I have a noob question.

[Knight420]

I am starting my first 40g breeder reef tank. There is a lot of fish I want to get for the tank.

1. Mandarin Goby
2. 2 Clowns
3.4 Blue Green Chromis
4. Cleaner Wrass
5. 2 Tangs, one for cleaning and a blue hippo like Dory
6. A Ruby Crab
7. A cleaner shrimp
8. A few snails
9. some hermit crabs.

There are other fish I want to add in time. Those are just the ones I wanted to start. The Mandarin will be the last to be added. I just have him first because I want him to be the center piece of the tank, for the fish anyway.

My question is how many fish can you add at one time? I have already done all the research on each of the fish on my list. I know Mandarin Gobys only like copepods and I have all of that in mind. I'm just worried if I add too many fish at one time it might crash the system.

 

[MoreReef]

Add all your inverts first... then slowly in order from least to most agressive.

 

[Knight420]

Add all your inverts first... then slowly in order from least to most agressive.

Ok cool, I think most on my list are pretty friendly. I tried to make sure none were aggressive.

 

[Rtaylor]

Unless you plan to upgrade in the next 12-18 months, the tangs are out of the question for a 49 gallon tank. They need over 100 gallons, ideally more like 180 gallons.

 

[CocoReef]

I wouldn't add the mandarin for at least 6 months- a year and make sure there is a good copepod colony for it. They can be hard to keep. Also no tangs in a tank that small unless you plan on upgrading or constantly trading

 

[MoreReef]

Ok cool, I think most on my list are pretty friendly. I tried to make sure none were aggressive.

Add 1 tang, skip the chromis... enjoy your tank! Lol

 

[Knight420]

I wouldn't add the mandarin for at least 6 months- a year and make sure there is a good copepod colony for it. They can be hard to keep. Also no tangs in a tank that small unless you plan on upgrading or constantly trading

The Dragonet is going to be the last added. I'm still setting it all up. But I am starting a colony in the next couple of weeks. I will have the one colony outside of the tank, then I have a sump and I made a feeding section just for the Mandarin Goby.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Your best bet for a tang would probably be one of the bristletooth species. They stay much smaller and eat algae as well. No no for a blue hippo tang.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Dory would only stay small enough to live in that tank for about a year and some change before she got too cramped.

Also, cleaner wrasse quite often (if I'm being frank) are being put to death in most aquariums. I find that, even if they start eating well, without a large tank full of big fish for them to poke at, they often become neurotic and restless (which is weird to say for such an active fish) and just don't thrive. This is coming from someone who has attempted multiple species multiple times: it's not an easy fish by far, especially not in that size tank. I would suggest one of the smaller fairy/flasher wrasses.

 

[Knight420]

Add 1 tang, skip the chromis... enjoy your tank! Lol

Why skip the chromis?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I am starting my first 40g breeder reef tank. There is a lot of fish I want to get for the tank.

1. Mandarin Goby - Not likely to work well. Mandarins need an established tank with large amounts of live rock to support their feeding habits. Instead, I suggest a red scooter dragonet. They are easier to feed while having the same behavior and body shape.
2. 2 Clowns - Good choice.
3.4 Blue Green Chromis - May pick each other off as they reach adulthood, until there are only two. Lyretail damselfish are less likely to do this, and come captive bred.
4. Cleaner Wrass - It is difficult to get these guys feeding, and a 40b is a bit small for one. They may also stress other fish by trying to clean them constantly. I suggest a neon goby instead, as they are much easier to keep and a better fit.
5. 2 Tangs, one for cleaning and a blue hippo like Dory - I would avoid a tang in a 36x18 tank. If you want to try anyway, stick to just one and have a rock solid plan for rehoming it once it reaches about 4 inches in a year or two. Instead, you could try a springeri damselfish for the blue color and a Rainford's goby for algae.
6. A Ruby Crab - Good, just keep it well fed to prevent it from nipping coral.
7. A cleaner shrimp - Good choice.
8. A few snails - Good choice
9. some hermit crabs. - Good choice, but keep in mind that they may kill snails for shells. Halloween hermits are the least likely to do this.

There are other fish I want to add in time. Those are just the ones I wanted to start. The Mandarin will be the last to be added. I just have him first because I want him to be the center piece of the tank, for the fish anyway.

My question is how many fish can you add at one time? I have already done all the research on each of the fish on my list. I know Mandarin Gobys only like copepods and I have all of that in mind. I'm just worried if I add too many fish at one time it might crash the system. - Add one or two fish at a time, with intervals of several weeks in between additions. Otherwise, your ammonia may spike.

Suggestions added in blue. I hope that this helps!

 

[MoreReef]

Why skip the chromis?

They'll usually start picking themselves off... usually leaving ya with a single chromis... lol

 

[Mschmidt]

As others have said, caution with the tangs. I have the same sized tank and have avoided them due to their size and activity level. But there are ways to make it work if they are must haves: upgrade or rehome when they outgrow the space being two that come to mind.

My mandarin was one of the first in the tank, and has outlived everything that came before it save the dart fish. But I had been dosing pods and phyto for months. He was also quite small, so even if I had a smaller pod population, he ate well enough. They can be trained to eat prepared foods too; captive bred most easily. I have a suspicion that mine eats prepared foods due to his activity level and attentiveness when I feed the tank. I have not confirmed this though, so I assume he sticks to pods. other things I do to keep him are have lots of rock work, macro algae and nuisance algae to feed the pods, as well as a canister filter with a very healthy population of critters.

 

[razorskiss]

Captive bred mandarins from biota are available now that reliably eat dry foods. Many vendors resell them. You'll spend more but have infinitely higher chances of success

 

[Knight420]

They'll usually start picking themselves off... usually leaving ya with a single chromis... lol

Really I didn't know that. Is there a schooling fish that won't do something like that?

 

[Knight420]

Suggestions added in blue. I hope that this helps!

Thank you so much. Aren't damsels really aggressive? I just want a set of schooling fish that are not aggressive.

 

[Knight420]

Suggestions added in blue. I hope that this helps!

As for the Mandarin I have 20lbs of rock. A feeding station with 2 copepod hotels that is surrounded by live rock. I have a sump which will be filled with dragons breath. Which is for the ruby crab and any other herbivores. I also have 2 gallon jugs for colonies of copepods. Almost forgot a 1/2 gallon of phyto.

So in total I would have 4 colonies of copepods. Including his feeding station.

 

[Knight420]

As others have said, caution with the tangs. I have the same sized tank and have avoided them due to their size and activity level. But there are ways to make it work if they are must haves: upgrade or rehome when they outgrow the space being two that come to mind.

My mandarin was one of the first in the tank, and has outlived everything that came before it save the dart fish. But I had been dosing pods and phyto for months. He was also quite small, so even if I had a smaller pod population, he ate well enough. They can be trained to eat prepared foods too; captive bred most easily. I have a suspicion that mine eats prepared foods due to his activity level and attentiveness when I feed the tank. I have not confirmed this though, so I assume he sticks to pods. other things I do to keep him are have lots of rock work, macro algae and nuisance algae to feed the pods, as well as a canister filter with a very healthy population of critters.

I didn't know you could add one first. I always thought let it age some first. I'm going to have 4 colonies of copepods for him. 2 1 gallon, Sump with dragons breath, and 2 copepod hotels as a feeding station with live rock all around them.

All of this is already set up. I'm just waiting to have the money for the copepods and phyto

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Thank you so much. Aren't damsels really aggressive? I just want a set of schooling fish that are not aggressive.

The majority of damselfish species, especially the domino damsels, are very aggressive. However, the damsels I listed should be peaceful.

 

[oceancowboy]

Agree with the one tang only...and no hippo. I would not put in a cleaner wrasse.....i have never seen those last long or thrive.