is this a good stocking list?

[Invisinak]

alright, so my fishless cycling is kick started and underway. my tank size and levels are:
30 gallon+10 gallon sump(still in the works, but will be added before the cycle is finished)
Ammonia:10ppm(after a water change. Added some shipped live rock a day or two ago and the die off is really causing some spikes now)
Nitrate:2ppm
Nitrite:2ppm

Now I know these numbers are high so I have awhile to wait before I can add livestock. Now after some research I've made a list of what I would like to keep, but as it's my first marine aquarium I'd like some input before I do.

The list I was thinking about is:

1 BiColor Blenny, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Jawfish (not sure which just yet, but I really like the pearly), 1 Flame Hawkfish, and a pair of Flame Angelfish. I've tried to limit the size of the fish to small(ish) except the couple of show piece angels.

Now could I maybe take out one flame angel and perhaps do a pair of clowns with it? Maybe even take out one or two of the others. My nephew is over here a lot and really wants to see clowns in the tank, and I fell in love with the flame angels the second I saw them, but I haven't been able to find anything on keeping the two together at all.

Also eventually I would like a Mandarin Dragonet but I know they are pretty hard to keep and pretty much impossible in a freshly started tank. I'm going to get some seed pods I've found online to kick start the population of copepods and in a few months I'd like to try adding one to the tank if you think it would work out with the livestock I have planned.

I've also been reading about the bicolor blenny and the royal gramma not getting along sometimes due to the color patterns being close. I would probably go with the gramma over the blenny if that is the norm with most.

If it matters this is a FOWLR tank for now. Corals and other things are coming later once I get experience with caring for the fish and inverts properly. One thing at a time eh?

Thanks for any advice in advance,
Invisinak

 

[Mrc8858]

That would be pretty heavily stcoked especially if you plan to go reef. Also no angel is truely reef safe and I don't think a pair would work in a 30. The mandarin is on the fence...the tank is still on the small side for one but its possible

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

If you got rid of one flame angel you could only get 1 clown IMO. Personally, i would not get 2 flames and i would go with the clown. Dont get the mandarin, there is no way it will live in that size tank unless you feed it pods all the time.

 

[crister13]

+1 to nunu. Mandarins eat ALOT and unless you buy one eating prepared foods, I definitely wouldn't try it. Two angels never works in anything under a seventy five, usually 125. Other than that it sounds awesome! GL!!!!!

 

[Invisinak]

alright, thanks for the information. In a couple of months when I get the hang of all of this I'm going to be upgrading to a 150 gallon so I'll get my flames and then later on I'll get the Mandarin then I suppose.
I'd rather me suffer not having them then them suffer because I do.

So my new stocking list will be:
1 BiColor Blenny,
1 Royal Gramma,
1 pearly Jawfish
1 Flame Hawkfish
1 pair of Clowns

Does this new list work? Do you see any future problems that might arise from keeping these guys together such as the bicolor blenny and royal gramma fighting?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

List looks great to me

 

[crister13]

Looks fantastic. Post pics when everyone's in.

 

[AusAaron]

Looks like a nice group of fish. BL

 

[Invisinak]

Looks fantastic. Post pics when everyone's in.

will do for sure. it'll be awhile, probably around a month or so before I can start adding anything, but I'll get pics posted as soon as I do

 

[Sniperhank]

That is a nice little list. Are you sure you are going reef? You might want a second option just in case your flame hawkfish turns out to be a nibbler. Same might be the case for the bicolor and royal gramma, but that was previously mentioned.

 

[Invisinak]

well in a couple of months I'll be upgrading to a 150 gallon and that'll be full reef. this tank is just so I can get used to taking care of marine life properly. If that's the case with them picking on the corals and other things they'll just stay in the 30 gallon.

Thanks for the advice about them though. I'll have to watch them closely to see how they act later on when I add a few things. I'll probably be getting only mushrooms for this tank if anything because I know they're quite a bit easier to keep and I actually like the look of those a lot. Hopefully there won't be too many problems between them and the rest of the livestock though.

 

[54seaweed]

first off Welcome to AA

the bi color will be fine with soft corals as for the royal grammar with caution he nips a lot , but if you keep well fed you may get lucky like me , hard corals I don't know since I don't have any
I have both fish they get along ok , just be sure to have lots of hiding spots

 

[Invisinak]

First off, thank you for the welcome. I've been surfing these forums for quite awhile but just finally got around to making an account and asking question. lol

alright, so I've run into a little snag with my stocking list. The site that I've been using for a couple of years now for my freshwater fish have everything on that list but one. It's currently out of stock on the Royal Gramma and they say it could be anywhere from 3-6 months before they get anymore in.

As you guys know the shipping fees on live fish for overnight is ridiculously high so I'd rather keep the order to one shipment instead of paying $35 shipping for a $12 animal that's pretty common everywhere except for here where there isn't a marine fish store anywhere within 100+ miles.

With that said, what would you guys recommend to maybe replace the Gramma in the list, or even replace a few things on the list that would be better suited together? I'd like something that's fairly active with swimming since the others all tend to hand out around the rocks.

I've decided that this tank probably won't be a reef at all and I'll just go reef when I get the bigger tank in the future. This way I don't have to worry about anything eating the corals or mushrooms. Hopefully that'll make the list of replacement fish a little larger.

Hopefully I can figure something out.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Yup... Chalk bass he is in the same family as the royal gramma (basslets). They are cheap, friendly, fast. It is a royal gramma, except it is bright blue and kinda red. I. Love. Mine.

 

[mr_X]

I have always found grammas and pseudochromis to be on the nasty side in smaller tanks.
I wanted to mention that I think you should upgrade to a 180- a 150 is too tall and not deep enough front to back. A 180 is shallower top to bottom and deeper front to back, making it a much better reef tank.

 

[Invisinak]

the only problem I have with that is I already have the 150 gallon tank. It used to be one of my freshwater tanks that I took down. I'm not exactly on a tight budget with this project, but I don't want to go crazy with spending. A new tank plus all of the equipment that goes along with it is one of those things that I don't absolutely need to do. Maybe in the distant future I'll upgrade again, but until I get more experience with marine life I doubt I will, but if I do I'll definitely check into the 180 gallon if I do. You can never have too many tanks, right?

That is something I was worried about. I've been reading about royal grammas (and Basslets in general) a lot, which lead me to my questioning them together with the blenny and from what I can tell they either do really good in a smaller tank or terrible. As all of my livestock will be coming via the internet and can't return them easily if they act up. I'd like to have a livestock that is happy together and won't cause too many problems.

Thanks for the quick replies though.

 

[mr_X]

That's a hard thing to find. I've found that it's up to the fish in question in many cases, just like the folks before me that saw no aggression from their pseudos.
You just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best after choosing.
As for the 150, at least drill the back pane for a 1.5" bulkhead before filling it. This is an easy task and will make your experience more pleasurable.

 

[Invisinak]

yeah it's already been drilled and a custom overflow mounted inside. I had that done as soon as I decided to go saltwater. I don't like the idea of plumbing coming up and over the back of the tank, plus those overflows seems really loud and not nearly as effective.