cherryfox22
New Member
Hello all!
Saltwater newbie here. After a fair deal of research, these are the fish that I want for my 55 gallon softies and LPS reef.
(Don't worry, I won't be getting any fish anytime soon. I just want to have my stock approved, so I can start researching more in depth the best set up for everyone and finalizing plans. My current apartment only allows a 10 gallon, so I am hopefully moving within a few months to one that will allow a 55 :0)
-Pair of Ocellaris clowns
-1 Six line wrasse (I'm aware of their bad reputation for being terrors, and that there are far more peaceful and prettier wrasses. Despite all this, I want them over other wrasses).
-1 Orchid dottyback (p. fridmani)
-1 Long nose hawkfish
I'm aware that all the species can be fairly aggressive. I also know that the six line is known for being a terror, and after you add them, you can't add any other fish typically. I'm 100% okay with that. I plan to get these fish, and no other fish for 10-15 years or however long they all live for
I'm also aware that any small hermits or shrimp would be considered snacks by the wrasse and hawkfish.
Plan for setting up aquarium is as follows:
1. Set up 55 gallon with ~100lbs dry key largo/marco shelf rock and sand, cycle it using pure ammonia and test water with Red Sea/etc kit. (It will have a skimmer, no sump, possible HOB refugium/algae scrubber, possible canister filter, looking into kessil lights )
1.5. Set up two 10 gallon QT tanks (with lots of fake aquarium decor so the fish have lots of hidey holes), cycle it using pure ammonia (or put two HOB filters on DT, and cycle them all at the same time)
2. Add snails (cerith, nassarius, etc.) to DT and let stabilize for ~2 months after cycling
3. Get corals and add to DT. Let the corals grow in, (get better at keeping them and the water stable and happy) and then wait at least 72 days from the last time I added any corals before getting fish so I don't have to QT each individual coral.
4. Get fish. Ideally, I will get the fish from someone on the forum looking to get out of hobby, or craigslist. I've seen people with a pair of ocellaris clowns and a six line, so they would most likely go in one QT together. The orchid dottyback and long nose hawkfish, would go in the other QT.
5. QT fish for 8 weeks. Add to display tank at same time (within minutes of each other).
6. Enjoy my happy tank
Questions:
1. Would this plan work? I've seen a few videos on youtube, with tanks varying between 29-60 gallons, that have an orchid dottyback and six line wrasse together, with seemingly no problems. From all the threads I've read from various forums, most of the problems seem to come from adding one of the fish when the other one has already been established in the tank first. I figured if they were added at the same time, to a decently filled out reef tank, then there wouldn't be problems.
2. Would adding 5 fish all at once be too much of a bio load? I've read that for new tanks, you should add 1-2 fish max each time. However, while still considered "new," my tank would be around at least 6-8 months from when the cycle had finished in regards to maturity.
3. Would these 5 fish make my tank count as "overstocked?" I strive to have understocked tanks typically, and don't want the extra maintenance and bio load headache that overstocked tanks bring.
Thank you so much for all your answers and advice! I'm very excited to start on my reef keeping journey!
Saltwater newbie here. After a fair deal of research, these are the fish that I want for my 55 gallon softies and LPS reef.
(Don't worry, I won't be getting any fish anytime soon. I just want to have my stock approved, so I can start researching more in depth the best set up for everyone and finalizing plans. My current apartment only allows a 10 gallon, so I am hopefully moving within a few months to one that will allow a 55 :0)
-Pair of Ocellaris clowns
-1 Six line wrasse (I'm aware of their bad reputation for being terrors, and that there are far more peaceful and prettier wrasses. Despite all this, I want them over other wrasses).
-1 Orchid dottyback (p. fridmani)
-1 Long nose hawkfish
I'm aware that all the species can be fairly aggressive. I also know that the six line is known for being a terror, and after you add them, you can't add any other fish typically. I'm 100% okay with that. I plan to get these fish, and no other fish for 10-15 years or however long they all live for
I'm also aware that any small hermits or shrimp would be considered snacks by the wrasse and hawkfish.Plan for setting up aquarium is as follows:
1. Set up 55 gallon with ~100lbs dry key largo/marco shelf rock and sand, cycle it using pure ammonia and test water with Red Sea/etc kit. (It will have a skimmer, no sump, possible HOB refugium/algae scrubber, possible canister filter, looking into kessil lights )
1.5. Set up two 10 gallon QT tanks (with lots of fake aquarium decor so the fish have lots of hidey holes), cycle it using pure ammonia (or put two HOB filters on DT, and cycle them all at the same time)
2. Add snails (cerith, nassarius, etc.) to DT and let stabilize for ~2 months after cycling
3. Get corals and add to DT. Let the corals grow in, (get better at keeping them and the water stable and happy) and then wait at least 72 days from the last time I added any corals before getting fish so I don't have to QT each individual coral.
4. Get fish. Ideally, I will get the fish from someone on the forum looking to get out of hobby, or craigslist. I've seen people with a pair of ocellaris clowns and a six line, so they would most likely go in one QT together. The orchid dottyback and long nose hawkfish, would go in the other QT.
5. QT fish for 8 weeks. Add to display tank at same time (within minutes of each other).
6. Enjoy my happy tank
Questions:
1. Would this plan work? I've seen a few videos on youtube, with tanks varying between 29-60 gallons, that have an orchid dottyback and six line wrasse together, with seemingly no problems. From all the threads I've read from various forums, most of the problems seem to come from adding one of the fish when the other one has already been established in the tank first. I figured if they were added at the same time, to a decently filled out reef tank, then there wouldn't be problems.
2. Would adding 5 fish all at once be too much of a bio load? I've read that for new tanks, you should add 1-2 fish max each time. However, while still considered "new," my tank would be around at least 6-8 months from when the cycle had finished in regards to maturity.
3. Would these 5 fish make my tank count as "overstocked?" I strive to have understocked tanks typically, and don't want the extra maintenance and bio load headache that overstocked tanks bring.
Thank you so much for all your answers and advice! I'm very excited to start on my reef keeping journey!
