I May Have Messed Up

dmarchante · Aug 10, 2021

I am just starting and started my first nano (eventually reef) with the Fluval 13.5. Everything is looking good so far and cycled with live rock.

I threw in a cleaner shrimp (recently molted), and a blue leg hermit and let them hang for a little over a week to make sure there were no issues. I don't have issues yet, but I fear I may have overstocked.

I tossed in three Banggai Cardinals, and a neon Goby, but I kind of wanted some more color and movement. It doesn't sound like I should add anything else at the moment. I like the cardinals, but they aren't my favorite to look at, maybe I should have gone with just two.

Does anyone have any suggestions if I can add something with more movement or color (not looking for a clown as it might get too big), or am I stuck at the moment? Should I just focus on building the reef at this point

dvgyfresh · Aug 10, 2021

Bangai cardinals actually get pretty big , bigger than clowns at around 3 inches and I think wil out grow yr tank pretty quickly, you are currently overstocked and I wouldn’t add anything else to the system. I would trade the 3 bangai for royal gamma and pistol shrimp / goby

andiesreef · Aug 10, 2021

for something small like an evo you are already pushing it with 3 cardinals and a neon goby. honestly i'd try and rehome at LEAST 1 of the cardinals or give it to the lfs or something so you have more "wiggle room" with your bioload. i'd also look on upping your cuc after the fish is gone to include more critters. you will need more than a tiny hermit crab to take care of algae. try some snails and more hermits.

Pkunk35 · Aug 10, 2021

I like the suggestions so far,
If me, I might re-home 2 banggai and add 1 firefish for that color and movement. If I added anything more it would be a tiny goby such as trimma gobies.

def add coral!

dmarchante · Aug 10, 2021

andiesreef said:
for something small like an evo you are already pushing it with 3 cardinals and a neon goby. honestly i'd try and rehome at LEAST 1 of the cardinals or give it to the lfs or something so you have more "wiggle room" with your bioload. i'd also look on upping your cuc after the fish is gone to include more critters. you will need more than a tiny hermit crab to take care of algae. try some snails and more hermits.

I may end up with two as one is already being bullied. I kept it safe in the beginning with one hermit but will add more. I am looking to add more snails, a few turbo and a couple of nassarius snails. Not sure how many more hermits I shoudl add though.

Lost in the Sauce · Aug 10, 2021

dmarchante said:
I may end up with two as one is already being bullied. I kept it safe in the beginning with one hermit but will add more. I am looking to add more snails, a few turbo and a couple of nassarius snails. Not sure how many more hermits I shoudl add though.

This is the natural progression for them. If you get to, a dominant pair will emerge and will usually kill the third. If you can already tell which the pair is, pull the third one out. A firefish is a good idea for a tank that small.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Aug 10, 2021

its always a great idea to google minimum tank size for X fish before adding fish. Suggested size for banngai is 30 gallons. Also, fish groups of 3 is usually not recommended, 1 or 2 usually end up getting killed.

dmarchante · Aug 10, 2021

LordofCinder said:
its always a great idea to google minimum tank size for X fish before adding fish. Suggested size for banngai is 30 gallons. Also, fish groups of 3 is usually not recommended, 1 or 2 usually end up getting killed.

I must have looked at a bogus site previously. I can't remember where, but now that I see them I can tell it's too much already. The neon goby is perfect though.

dmarchante · Aug 10, 2021

Pkunk35 said:
I like the suggestions so far,
If me, I might re-home 2 banggai and add 1 firefish for that color and movement. If I added anything more it would be a tiny goby such as trimma gobies.

def add coral!

I like this suggestion. How do you re-home fish as I don't have another tank to put them in.

Snookin · Aug 10, 2021

dmarchante said:
I like this suggestion. How do you re-home fish as I don't have another tank to put them in.

Drive to your LFS and drop them back off

andiesreef · Aug 10, 2021

Snookin said:
Drive to your LFS and drop them back off

some lfs even exchange fish for store credit. if an lfs isn't an option look for local hobbyists and other pet stores in your area. a small banggai shouldn't be a huge problem to rehome.

andiesreef · Aug 10, 2021

dmarchante said:
I may end up with two as one is already being bullied. I kept it safe in the beginning with one hermit but will add more. I am looking to add more snails, a few turbo and a couple of nassarius snails. Not sure how many more hermits I shoudl add though.

i'd start with 3 or 4 and see how the tank looks. are they eating algae? are there too many of them? same with snails. a good rule of thumb is to have as many critters as there are gallons in the tank for cuc. so if you needed you could have 10-13 little critters although you probably don't need that many yet especially with your current bioload. a combo of crabs and snails with a shrimp or something for good measure is my favorite.