Is this a better list?

[kaelyne3]

First off, thanks for bearing with a newbie. Your advice is much appreciated. I kinda figured the first list was probably too ambitious which is why I asked before actually getting anything. I just wanted to make sure first.
Anyway, I have removed the four fish from the list that were not recommended and narrowed down numbers on a couple others. So, at this point I am left with:
1 false percula clown
1 Neon Goby
1 Pink & Blue Goby
1 Sailfin or Lawnmower Blenny
1 Randalli Pistol Shrimp
1-2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Hawaiian Zebra Hermits
3 Scarlet hermit crabs
3 Nassarius snails
1) Does this look more reasonable?
2) Would the clown be happy living by himself or do they prefer another clown with them?
3) Which order would you add them in and how many at once bc I am picking up the first ones this weekend?
Thanks again!

 

[granny]

HI,
I just signed on so missed your first post and dont know what you already have or how large your tank it, but thought i would jump right in.
i remember making lots of lists-all far too ambitious-for what I wanted to put in my tank.
It is always, always better to go slow, especially if your tank is new. The general safe reccomendation is one new fish every 7 to 10 days, giving your tank time to catch up with the new bioload. always test for the Amo, Ni and do a nice water change before adding new livestock. Now, I amsuper cautious as I do not ever want to be responsible for killing a beautiful wild creature. If you can, purchase smaller fish. The false percula, ocellaris clown does well in groups and will share an anemone. all your clowns do better with an anemone or they tend to hide out looking miserable as they wiggle back and forth. Shrimp dont add much to the bioload at all, so you could probaly add your shrimp and clown at the same time. Same with snails.
I would wait on the hermit crabs (thats just personal since I am not a fan of hermits-they push things around, are messy, need lots of empty shells to grow into which lay all over your tank etc.)
Hope to talk to you shortly

 

[demosthenes]

No need to apologize in this forum, it's specifically for newbies and those who are coming back into the hobby and have forgotten a few things. Anyhoo, what is the size of the tank, how much LR, substrate type, is it a berlin set-up or are you using a type of canister filter? Any details would help.

 

[kaelyne3]

Hi! Thanks for the quick respone. It is a 37 gal, 50 lbs LR, 100 gal protein skimmer, Millenuim 3000 power filter and 2 submersible power heads for circulation. It has been up and running for about 6 1/2 weeks now and is testing out perfect so it seems like its time to add our first inhabitant(s).
A question about your comment on hemits. Is there something else you would recommend for cleaner crew? I am totoally open to suggestions here.
Thanks again

 

[granny]

Well, I love the nassarius snails-cheap and do a great job. They hide in your sand bed (do you have a sand bed) and come out when you feed to clean up stuff.
I also love brittle stars/serpent stars. Your tank is a peaceful one, so you can put some really interesting critters in that wont survive in an aggressive tank.
You could even put a starfish in. If you can get one of the sleeper gobies(who will share a burrow with your pistol shrimp) they are voracious eaters and sand sifters and will clean up a bunch of stuff. Did you get any small crabs with your live rock? What about an arrow crab? They do a great job of cleaning up all kinds of stuff and are constantly picking. The lawnmower blenny is so cute, but if you dont have algae in your tank, you wil need to purchase algae sheets for him to eat.
Yout tank is on the small side, so stick to one clown with an anemone. Your neon gobies are so small-and do well in groups-but are a little tender so might wait on those till later. Of your group, the percula is the toughest, but you cant put an anemone in now.
Hm, decisions decisions.
Had you considered a few small Chromis?

 

[kaelyne3]

Actually yes. My original list had 2-3 small blue reef chromis in it or else 2 garbaii cardinals but I was told no to both by Pfitz in my other post.
I do have sand (aragonite, not LS) that is about 3 or so inches so should be plenty to surf around in for the burrowers. I'm worried about getting an anemone bc Im so new at this and heard they are hard to keep. I certainly dont want to kill anything or make it unhappy so I want to be sure to get stuff I can take good care of. Are there any easier anemones you would suggest?

 

[granny]

YOur tank set up sounds really good-We didnt mention lighting yet-that plus circulation and low nitrates are really the key to anemones
I would reccomend the bubble tip-itis the most hardy and stays smaller than the others.
I have two very healthy ones in my 75 gal, which is run with a power compact lighting system.
The pajama cardinal is peaceful and hardy and small, but it will hide behind the rocks. I actually used these as my first fish, but got tired of never seeing them, so took them back to my LFS and purchased an exquisite wrasse who is always on the move.
Not sure why anyone would object to the blue chromis-small, active, stay in the upper part of your tank in sight, hardy, peaceful and beautiful. I have a small shoal of them in my tank-they do like to be in groups of 3 or more.
Why dont you get your snails now-you can get more than 3 and either your clown(he will just have to wait for his anemone) or a few green chromis or blue chromis.
IN a week to 10 days after your tank has adjusted to the new bioload and youve done a water change, add a starfish/ either a sand sifter or brittle star
and either your cleaner shrimp or an arrow crab is you decide to get one.
Same thing- wait another 7-10 days, test, change and if all is well add your gobie or blenny.
Keep in touch

 

[demosthenes]

Well, I'm not sure about your preferences, but my choice in the fish selection would be a group (4-5) of false percs, or you could even get the black-and-white perc since it is just a captive-bred species, and I would go with the remaining inverts as well as a nice centered anemone and maybe some xenia on the fringes of the rock structure with your choice of other soft corals throughout. That would sound like a nice set-up for a smaller 37g, and it would mesh better than a tank that has three bottom-dwellers all competing for food and space in a tank that seems like it may already be crowded with LR, and you would only have one mid-range fish in the perc. That's just my suggestion though.