40 breeder stocking advice.

[ashleynicole]

I upgraded to a 40 gallon.
For fish I currently have:
2 ocellaris clowns
1 orange spotted goby
I want to add:
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Mandarin (in a year)
1 Spotted Cardinalfish
1 Sixline Wrasse
For inverts I have:
1 Cowrie Snail
1 Turbo Snail
1 Emerald Crab
1 Hermit Crabs
I want to add:
8 Small Snails
1 anenome (in 6 months)
1 Peppermint Shrimp
For corals I have:
1 button polyp
1 green star
1 taro tree
Will everything do well together? Should I add anything or take away anything. I am most nervous about addint the mandarin, sixline and anenome.

 

[ashleynicole]

I was thinking I could cancel the Mandarin and sixline and add another cardinal and royal gramma

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AshleyNicole http:///t/390922/40-breeder-stocking-advice#post_3464282
I was thinking I could cancel the Mandarin and sixline and add another cardinal and royal gramma

Hi and welcome to the site. My niece's name is Ashley Nichole.
That might be wise. I would also consider a different blenny, like the tail spot. I know I have had issues with keeping LMB's in our tank due to their dietary needs.

 

[ashleynicole]

Thank you, I will look into that. I just want as much personality as possible in the tank that will still get along with each other and not disrupt corals.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///t/390922/40-breeder-stocking-advice#post_3464327
I would also consider a different blenny, like the tail spot. I know I have had issues with keeping LMB's in our tank due to their dietary needs.
+1
Tail spot or Bi Color Blenny would be a better option than a Lawnmower. I'm a firm believer than LMB's are doomed to die in our tanks and slowly starve to death and are better off left in the ocean.
I had a 40G Breeder, it was by far one of my favorite tanks.
I wouldn't keep the SixLine and the Mandarin in that size tank. They're both pod eaters. SixLine's, as colorful as they are, tend to be little demons. Mine killed my mandarin and attacked just about everything else in my tank. One of the biggest issues with them is that they'll learn every inch of your rock work in about 3 seconds and they're small and fast. Trying to catch one that isn't behaving is a NIGHTMARE.
As far as inverts, you're going to need a lot more snails than just 8. Look into getting a mixture of Astrea, Trochus and Nassarius snails. You might want to also consider a cleaner shrimp such as a Skunk Cleaner or a Fire Shrimp, either one will get along with the Peppermint you're looking at.
As mentioned above, Cardinals do tend to do better when there is more than one.
Other fish to consider (not all of them) for personality/color:
Yellow Assessor (these guys are peaceful and can often be seen swimming upside down, which I just find really cool)
Flasher or Fairy Wrasse (they tend to be jumpers, so be sure to put some sort of netting or eggcrate or canopy on your tank if considering one of these)
Firefish trio (red or purple)
Dwarf Angelfish (Coral Beauty would be a good option)
Royal Gramma

 

[eric b 125]

Sweet, another breeder build! We don't see too many of these on this site which is surprising because they are such great tanks. Looking forward to seeing images of your tank...
Welcome to the forum!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Woohoo!
Id get a bicolor blennie instead of a lawnmower. I'd also rethink a mandarin. If you have a sump with a nice sized fuge or buy an aquacultured mandarin, you would have a better survival rate.
I don't see any other problems so far. Could you post your equipment list including lights? Maybe we can help with that too.

 

[ashleynicole]

I have a T5 glo 36" hood with a T5 actinic 39 w and a 10,000 bulb in it also. I have a 50 g HOB filter. I have a protein skimmer thats not working right so it currently is providing more circulation. I also have a power head and of course a heater.
I now have two clowns, flame hawkfish, orange spotted goby, and despite the warnings i got a sixline wrasse. I've talked with many who have said the aggression that BTLDreef experienced wasn't common. I think in a couple weeks i might finish the tank with a blenny and maybe a cardinal of some kind.
Does that sound like a good set up and combination of fish?
I'll definitely post some photos when I can find my camera charger!

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AshleyNicole http:///t/390922/40-breeder-stocking-advice#post_3464616
I have a T5 glo 36" hood with a T5 actinic 39 w and a 10,000 bulb in it also. I have a 50 g HOB filter. I have a protein skimmer thats not working right so it currently is providing more circulation. I also have a power head and of course a heater.
I now have two clowns, flame hawkfish, orange spotted goby, and despite the warnings i got a sixline wrasse. I've talked with many who have said the aggression that BTLDreef experienced wasn't common. I think in a couple weeks i might finish the tank with a blenny and maybe a cardinal of some kind.
Does that sound like a good set up and combination of fish?
I'll definitely post some photos when I can find my camera charger!
The lights aren't strong enough for many types of corals. The only corals that might do well are shrooms and zoas. The fish list looks OK.

 

[eric b 125]

I've seen sixline aggression in several of the tanks that I service and they are not small tanks.
As far as that light goes: I have a buddy that had 4 of those Glo jobs over his custom 150. He got them b/c he didn't realize that there were much better lights out there. They actually worked very well for him which surprised me because they are pretty unremarkable lights. He ended up with only two because he was too lazy to keep taking the two off that he needed to access the tank for feeding. It is a deep tank and those Glo's kept all types of softies alive and they were at the bottom of his tank since his tesselata eel kept knocking his rockwork over. He has since upgraded to a MH fixture and is much happier, though.
I have a MH fixture over my 30 gallon breeder (same footprint as yours but only 12" H). It is one 250 watt MH and two 96 watt PC. I haven't so much as plugged in the MH to see what it would look like. I may give it a try but only for an hour or so a day. I only have softies in there, but the two 96'ers are keeping everyone very happy.

 

[ashleynicole]

I am so frustrated about the sixline. I have had two very experienced friends say they have never had a problem but also have heard from people online that they do. Do I try to catch it and return it or hope it doesn't have aggression issues? The corals are a button polyp, green star and taro tree. I got them because I was told they don't need much light and only wanted to start with a few corals in my tank until I am more experienced. Do you think that will be fine or should I upgrade the actinic bulb?