Usual questions?

[Hookman]

My tank is 6 months old. I was going to start to add trace elements with my top off water. Should I get that bottle at the LFS that's clear, I forget what brand. I was also thinking about getting a kole tang. Should I add him in last at the end of my fish list. I have 3 green chromis, a yellow tail damsel and a yellow damsel. I'm putting the damsels in my friends tank (too aggressive). I plan on getting a spotted mandarin, Percula clown and a black and white clown, orchid dottyback, kole tang, 2 cleaner shrimp, and some more snails. I plan on getting the aqua-c remora first before any of these fish. I plan on getting PC lighting after I stock with fish, by the way I have a 55. Is my list of fish too long?

 

[BTA]

Can't help u with the trace element thing with no name...some are good but most are bad...or at least that's what I've been told.

The spotted mandarin needs a lot of copepods if I am not mistaken or it WILL die and they say you have to have the tank established for at least 1 to 2 years bedore thinking about it. I wanna add a mandarin too. That's why I did the research and found out about their needs.

As far as you fish list being too long or not...well it depends on your tank size. The rule is about 2 inches of fish (not counting the tail) per 5 gallon of water. And you should count the inches of fish not based on their size when you buy it but based on their full size when all grown-up. Aside from this, some fish like the tangs swim faster than clowns for example and need swimming space.

Another thing..the kole tang needs a minimum of 75 gallons as it grows to 7" n needs plenty of swimming space and I've been told it's kinda aggressive too.

hth

 

[loganj]

In addition to the above post by BTA, which is all good advice IMO, I would add that it's best not to add anything to your tank that you're not testing for. Most important is keeping pH, calcium, and alkalinity levels steady and within the needed parameters. IMO, water changes will take care of trace elements. When you start to add trace elements and other additives without testing, you can set off an algae bloom due to the excessive nutrients in the water. Once started, algae blooms are tough to get rid of.