Stocking Advice :)

[Jgisler2006]

Hello, I had some questions about what would be some good/ hardy fish to add to my 29 Gallon FOWLR tank,
As of now I have:

2 blue/green Chromis
1 Orange spotted Diamond Goby
and 1 large turbo snail
along with the various creatures in my LR (approx. 15 lbs. )

as equipment goes i just have a heater, Bio wheel filter, and a Petco powerhead haha.

so any suggestions would be great thanks

[ToddTT]

No tangs or triggers. They need much more space and will become stressed 24/7.

The clarkii clown is one of my favorites. You might add one of them.

And for great personality and entertainment value, you can't go wrong with a blenny.

Don't take the word of Petco, or many LFS, they will often sell you something that is too aggressive, or needs a much larger tank. Or... they will also gladly help you overstock your tank!

[Bloodydecks]

you should first add more filtration, but here are a few suggestions...hawk fish (freckled, arc eye, flame, longnose), royal gramma, maroon clown fish (last), Flame angel, coral beauty angle, Caribbean pygmy angel. ADD more filtration if you can. another power filter, or canister would be the best you can do on your set up....but IMO, your tank needs it.

[Parrothead]

you should first add more filtration, but here are a few suggestions...hawk fish (freckled, arc eye, flame, longnose), royal gramma, maroon clown fish (last), Flame angel, coral beauty angle, Caribbean pygmy angel. ADD more filtration if you can. another power filter, or canister would be the best you can do on your set up....but IMO, your tank needs it.

Bloodydecks,

I agree with you on everything but the flame angel and the coral beauty, with what he already has and if he adds a clown, which ever one he decides on would be pushing the limits big time on this size tank, the carib pygmy wouldn't hurt but neither of the other suggested.

[Jgisler2006]

you should first add more filtration, but here are a few suggestions...hawk fish (freckled, arc eye, flame, longnose), royal gramma, maroon clown fish (last), Flame angel, coral beauty angle, Caribbean pygmy angel. ADD more filtration if you can. another power filter, or canister would be the best you can do on your set up....but IMO, your tank needs it.

I have an Eclipse 3 hood so i dont know how compatible that would be with another filter, also wont hawk fish go for snails ect. ?

[Parrothead]

you should first add more filtration, but here are a few suggestions...hawk fish (freckled, arc eye, flame, longnose), royal gramma, maroon clown fish (last), Flame angel, coral beauty angle, Caribbean pygmy angel. ADD more filtration if you can. another power filter, or canister would be the best you can do on your set up....but IMO, your tank needs it.

On the equipment side, also look into getting a hang on the tank protein skimmer, that would go along ways towards happy fish

[Jgisler2006]

On the equipment side, also look into getting a hang on the tank protein skimmer, that would go along ways towards happy fish

right, I plan on adding more live rock, but as equipment goes im not sure whats compatible with the Elcipse 3 hood I have.

[Jgisler2006]

you should first add more filtration, but here are a few suggestions...hawk fish (freckled, arc eye, flame, longnose), royal gramma, maroon clown fish (last), Flame angel, coral beauty angle, Caribbean pygmy angel. ADD more filtration if you can. another power filter, or canister would be the best you can do on your set up....but IMO, your tank needs it.

And what about a Lemon peel Angel?

[Parrothead]

right, I plan on adding more live rock, but as equipment goes im not sure whats compatible with the Elcipse 3 hood I have.

Those hoods have always been a pita since they came out, the engineers and designers should be executed in a very crude manner

[Parrothead]

And what about a Lemon peel Angel?

Same as the Flame and Coral Beauty

[Bloodydecks]

I have an Eclipse 3 hood so i dont know how compatible that would be with another filter, also wont hawk fish go for snails ect. ?

No.....they are pretty peaceful fish. They will sometimes go after small shrimp a small crabs, but I have neve had them go afer snails or hermit crabs.

You are limited with what you can keep due to your filtering capabilities and tank size...add more live rock or even dead rock (tufa or base rock) so that you will have more "area" for nitrifying bacteria to colonize on...and make sure the tank is well oxygenated / aerated. Not familiar with the Eclips III I assume the filter is in the hood?), but if you can get a canister filter on it that would help. One thing for sure, you will have nitrate and p04 issues sooner or later, which will cause algae issues later....but there isn't much you can do.

Parrothead and I are in disagreement about the angles. I think any of them (except the lemon peel, as they don't adapt as well at the other) will be fine in your tank. Even with a a clown, but I would add no more then three more fish to your tank max. My choices would be a flame angle, flame hawk and a royal gramma.....

Good luck....but first add improve the filtering capabilities.


EDIT:
Seeing Parotheads reply,..I just looked up what kind of tank you have....you won't like this....but stop, return it to PET TOWN...get your money back, and invest in a better set up, or just stick with freshwater. You will never have any true success with that system, and you will waste a ton of money in the long run. JMO

[Parrothead]

" Parrothead and I are in disagreement about the angles. I think any of them (except the lemon peel, as they don't adapt as well at the other) will be fine in your tank. Even with a a clown, but I would add no more then three more fish to your tank max. My choices would be a flame angle, flame hawk and a royal gramma....."

The problem is if he adds more rock, he just chewed up more real estate, fish do like to swim, not just hang out, well flame hawks do, they are a kick butt fish, but the angels love room to roam, also they require much better water quailty on a constant basis than the eclipse 3 can provide.

As far as adding a canister filter or some such thing, it will require some difficult mods to the hood considering the filteration is built in to the upper back of the tank, if you are gonna go through the hassel of moding the hood, I would do it for the skimmer not another canister filter, a skimmer would be of much more use. Additionally, these units provide less than ideal lighting, it comes with an 18 watt, thats right 18 watt, 5500K bulb, thats right I said 1 18 watt bulb. Fish only, might work, but it's not gonna be to swift for the rock,

[ToddTT]

Hawkfish are hysterical, and I'm a big fan too. But not necessarily for a small tank with small fish.

Before you commit to getting one, search for "hawkfish aggression" and come to your own conclusions.

Many, many people have had terrible luck.

You want to minimize risks where you can. The less chances you take in fishkeeping, the more successful you will likely be. And the less stressed your fish will be.

And like another poster mentioned, only a couple more fish, and then you are done. When you are ready for more, you are ready for a bigger tank!

Best of luck.

[leebca]

I have not read through this thread -- only the initial post.

That sized aquarium doesn't accommodate most marine fishes. You will be limited to fishes that grow to full size and yet remain very small. Two Damselfishes and the Goby is actually a good place to stop. This will give amble growth room for the Damselfishes. This read will be helpful regarding stocking limit: Fish Stocking Limit - for FO and FOWLR

You need to consider not only the size of the fish you get, but the size when they grow, when determining what to put into the aquarium. After that, it is a matter of choice, and compatibility (if you want a community tank).

[Bloodydecks]

Lets be honest. We know that he/she is not going to return the tank...he / she is no going to modify it for a skimmer. Infact, it probally can't be modified for any type of skiimer with out really doing a number to the tank. You can "modify" it pretty easy for a canister filter. All you need to do is find a way to run the intake and return lines...

The bio wheel will never provide enough biological filtering, so the canister filter is a must. the use of live rock or dead base or tufa will ad bio media. The more the better.

Pymy angles are reef fish, unlike the big angles that roam the reef, pygmies like hang tight and close to the structure. they don't need an open swimming area, as they tend to keep to one area on the reef. They like and prefur caves and crevices. With out these, they will get stressed, and hide more. If they have structure, they will feel safer and swim more. So adding rock is a good thing for pygmy angles (flame coral or true pygmies).

If you add the canister, and rock, I think the three additions I suggested would be fine. Keep up on your water changes, don"t over feed, keep the media in the canister clean...never change/clean all the media in the canister at once, as you will upset the notifying bacteria balance and could get a ammonia and nitrite spike. Stagger the cleanings.

Never wash or clean your bio wheel. Also, if you have to shut the tank down, make sure to remove the bio wheel and let it float in the tank so that it won't dry out...

The lighting is not a big deal. You really don't want powerful lights in a tank like that. It will only heat up the tank, and grow your algae faster...for this application, your live rocks only purpose is to add surface area for nitrifying bacteria, and cover for the fish.....dont worry about coralline algae...or other critter on the rock that may or may not need intense light.

You can be successful with this tank, as long as you except the fact you have huge limitations...don't over stock the tank, don't over feed, stay on top of your aquarium husbandry....and you should have a some decent success.

The fish i suggested stay small, adapt well, are active, colorful, different in appearance, and are considered pretty 'hardy" for saltwater fish.

If you do add the angel, add it last, as they ca be territorial.

I do wish you luck. Everyone starts somewhere. My first tank was a 29 gal with a undergravel filter LOL. I had it for two years...and had fantastic success...but I did what many do, i kept adding fish, thinking, JUST one more. And I payed the price.... finally got a disease and it slowly wiped the tank out. But i was hooked from then on.

[Parrothead]

Here's some useful advice on the angels, flame and Coral

Flame - 4" when fully grown, min. suggested tank size 30 Gallons
Flame Angel fish need a tank with moderate to high water circulation, better than average water quality (very low or zero nitrates) and plenty of live rock. They will graze on the live rock in between meals and use any hiding places provided by the live rock when they feel threatened.

Coral Beauty - 4" when fully grown, 30 gallon (113 liters) minimum, preferrably larger - tanks on the smaller side will surely bring out territory problems with other fish.

again pristine water conditions

I really would rethink either of these fish, notice the word min. and the required water condition, and modifying that hood on the eclipse for anything is not gonna be easy, they are designed for freshwater systems like a tetra tank or some such thing.

[Jgisler2006]

Lets be honest. We know that he/she is not going to return the tank...he / she is no going to modify it for a skimmer. Infact, it probally can't be modified for any type of skiimer with out really doing a number to the tank. You can "modify" it pretty easy for a canister filter. All you need to do is find a way to run the intake and return lines...

The bio wheel will never provide enough biological filtering, so the canister filter is a must. the use of live rock or dead base or tufa will ad bio media. The more the better.

Pymy angles are reef fish, unlike the big angles that roam the reef, pygmies like hang tight and close to the structure. they don't need an open swimming area, as they tend to keep to one area on the reef. They like and prefur caves and crevices. With out these, they will get stressed, and hide more. If they have structure, they will feel safer and swim more. So adding rock is a good thing for pygmy angles (flame coral or true pygmies).

If you add the canister, and rock, I think the three additions I suggested would be fine. Keep up on your water changes, don"t over feed, keep the media in the canister clean...never change/clean all the media in the canister at once, as you will upset the notifying bacteria balance and could get a ammonia and nitrite spike. Stagger the cleanings.

Never wash or clean your bio wheel. Also, if you have to shut the tank down, make sure to remove the bio wheel and let it float in the tank so that it won't dry out...

The lighting is not a big deal. You really don't want powerful lights in a tank like that. It will only heat up the tank, and grow your algae faster...for this application, your live rocks only purpose is to add surface area for nitrifying bacteria, and cover for the fish.....dont worry about coralline algae...or other critter on the rock that may or may not need intense light.

You can be successful with this tank, as long as you except the fact you have huge limitations...don't over stock the tank, don't over feed, stay on top of your aquarium husbandry....and you should have a some decent success.

The fish i suggested stay small, adapt well, are active, colorful, different in appearance, and are considered pretty 'hardy" for saltwater fish.

If you do add the angel, add it last, as they ca be territorial.

I do wish you luck. Everyone starts somewhere. My first tank was a 29 gal with a undergravel filter LOL. I had it for two years...and had fantastic success...but I did what many do, i kept adding fish, thinking, JUST one more. And I payed the price.... finally got a disease and it slowly wiped the tank out. But i was hooked from then on.

THANK YOU! you answered many questions I didnt even ask

Yeah I am somewhat aware of my limitations with the size (and thank you for noticing im not going to take my tank back to the pet store haha )

but as far as a canister filter goes what would be a good one to purchase ? and I imagine if all it needs is tubing in and out, then that wont be very difficult as I have "compartments" that open on the back of the hood for things like this.

Thanks

[Parrothead]

Ya'all have fun with this, keep me posted, I said my piece, and again, it's only MHO

[Bloodydecks]

THANK YOU! you answered many questions I didnt even ask

...................t as far as a canister filter goes what would be a good one to purchase ? and I imagine if all it needs is tubing in and out, then that wont be very difficult as I have "compartments" that open on the back of the hood for things like this.

Thanks

As far as canisters go, I hate them all, but if I was going to use one, i would have to go with the Fluval. I would go NO smaller then the 304.

The only reason I chose the Fluval was "user friendliness". Their new design makes taking it apart a lot easier, and restarting it a lot easier. But they all are a pain in the rear. If you can afford to go up to the 404, do it. The cheapest prices i have found were at a on line retailer called Marine Depot.

Remember, if you don't keep them clean, they are nothing more then a nitrate factory, and your flow rate will decrease.

When you clean the media and sponge, uses a bucket of water form your tank to rinse them out in. this will lessen the loss of beneficial bacteria, while cleaning out the detritus.

also....if the box says "this filter is rated for up to 50 gallons", bs..its more like 25. Always double the size. if you want a filter for your 29, go to one that says up to 60 or MORE!