Stocking

[ReefTank327]

Hi Everyone! I am new to the saltwater aquarium hobby! I have finally finished cycling my 66 Gallon Starfire PVP System with live rock and sand and am ready to add fish and my CUC is arriving tomorrow. In my CUC, I have cerith, nassarius, and trochus snails as well as scarlet reef and dwarf blue leg hermit crabs. I do plan to add coral so I need reef safe fish. I have a few fish in mind but have not been able to decide what to do. I want some advice. Here are some fish I want:
- A pair of ocellaris clowns
- A melanurus wrasse (one of my favorites:lol2
- A flame angel (I have read about them picking at corals :eek1:
- Red firefish
- Bangaii Cardinals
- Royal Gramma
- Mandarin (going to be adding copepods)

If anybody has anything at all to say about any of these fish, please feel free. I am brand new to the hobby and trying to do my research.:fish2:

 

[norfolkgarden]

I miss our beautiful melanurus wrasse but I like our soft corals better.
Flame angelfish ate most of the zoas but looks beautiful and swims around bopping around the tank all day. Love it.
Some are fine, some are a nightmare. Jusr depending on the individual fish.

Wait at least 6 months for the Mandarin. And be adding different types of pods, in the evening after all lights are out, in the meantime.
Have you seen the ruby red dragonette?
They stay a little smaller than the regular mandarins.

You will want a good 100 pounds of live rock in the 65 gallon tank for the pods to thrive in and the other fish to have lots of hiding places to help them remain calm and happy.
Sounds like you are on your way to a beautiful tank.

[emoji3]

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Reefpuck]

My first 3 inhabitants are on your list...Bangaii, Royal Gramma & Melanurus Wrasse. Clowns will be next. All get along well. The wrasse is a pod eating machine and will get big...scavenges the rocks all day long. Just keep that in mind...your mandarin will be competing with the wrasse...but if you're adding pods...you should be fine.

Overall you have a relatively peaceful list. Best of luck!

 

[Rover88]

Looks good to me!

My only caution is what someone told me: Banggai Cardinals eat pods, so your mandarin will need to compete with your cardinals. My LFS advised against me getting a mandarin for 6 months at least (same thing norfolkgarden said!), to let the tank get established colony of pods that the single Banggai I have doesn't eat to extinction.

I don't have a wrasse, so I imagine also having a wrasse that eats pods would further deplete your copepod supply.

 

[JTL]

Check out the Vroliks wrasse, similar to a Melanurus but even more colorful imo. I have a Vroliks, Golden Midas blenny, Exquisite firefish, and a bonded pair of Darwin Ocellaris clownfish. All are getting along just fine. I have lots of zoas,lps and some sps but no softies. So far the fish are not bothering the corals but the wrasse is always picking at the rocks. My last fish will be a Mandarin once I am confident I have sufficient pods.

 

[Dmorty217]

I had a melanurus in a 220g tank and he was aggressive in that tank so I would imagine that you will have serious issues once the fish is full grown. It will also eat pods like was mentioned above and will out compete your mandarin for them. You will get tired of constantly buying pods and adding them to your tank. I would pick either the mandarin or the wrasse.

 

[JTL]

Had both a Mandarin and a Melanurus in a 100g in the past with no problems but there is always a risk.

My Vroliks wrasse is not at all aggressive and is past the adult medium size. They are very similar to the Melanurus in size and color but it is unknown if the Vroliks and the Melanurus are of the same species. They do come from different parts of the world.

I have read but not confirmed that a Melanurus and a Mandarin do not compete for the same type of pods. Melanurus=anthropods and the Mandarin=tisbe and tigger pods. This just an observation by another reefer.

One thing that I am sure of is you need a lot of rock and a refugium stocked with pods. If I cannot establish a large pod population than getting a Mandarin would not be a wise choice.

 

[ReefTank327]

My first 3 inhabitants are on your list...Bangaii, Royal Gramma & Melanurus Wrasse. Clowns will be next. All get along well. The wrasse is a pod eating machine and will get big...scavenges the rocks all day long. Just keep that in mind...your mandarin will be competing with the wrasse...but if you're adding pods...you should be fine.

Overall you have a relatively peaceful list. Best of luck!

Do you have any problems with your melanurus wrasse picking at corals? I have read about some melnurus wrasses picking at corals and I have read about some that have been model citizens and leave everything alone.

 

[ReefTank327]

Thank's for the help everyone! I am currently acclimating two black photon clownfish and 2 skunk cleaner shrimp as the first additions to my tank! Thank you all!