charzar-g

Hey all, from a previous thread I was pretty clueless, I still am of course :P But I have narrowed down thanks to the help of some people

Okay so here is my tank size:

I think Silly me got all confused over the size when i was trying to work out litres, gallons, us gallons etc
So when people say ''Fish X needs at least 75g'' Is that US or UK?? :/ I'm guessing US because thats where most of you are at

So here's my stocklist I want:

1.) 2 Black Occelarris/perculas (did i spell thoughs right?) Clownfish

2.) A small group of firefish

3.) An Angel?? (I don't remeber what its called - but its in the LFS, yeah its a long shot off from the price right now, so that would be the last to add)

4.) A sand sifting star

5.) Cleaner shrimps (Or are they pretty much the same function as hermit crabs? I already have 5 of those in my tank i bought yesterdy)

Thats all I want - any objections/suggestions/tips

OH! and another thing - I have no protein skimmer yet - But I will of course get one before I think of adding any fish, but I'm going on holiday and have work experience and exams and another holiday etc, (busy bee eh?) So I won't be adding the protein skimmer for a while because I have no money right now :L

So whats a good one that would work with the stocklist? THANKS

HN1

I'll leave the rest to the experts, but as far as #4 goes... skip it. At least for awhile. From the experiences I've heard about, sand sifting stars quickly decimate their food source and almost always end up starving.

charzar-g

ah thanks for that - and also, it seems like the hermit crabs have cleaned up the sand niceley, so maybe i should cut out the star

harpua2002

1. Should be fine.
2. It's possible, but sometimes they don't get along. If you keep a group, you'll have to introduce them all at the same time.
3. It depends on what kind of angel you want. Look into angels from the genus centropyge (dwarf angels), or maybe even genicanthus (if you can find them). A word of caution- if you are going to keep a reef tank, there are no guarantees that angelfish are reef safe. Some do fine with corals, others behave for a while and then start wreaking havoc in the tank. Avoid angels from the genus pomacanthus or chaetodontoplus. Your tank is not large enough to house these fish at adult size.
4. I agree with HN1.
5. You can keep cleaner shrimp. Peppermint shrimp or fire shrimp would be nice too.

My advice is to work on getting a skimmer before you get too into stocking. It will be much easier to keep nutrients under control if you do.

charzar-g

Thanks harpua - it seems we posted our posts at almost the same time ^ ^
about the angels - i will look into it, thanks, although i'm usuless at latin names, i'm sure i'll get round it
I will skip out on the sand sifting star
Is there is differnce between cleaner, peppermint or fire shrimps, as in their role in the tank?? Do they do pretty much the same as a hermit crab? Because I don't want to many cleaners :P

harpua2002

Well, the reason I gave the names of each genus is so you can Google them. There are a ton of species in each genus, so I could list out some suggestions, but I'm not sure it would do much good since I don't even know what is commonly available in the UK, ya know? If you Google them and see some species that you like, we can help you with a more specific recommendation.

There isn't that much of a difference in behavior between the shrimps I listed. Skunk cleaners and peppermints seem to be more gregarious than fire shrimp, but fire shrimp are probably the nicest looking out of the 3 (just personal opinion). Peppermint shrimp are great for eating small aiptasia much of the time- very helpful when they are too small to nuke yourself, or when they are right next to corals and you don't want to nuke them. Cleaner shrimp not only clean up uneaten food and such in the tank, but will also clean parasites, dead skin, etc. off of fish if the fish will allow it (note: I am NOT recommending cleaners for this sole purpose or in lieu of quarantining new arrivals). I used to work for a LFS, and for a time we had a school of dispar anthias in a reef tank with cleaner shrimp. The anthias would swim up to the shrimp sometimes and lay down in front of them with fins extended and gills open waiting to be cleaned. It was really fascinating. Cleaners become pretty bold with time and will even "clean" your hand during tank maintenance. I *think* that peppermints and fires will clean fish sometimes as well, but not to the extent of the skunk cleaners- someone correct me if I'm wrong.

charzar-g

Hey thanks for all the help again harpua
I just checked out all the shrimps on google images - I personally think the fire shrimp look the nicest too
That cleaning business certainly would be inyteresting to watch

going to check out the angelfish genus's's's in a minute =]

charzar-g

Okay sorry to double post - but i'm thinking i prefer the dwarf angels over the other ones :P

I like the look of flame angels and coral beauties most - both of which i KNOW they have in the LFS - with a hefty price tag (don't all angels? :P)
That would DEFINATLY be the last fish to go in if i were to get one :P

harpua2002

Around here, flame and coral beauty angels are pretty commonly sold, and probably the cheapest ones you can buy ($35-50 USD). I'm looking at c. multicolor for the 50 gallon, but unfortunately they run $150 or more here. I'm hoping that my LFS owner friend can get one for me cheaper. They aren't very common at all. Eibl's angel is cool too, I may look into those more.

With the stock list you are planning, you should add the angel last anyway. It is likely to be the most aggressive fish in your tank and may not accept new additions if it isn't added last. Just a thought.

charzar-g

:L :L
if you ever come to england - you'd get used to EVERYTHING being expensive - the angels i like in the LFS are £80 each - and thats a good deal :P

Its a good thing its the fish to add last then :P

Thanks again so much for your help - can i FR you?

harpua2002

Well of course!

I'm glad you're getting everything planned out and taking your time with your stocking. It's been my experience in SW that the plans that are well thought out are more likely to be successful.

Matt

About what harpua said about Peppermint shrimp. They dont clean fish but they do clean your live rock, get rid of aiptasia and they can live together very well in massive groups unlike most other shrimp. I bought one a few months ago now and it is doing great. SHe comes out at night and starts eating and she had eggs and they hatched and are busy growing up now

Otherwise everything was accurate by Harpua

-Matt

charzar-g

wow thats so cool matt!
Babies? Nawwwh Hehe

Thanks again guys

Matt

Yeah the little guys are white and grey but they will get their colour soon

-Matt