stocking a 46 gallon bow

[starkissed]

Well after my 20 gallon leaking... I upgraded to a 46 gallon bow
I am trying to plan what I want to put in the tank (it helps me from impulse buying) and this is what i have come up with..... What do you think Any sugestions would be great.
Clean Up Crew:
(2) Peppermint shrimp (currently have one)
(1) Elephant Sea Slug (currently have one)
(1) Mexican Turbo Snail (currently have one)
(1) Astraea. Snail (currently have one)
(6) Bumble Bee Snails
(1) Brittle Star Fish
(3) or so Feather Dusters (already have one)
Fish:
(1) Royal Gramma (currently have one)
(2) Gold strip Maroon Clowns
(1) Coral Beauty
(1) Goby of some sort…. Thinking yellow watchmen
(1) Psychedelic Mandarin … Once the thank is established
(2) Purple Fire Fish
(1) Purple Tang
Oh P.S it is cycleing right now ..... Should I start with a damsal like I would if I set the tank up from scratch? I seeded the sand with some from my old tank as well as salvaged about 6 or so gallons of water
Oh and I havn't gotten an chance to upgrade my light since the leak.... I plan on doing this and going reef... so everything must be reef safe

 

[barbiganti]

Way too many fish for a 46 gallon saltwater tank. And if you're going to keep a tang, you need at least a 75 gallon in my opinion given their size and their activity level. Not that clowns can't adjust and do well without an anemone, but given that it seems like you don't plan on having an anemone, and that some clowns seem to prefer having one, I'd strike the clowns off your list. So that leaves the coral beauty, the goby, the gramma (which would be just as good, given its hardiness, to start your tank off as a damsel and is not quite as aggressive as some damsels can be), the mandarin, and the firefish. Five fish of reasonable size which are also reef safe, and not overly aggressive. Not to mention, relatively active. I'd stick with those five fish and leave it at that. And I'd stick with only one firefish instead of two.

 

[rs1831]

I would go with 2 clowns, the coral beauty, a goby and maybe some kind of wrasse. The tang and the mandarin I would leave off the list. Both really need a bigger tank. I've read that the mandarin needs a ton of live rock so they can eat pods. I also have a 46 gallon and I have to clowns and there a lot of fun to watch so after your tank is cycled I would start there.
Good luck.

 

[mryoung7]

the clowns would be fine without an anemone ... although it would be a plus.

 

[travis89]

I would go with the 2 clowns, 2 firefish(keep in mind that they may jump), coral beauty, and a goby.The tang and mandarin both should have a bigger tank to thrive, I just lost a scooter blenny from starvation in my 46 gal and they are in the same family and easier to keep then the mandarin.

 

[stang5_o]

In my 46 I have:
1 Lawnmower Blenny
2 GSM clowns
1 Flametail Blenny
1 Yellow Dwarf Angel (cant remember exact name)
1 @!#%@* 3 stripe damsel that is mean as can be and i cant catch it!
No problems as far as water quality goes. Everyone seems to get along other than the damsel.

 

[starkissed]

thanks!! Maybe I will cut back the fish to......
(1) Royal Gramma (currently have one)
(2) Gold strip Maroon Clowns
(1) Coral Beauty
(1) Goby of some sort…. Thinking yellow watchmen
(2) Purple Fire Fish
Is that still to many fish? They are all fairly small I had 3 fish fine in my 20 gallon and this is 2.5 times the size. It is a shame though that I can't have the tang and the manderin they are probably my 2 favs.
About the jumping fire fish... I have glass lid on the tank so everything is covered except the back 2-3 inches where the equipment is... I am construct something ot cover that. So I don't think jumping fish will be of to much worry.
Also I wouldn't mind an anenome for my clowns but I don't have $300+ to put into a light right now. Is that something that can usually be introduced after the clowns? And do I Have to do both clowns together or can I get one and introduce a smaller one later?

 

[barbiganti]

Star,
Should be fine with what you've got, but you will definitely be pushing it a little bit with your bioload. Be certain to very carefully monitor your water parameters, especially nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia, on a daily basis. I DO think you could make it work with a mandarinfish, but you'd need a fuge (refugium) attached to your tank in order to culture the copepods that the mandarins feed on. As far as whether or not you could introduce the anemone after the clownfish, yes, you could, but if you could introduce the anemone with your clowns, it would definitely be for the best. You definitely want to introduce your clowns simultaneously, but if you can't do that, you need to introduce the smaller of the two first so that it can establish a territory and defend itself, or otherwise, the large will bully the smaller one to death. Hope this helps.
Brad