docile only list - need help

[emceeee]

I am in the cycling phase with yellow tail damsels and they are tearing each other apart. I have a 50 gallon SW tank. I want one big happy family of community fish. No fighting. I've been thinking about: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Flame Hawkfish
Spotted Cardinal Fish
False Percula Clownfish
Purple Firefish
Coral Beauty, Dusky Angelfish
Sixline Wrasse

No fighting!

Comments, ideas?

Thanks very much!
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[melosu58]

First comment, The proper way to cycle. IMO dont put those damsels through that. Second comment, the sixline and the hawkfish are pretty fiesty. I`ve heard many a person say their sixline terrorized their tank. IME the hawkfish is pretty mean also at least IME. The others look pretty good. BTW welcome to AA.

 

[Innovator]

All fish are territorial in their own right. "Peaceful" tanks are a fallacy, but there are compromises. I agree with Mel on the Hawk and 6line, but I don't see anything that might be overbearing towards another...the usual nit and pick behaviors

 

[cmor1701d]

I agree with all of Mike's comments, and Innovator's comment that all tank's are a compromise as far as agression goes. Crowd a tank and any one may become agressive, especially to their own kind.

 

[emceeee]

Thanks to Melosu58, Innovator, and CMor1701d for replying, and for the welcome. As much research as I thought I did before embarking upon this adventure, I somehow did miss any discussion of the cruelty of cycling and its alternatives. If I decide to forgo the hawkfish and the sixline, what could I substitute instead? I don't want to overload the tank but would like to get a colorful assortment of docile fishes. With 50 gallons, I should be able to get more than 5, right. No live rock, no reef. Fake, but not tacky decor. In fact, all my friends are awestruck by the decor.

 

[MCluett]

some sort of goby would be good and it will help out your cleaning crew with sifting through the substrate and they come in a wide variety of colors.

 

[emceeee]

More ?? on docile fish and feeding

Thank you MCluett. I also like the Yellow Assessor and the Midas Blenny. Would they work?

This brings to mind another question - feeding. Right now my cycling fish are getting Spectrum pellets - 3 per fish, every other day and my bottom fishing crabs get one algae pellet twice a week.

After cycling, can I stick with one food for all the fish? If I mix carnivores and herbivores, doesn't that make the feeding process so much more complicated? Is this a factor I need to take into account?

My reference guide, Marine Fishes, by Scott Michael, recommends feeding some of these fish several times a day, but my "consultant" at the fish store and the people at Foster and Smith that I've spoken to all say I should disregard that advice and feed each one 3 - 4 times per week.

So far I am very impressed with the speed and the quality of responses I have been receiving! Thank you!

 

[roka64]

Welcome to the site!
You probably want some LR. This provides a place for your beneficial bacteria to reside and hiding/sleeping spots for your fish. Royal grammas are popular. You could also look at a pistol shrimp/shrimp goby combo. I wouldn't expect to the the goby much, but thi is one of my fav combos.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...I don't want to overload the tank but would like to get a colorful assortment of docile fishes. With 50 gallons, I should be able to get more than 5, right. No live rock, no reef. ...

You might be pushing it with 5, although others may have a different opinion. It all depends on what kind of biological filtration you have going on. With no live rock, I'm assuming you have a wet/dry in a sump, or a couple big cannister filters? Let us know what you have in that area and we can probably make more educated guesses as to how heavy you can stock.

Not sure about putting 2 angelfish together in a 50g... maybe others will chime in about that.

You mentioned mixing herbivores and carnivores, but with your list including the angelfish, you're doing that already. It's best to feed the fish what they want to normally eat and not try to push their diet into a "one size fits all". Even with all carnivores, you want to mix up their diet all the time. I'd use the pellets & flakes sparingly, and focus more on a variety of frozen foods and "blender mush" that you can find recipes for. Just think if you had to eat chicken - and ONLY chicken - each and every day.

Oh... and welcome to Aquarium Advice! (You can still take the damsels out and return them to your LFS if you've got your ammonia spike already. No need to keep them in there if you're at that point of your cycle. And even if you haven't gotten ammonia yet, you can still take them out and just go the cocktail shrimp route.)

 

[melosu58]

My reference guide, Marine Fishes, by Scott Michael, recommends feeding some of these fish several times a day, but my "consultant" at the fish store and the people at Foster and Smith that I've spoken to all say I should disregard that advice and feed each one 3 - 4 times per week.

Definitely dont feed several times a day. That is very bad advice. I feed mine every other day and on the off days I put a clip of seaweed selects in the tank for my tangs to forage on. As far as what to feed remember one thing. Fish like and need a variety of foods. I feed flake, frozen mysis, frozen vitamin fortified brine, freeze dried seaweed and frozen emerald entree. Variety is the key.

Also I am interested on what type filtration you have now.

 

[emceeee]

Thanks again for your timely responses.

I have a Clear For Life Uniquarium, which comes with a " 3-in-1 filtration system" which "combines chemical, mechanical, and biological filtration for the perfect balanced environment". (At least initially, I'm hiring someone to do the monthly water changes and maintenance until I get the hang of all of this!)

How do you bring fish back to LFS without a source of oxygen?

 

[melosu58]

Sorry I didnt edit anything on your post I just hit the wrong button. You just brought them home in a bag right. Just put yours in a bag or a bowl or a bucket.

 

[cmor1701d]

So the top has a permanent cover, with just a feeding window to open?
Can the top be removed?
Gas exchange (Oxygen/CO2 takes place at the water surface. The best way to insure a good gas exchange is to have a power head or two placed so that the surface of the water is rippled, not still.
This unit also has a compartment in the back for bioballs, correct?
Did yours come with the protein skimmer option?
What kind of substrate do you have, sand or crushed coral?
How deep is it?
Do you have any power heads in the tank for additional flow or just the return pump from the rear chamber?
How many gallons per hour is that pump rated for?

Please post a picture of your tank so we can see the decorations and set up too. That will help somewhat. Some fish need lots of hiding places to be secure in their surroundings. It doesn’t sound like you have that.

I’m assuming this is going to be a Fish Only tank.

As Mike said, a large baggie or tupperware container will do for the fish return to the lfs. Ask them for store credit till you are ready to add the livestock you really want.

BTW, my niece just moved to SD from Vegas. I hope to get out there later this year for a quick visit.

 

[emceeee]

Wow - a lot of questions!
The acrylic tank has a removable acrylic window in front. The back is open right now, but I can purchase acrylic covers for it, which I intend to do.
I chose coarse substrate - 20 lbs.
I've attached pix of the tank (I believe I have lots of hiding spaces) and also clipped a pic of the back from the manufacturer's website (advanceaquatanks.com)
Yes, surface of water is rippled.
Yes, compartment for bioballs.
Yes, protein skimmer option.
Just the return pump, no powerheads. Can't tell you how many gallons per hour tanks is rated for. I read propaganda from tank purchase and went to website but couldn't find out.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Wow... that's really a 50g? My sense of scale must be off because it sure looks smaller than my 46g.

Anyway... with the bioballs, you should be OK with the 5 fish. Not sure if you'd want to go with more. If you do, you're probably going to be fighting high nitrates. That isn't an issue if you're not going with corals, but you still want to keep them below 40 or so for the fishes sake. Maybe work your way up to the 5 fish (waiting at least a month in between fish) and wait a few months and see where your nitrates are at. That, ultimately, will be the deciding factor.

While those plastic corals look great now, just be aware that they won't always look that good. I have one for my quarantine tank, and it looks pretty darn grungy after 6 weeks! Just wanted to give you a heads up that they are going to be a maintenance issue as your tank matures. The nice thing about real coral is that they clean themselves!

 

[SWFanAtiC69]

Nice Tank!! I have heard a lot of good things about these tanks. Expensive but hey they come with everything. And i guess if you factor in all the stuff, its prolly a lil cheaper. Im just wondering where they are hiding all the gallons? There must be something im not seeing. . . ? I cant believe that is 50 gallons? Maybe it just looks smaller in the pic or something. But neways Kurt is right about the fake corals. They do look pretty but they will all be brown here in a few weeks..

 

[emceeee]

How do you all thinking I should clean the fake corals? Take the whole rock and attachments out of the tank and scrub furiously, but only doing one at a time so as not to freak out the fish?

Thanks

 

[Innovator]

Personally, I would remove the fake corals. I have seen too many professional toxicity reports coming from standard fake decor and even some from the more commercial venues. Besides, a natural display is healthier for your livestock in the long run using live rock, which you need more of. Depending on the manufacturer of the corals, just soft scrubbing can be applied or can be bleached as long as the composition isn't compromised. Are the bioballs fully submerged in water?

 

[cmor1701d]

For cleaning the fake corals, I would probably soak overnight in white vinegar and then clean and rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse....rinse.

The pump should have a sticker on that includes that information, or post the name and model number of the pump and someone here can try to find out.

Although pretty (for now) the tank looks a little bare to me. Could be cause I'm used to looking at reef tanks with lots of LR.

 

[SWFanAtiC69]

I agree with Innovator. I have seen plenty of problems with using "fake" Deco, with water problems. Although i think that they are pretty in your tank. I try to keep it looking as natural and real as possible. Once they get grunged up that natural look will die cause obv corals clean themselves, and yea you can keep cleaning em but just a big hassle in the long run. I try to recreate the ocean in my aquarium by all means necessary. My Wife always wants to put these weird things in my tank that look about as real as pamela andersons breast...lol!!! Or she will pick plants that are from freshwater ecosystems and think that you can just throw em in and they will be fine...haha Im rambling take care