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Nolan99

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
73
I am a newbie to the saltwater hobby and I am starting to plan my aquarium. I have a list of fish I would like that I think are compatible and I am hoping you guys can tell me what size tank I would need and if these fish are compatible. Also, is there any limits on invertebrates in a certain sized tank? I would also like to add some snails, a marble starfish, a cleaner shrimp or two, and a scarlet reef hermit crab.
-Flame Angelfish
-Tailspot Blenny
-Banggai Cardinal (2 or 3)
-Ocellaris Clownfish (2)
-Blue Green Chromis (2 or 3)
-Green Mandarinfish (This would be added after a year or two when I have experience and have a LOT of copepods!)
-Orange Spot Diamond Goby
-Yellow Watchman Goby (Hopefully with a Tiger Pistol Shrimp)
-Flame Hawkfish
-McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Thanks for your help!
 
Nolan99

It's good that you are asking questions before you set up your tank. But I saw no mention whether you want corals, anemones, etc. included in your tank.

If you go the fish only route, you will need plenty of LiveRock though as some of your specie choices include fish that hide a lot, I.e. The Blenny, and gobies.

As for the companion shrimps that go with the gobies you will also need a fairly loose aggregate sand bed. Be sure to lay down the live rock first before adding a loose aggregate Sandbed so as not cause underwater landslides when the critters start digging.

Be aware also that Hawkfish will sometimes hunt smaller shrimps.

Cardinals will school nicely so try and have at least three. I have a large Bangai that schools with two other Pajamas quit nicely.

A red flag for me would be mixing the clownfish with the chromic. They are both members of the damsel fish family and can very territorial, especially the blue/green chromis.

Also clownfish may do better with anemones in the tank, my clownfish is going on four years old and loves his/her (?) anemone.

Wrasses can be tricky, I had to remove a two spot who was harassing my Scopis tank and chewed off part of his dorsal fin. And they very hard to catch. Had to remove all the rock work to net it, a real pain!

Crabs can cause problems sometimes, but my Mexicans, and Scarlett have not proved to be problems. I have tiger snails also as part of my clean up crew as well as a huge Brittle Star that is rarely spotted as they hide most of the time.

I have an extensive log of my tanks on my website which is http://www.gr8oldreef.com

Hope this helps.



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Reefermadness52
I am new to this site so I apologize that I sent this twice! I do plan on having a reef aquarium and asking an anemone for the clienfish. I also had a question on whether or not I could have the diamond goby and the yellow watchman goby. Ik the diamond goby won't pair with a pistol shrimp but I do know a watchman goby will. I would like the diamond goby for sifting the sand bed and I think it would be cool to watch. Do u have any suggestions on tank size? I am on a budget and am hoping I can narrow this tank down to a 40 or maybe I can go up to a 55. I just will have to weed out a lot of these fish.
Thanks
Nolan99
 
Sadly, a mandarin is unlikely to thrive in smaller tanks like a 55g. Especially when you have copepod munchers like the mccosker on the list.

I agree about putting the clowns and the chromis together. It can work, but clowns are huge jerks. I also wouldn't worry about having a nem. They really aren't needed for having clowns.

If I were to choose a tank size at 55g or below, I would go with a 40 breeder 10 times out of 10. Their dimensions are much better than a 55g. That being said, check craigslist for tanks. I got my reef ready 90g with stand, hood, 2 filters, and a half dozen other accessories for $200.
 
Your going to need a gigantic tank I have a 20 gallon with a tiny hermit crab a goby and a clown and they are fighting


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You should get an anemone for your clown I got clown like four years and he started acting really weird he would hang at the top of his tank on his side i finally got an anemone and now he's perfectly normal though my clown is a really sweet fish it's my goby that goes after him


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