35g cube tank stocking

GHOSTLY · Jan 28, 2022

So I plan on re stocking my cube tank after it finishes cycling and things. Its 20in by 20in by 20in. I know that I'm going to get a pair of clowns but if you could rate my stock that would be nice
Fish:
Clown pair
Ywg
Firefish
Wrasse (6 line, baby mcoskers)
If no wrasse honored hawkish
Bangii cardinal 1 or 2
Inverts:
Pistol shrimp
Porcelain crab
Cleaner shrimp
Blue leg hermits
Sand sifting star
Trocus snails
Festher duster worm (later on)
Perhaps overstocked?

muzikalmatt · Jan 28, 2022

I think that's probably about the maximum you could put in that tank, but you have a good balance of fish that utilize different habitat spaces so that should help manage aggression. (Plus most of those are peaceful fish.)

I think it will come down to whether your filtration can handle the bioload. I have a very similar stocking in my IM Nuvo Fusion 40 which is basically 30-35 gallons of display tank volume (two clowns, YWG, firefish and bicolor blenny). If it were me, I would probably go with the clowns, YWG, firefish and wrasse and forgo the banggai cardinals or hawkfish. The hawkfish and blenny will want to use the same habitat space (rockwork) and with the clowns, firefish, and wrasse the free swimming area will be pretty full so adding cardinals might get a bit crowded.

As far as the inverts, I'm not a fan of hermits and would go with more snails (astreas, nassarius, cerith, etc). You might look into getting a small urchin as well. I absolutely love my pincushion urchin!

GHOSTLY · Jan 28, 2022

muzikalmatt said:
I think that's probably about the maximum you could put in that tank, but you have a good balance of fish that utilize different habitat spaces so that should help manage aggression. (Plus most of those are peaceful fish.)

I think it will come down to whether your filtration can handle the bioload. I have a very similar stocking in my IM Nuvo Fusion 40 which is basically 30-35 gallons of display tank volume (two clowns, YWG, firefish and bicolor blenny). If it were me, I would probably go with the clowns, YWG, firefish and wrasse and forgo the banggai cardinals or hawkfish. The hawkfish and blenny will want to use the same habitat space (rockwork) and with the clowns, firefish, and wrasse the free swimming area will be pretty full so adding cardinals might get a bit crowded.

As far as the inverts, I'm not a fan of hermits and would go with more snails (astreas, nassarius, cerith, etc). You might look into getting a small urchin as well. I absolutely love my pincushion urchin!

I was thinking about getting a Halloween urchin. What if I dropped the wrasse. Would I be able to get bangii cardinals?

muzikalmatt · Jan 28, 2022

A Halloween urchin is what I have (just a specific color of pincushion). Sure you could get the cardinals instead. One thing to keep in mind with cardinals though is if you want two you need to try and get a mated pair. If they're the same sex they'll likely fight each other. Also, they can a bit finicky eaters. The cardinal I have in my new build so far only eats frozen food or ROE. He won't touch pellets or flake food. Not a huge deal really, but still something to keep in mind.

hllb · Jan 28, 2022

I had a 32g Biocube and was a bit overstocked with 6 fish (one was a flame angel I got while planning my upgrade tank). I think your list is pretty good. The McCosker is iffy on that tank. The six line would do well, but they can be aggressive. If you do one (I did) put him in last. A possum wrasse might be a better choice there. I also had a Halloween urchin in mine and love him. I'd wait though until the tank has been up for a good long while. I love a lot of the inverts and currently have a feather duster, Halloween urchin, tuxedo urchin (may be better for your tank actually), strawberry craby, small conch, two peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp (don't do shrimp if you get a hawfish), fire shrimp, rock flower anemone, strawberry crab (very cool critter that I rarely see), and lots of snails and hermits. I would skip the sand sifting star (I've seen too many people post about them disintegrating and in a smaller tank there's not a lot of room for them to have a big sandbed) and use nassarius snails and a small conch instead.

GHOSTLY · Jan 28, 2022

muzikalmatt said:
A Halloween urchin is what I have (just a specific color of pincushion). Sure you could get the cardinals instead. One thing to keep in mind with cardinals though is if you want two you need to try and get a mated pair. If they're the same sex they'll likely fight each other. Also, they can a bit finicky eaters. The cardinal I have in my new build so far only eats frozen food or ROE. He won't touch pellets or flake food. Not a huge deal really, but still something to keep in mind.

I would get a mated pair

GHOSTLY · Jan 28, 2022

hllb said:
I had a 32g Biocube and was a bit overstocked with 6 fish (one was a flame angel I got while planning my upgrade tank). I think your list is pretty good. The McCosker is iffy on that tank. The six line would do well, but they can be aggressive. If you do one (I did) put him in last. A possum wrasse might be a better choice there. I also had a Halloween urchin in mine and love him. I'd wait though until the tank has been up for a good long while. I love a lot of the inverts and currently have a feather duster, Halloween urchin, tuxedo urchin (may be better for your tank actually), strawberry craby, small conch, two peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp (don't do shrimp if you get a hawfish), fire shrimp, rock flower anemone, strawberry crab (very cool critter that I rarely see), and lots of snails and hermits. I would skip the sand sifting star (I've seen too many people post about them disintegrating and in a smaller tank there's not a lot of room for them to have a big sandbed) and use nassarius snails and a small conch instead.

Did the flame angel est any coral at all? That's what I thought about mcoskers but just wanted to make sure

hllb · Jan 28, 2022

GHOSTLY said:
Did the flame angel est any coral at all? That's what I thought about mcoskers but just wanted to make sure

I started with a flameback Pygmy angel. Model citizen for a year then ate my trachy. Went another 6 months before deciding zoas were tasty so I had to take him back. My flame hasn’t caused any issues so far (7.5 months). He does nip at my monti sometimes ( only 1 of my 2 montis) and my urchin and my rock flower. He doesn’t hurt them though so I just keep an eye on him. He seems to just like to nip on stuff. We named him Zuko and he’s a favorite fish. For a small tank, if you want to risk it, look for a cherub Pygmy angel