New Member

[vetteguy53081]

 

[gsjr]

Welcome to R2R.
If you have rock, and it’s been up since the spring, Mandarin enters the realm of possibilities, but, only one “exclusive POD” eater will work if you select wild caught, greens, blues or spotted.
Maybe a Royal Gramma, or like mentioned, a dottyback.

Thanks! I was actually thinking of the royal Gramma. Would add more color. Mandarin sounds exciting. Are they hard to keep?

 

[Uncle99]

Thanks! I was actually thinking of the royal Gramma. Would add more color. Mandarin sounds exciting. Are they hard to keep?

The problem with the Gramma is he’s a rock dweller. That does not mean you don’t see him, just not one of those that are out all the time say like Bangaii. Super hardy fish that will drop his jaw to signal rank.
I found captive bred mandarins to be the easiest fish I have to keep, he requires no feeding at all. He’s a pod eater.

So, the trick is to….
Provide at least, 50g DT.
Have rock work that is at least, 6 months old.
Only keep 1 of all the available pod eaters, so no scooters or anyone that has the mandarins mouth configuration.

This will ensure he has enough PODS.

I do not QT this fish, the risk IMM is minimal.

 

[SPR1968]

Hi Gary welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[gsjr]

Welcome, Gary! You may be nearing your max on fish, depending on the size and type you like. A firefish or dottyback could be fun.

 

[gsjr]

Welcome, Gary! You may be nearing your max on fish, depending on the size and type you like. A firefish or dottyback could be fun.

Hey, thanks for the welcome. Dottyback would be nice but I've heard they are aggressive. True or no....

 

[kittenbritches]

Hey, thanks for the welcome. Dottyback would be nice but I've heard they are aggressive. True or no....

I have one in both of my tanks — my Orchid dottyback hangs out alone in the rocks 95% of the time (when she isn't eating or being chased by my fairy wrasse), and the magenta dottyback is largely the same. She was added at the same time as a firefish, and primarily hides all day, but occasionally she will dart toward the firefish if he's too close to her rock.

YMMV, but aggression hasn't been an issue for me.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and the salty world Gary. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

You can get the UK banner here: Click Account then “Join User Group”, scroll to the bottom and click on “United Kingdom User Group‘’

 

[shadow_k]

Welcome to R2R ! Glad to have you !

 

[Ghost Reefer]

Welcome!

 

[gsjr]

Thanks all for the great welcome. Thought I'd pop a picture up for you. Just some background on this tank. It is a built-in tank so is tricky to clean as it only has access from the back. I have a fluval 405 external filter and a comline 9012 skimmer. Just may help for future advice...I have been dealing with some diatom growth but hopefully that will end soon.then I hope to start introducing corals. If anyone has recommendations also were you may place them in the tank let me know. Thanks!

 

[tharbin]

Welcome Gary,

Nice tank! You actually have a pretty nice fish load now but I think you may like a fish that tends to swim lower in the tank or just hangs out. A Court Jester (Ranfordi) Goby or Hector's Goby would add a splash of green down low and they are peaceful (except to each other). I don't know how deep your sandbed is but one of my favorite shrimp gobies is the High-Fin Goby. Even without a shrimp partner they are entertaining but... may set up shop where you can't really see it.

The Mandarins mentioned above are also interesting. I've heard that the captive-bred ones are easy to keep. The wild ones are expert-only as they will generally starve without a constant supply of pods.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

HI all!, My mane is Gary and I am brand new to this site and new to saltwater aquariums. I have been keeping tropical freshwater fish since I was a kid and just this spring converted a 50 gal freshwater tank to saltwater with the help of my LFS. I am hoping to add corals eventually but right now would like to get a few more fish but need help deciding which ones. Currently I have: 2 clowns, 3 regal damsels, 2 firefish, 1 cardinal, 1 blue streak cleaner wrasse, 2 nassarius snails and 3 scarlett hermits. So im looking for something that adds more color and is compatible with what I got and is reef safe... Suggestions welcome... Thanks!

Welcome to r2r!

So youll most likely find out the damsels will get pretty aggressive long term, theyll start going after each other and new fish once they get bigger. Some of my favorite additions to a tank that size would be some sort of blenny for algae eating. The starry blenny is one of my favorites. A sandsifting goby or an engineer goby is another great additon as long as you dont mine them redoing your sand layout, but they serve the purpose of keeping your sandbed clean.

You can also add some inverts like an urchin, conch, brittle starfish, or a shrimp. Theyre all great additons as well.

 

[Digitalfirex]

HI all!, My mane is Gary and I am brand new to this site and new to saltwater aquariums. I have been keeping tropical freshwater fish since I was a kid and just this spring converted a 50 gal freshwater tank to saltwater with the help of my LFS. I am hoping to add corals eventually but right now would like to get a few more fish but need help deciding which ones. Currently I have: 2 clowns, 3 regal damsels, 2 firefish, 1 cardinal, 1 blue streak cleaner wrasse, 2 nassarius snails and 3 scarlett hermits. So im looking for something that adds more color and is compatible with what I got and is reef safe... Suggestions welcome... Thanks!

Hello, and welcome to r2r!

I actually had a similar transition (I still have my freshwater tho lol). For color I have a royal gramma (yellow and purple), pajama cardinal or you could consider a smaller wrasse (look at a yellow corris wrasse, carpenter flasher wrasse, or a six line wrasse). They all get along in my tank... if you go the wrasse route make sure you have a lid because they will jump. Otherwise another option might be a goby or dragonnette.

 

[attiland]

HI all!, My mane is Gary and I am brand new to this site and new to saltwater aquariums. I have been keeping tropical freshwater fish since I was a kid and just this spring converted a 50 gal freshwater tank to saltwater with the help of my LFS. I am hoping to add corals eventually but right now would like to get a few more fish but need help deciding which ones. Currently I have: 2 clowns, 3 regal damsels, 2 firefish, 1 cardinal, 1 blue streak cleaner wrasse, 2 nassarius snails and 3 scarlett hermits. So im looking for something that adds more color and is compatible with what I got and is reef safe... Suggestions welcome... Thanks!

Welcome to R2R

 

[Fish Think Pink]

HI all!, My mane is Gary and I am brand new to this site and new to saltwater aquariums. I have been keeping tropical freshwater fish since I was a kid and just this spring converted a 50 gal freshwater tank to saltwater with the help of my LFS. I am hoping to add corals eventually but right now would like to get a few more fish but need help deciding which ones. Currently I have: 2 clowns, 3 regal damsels, 2 firefish, 1 cardinal, 1 blue streak cleaner wrasse, 2 nassarius snails and 3 scarlett hermits. So im looking for something that adds more color and is compatible with what I got and is reef safe... Suggestions welcome... Thanks!

Hi Gary and Welcome! Glad you joined.

This is a great reference book type article I still refer:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[gsjr]

I have one in both of my tanks — my Orchid dottyback hangs out alone in the rocks 95% of the time (when she isn't eating or being chased by my fairy wrasse), and the magenta dottyback is largely the same. She was added at the same time as a firefish, and primarily hides all day, but occasionally she will dart toward the firefish if he's too close to her rock.

YMMV, but aggression hasn't been an issue for me.

Hi again, I think I just replied to your first thread post. Didn't see the date...almost perished laughing...lol! If so please ignore. Sorry about that...

 

[kittenbritches]

Hi again, I think I just replied to your first thread post. Didn't see the date...almost perished laughing...lol! If so please ignore. Sorry about that...

I can't tell you how often I go to reply to someone's thread and then see it is from a long time ago! But thanks for the encouragement all the same!

 

[gsjr]

I can't tell you how often I go to reply to someone's thread and then see it is from a long time ago! But thanks for the encouragement all the same!

YEh, still getting used to how to use this site...Kind of embarrassing but oh well. I guess your well into your corals then.? I am about to get my first. I just started a build thread to document it called "planning for corals." Its got a pic of my tank and rock work so if you want to take a look and advise on what may be good for me to start with id appreciate it.

 

[kittenbritches]

YEh, still getting used to how to use this site...Kind of embarrassing but oh well. I guess your well into your corals then.? I am about to get my first. I just started a build thread to document it called "planning for corals." Its got a pic of my tank and rock work so if you want to take a look and advise on what may be good for me to start with id appreciate it.

No need to be embarrassed! Yeah, I have way more corals than I should -- I went through a pretty impulsive streak this fall. Whoops! I'll take a look at your thread for sure!

You should post the URL to your build thread in your account settings so that you can get the "Build Thread Contributor" badge -- then anyone can click it to jump straight to your build thread.

Click "Account > Account Details" and scroll down to the "Identities" section. Pop it in there and save.