40 breeder SPS fish suggestions

[Husker]

I would love to hear some suggestions from people with the vast amount of experiences on this site.

Here is some background:

Tank has been cycled since July.
Setup:
40 breeder + 20 gallon sump
SCA 303 Skimmer (rated for 150 gallons)
Quite a bit of live rock
GFO reactor in sump
10% water changes ever 2 weeks

Parameters:
Nitrates: 0-2ppm constantly for the past month
PO4: 0.02-0.05 (up to 0.1 now as the GFO is about a month old and will change it this week)

Current fish:
Yellow watchman goby
Longfin fairy wrasse
2 Ocellaris clowns

The tank is pretty much all SPS, so I don't want high nutrients sitting around. However, I have seen some great tanks with high nutrient import with lots of fish + high nutrient export with a big skimmer.

My wife likes orchid dottybacks, so we were thinking of adding that. I do like how active our wrasse is, so something like that might be nice. However... I am kind of stuck on what I can add to my current fish and how many more I could add. What are some thoughts on fish to add? How many more do you think? Which would you recommend given my current stock and setup?

Thanks all!

 

[melypr1985]

I love cardinals. A pair of any kind would be nice. I'm fairly partial to the Yasha Haze goby as well. I just put one along with a pistol shrimp in the display at work.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I would love to hear some suggestions from people with the vast amount of experiences on this site.

Here is some background:

Tank has been cycled since July.
Setup:
40 breeder + 20 gallon sump
SCA 303 Skimmer (rated for 150 gallons)
Quite a bit of live rock
GFO reactor in sump
10% water changes ever 2 weeks

Parameters:
Nitrates: 0-2ppm constantly for the past month
PO4: 0.02-0.05 (up to 0.1 now as the GFO is about a month old and will change it this week)

Current fish:
Yellow watchman goby
Longfin fairy wrasse
2 Ocellaris clowns

The tank is pretty much all SPS, so I don't want high nutrients sitting around. However, I have seen some great tanks with high nutrient import with lots of fish + high nutrient export with a big skimmer.

My wife likes orchid dottybacks, so we were thinking of adding that. I do like how active our wrasse is, so something like that might be nice. However... I am kind of stuck on what I can add to my current fish and how many more I could add. What are some thoughts on fish to add? How many more do you think? Which would you recommend given my current stock and setup?

Thanks all!

The orchid dottyback would work.

Other options include sunburst anthias, yellow assessor, royal gramma, midas blenny, grammistes blenny, watchman goby/shrimp combo, firefish, small group of zebra or scissortail dartfish, purple tilefish, pink streak wrasde, pintail wrasse, a flasher wrasse.

Each tank varies as far as the bioload it can handle. I would think at least 3 fish would be doable. But add slowly and test often.

 

[Rpujol85]

I'd say you add 1-3 more fish depending on size, feeding requirements, and their basic behavior patterns.
I had an orchid dotty back for a few years. He was a bit of a bully. I now have a royal gramma; he is more submissive comparatively. Also the gramma is more attractive, at least to me.
There are many different dotty back types, some with pretty striking colors/striping, that I have heard are friendlier than the orchid.
FWIW, at least in my tank, neither the dotty or the gramma are SUPER active; they tend to lurk with their heads poking out of rocks waiting for food.

 

[Husker]

Thanks for the suggestions. Does anyone have successful experience with Anthias in a 40 breeder? It seems like most recommend a 75 gallon for swimming space.

Any other thoughts or specific wrasses that would work well with my longfin fairy (and perhaps add some different colors)?

 

[steve&mari]

I like the flasher wrasse n hovens wrasse lots of color and activities with em. Also can help with some sps pest.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thanks for the suggestions. Does anyone have successful experience with Anthias in a 40 breeder? It seems like most recommend a 75 gallon for swimming space.

Any other thoughts or specific wrasses that would work well with my longfin fairy (and perhaps add some different colors)?

Sunburst anthias are a good species of anthias that does well on it's own. Randalls anthias can be kept as a group in a 40. Anthias don't actively 'pace' the tank, rather swim in place in the water column in the flow.

Other good wrasses for your fish include any flashers except the eightline, rhomboid, pintail, brunneus, lubbocks fairies, yellow coris, leucurus, or melanurus as far as Halichoeres, any leopards.

 

[Husker]

Sunburst anthias are a good species of anthias that does well on it's own. Randalls anthias can be kept as a group in a 40. Anthias don't actively 'pace' the tank, rather swim in place in the water column in the flow.

Other good wrasses for your fish include any flashers except the eightline, rhomboid, pintail, brunneus, lubbocks fairies, yellow coris, leucurus, or melanurus as far as Halichoeres, any leopards.

What about taking what I have now and adding (in this order): a Christmas wrasse, a yellow coris wrasse, and then the orchid dottyback (maybe). Then I would be done. Would all 3 wrasses get along and would this be too big of a bioload given my skimmer/setup?

 

[eatbreakfast]

What about taking what I have now and adding (in this order): a Christmas wrasse, a yellow coris wrasse, and then the orchid dottyback (maybe). Then I would be done. Would all 3 wrasses get along and would this be too big of a bioload given my skimmer/setup?

I would add the yellow coris before the Christmas, as they are more peaceful, but yeah, that should work.