Hi Reefers,
Below stock list has been agreed between my self- and the control tower at home; now it is just a matter of which order to add them to our new tank.
Stock and suitability vs. tank size has been extensively discussed in a separate thread.
Any comments on which order to add all these beautiful fish to our new tank?
I will off course make sure not to go too fast, currently i am planning two weeks between the batches..
EDIT: Tank is measuring 6x2x2’ and will be fish only
1st batch - Tank cycle complete (already have!)
- 2 x Common Clown Fish
- Assorted Clean-up Crew
2nd batch (already have!)
- 1 x Timor Wrasse
- 1 x Lawnmower Blenny
3rd batch (already have!)
- 1 x File Fish
- 4th batch (already have!)
1 x Mandarin Goby
1 x Copperband Butterfly
5th batch
- 1 x Royal Gramma
6th batch
- 1 x Orangeback Fairy Wrasse
- 1 x McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse
- 1 x Wrasse (Which ones TBC)
7th batch
- 1 x Coral Beauty
- 1 x Long Nose Hawk Fish
8th batch
- 1 x Diamond Goby
- 1 x Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 x Chalk Goby
9th batch
- 6 x Carberryi Anthias
Last batch
- 1 x Yellow Tail Purple Tang
- 1 x White Tail Kole Tang
- 1 x Yellow Sailfin Tang
Cheers!!
The already added fish are a good move, add the RG towards the end, this reduces risk of aggression.
In the 6th batch i’d add another couple of flashers along with some from
Macropharyngodon,
Anampses and
Cirrhilabrus. Before you ask “Wont
Macropharyngodon/Anampses out compete the mandy for food?” no.
Anampses and
Macropharyngodon species can both be fed prepared foods, Mandarins rarely ever can. A
Macropharyngodon (or Anampses) species will be easy to care for after you get them passed the issue of internal parasites.
Batch 7 looks good to me, I would add another Angel to the list though. That Angel would be either a
Chaetodontoplus melanosoma or a
Genicanthus semifasciatus/melanospilos (Or if you’re like me and love both of their colours, then you could add both of them). The long nose hawk could go in a little earlier - If you plan to keep the RG in batch 5 then stick the long nose hawk in with the RG.
Batch 8 I have an issue with.
I would consider adding the diamond goby earlier. They are great at turning over the sand and keeping the sand look fresh. You will no doubt have some form of outbreak as you add more fish. Keeping that sand look fresh will help with the control tower from waving you down.
The issue burns down to this comment of “Adding the Diamond Goby in earlier”. Well, first off you have 2
Valenciennea species,
Valenciennea puellaris (The infamous Diamond Goby) and Valenciennea sexguttata (The not so well known Chalk Goby). I have an entire article dedicated to these guys against the
Cryptocentrus, Stonogobiops and
Amblyeleotris genera. The
Cryptocentrus cinctus can go in earlier however the two Valenciennea species I can’t really say (I would need to know the sand bed depth and how old the sandbed is). This will also tell me whether your tank is sufficient to keep 1 let alone 2.
Batch 9, I would try to get as many anthias as the tank fits. This is due to most small (Single digit) groups often dwindling down to just 1 or 2. You can also try to keep a single digit group if you have things like damsels keeping them together (Needing the protection of a group). Think about it, in the wild shoaling fish shoal for one reason… defence. Without that threat of predation or death, these fish have no need to shoal and so become aggressive towards eachother for the territory.
Batch 10 is pretty simple. If you have a plan for when the sailfin outgrows the tank (because this WILL occur) then go for it. If you don’t have a plan for it then ditch the sailfin for a smaller tang or maybe a tang of a different genus such as Acanthurus. I would personally swap the Desjardini for an
Acanthurus nigricans. Or one of their hybrids, these to me are just more showy with the grey/black background and the hints of gold colour round the fins and tail. The Hybrid Powder Blue is also a stunner, they have a steel blue body that looks even better in person. I’ve never really seen a difference between the Powder Brown hybrids and the powder brown but I’m sure they’re there (I’ve not really seen or cared for that hybrid in person so I can’t tell you much about them). The Achilles Hybrids are probably the nicest IMHO, they’re just expensive when they emerge. Their care is somewhat between an Achilles and a Goldrim. It’s slightly easier long term than the achilles but still needy.
Do you have one of them in mind- or all of them?
Enjoy your evening;
