Advice on what fish to add next

dankbardy31

dankbardy31

Member
Hey everyone,
I have a 60 gallon acrylic tank that I bought one month ago. I have 60 pounds of live sand and about 100 pounds of live rock (mainly Fiji). I currently have 2 blue damsels, 2 yellowtail damsels, one big 4 stripe damsel, one percula clownfish, chocolate chip starfish, 10 little snails, big hermit crab, and a peppermint shrimp. All my levels have been at 0 for the past 2-3 weeks. My ph is about 8.3 with specific gravity at 1.021. Temp 78.5 stable.
NOw for the question. What would be some good fish to add to the tank next, on the hardy and inexpensive side that will be compatible with what I have. This tank has no plans of going reef.
Thanks for the help!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
If your tank is only 1 month old, and you have added all those other already...I would not add anything else yet...Your star will probably starve too
 
vishnuborg

vishnuborg

Member
Get rid of the star, it won't do. But first things first. You aren't ever going to get another fish if you don't remove ALL of your damsels. Maybe one? No! Damsels are cute, charming, and extremely cheap. Never mind goldfish, you could buy feeder fish for less money! Yes, but they have a horrible flaw. They are aggressive! They appear bold, but they terrorize the tank mates, and guard their over sized territories very brutally. You have established a tank of tyrants.
 
vishnuborg

vishnuborg

Member
P.S. Your "Big Hermit" will eat your snails and take their shells, even if they are too small. The only reef safe hermits are reef hermit crabs, which look like red leg hermits, but are much smaller, and have proportionately tiny claws.
 
dankbardy31

dankbardy31

Member
Thanks for all the replies. I am planning on putting the damsels in a nano cube to cycle that. I have no plans of letting them stay in the big tank.
After those little

[hr]
are gone should I wait another month before putting other "real" fish in there.
What is the main problem with the chocolate chip? My gf loves that thing more than all the other fish.
Royal Grammas have sick coloration.
what are your thoughts on firefish?
 
jpa0741

jpa0741

Member
Originally Posted by dankbardy31
http:///forum/post/3006521
Thanks for all the replies. I am planning on putting the damsels in a nano cube to cycle that. I have no plans of letting them stay in the big tank.
After those little

[hr]
are gone should I wait another month before putting other "real" fish in there.
What is the main problem with the chocolate chip? My gf loves that thing more than all the other fish.
Royal Grammas have sick coloration.
what are your thoughts on firefish?
Just FYI. You are going to get flamed for cycling with fish (not from me I have no problem with it). I also think you could get away with keeping the starfish with a 100# of LR. The chcocale chp is one of the hardier starfish (although not a great idea in a new tank). You will need to get your sg up to 1.026 though if you want the starfish to live. As for fish I think with that size look into a dwarf angel. Maybe a flame angel or coral beauty.
 
dankbardy31

dankbardy31

Member
Definitely flame and coral beauty dwarfs are awesome. Have you had problems with them eating or anything like that.
I don't just throw damsels in, I let the live sand and live rock cycle for a while. I have never killed one in this process if that is what you think people will get mad at.
How can you safely raise the sg without harming the current inhabitants.
Thanks for the speedy replies btw.
What kind of tank do you have and whats in it.
Do you think that with an xp3 and a cpr backpac that I will be good for now or should I try and do a sump/ wetdry system asap. I don't have lots of disposable income but in the long run I want to have the best possible water quality.
 
jpa0741

jpa0741

Member
Originally Posted by dankbardy31 http:///forum/post/3006539
Definitely flame and coral beauty dwarfs are awesome. Have you had problems with them eating or anything like that.
I don't just throw damsels in, I let the live sand and live rock cycle for a while. I have never killed one in this process if that is what you think people will get mad at.
How can you safely raise the sg without harming the current inhabitants.
Thanks for the speedy replies btw.
What kind of tank do you have and whats in it.
Do you think that with an xp3 and a cpr backpac that I will be good for now or should I try and do a sump/ wetdry system asap. I don't have lots of disposable income but in the long run I want to have the best possible water quality.
You want to raise sg slowly. You could replace your evap with salt water mixed to 1.026 until you reach desired sg.
I really have no experience with either of those skimmers. My advice would be to invest in the best skimmer you can afford.
My tank can be found here. Go to the last page to find most current pics. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/307170/240g-in-wall-shallow-reef-build
 
dankbardy31

dankbardy31

Member
Dude, your tank is epic. I don't know what you do for a living but Jesus Christ. I felt like i was looking at an aquarium being built. You are awesome. Congrats on all the hard work paying off. Thanks again for the advice! Just picked up a 24 gallon Nano that I am hoping to do some basic reef stuff with. I will keep you posted with its progress. I'm heading to Vegas tomorrow so have a good weekend!
 
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