Stocking questions for 65-gal FOWLR tank

[bpeitzke]

We've had this 65-gal tank set up for about three months now, with a 2" sand bed and lots of LR, 2 PH's & one Koralia 2, a protein skimmer and cannister filter, but no refugium or sump. Currently we have just three fish - 4" yellow tang, 2.5" maroon clown, and 2" zebra damsel - all are thriving. Got four turbo snails a couple of weeks ago, and they are very active. I just ordered two dozen more snails, mix of nassarius, cerith, nerite, margaritas & a few more turbos, as well as two fish - purple pseudochromis and six-line wrasse. This is my first foray into online livestock ordering, so I hope it works out. They have a good guarantee.

I'm looking for suggestions on another fish or two, and cleaning crew. I think I'll soon have enough snails, but maybe I should have something to stir the sand? Been reading some comments on gobies, and blennies. A sailfin/lawnmower blenny sounds appealing - an herbivore that should do well with all our LR. Another fish we're thinking about is a mandarin dragonet. I wonder if this tank would sustain enough pods for one. What about a starfish? I think I'll stay away from crabs unless I hear something new about their benefits. Also wondering if there's any macro-algae I could put in this tank, to help with the nitrates without getting out of control.

Appreciate any suggestions.

 

[cmor1701d]

A yellow tang is recommended to be housed in a 100 gallon or larger aquarium. It will outgrow your tank. The other fish are fine. You should put an eggcrate or other cover when the purple pseudochromis come in. It can jump.
Nassarius snails stir the sand. A lawnmower blenny will starve in the tank if it doesn't jump first. They are great for a hair algae outbreak but starve when their food supply is gone. The same for the mandarin. Without a fuge to grow pods it will starve in that size tank unless you get one that you see eating prepared food. A blenny would be a great addition. I had a bi-color blenny for 3 years that was fun to watch.

Brittle stars are good detrivore eaters. I have two in my tank for the past 4 years.

 

[lando]

I would consider looking at a shrimp groby/pistol shrimp combo. It is a great relationship to watch. There are several types of shrimp gobies but I like the yellow watchman goby. Other nice additions to consider would be the royal gramma or one of the dwarf angels (however, they are not considered 100% reef safe so if you plan on corals I woould skip it).

 

[bpeitzke]

Got 2 new fish

Well we visited the LFS yesterday and wound up getting a small coral beauty and a bi-color blenny. Both are very active and seem healthy. The blenny has made a niche under one of the LR's and sits in there, alert and moving deeper in when he sees me approach. The zebra damsel and the tang were harrassing the cb last night, so we turned off the lights early. No harrassment seen this morning (though I only had a moment to check before going off to work).

So far, so good ... Eagerly awaiting my order of snails, wrasse & pseudochromis tomorrow evening.

 

[melosu58]

For a FOWLR tank the drawf angel should be a good addition. The damsel might have to me removed as he can get pretty aggressive.

 

[cmor1701d]

It's a best practice to QT all new fish for 30 days before adding them to a display tank. It's also a best practice to not add more than 1 or 2 fish per month to a tank. That give the biofilter a chance to grow to the new load instead of overwhelming it.

Good luck with your new additions.

 

[bpeitzke]

New fish

We had to return a neon damsel a year or so ago, when he became too aggressive to other tankmates, fish that had been there a long time. This zebra damsel has never been particularly aggressive 'til now. Maybe they get more aggressive at a certain age or size. I'm going to replenish my water change tub tonight, and if he's still going after the new fish, he's going into the tub until we can take him down to LFS for adoption. Our old neon is thriving in one of their display tanks - so behavior must be dependent on their environment or pecking order or something.

As for pacing addition of new fish, too late for this time, but will remember for future. We have so much LR and sand that I don't expect a problem though. I really should post a picture of this tank...

Thanks for feedback.

) Bob

 

[roka64]

Damsels can be very nasty after they have claimed their territory "tank" when they get older.

 

[bpeitzke]

Damsels can be nasty ...

So we're finding out. I came home tonight to the damsel harassing the coral beauty, who was acting stressed (

That's it - he's going back to the LFS - assuming I can catch him.

But the blenny is really cute - he's found a hole in a large LR, that he just fits into. It's fun to watch him dart out for a foray then back into his "garage".