My fish and invert list so far... opinions welcome.

[wartooth1]

Hello,
So now that my 40 gallon tank is up and running I am deciding what to populate the tank with. After looking the following fish and inverts over on multiple web sites, it seems that the following creatures have a good chance of getting along with eachother and corals. So this is what I'm looking at so far:
FISH:
White Tailed Pygmy Angelfish
Royal Gramma
Clownfish
Blue Green Chromis
Yellow Tailed Damsel
Firefish Goby
Yellow Clown Goby
Bi-Color Blenny
INVERTS:
Fire Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp
Arrow Crab
Pink Cucumber
several Feather Dusters
Serpent Star
Red Sea Star
Turbo Snail
a dozen or so assorted small Hermit Crabs and snails (for CuC)
Now a couple of comments about this list... I realize that there may be an issue with the two Damels and two Gobies that might squabble with eachother over territory so if I do get them I will save these guys for last and if possible get them paired together in a single purchase so none can really claim territory over the other.
I've also heard people say that Arrow Crabs may attack the Fire and Cleaner Shrimps, so if I do decide on getting an Arrow Crab it won't be until after the Shrimps have established themselves in the tank and I'll be sure to purchase an Arrow Crab that is smaller than the shrimp.
I also think the cucumber won't be a problem since I've screened my powerheads so that nothing can get caught in it.
Anyway, like I said I'm open to suggestions and recommendations

 

[nikesb]

that would be too many fishes for a 40 gallon. i hope its just a list of fishes you're considering. no tang would be suitable for a 40g tank. as for the gramma, they get aggressive. would not do nudibranchs unless you can provide their source of food.

 

[meowzer]

As Nike said....that list is NOT do-able....NO tangs, and skip the damsels
Your fire and cleaner shrimp will probably fight, too many hermits, forget the cucumber and the nudis, and the sea star
HERE is an example of what I have in a 54G....1 lemonpeel angel, 1 clown, 2 yellow clown gobies, 1 blue reef chromis, 1 PJ cardinal, 1 flame hawk, 1 longfin sleeper goby

 

[1guydude]

Quote:
As Nike said....that list is NOT do-able....NO tangs, and skip the damsels
Your fire and cleaner shrimp will probably fight, too many hermits, forget the cucumber and the nudis, and the sea star
+1
if the nudi dies, itll nuke ur whole tank. one small thing to have isnt just worth it imo..
get more snails than hermits too....one mistake i made when i 1st started. I went hermit CRAZY
diff types of snails too.
scratch the arrow imo as well, i here they arent that friendly and will eat fish if given the chance!
Have u looked at a spotted linkia for the star, that would be my suggestion, they have em here on SWF.com...you could do one of the other but i wouldnt do both the linkia and the seaserpent. Online is the only place i can seem to find em btw
feather dusters are kool imo...get the hard tube ones, they tend to be more hardy than the soft ones imoe. lil more $ though...
lastly lol i would get either two fires or two skunks not one of each...
these are just my opinions, take it or leave it lol

 

[wartooth1]

Yeah its just a list of possible considerations. Hmm... funny thing about the Blue Tang is that on this site I noticed it says minimum 180 gallons but on some other sites they are saying 40 gallons is acceptable. Also at the office that I work in there's a guy who has a 29 gallon biocube with a Blue Tang in it an it seems happy (not stressed, healthy vibrant colors etc ect).
How many fish would you recommend I limit myself to? The interesting thing is that at one of the LFSs I went to when I was considering a 34 gallon tank similar to the Red Sea Max type of tank the salesperson there said I could comfortably have up to a dozen fish or so in it.
Would the way I aquascape my tank have an affect on the size of my fish population? FYI I do not plan on filling my tank up with so much rock that it takes up a majority of space in the tank (which is what seems to be popular based on pics of people's tanks I see here), but intead I'm placing rock so that it goes 3/4 up the rear of my tank, and along the sides towards the front corners, getting shorter and shorter as the rock reaches the front and leaving the middle area of the tank open, giving it an arena or stage like appearence. This should still leave a lot of swimming room for the fish.

 

[meowzer]

It's not exactly the # of fish.....it's WHAT fish you get
Stars needs VERY established (minimum 1 year old) tanks with a LOT of rock
ANyone who tells you 12 fish or a tang is good in a 40 is just looking to see something....find another store IMO

 

[wartooth1]

Yeah I'm planning on adding the stars last (if at all), so I imagine the tank will be well established by the time they come in. Youch I didn't realize the nudibranch will nuke the tank if it dies (the site that I found them on didn't mention that lol). Ok so the nudibranch is out. Taking 1guydude's advice, my CUC will be a mix of small snails and hermits instead of just hermits. Still curious about the Tang though... is it a size issue? If so, how quickly do they grow? Some of the stores currently have a lot of young Blue Tangs that are roughly the size of a quarter. I don't really see a problem if I'm able to get one young, keep it for a few years, and then sell him or trade him back to the store when it gets too big (if thats possible).

 

[1guydude]

if u can get it a home later....the tang u want that is...
If u do get a mixture of snails and hermits like i do, make sure to get some extra shells for the hermits. They will kill your snails and take thier shells if u dont get some extra ones lol
the LFS should have some lying around the bottom of the tank!
i think meowzers right. Most LFS just try to sell stuff!
Do you or can you get some pics up on a future thread? We love pics!

 

[wartooth1]

I'll try to get some pics of my current setup soon... just as soon as Ican figure out how to get pics from my phone on here lol.

 

[travelerjp98]

I don't know if you should buy a fish that small because some fish are caught with nasty chemicals that can really affect a fishes' digestive system.
If you do, make sure that you see ANY fish EAT before you buy them. Trust me.
But in reality, I would really skip the tang. It would be disaster if you have a 6"+ tang in a 40 gallon tank because tangs need a LOT of room to swim.
They aren't too big, but need a LOT of room to swim. A LOT.
I will be subscribed to this forum!

 

[travelerjp98]

The "see if the fish eats before you buy it" rule affects EVERY fish you buy.

 

[meowzer]

SKIP THE TANG......IMO you should never buy something with the intent of giving it up later
ALSO IMO....if you do not have the proper environment now....forget it

 

[teresaq]

I agree on skipping the tang. They are open water swimmers. If you are looking for something that blue color, then look at a pygmy angel or a blue reef chromis.
In a tank that size, I would so a pair of clowns, the royal gramma, bi-color blenny, yellow clown goby, and either a blue reef chromis or pygmy angel. pygmys are very active and are usually all over your tank.
T

 

[1guydude]

ya i love my 3 blue-green chromis....very active and always swimming and making the tank look "alive"... make sure to get odd numbers when getting these fish. They make a pecking order and easier on them when in odd numbers. They will actually kill one of each other from starving or just enough pecking if they dont figure it out! +1 on the dwarf angel....i like the lemonpeels or the coral beautys, beware these are hit and miss with the whole "reef safe" thing....

 

[wartooth1]

Hey 1guydude when you said two fires and two skunks do you mean two cleaner shrimp? Just making sure 'cause I heard sometimes cleaner shrimp are called skunks lol. Also, are you suggesting two fires instead of the one fire and the one yellow clown? If I did get two fires, does it matter if one of them is a purple fire?
Ok, I just edited the list in my original post. The tang's out and I'll be swapping out the blue damsel for a blue green chromis. How would that be now as a possible stocking list?

 

[1guydude]

update ur stocking list plz...
lol yes they are called skunk cleaner shrimp...
idk about alter colors i was just saying they are a schooling fish and u are able to get 2 of em. Id stick to two purples or two reds. Id get multi firefish OR multi chromis. Both are schooling and will be more prone to coming out with more of em in the tank...
Also id get two skunk cleaner shrimp OR two fireshrimps, im thinkin they will fight over territory. My cleaner runs around my whole tank....btw u still have the yellow tailed damsel in ur list....id donate it back or get credit if possible. Makes more room for those chromis or firefish!

 

[wartooth1]

As requested... an updated list!
]
FISH:
White Tailed Pygmy Angelfish
Royal Gramma
Clownfish
Blue Green Chromis x2
Firefish Goby x2
Yellow Clown Goby
Bi-Color Blenny OR Lawnmower Blenny
INVERTS:
Fire Shrimp x2 OR Cleaner Shrimp x2
Arrow Crab
Pink Cucumber
several Feather Dusters
Serpent Star
Red Sea Star
Turbo Snail
A dozen or so Hermit Crabs and Small Snails for CuC.
How would a Cardinalfish do in a 40 gallon with these guys? They way they hover perfectly still in the middle of their tank is really starting to grow on me lol. Also, would there be room for any more inverts? The actually fascinate me more than the fish. I would like to add a Red or Blue Tuxedo Urchin if possible, but the information I get from sites that sell them seem to contradict... some sites say then need a big tank... other sites say they would do well even in a nano tank so

.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wartooth1 http:///forum/thread/386035/my-fish-and-invert-list-so-far-opinions-welcome#post_3388709
As requested... an updated list!
]
FISH:
White Tailed Pygmy Angelfish
Royal Gramma
Clownfish
Blue Green Chromis x2
Firefish Goby x2
Yellow Clown Goby
Bi-Color Blenny OR Lawnmower Blenny
INVERTS:
Fire Shrimp x2 OR Cleaner Shrimp x2
Arrow Crab
Pink Cucumber
several Feather Dusters
Serpent Star
Red Sea Star
Turbo Snail
A dozen or so Hermit Crabs and Small Snails for CuC.
How would a Cardinalfish do in a 40 gallon with these guys? They way they hover perfectly still in the middle of their tank is really starting to grow on me lol. Also, would there be room for any more inverts? The actually fascinate me more than the fish. I would like to add a Red or Blue Tuxedo Urchin if possible, but the information I get from sites that sell them seem to contradict... some sites say then need a big tank... other sites say they would do well even in a nano tank so

.
Have you done any extensive research on the White Tail Pygmy Angelfish (Centropyge flavicauda)? They're fairly aggressive and it's not suggested that they're put with docile tank mates. It might really be a threat to some of your fish and make others more aggressive than they normally would be. Also, everything else you have listed is reef safe, this angel is not. If you ever decide to do a reef, you'll have one heck of a time trying to catch this guy. I really recommend a different angel.
Adding the Cardinal would be too many fish. IMO, you'd be better served with the cardinal than the two chromis. Chromis do not do well in pairs, they do fair better in odd numbers, but even then there's not guarantee. In smaller tanks, they tend to kill each other.
I would go with the BiColor Blenny over the Lawnmower. Lawnmower's require way more algae, and you seem to want a heavy invert list, so compensate with a smaller blenny. You might even want to consider smaller, such as a Tail Spot.
An urchin would probably starve in your system long term. Skip the Sea Cucumber as well, they do not last long in small tanks and are toxic if they die in the tank.

 

[1guydude]

Quote:
I would go with the BiColor Blenny over the Lawnmower. Lawnmower's require way more algae, and you seem to want a heavy invert list, so compensate with a smaller blenny. You might even want to consider smaller, such as a Tail Spot.
An urchin would probably starve in your system long term. Skip the Sea Cucumber as well, they do not last long in small tanks and are toxic if they die in the tank.
+1
heres wat id do
Fish:
Coral Beauty angel or Lemonpeel
Royal gramma
Clownfishx2 as long as they arent tomato or maroon than only 1
blue-green chromisx3 or firefish gobyx3
bi-color blenny
-I took out the clown goby and i still think this is a pretty decent bioload!!!!! If it was a 55 or a 75 you could load it up but idk about a 40?!?!?!
Inverts:
fireshrimpx2 or skunk shrimpx2
emerld crab
feather duster (hardtube) x3
- wait a couple months on these to let ur tank settle and build up some food for em
spotted linkia
turbo snailsx3or4
with the hermits and sm assorted snails id do about 10 of each and make sure to get extra shells!!!!!

 

[wartooth1]

Thanks for the input guys
I can totally do a Coral Beauty or Lemonpeel over a Pygmy. A pair of clownfish would look nice IMO as well. I take it False Clowns would be ok?
3 of the same fish seems like to much of the same fish IMO... I like variety, so I would prefer to have only 2 of the same fish maximum. I'm thinking instead of 3 Firefish how about 2 Firefish and a Sixline Wrasse? According to the info on this site, a sixline should get along with everything else in the tank.
Unfortunatly the Arrow Crab is my favorite invert lol... when I saw one at a LFS for the 1st time it was pretty much the idea of showing it off to people the reason I wanted a saltwater tank to begin with lol... What I think I will do is add the Arrow Crab as my last crustacean and I'll make sure to get a small one so that he wouldn't have the guts to attack his mates lol and when it gets bigger I'll just have to make sure he's well fed so that he has no reason to attack lol.
I'd still like to fit that Serpent Star in there if possible as well.
So going off that list you provided, 1guydude, here is what I'm thinking now:
Fish:
Coral Beauty angel or Lemonpeel
Royal gramma
Clownfishx2 as long as they arent tomato or maroon than only 1
firefish gobyx2
sixline wrasse
bi-color blenny
Inverts:
skunk shrimpx2
arrow crab
feather duster (hardtube) x3
- wait a couple months on these to let ur tank settle and build up some food for em
spotted linkia
serpent
turbo snailsx2
with the hermits and sm assorted snails id do about 10 of each and make sure to get extra shells!!!!!
Basically I reduced the firefish from 3 to 2 and added a sixline, swapped out the emerald crab for an arrow crab, and swapped out 2 turbo snails for the serpent star. How is this looking now?