Livestock???

[jollopee]

So Ive been looking and reading for the past 2 months on what I want to put into my 90 gal tank/5 t5's and 3 actinics. Right now I have 120lbs of fine sand and about 75lbs of uncured live rock that I just put into the tank. So when the time comes, I think I know what I want, but is it all a good idea, hell I had to cross off at least half of what I want to put in this just because of room . So any suggestions from the seasond aquarist would be greatly appreciated.

Pearl bubble coral
Brain coral, lobophyllia
glove polyp
kenya tree coral
long tentacle anemone
pincushion urchin
multicolored sea squirt
linekia sea star
2 top crown snails
2 turbo snails
5 dwarf blue hermit crabs
2 pistol shrimp
1 wheelers watchman goby
1 clown goby
1 purple tang
2 foxface lo's
2 ocellaris clownfish
2 scotts fairy wrasse
And of course Ill want to add one more that I can think of at a later date and that is the pinecone fish. This is probably too much?????? and Im wanting to get all of these at the same time



Todd

[zhenya]

Hi Todd,

...and Im wanting to get all of these at the same time

I figured I'd address this first. I think it would be the worst possible thing you can do to your tank. Adding so many animals at one time is a bad idea in that you can easily overwhelm filtering capabilities of your tank which can result in serious mortalities. The best thing to do would probably to add things in small groups, snails can be added first, for example. In a week or so you can add your fish selections, one or two at the time the most ,taking care to research your purchases and adding the most agressive fish last. Purple tang, for example, is a good candidate to go in as a last addition.

As far as your list of animals goes, I would certainly do some more reading before you make your final selections. For example, Linkia starfish is almost certainly doomed in aquariums due to starvation as it needs lots and lota of live rock and only some really large tanks can provide that. It is generally unknown what exactly this animals eat and I think buying them in hopes that you may get lucky is a wrong approach and a costly one. To your wallet and to the animal in question.
Anemones are another animal that I would think about hard in advance and read as much as I can. They do take a lot of space and can easily kill your prized corals if allowed to touch them, plus, you need to think of what species of clownfish will host with a particular anemone. In your case, Ocellaris anemonefish may or may not accept long tentacle anemone becouse in Nature they are asociated with Stichodactyla anemones and Heteractis magnifica.

[jollopee]

Ok so I got starfish off my list. I will get them in smaller increments instead of all at once . As for the clownfish, sabae clowns and instead of the long tenticle I like the bubble. So with the first list and these provisions do you think I have chosen a variety that can "live" together. I have made sure that there are plenty of nice little hideing spots in the rock, but I tend to get a little excited and overlook some things like the clownfish and starfish and all the other changes Ive made that no one has seen . Thanks alot for the info.

Todd

[showfish]

I would recommed adding in small amounts. Like one animal per month. You need to allow your tank to adjust to the bio-load. Adding too many animals at one time and you will be asking for trouble IMO. You also may want to look at QTing any new animals for a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks. This will ensure any new arrivals are healthy and parrisite free. All you need is a 10 gal tank and a sponge filter seeded from your display to do this. Trust me it is well worth the wait, for I learned this the hard way. Best of luck to you with your new setup.

[FishPharmD]

Jollopee,
I'd like to offer you a warning about hermit crabs. Just my personal opinion, but I would nix the hermit crabs. It is true that they can help reduce overfeed waste, but 5 in a 120 would be like an NFL team suiting up only 6 players for a game. Don't overfeed and you shouldn't need them. They will grow and eventually attack your snails for their shells (snails are much more efficient cleaners, IMO). I had a really nice T. derasa clam about a year ago with 10-12 red and blue leg dwarf hermits in the tank. Everyone got along for about 2 months until one day I came home from school, and every hermit in the tank was on top of the clam like a lynch mob. These same crabs managed to go through about 20 turbo snails until finally I wised up and got rid of them. I agree with adding fish slowly....patience is the name of the game in this hobby. Good luck!

[jollopee]

Just gonna say no to crabs

[zhenya]

Just gonna say no to crabs

I know it is hard to resist adding those pesky little things to the tank but in the long run they are really not necessary for a reef tank.

As far as your clownfish and anemone combo, I know for a fact that A.clarkii will accept just about any host anemone but they could be quite agressive as they grow larger. Mine is a terror in a pretty pajamas.
My advice on the anemone would be to wait about 6-8 month before you add one to your tank. Give your tank a chance to mature, see how things are progressing and then, if you really like to have one, shop for a nice and healthy specimen.

[FishPharmD]

As far as your clownfish and anemone combo, I know for a fact that A.clarkii will accept just about any host anemone but they could be quite agressive as they grow larger. Mine is a terror in a pretty pajamas.

Amen to that! I bought my clarkii when it was about 1.5" long. Now it is 4 inches long and thinks it owns the place. Every time I stick my hand in the tank, that little sucker tries to bite. I've actually had little scrapes and cuts on my fingers from where he bit me. The only thing in my tank he doesn't own is my lionfish

I chose a BTA (E. quadricolor) for my clarkii, and he does a wonderful job with it. Feeds it and everything.