Advice on Chromis and Damselfish

[mommy2redheads]

Thanks for all the help with my question about our live rock. Now I need some advice on our new inhabitants. We purchased 3 pieces of live rock from our local aquarium store yesterday and are preparing for the next step which is adding chromis and damselfish. We have a 75 gallon tank and are thinking we will add about 10 Blue/Green Chromis and 10 Yellow Tail Damselfish. In your opinion, would it be better to add half the amount of each fish and then come back and add the other half in a couple of weeks; or should we add all them at once? We want to build up some of the nutrients for some other critters (snails, blennies, etc) but don't want to over power the tank or cause the fish to freak out.
Your opinions and advice will be very much appreciated.

 

[shimin]

I added 5 chromis to my 90g without a problem mabe add the 10 and wait a month or more to add the damsels

 

[_Alex_]

wow that would be a lot of fish in that 75. what kind of filtration do you have? sump? skimmer? refuge? i could see 5-6 chromis, problem with damsels is that they get very mean and territorial as they get larger. if your wanting to have blennies the damsles will chase them. also you cant have several of the same type/species of blennies. blennies do not get along with one another of the same species and will fight with one another over territory and food. how long has the tank been set up? how much rock do you have? what kind of lights?

 

[mommy2redheads]

We have a 75 gal with a Eshopps Sump (100-I think). It's for a 100 gal tank. The sump system has an overflow box. A Seaclone Skimmer (150). No refuge. Everything on the filtration is over sized to give us some back-up. This is the second time that we have started the tank (with the same rocks). We added some new filtration components and the new live rock. We want to create an reef tank and so we plan to be somewhat selective with our new occupants. I feel like we may have gotten a little ahead of ourselves the last time (too many fish-too fast) and we want to take our time this time. Part of me feels like we may have gotten some not so great advice last time and that's why I joined R2R in the hopes that I could do a little research as we go along.
We just want err on the side of caution, so we don't lose our investment or our new pets. You know??

 

[BlueHeaven]

In my opinion, I would not add damsels to that size tank. They are a TERROtorial fish.

 

[_Alex_]

ok, chromis are fine! but i would not add damsels.. they are just mean!! there are a lot of other fish out there you can add and be a lot happier! but as for how many to add at once... i would not do more than 5 personally and even then that is a lot. but you need ot make sure and have time between the additions to allow the bacteria to catch up to the bioload.

 

[subielover]

Agreed about the damsels, skip them. Also, your skimmer is not overrated for your size tank at all, I wouldn't put that skimmer on anything bigger than a 29
Gallon.

 

[_Alex_]

oh yes now looking back at the skimmer it wont be much help... i would highly recommend if you can find one maybe a SWC 120cone. would work great or even a 160 if you wanna spend a little more. but they have one that would be great budget skimmer, this one would be perfect for under $200 SWC150 BMK

 

[mommy2redheads]

Our wish list is: Blue/Green Chromis (5-8), Firefish Gobies (2), Neon Gobies (2), Neon Gobies (4), Clownfish (2), Yellow Prawn (Watchman) Goby (1), Yellowhead Jawfish (1), Sailfin Blenny (1)-My personal favorite. Later, we want to add a Yellow Tang. We are still figuring on the invertebrates right now. But we know we will get some Peppermint Shrimp. Also a Bulb Tip Anemone and a couple of Feather Dusters. We are hoping to add the corals later and right now it looks like we will do some mushroom corals. The coral keeping part is still new to us, so we want to proceed with caution. How do y'all feel about Sea Stars (sand sifting stars??) We are thinking over them, but are a little unsure.
We are trying to pick the fishies that will be interesting for our little boys to watch.

 

[bct15]

How long has your tank been set up? I recommend waiting a while after adding that live rock, I've read a lot of stories on here of people asking why all of their new fish die overnight, first question I ask is when was the last time you added some live rock and how new is the tank. You should wait till your tank is fully cycled after adding the LAST piece of liverock before adding anything, while waiting for the liverock to cycle do not run your lights but run all of your filtration (keep algae from growing all over the place). When you know it is cycled then add a CUC and a few chromis to get started, and start running your lights. Then slowly add the fish you want. Some people are going to tell you that tank is a little small for a yellow tang, but that in the end is up to you. As far as your skimmer, I have one hanging on my 29 gallon with two clownfish and a mandarin and it can not keep up with that.

 

[mgdmirage]

Still sounds like way too many fish, i'd get a 50-75 gallon sump and a skimmer rated for 200+ gallons if you must have so many fish. Also tons of flow and filter socks in the sump as that will be a lot of detritus buildup in a small area.

 

[mommy2redheads]

Well, it was an inexpensive skimmer, I guess. Maybe we should add a few chromis and just watch to see about filtration. A newer bigger skimmer may have to be Bryan's Anniversary/Christmas present. :xd:

 

[subielover]

Well, it was an inexpensive skimmer, I guess. Maybe we should add a few chromis and just watch to see about filtration. A newer bigger skimmer may have to be Bryan's Anniversary/Christmas present. :xd:

Nice

I would also suggest doing some research on refugiums. Most people can incorporate them into their existing sumps one way or another, a good skimmer and a functioning refugium will very much help you keep a nice, healthy, and balanced system. Good luck...