Stocking list questions

[Stickgal]

46gal bowfront, with lr and live sand. Many hiding/shade spots, and lots of swimming room. Plan to have softies and Lps only, with one anemone.
Projected stocking list:
2 pajama cardinals
1 Bengaii cardinal
1 black cap basslet
1 diamond goby
1 red scooter blenny
3 McCosker flasher wrasses (1 male, 2 female)
2 carpenter flashers (1 male, 1 female)
2 Percula clowns w/ bta

Now, if I roughly follow the 1 inch per gallon, that leaves room for either more of a school of some of my choices or what is rather have, which is one sort of large showy fish. Really really want a yellow tang, but I assume everyone will talk me out of it, although I really do have a lot of swimming room and am planning to upgrade to 100 gal within a year.

All ideas/ suggestions welcome. Thanks!

[DrewHaus]

That seems like a really heavy bio-load as is. I would try and cut that down to six fish max. If it were me, I would do this:

2 percula clown pair
1 diamond goby
2 bangaii cardinal (pair I assume?)

The red scooter dragonet is going to be a challenging fish, I would hold off on that if you decide to add it until your tank has been established for some time.

[JohnnyHildo]

after 30 years of fishkeeping i'm pretty sure the 1" per gallon rule is for freshwater applications and even then is too heavy. 25 - 4" fish in 100 gallons of water would be an insane bioload.

[A.Astore]

I have used the 1" rule with freshwater tanks I have had but it doesn't seem to do well with saltwater. Some fish simply make a larger mess in the tank than others. Some may be what they need to eat while others are just they eat so much they make a larger mess afterwards. Also keep in mind that you will add a bioload with the corals you intend to put in the tank.


I will say as long as you know you DEFINITELY are upgrading in year you will be able to get a bit further in your list than if that is not a concrete thing for you.

[Stickgal]

Hmmmmm

[thegrun]

I agree, the list is massively overstocked. I would take more like a 1" to 8 gallon ratio, although with saltwater there is a lot of variance in that from species to species. I would try to get the list down to 5 or 6 of the fish you listed.

[morpheas]

I think, besides the bioload, it also has a lot to do with what part of the tank each fish utilizes i.e. gobies on the sand bed, perching blennies, swimming clowns etc...

[Stickgal]

I do 50% water changes monthly. How about this:
2 pajamas (like them better than Bengaii)
1 black cap basslet
1 diamond goby
1 male and one female McCosker's Wrasse
1 male carpenter wrasse
1 pair percolate clowns

I know I'm bargaining...lol, and I will, of course take the advice from those more experienced. I really am upgrading within a year.

[DrewHaus]

That's still 8 fish in a 46 gallon volume.

For reference, I've got a 40 gallon long w/ a 20 gallon sump and here is my stock:
1x Coral Beauty angel
1x True Percula
1x Purple Firefish
1x Tailspot blenny

I feel my tank is borderline overcrowded with just four fish.

Why not wait until the upgrade to get the other fish?

[Stickgal]

Yeah, I know you're right. Grrr...ill just keep whittling down

[A.Astore]

And this is why we never find the tank we are satisfied with! In our case though the 4 year old doesn't help because he has these aspirations of having non-reef as well as more aggressive, oh and did I mention a sea horse pair?! We started with one reef and now have three more in the future thanks to him (And his urchin is throwing a tantrum in the tank right now because we scraped his glass... all the frags which are not attached yet keep finding their way to the sand thanks to it)

My family feels your pain of narrowing and setting limits, I promise!

[Stickgal]

A.Astore, thanks. My grandsons want me to pick fish according to their fav colors...which change regularly...

[DrewHaus]

Your life will also be a lot easier when you're not constantly battling high nutrients and algae blooms from an overloaded system =)

[Stickgal]

Drew, I agree

[bat21]

Not all fish are created equal. You can absolutely get 7 or 8 fish in there comfortably, but they have to be small, and all have to have their own space. A possible plan:

1. One clown instead of a pair. A pair might claim half your tank
2. A firefish - doesn't swim around much, but needs it's own dart hole in the rocks to feel safe
3. A pygmy wrasse. Peaceful, small and swims all over the tank
4. A pygmy filefish, same as the wrasse, doesn't need rock real estate
5. A clown goby. Small, colorful, rests on rocks/coral
6. Neon goby. Blue or yellow. Tiny fun little fish.
7. The blackcap basslet. Would definitely add it last. They can get territorial. Kids will love the purple color. But it will claim a cave and depending on the specimen, may spend most of his time in there.

That group would be just fine. As long as you take care of the tank properly and diligently. 3 flasher wrasses in a 46 is not something I would recommend. But there are lots of very small, very colorful, very interesting fish that can allow a greater variety of livestock in a smaller tank.

Oh, and if you get some cleaner shrimp, I guarantee they will become your grandchildrens' favorite tank occupants.

[Stickgal]

I have 2 cleaners and a coral banded. I settled on the following:
2 Cardinal
1 Borneo
1 black cap basslet
2 Percula clowns.
Will add more when I upgrade.
Thanks for all the good advice everyone!

[Stickgal]

Oh, and I did get a diamond goby

[bat21]

Did you just buy all of those fish?

[Deberber]

6-7 fish will be able to fit comfortably in there. No worries. You may be able to get an 8th if you want to settle for a smaller fish.

[Stickgal]

Bat21, no! I am just getting opinions on my proposed list. I got the cuc two weeks ago and I got the pajama and Borneo cardinals today. Will space out the others over the next couple of months, then start getting corals after that

[bat21]

Originally Posted by Stickgal

Bat21, no! I am just getting opinions on my proposed list. I got the cuc two weeks ago and I got the pajama and Borneo cardinals today. Will space out the others over the next couple of months, then start getting corals after that

Ok just checking. What about the diamond goby? Those can actually get quite large.

[Marchillo]

Get a screen top or that goby will end up on the floor

[Stickgal]

Mar hullo, hubby made me an egg rate top. Had glass, but didn't like it

[A.Astore]

Glad to hear you were able to narrow it down! Always nice to get that first fish in there swimming

[Marchillo]

Originally Posted by Stickgal

Mar hullo, hubby made me an egg rate top. Had glass, but didn't like it

I don't like glass tops either but FYI my goby jumped through the eggcrate. He's a big goby too. I got lucky he ended up in my overflow but after that I added a screen. Be careful or you'll lose it.