Suggestions

[bizzleb01]

Hey guys, my tank seems to be cycled and I think I'm ready to start adding corals/fish. I'm waiting till Friday to give it the rest of the week then do my water change.

I want to do a mixed reef but have never had SPS before. Should I start with some softies of LPS since I haven't been dosing for calcium yet? I'm going to start dosing after my water change.

Also, what's a good fish to start with? I really want a Blue Spotted Jaw fish but don't think that would be best for a first fish in a tank. I was thinking maybe a couple of Cardinal fish.

 

[zeminabr]

Just whatever you do, don't do damsels! They will rule your tank in no time. Also, how big is your tank and what kind of fish mixture are you looking for? Personally, I have always enjoyed a small school of green chromis to start with and get a good amount of movement and life in the tank right away.

 

[bizzleb01]

I was thinking chromis possibly. It's a 65g three foot tank. I know I want the jaw fish and a couple of frostbite clowns. I know they need to be added later so they aren't too territorial. I really want a Pacific Blue Tang but I know I'll have to get a small one and re home it once it gets too big. Maybe a fairy wrasse of some sort.

 

[hobbzz]

Softies, shrooms, zoas or most lps would make a good start. It's better to have a good handle on things before adding sps.

Smaller, less aggressive fairy wrasses would be great, and/or flasher wrasses. Some fairies can be pretty aggressive. I would make up a complete list of everything you would want to keep, and then post it here so people can tell you what will work and what won't. I love the blue spots, and tried one myself, but it jumped while I was doing a water change and I didn't notice it. They also do better in much cooler water and much deeper sand beds. This is a good article by a very respected person.

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/...sh-opistognathus-rosenblatti-full-article.htm

You could also do two or three small anthias. Dispar, randal, or resplendant, but they would need two feedings a day, preferably more. Or a single fathead anthias, same feeding requirements as the others though. Chromis tend to pick each other off more often than not.

Blennies would be good... midas, ember(my favorite), or starry.
Royal grammas can be kept in pairs if you buy them as a pair.
Bangaiis would have to be purchased as a pair also, and no more than one pair per tank. Pajamas can be kept in groups, and there are some other grouping ones that would also be good.
Hawkfish if you don't plan on keeping ornamental shrimp or crabs. I like flame hawks personally.

Live aquaria is a great reference source to come up with a list if you want to do that, and their tanks size recommendations are pretty good for the most part. Not 100% on target, but pretty good.

 

[Ted_C]

a general rule that's usually passed along on the internet is to wait for 6 months to a year before attempting to add coral. Usually - this is accompanied by the word stabilization.

What this really means is:
Your going to have all kinds of things happening in the tank in the next few months. Algae blooms, Cyano, diatoms, etc. It's usually better to provide a stable environment for our corals after all of this has happened.
Also - 6 months allows you to get any mistakes you may have or do to your tank out of your system so to speak.

As for fish stocking and order - I would speak with your LFS. Have a list of fish you want to keep and ask them what order they would recommend. Take it slow.

 

[Reefpilot11]

It wouldn't hurt to add a zoa rock to get some color in there. I wouldn't go spending a lot on some fancy coral.

 

[hobbzz]

They are both right, I by no means meant to go out and fill the tank. Start with maybe one small fish, not your whole fish list at the same time. Zoas would be a good start coral wise, they are very tolerant.

 

[bizzleb01]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I know to not add all the fish at once and there's a certain pecking order for them to be added. I'm just not 100% on the fish I want overall. I only want a handful of fish in the tank as it is only a 65 g. I might start with a couple of the anthias and a zoa rock to get some color and activity in there like suggested.

Hobbz, I've never seen an ember blenny so I googled it and really like them. Do you know of any place that sells them local in Tampa?

 

[anbosu]

You also won't need to start dosing for a while, unless you have crazy coralline algae growth.

 

[hobbzz]

They aren't easy to find, especially not the supermales.

 

[bizzleb01]

You also won't need to start dosing for a while, unless you have crazy coralline algae growth.

I used cheap instant ocean for my cycle and my calcium levels are almost non existent. I was going to dose to bring them up a bit so I could grow SPS.

 

[anbosu]

I used cheap instant ocean for my cycle and my calcium levels are almost non existent. I was going to dose to bring them up a bit so I could grow SPS.

What are they? Unless you don't have the proper salinity it shouldn't be too low for SPS. Regardless, at Ted and others have suggested, if you start adding SPS now you're probably just going to kill it.

 

[bizzleb01]

Salinity is actually a little low right now. I used one bag fir every 50 gallons and it only comes out to like 1.20 for salinity. I'm going to wait on adding any SPS for awhile and I'll be doing a decent water change on Friday and probably wait a few more days before adding any fish to make sure all my levels stay the same.

 

[hobbzz]

I would wait at least six months before adding sps. When most salts give instructions for mixing they'll state what the ca/alk/mag levels will be at certain salinity levels. If they don't state the salinity level and only tell you to use x amount of salt per gallon, they're usually instructing you to mix to around 1.020-1.021. Raising the salinity level will raise the ca/alk/mag levels as well, without additional dosing. You should never dose without testing first. And like anbosu said, you shouldn't need to dose at all without a lot of sps or coraline growth.

 

[rogergolf66]

stay away from sps till you have consistent parameters and you are growing coralline algae very well. as far as fish go slow and do lots of research before adding anything. if you go with your local fish store also do your own research. not all stores are equal in knowledge.

good luck be patient.

Roger

 

[bizzleb01]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll definitely hold off on any SPS for awhile. I'll start with some zoas and what not. As far as fish I'll be going to FAOIS Saturday to ask questions and pick a fish or two as long as my unborn daughter doesn't decide to show up a week early lol.