39g stock

[ivy2dw7]

I just added my first fish to my 39g. I bought a fuzzy dwarf lion and also went ahead and got a dozen hermits, a chocolate chip star and a pencil urchin. I would also like to add a valentini puffer, and a pixy hawk or a long nose depending on which is available in my area at that time. I would like to get a dozen margarita snails and a few sand sifting snails also, cerith or nassarius, and also want to get a some other type of urchin. Long spines and pincushions are available in my area so I'll probably go with a pincushion. I have about 45 pounds of LR, and around 35 pounds of LS. I'm using a Millenium 3000 w/one side of carbon and the other of LR rubble, and a coralife super skimmer. Any suggestions on other cleaners that I could get that wouldn't be eaten by the fish? And do these fish sound like they could work well together?

 

[boatdrinks]

Congrats on getting your lion... fuzzies are so cool

I have a couple of them myself...
As far as your stocking plans go, you might want to get some second opinions about the puffer. From my own experience, they are notorious fin nippers and could be a real problem for your lion. Also, a valentini may (most likely will) wreak havok on your inverts.

 

[ivy2dw7]

The puffer may cause problems with all inverts including snails and urchins or just the hermit crabs? And has anyone had success with putting valentinis and fuzzy dwarfs together in an aquarium together? And if this absolutely isn't a good idea at all, what other suggestions do you have for mid-top dwelling fish since the hawk perches and my lion perches most of the time.

 

[ivy2dw7]

Anyone have any opinions/suggestions?

 

[boatdrinks]

I'm pretty sure the snails and hermits would eventually wind up as puffer snacks. I know triggers and some of the larger puffers (triggers especially) like to eat urchins, and would assume that the valentini puffer would follow along these lines. Good for the puffer, as these are natural hard shelled food items that allow them to wear down their ever growing teeth. They are hard to resist though. I contemplated a solandri puffer as a tankmate for my lions as well. Changed my mind when I saw the damage that they are capable of at my LFS. If they can chew up a fast moving kole tang without any problems, I'd hate to see what one could do to a fuzzy lion.
How big is your lion now? I have both of mine in a 44g pentagon with a larger tiger jawfish, and yeah it does look a bit empty at times. All 3 fish have more than enough personality to make up for it though, and the lions are usually always out begging for food when anyone comes near the tank.
I decided to stop with these 3, but when I was considering tankmates, I was looking at either a hamlet, (indigos are my fav's although the pic on this site doesn't do them justcie), marine betta, flame hawkfish, sargassum angler, or some of the medium sized basslets.
Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[ivy2dw7]

Would a 39-40g be too small for a hamlet? And aren't groupers/hamlets more bottom dwellers than mid-top dwellers?

 

[boatdrinks]

I think we both have the same problem regarding the size of our dwarf lion tanks... When looking into what fish to get, I got mixed reviews on whether my 44 pent would be too small for a hamlet, so I decided to leave it out. (yeah, they do prefer to hang out in the rockwork near the mid/bottom of the tank). Seems like 39-44 gals is just a bit too small for most of the medium size fish, (dwarf angels...ect...) but keeping dwarf lions rules out a lot of other options.
Have you considered one of the medium to larger clownfish species? something like a tomato or cinnamon clown may be a good option that wont' get too huge, and can hold it's own with a dwarf lion...
Anyone else have any ideas??