PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[ReefKeeper64]

The true percula that I have already is rather small and is of the black ice variety. I've heard that it is safe to mate up a false percula with a true percula and I'm thinking about doing just this but wanted to ask the expert himself! Is this safe?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by ReefKeeper64

The true percula that I have already is rather small and is of the black ice variety. I've heard that it is safe to mate up a false percula with a true percula and I'm thinking about doing just this but wanted to ask the expert himself! Is this safe?

The black ice and other "designer clowns" are morphological varieties of amphiprion percula or amphiprion occellaris. For true mating and bonding it would be best to pair with the same species even if the appearances are different. The bonding process is always a slight roll of the dice; under some circumstances, the female to be does not "like" (no facebook connotation) the male "in training" and kills it. For a more complete discussion of clownfish see Clownfish by Joyce Wilkerson.

[Twisted]

Okay, so pair of Firefish.

Yellow Watchman

Pair of clowns

Blenny of some sort.

Couple of Wrasse

Purple Tang

And probably introduced in much that same order.

Thank you for the advice. I will do a little more research on the wrasses and see if I can find some specifics on compatibility issues just to be safe. I will also need to look for a suitable Blenny if I decide to add one.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Twisted

Okay, so pair of Firefish.

Yellow Watchman

Pair of clowns

Blenny of some sort.

Couple of Wrasse

Purple Tang

And probably introduced in much that same order.

Thank you for the advice. I will do a little more research on the wrasses and see if I can find some specifics on compatibility issues just to be safe. I will also need to look for a suitable Blenny if I decide to add one.

I think that would be fine. All flasher wrasses except the 8 line Red Sea Flasher Wrasse have similar behavioral characteristics. For best results a male and at least one (or two) females is advised.

[bighead]

I have a 90 gal RR 150 Pounds LR 40 gal Sump with fuge wich has a DSB otopus 110 skimmer socks on return
Par Sg 1.024 Temp 78 Cal 420 Am 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate 10 Alk 8.5-9.5

Tank just cycled will be addind clean up crew from Reef Cleaners asst snails and hermits

live stock I would like
Pair of Ocellaris Clowns
Horned blenny
Naso Tang
Copperband Butterfly ?????
Kauderns Cardinal

Inverts
Anemome (not sure what kind somthing for the clowns)
Serpintine Star
Chocalate Chip Star
Longspine Urchin

I do not plan on adding this quickly just passing it by maybe what order I should add and if everything will be happy together

I assume the clean up crew will be first then I dont know

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by bighead

I have a 90 gal RR 150 Pounds LR 40 gal Sump with fuge wich has a DSB otopus 110 skimmer socks on return
Par Sg 1.024 Temp 78 Cal 420 Am 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate 10 Alk 8.5-9.5

Tank just cycled will be addind clean up crew from Reef Cleaners asst snails and hermits

live stock I would like
Pair of Ocellaris Clowns
Horned blenny
Naso Tang Needs a much larger tank for any of the Naso tang species
Copperband Butterfly ????? Difficult fish but the Australian collected ones have the best chance of success
Kauderns Cardinal Be sure they are tank raised; wild caught rarely survive

Inverts
Anemome (not sure what kind somthing for the clowns) Clownfish by Joyce Wilkerson is a great source for information on which anemones will host which clownfish
Serpintine Star
Chocalate Chip Star
Longspine Urchin

I do not plan on adding this quickly just passing it by maybe what order I should add and if everything will be happy together

Best chance for a copperbanded is early introduction and peaceful tankmates

I assume the clean up crew will be first then I dont know

[bighead]

thanks so much

[Ibuild2586]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Your bioload should be fine but a yellow pyramid butterfly is going to look "largish" in your sized tank

Would it be ok to add these to this lineup?
2-skunk cleaner shrimp
2-fire shrimp

[Joe0813]

already have in my 75rr..
- a pair of clowns
- mystery wrasse
- watchman goby/pistol shrimp


want for my 180 upgrade obviously those four fish will be going for the move.. the tank will have 2 mp40s and 1 mp10 for flow plus the returns

- Powder blue tang
- Yellow eyed Kole tang
- Yellow tang
- Lawnmower blenny
- Flamehawk fish
- Blackcap basslet
- Diamond goby
- One spot foxface
- Sunset anthias x2
- Splendid Dottyback

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Ibuild2586

Would it be ok to add these to this lineup?
2-skunk cleaner shrimp
2-fire shrimp

As long as all fish are shrimp safe. Since I do not recall your stocking list (I have done thousands and do not remember), I cannot say.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Joe0813

already have in my 75rr..
- a pair of clowns
- mystery wrasse
- watchman goby/pistol shrimp


want for my 180 upgrade obviously those four fish will be going for the move.. the tank will have 2 mp40s and 1 mp10 for flow plus the returns

- Powder blue tang
- Yellow eyed Kole tang
- Yellow tang must be added last as it will not allow other tangs once established.
- Lawnmower blenny
- Flamehawk fish
- Blackcap basslet
- Diamond goby
- One spot foxface
- Sunset anthias x2
- Splendid Dottyback very aggressive, not recommended

[Joe0813]

i will get rid of the dottyback. Do you think instead of the yellow tang, i should add a smaller tang such as a tomini tang instead? Since the yellow may be aggressive towards the other two tangs?

do you think three tangs in a 180 tank is ok? or is that possibly a fight waiting to happen in the future

thanks for the help btw

[bellowme]

Originally Posted by snorvich

bioload may be a little heavy

1 Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) can be intimidated by some wrasses
1 Anthias (not sure which one)
1 Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)
1 Blennies (not sure which ones) [COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]only one[/COLOR]
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris var.)

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]only one pair of clownfish in moderately sized tanks [/COLOR]

1 Clown Goby, Brown (Gobiodon spp.)
1 Orange Spotted Goby (Amblyeleotris guttata)
1 Wrasse (not sure which one)
1 Kole Yellow Eye Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus)


Do you have a recommendation of what would be my best option to drop to get my bioload good? I can assume either the firefish or wrasse since they may not get along. Would one of those be enough, or do I need to drop more?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Joe0813

i will get rid of the dottyback. Do you think instead of the yellow tang, i should add a smaller tang such as a tomini tang instead? Since the yellow may be aggressive towards the other two tangs?

Generally, Ctenochaetus tangs are less aggressive than zebrasoma tangs, especially zebrasoma tangs that are "established".

do you think three tangs in a 180 tank is ok? or is that possibly a fight waiting to happen in the future

Unfortunately, as tangs mature, their perception of their territory shrinks. The longer the tank (gallonage is less relevant), the less this becomes an issue. Some species are worse than other in this regard.

thanks for the help btw

Always a pleasure

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by bellowme

1 Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) can be intimidated by some wrasses
1 Anthias (not sure which one)
1 Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)
1 Blennies (not sure which ones) only one
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris var.)

only one pair of clownfish in moderately sized tanks

1 Clown Goby, Brown (Gobiodon spp.)
1 Orange Spotted Goby (Amblyeleotris guttata)
1 Wrasse (not sure which one)
1 Kole Yellow Eye Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus)


Do you have a recommendation of what would be my best option to drop to get my bioload good? I can assume either the firefish or wrasse since they may not get along. Would one of those be enough, or do I need to drop more?

Fish that eat more, consume more bioload; however it is not all that easy and there is no formula. If fish are crowded, their number will reduce.

[Alohadood]

I completely understand where you are coming from on the advise side, and that fact makes your advise that much more valuable.

I thought the sixline would be a little nicer of a fish!
We traded in a hawkfish for him as the hawkfish came from a recommendation from the LFS guy said he would be a great addition! Then he took out a banded coral shrimp, a starfish and a royal gramma... Hence the trade in.

The pistol shrimp is a Alpheus bellulus

The main additions I would want to make are:

2 Sphaeramia nematoptera
1 Gramma loreto
3 Chromis cyaneus
2 Chromis margaritifer
1 Valenciennea puellaris (hopefully to pair with the shrimp)
Possibly 1 Siganus unimaculatus
1 Bispira sp
1 Amphiprion ocellaris


Corals, one of any of the following:

Button Polyp
Colony Polyp
Green Zoanthid
Yellow Colony Polyp
Hairy Mushroom Cora
Lavender Mushroom
Bullseye Mushroom Coral
Green Fluorescent Mushroom Coral
Green Mushroom

(currently housing Right now housed:

paired scissor tails
single six line wrasse
three emerald crabs,
two peppermint shrimp
two nassarius snails.
handful of hermits.
couple of feather dusters.
Pistol shrimp)

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Alohadood

I completely understand where you are coming from on the advise side, and that fact makes your advise that much more valuable.

I thought the sixline would be a little nicer of a fish!

Aggressive towards water column fish, especially those of similar shape


We traded in a hawkfish for him as the hawkfish came from a recommendation from the LFS guy said he would be a great addition! Then he took out a banded coral shrimp, a starfish and a royal gramma... Hence the trade in.

The pistol shrimp is a Alpheus bellulus

The main additions I would want to make are:

2 Sphaeramia nematoptera if you are looking for groups of fish, this is a good candiate
1 Gramma loreto
3 Chromis cyaneus Chromis will not last long term in groups as they winnow down their number to one or at most a bonded pair
2 Chromis margaritifer
1 Valenciennea puellaris (hopefully to pair with the shrimp) If you are planning corals which sit on the bottom, I would avoid any sand sifting fish
Possibly 1 Siganus unimaculatus
1 Bispira sp
1 Amphiprion ocellaris


Corals, one of any of the following:

Button Polyp
Colony Polyp
Green Zoanthid
Yellow Colony Polyp
Hairy Mushroom Cora
Lavender Mushroom
Bullseye Mushroom Coral
Green Fluorescent Mushroom Coral
Green Mushroom

Note that mushroom corals will take over your tank and cannot easily be removed; that is not the thrust of this thread, however.

(currently housing Right now housed:

paired scissor tails
single six line wrasse will be a problem
three emerald crabs, which can take fish
two peppermint shrimp
two nassarius snails.
handful of hermits.
couple of feather dusters.
Pistol shrimp)

[Joe0813]

The tank is 6 feet long by 2 feet wide... so the powder blue, kole and tomini is what I'll go with. You definitely know lots more then me, do you think I should keep it to 2 tangs or would the 3 be ok since two of them are on the smaller side

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Joe0813

The tank is 6 feet long by 2 feet wide... so the powder blue, kole and tomini is what I'll go with. You definitely know lots more then me, do you think I should keep it to 2 tangs or would the 3 be ok since two of them are on the smaller side

With those three, it should be fine although two would be better. I would do the powder blue last in either case.

[Joe0813]

Originally Posted by snorvich

With those three, it should be fine although two would be better. I would do the powder blue last in either case.

thank you

[ReefKeeper64]

Originally Posted by snorvich

The black ice and other "designer clowns" are morphological varieties of amphiprion percula or amphiprion occellaris. For true mating and bonding it would be best to pair with the same species even if the appearances are different. The bonding process is always a slight roll of the dice; under some circumstances, the female to be does not "like" (no facebook connotation) the male "in training" and kills it. For a more complete discussion of clownfish see Clownfish by Joyce Wilkerson.

Thanks Steve, I appreciate it.

[Fish Biscuit]

I lost my tailspot blenny & would like to add another fish at some point a few months down the road. I still have the randall goby paired w/ a tiger pistol & a cleaner shrimp in the 12g.

Would I be able to add a firefish & have it not be harassed by the goby? Is my tank too small to add another shrimp goby such as a dracula goby, I have seen randalls coexist w/ other gobies so I am curious if that is an option. I have LPS so I don't think a clown goby would be a good choice. Or would I be better off to add another blenny or possibly an ocellaris clown?

At 12g I'm sure that it's a 2 fish maximum for the tank & I would like everyone to coexist peacefully. I'm not running out tomorrow to buy a new fish, just trying to figure out what my options are. Thanks again Steve for all your help.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Fish Biscuit

I lost my tailspot blenny & would like to add another fish at some point a few months down the road. I still have the randall goby paired w/ a tiger pistol & a cleaner shrimp in the 12g.

Would I be able to add a firefish & have it not be harassed by the goby? Is my tank too small to add another shrimp goby such as a dracula goby, I have seen randalls coexist w/ other gobies so I am curious if that is an option. I have LPS so I don't think a clown goby would be a good choice. Or would I be better off to add another blenny or possibly an ocellaris clown?

At 12g I'm sure that it's a 2 fish maximum for the tank & I would like everyone to coexist peacefully. I'm not running out tomorrow to buy a new fish, just trying to figure out what my options are. Thanks again Steve for all your help.

Michele, the firefish should be fine. A blenny probably cannot exist long term in such a small tank. Definitely not two shrimp gobies in a small tank, and in fact probably not in a large tank unless they are a bonded pair. In point of fact, people have had difficulty with dracula gobies longer term.

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

Steve,

I swung by my LFS today, and they had a bunch of beautiful anthias. That's something I've wanted, but I want to ask your advice. I know I'll have to feed them 3x a day, and my wife has agreed to do so while I'm traveling for work (she knows I've wanted these). I've wanted Nemanthias carberryi, but they haven't been available. The LFS has a half dozen 1" female Maldives Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis). They have some 2" males, but I believe if I get several small females one will become male. I avoided them until I could post these questions.

If I get 3-4 females with the intention of one becoming male, is there a chance that one or two may be injured or killed trying to become dominant? Is it a more peaceful process than that, or should I just get a male? In addition to the list below, is 4 of these small females (no males purchased) reasonable or too much?

Here's what's in my 1-year-old 6', 125g DT with 190# of LR and good flow (in order of had longest to newest; wasn't ideal but what happened):

1 medium (1.5") Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) - will be removed if is a problem, but it hasn't bothered anything else on this list even though it was one of my first fish
1 large (2.5") Randall's/Orange Stripe Shrimp/Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
1 large (2.5") Bicolor Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor)
2 medium (2”) Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)
1 medium (1”) Yellow Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae)
1 medium (2.5") Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
1 medium (1”) Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)
1 small (1") White Banded Possum Wrasse (Wetmorella albofasciata)

Thank you in advance (for this response and all of the others).

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by GeorgeMonnatJr

Steve,

I swung by my LFS today, and they had a bunch of beautiful anthias. That's something I've wanted, but I want to ask your advice. I know I'll have to feed them 3x a day, and my wife has agreed to do so while I'm traveling for work (she knows I've wanted these). I've wanted Nemanthias carberryi, but they haven't been available. The LFS has a half dozen 1" female Maldives Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis). They have some 2" males, but I believe if I get several small females one will become male. I avoided them until I could post these questions.

If I get 3-4 females with the intention of one becoming male, is there a chance that one or two may be injured or killed trying to become dominant? Is it a more peaceful process than that, or should I just get a male? In addition to the list below, is 4 of these small females (no males purchased) reasonable or too much?

Here's what's in my 1-year-old 6', 125g DT with 190# of LR and good flow (in order of had longest to newest; wasn't ideal but what happened):

1 medium (1.5") Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) - will be removed if is a problem, but it hasn't bothered anything else on this list even though it was one of my first fish
1 large (2.5") Randall's/Orange Stripe Shrimp/Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
1 large (2.5") Bicolor Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor)
2 medium (2”) Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) only time will tell (usually 6-8 months), if you have a pair or two of the same sex
1 medium (1”) Yellow Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae)
1 medium (2.5") Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
1 medium (1”) Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)
1 small (1") White Banded Possum Wrasse (Wetmorella albofasciata)

Thank you in advance (for this response and all of the others).

Well there are no obvious behavioral issues with existing fish; however it seems as if this species all eventually become males in moderate sized tanks.