Fish stocking - First 25 Gallon

[gconried]

Hello,

First off, thank you for the community! It is super helpful and friendly.

I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this but I am new and plan to stock a 25-gallon lagoon with the following fish:
- Spike Goby x2 (both at the same time) - right After cycling
- Black storm clown (or other Designer Clown) x 2 - 1 month after spike goby
- Harlequin File Fish - After roughly 6 Months after adding the clowns
- Spotted Mandarin Goby - After roughly 6 Months after adding Harlequin

I know the Filefish and Mandarin Goby should be added later on due to their need for Copepods (plan to add copepods to the back refugium with chateo during initial set up) but I was wondering if that seems like too many fish or that is a bad order to add them?

Any other advice would be welcomed!

Also, I am striving to create the least amount of maintenance so I would be willing to decrease any of the bioloads as recommended to help maintain a tighter confine of parameters.

Thanks!

 

[Kvnsu]

I would add everything but the filefish! I have a 25 gallon as well, good luck with your build!

 

[Jacob Fawley]

Compared to most beginner hobbyists, your list is actually quite reasonable. Bioload-wise it seems solid. The refugium addition will help quite a bit ime (I don't even run a full-sized skimmer). If the chaeto doesn't work for you for some reason, try a different macro. The filefish is a bit of a concern, but it's not impossible. Just depends on the fish and your approach. If you feed it well enough it may not even bother the corals, or it will prefer the corals. Just know the risk and be prepared to either remove it or accept that some polyps will be sacrificed. Some advice with cycling: If you can get established rock, use it. By established - I mean - "getting out of the hobby" established rock. It will help thwart many problems. If using completely dry rock let the tank sit for a little longer than what people tell you can get away with. Sure, the fish will be fine, but you'll most likely run into more problems that way.

 

[Jesterrace]

I would nix the Mandarin and the Filefish. There simply is no way for a 25 gallon to support a Mandy and a Filefish without you being there to basically feed the Mandy all day and the filefish would be cramped in a tank that size and likely nip at corals to supplement it's diet. A Mandarin needs to feed almost constantly during the waking hours and can go through thousands of pods in a week. Take it from a guy who tried and failed to keep one alive in a 36 gallon only to have it starve to death in just shy of 3 months. That was after spending hundreds of dollars on pods and having the Mandy adapt to frozen foods as well.

 

[Kal93]

It depends on your nutrient management and how to design your tank (it’s more fish than should normally be housed in a 25G). My only concern would be if the gobies became aggressive to each other or to your dragonet (same for the clowns, which can be quite aggressive when breeding; I’m not sure whether giving them an anemone would help this or not and recommend that you ask people with experience with breeding clowns). I have a mandarin in a 29G with external pod culture and sump, so it’s definitely doable. Like others have mentioned, the filefish will be tricky food-wise, but give him some baby brine or masstick if he’s being picky.

 

[Westside Guy]

I recommend that you deal with a LFS that gets their clowns from ORA Farms who are known for their aquacultured fish.
I received 2 ORA Gladiators who were labeled as paired a week ago and picked them up in their original shipping bags the same day they arrived and not co-mingled with other fish in the tanks at my LFS. They are behaving like they are totally paired and are thriving in my tank.
https://www.orafarm.com/products/fish/clownfish/

 

[Jesterrace]

It depends on your nutrient management and how to design your tank (it’s more fish than should normally be housed in a 25G). My only concern would be if the gobies became aggressive to each other or to your dragonet (same for the clowns, which can be quite aggressive when breeding; I’m not sure whether giving them an anemone would help this or not and recommend that you ask people with experience with breeding clowns). I have a mandarin in a 29G with external pod culture and sump, so it’s definitely doable. Like others have mentioned, the filefish will be tricky food-wise, but give him some baby brine or masstick if he’s being picky.

How often do you dose pods for the Mandarin?

 

[Kal93]

How often do you dose pods for the Mandarin?

Once every few weeks (just shake out some of the chaeto from the sump/external culture), but mine mandarin is a baby. For an adult, maybe once a week. I seed my DT and sump with purchased tisbee every 3-4 months since my external culture is small (~2.5G)

 

[Pbh-reef]

Hi @gconried! First off I’m in sf too (live in the mission) - so it’s nice to see another sf reefer!

I’d also advise against the harlequin filefish, they are extremely difficult to keep. as for the mandarin, would you consider a ruby red Dragonette? Since they are smaller they are supposedly easier to maintain than a full grown mandarin.

 

[Alanna Horn]

You should add clowns first. But at the same time. And you shouldn’t get the filefish because it might get to big. Instead you should keep your eye out at the fish store and see if you find something you must have. Like a reef compatible fish that you really like.

 

[gconried]

Hey! Great to see someone else in the area that keeps a reef! I am open to all suggestions currently. It sounds like I am going to nix the filefish and Dragonette for the first year and stick with the clowns and gobies - If I starved a little buddy I would feel horrible. I am looking into the ruby red dragonette's now to see what I can find!

Hi @gconried! First off I’m in sf too (live in the mission) - so it’s nice to see another sf reefer!

I’d also advise against the harlequin filefish, they are extremely difficult to keep. as for the mandarin, would you consider a ruby red Dragonette? Since they are smaller they are supposedly easier to maintain than a full grown mandarin.