OK, I think I'm ready...and I'll keep it short this time

[ahoowahoo]

Tank is comimg along nicely. Now, the question is, is the stocking plan doable.
Tank paramenters
50g
80lbs LR
40lbs LS
1000gph (PWs, skimmer etc.)
1 mo. old (all test levels @ 0)
My plan was to add these over the next 3 to 6
months or so (or even longer, just having fun spotting new things on the LR! )
2 (ideally 6 firefish)
2 clowns (ocellaris)
1 coral beauty
clean up crew of snails and crabs
Your respones would be greatly appreicated!!

Brad

 

[thor]

this would work very nicely, the firefish in schools like 6 are very nice(yes you could have six)

 

[fshhub]

very doable
ideally you should have 6 ff, they would do much better, but they need a bit more room than you have to offer for that many, so i would recommend no more than 2, because 1 or apair(makde sure to get 2 that are happy together, study them before buying) or 6 or more, you do not want an in between number, otherwise you probably will(eventually ) wind up with one or less 2(if not a piar), 3, 4, and 5 are not an advisable combo
start off with the clean up crew then
you could add one pair,(ff or clown), wait a couple of weeks to make sure that our levels are stable, then add the others, then do the same before adding the cb, ideally you should wait @ 4 months or so before adding an angel
HTH and good luck

 

[ahoowahoo]

Thx for the responses Thor and Fshhub. As far as the cleaning crew is concerned I was thinking of adding Snails (10-12) and scarlett reef hermits (10-14). Lately though, I've been reading some horror stories about hermits eating pretty much everything in sight. Hermits-bad or good idea? Will they eat the featerdusters and polyps?
Thanks for the help!
Brad

 

[thor]

thx fshhub didnt know that,
as for your ? scarlet reef hermits will not eat everything that is blueleg hermits and you will need about 20 for both snails and hermits to keep your tank clean nice and clean but if you like algae then get this many

 

[fshhub]

they could, depending on the hermit, we had a peppermint shrimp that was NOT supposed to eat any either, but he tried to wipe out our feather dusters, with hermits, the odds are probably more so(also depending on the species), but nothing is concrete and they have been known to go after snails
personally we have no crabs, only snails and algae eating fish for algae; and snails stars and pods for detritus
HTH

 

[headabovewater]

I got the 50 dollar cleanup package from here. Blue legs, scarlets, turbos and two peppermint shrimp. They all get along great so far. Ive had em about 5 weeks. You should get some extra shells oh for when the hermits start out growing there old ones.

 

[ahoowahoo]

Fshhub-RE the species, are Red Reef Hermits more reef safe than others???
HAW-Do you have any critters (feather dusters, polyps etc.) on your LR? If so, do the hermits bother them?
Brad

 

[fshhub]

scarlet reefs are the safest of the hermits
IMO
HTH

 

[wrigley11]

Go with the scarlet hermit crabs... they are the least likely to go killing anything in the tank... However you wont see them that often because they do most of their work at night.
Make sure you get some extra shells, otherwise your hermit crabs will help themselves to the shells on your snails. They do kill them to get them.
Also you'll probably need more then 20 of each to keep the tank clean - 80 pounds of rock is a lot for a 50... I think I only have 50 or so pounds in my 50. Another point before I forget... Get some emerald crabs, there great at keeping the tank clean and really do not bother anything.
I'm sure you know what peppermints are good for so if you need them I would pick some of them up also.

 

[ahoowahoo]

Thx Fsh...Wrigley,
Considering my tank is fairly young (but cycled) is there potential that I won't have enough for them to eat (and make it more likely they will go after my rock critters?)? Could/should I supplement them with other things to eat??
Wrigley-got that new camera yet???? Can't wait for the pics!
Brad

 

[ahoowahoo]

Hmmmm another question. Wrigley, you think I need 20 of each if I go with the following? I don't mind buying 20 of each mind you, I just want to get too many. lol Course, since the LFS buys back stock at 50% of their value, and they charge $7 per turbo, I probably should by a bunch more LOL!
How does this assortment sound??
2 Fighting Conch $3.75 ea. $7.50
1 Queen Conch $2.75 ea. $2.75
2 Emerald Crab $2.25 ea. $4.50
5 Scarlet Reef Hermit $1.75 ea. $8.75
17 Astrea Turbo $1.00 ea. 17 $17.00
Thanks as always!
Brad