gallon for salt water. Also more variable dependent on aggressiveness or food requirements. And filtration. Your two fish will be good for a month or so i would suggest. Get used to feeding, testing the water, water changes. Then look to add more. A couple more at most. And urchins or shrimp or any CUC doesn't really add to the bioload.
 
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