Hmmm... so far that's 2 against and one for....guess I'll be waiting for more input.
The lower I can keep my own stress the better, though, so maybe I'll pass. If I did, what do you guys think would be a suitable purple fish to go in this:
125g
WITH
4-5 Pictilis Anthias
2 Mandarin Dragonets
2 Ocellaris Clownfish
Various Corals
Various Inverts (CuC, plus maybe one or two I just like)
All of these are set - they're my very favorites (aside from dropping the Flame Fairy Wrasse I wanted over concerns of it getting into fights with the similarly-colored anthias). Do you suppose there's a nice reef-safe purple wrasse out there I could get?
I am buying these all captive-bred if at all possible. The mandarins and clowns absolutely for sure.
If you think this is overstocking, please warn me.
I will not be getting all these at once, obviously. The plan is to start with the clowns (no 'nem) and a portion of the cleanup crew plus a 'pod culture. Then I'll get the Mandarins and train them to frozens in my QT before adding them to the display (plus a second and/or third pod culture to be sure of their safety and fatness!). Next, the rest of my CuC, then the anthias - getting four or five femmes and letting a male appear. My coral collection will be scattered throughout as I run into specimens I really really like and add the capacity for (such as I'm not getting SPS until I have dosing equipment, etc.
I am fully ware of how difficult these fish can be to keep and even though I've only had personal experience with FW so far I am ready for a new challenge. I'm disabled so I'll have a ton of time to work with them and give them what they need (including a lot of patience and research, research, research!)
Believe me, there'll be plenty of time between the clowns and the other fish due to my budget also; it will force me not to progress too quickly.
