What to get?

Ldoughty · May 10, 2020

Have a 32 gallon biocube. It's been cycling for a couple weeks (I used premixed imagitarium ocean water), have 2 clowns and some crabs for now. Wondering what to get next as far as fish. I really like dwarf angels and tangs. Suggestions?

Webslinger · May 10, 2020

look for smaller fish. gobies,royal gramma...

Sosuke · May 10, 2020

Tangs like to swim long distances so I wouldn't do it, you could get away with maybe one smaller species of dwarf if you're ok with some possible coral nipping down the road. I personally would get a goby shrimp duo and +1 to Webslinger a royal gramma is also a nice choice

JonoB · May 10, 2020

Hey there and welcome to Reef2reef.

I'm still learning plenty as well, but I do know that you are going to need a much bigger tank for tangs. Something like a firefish or gobies are really fun and have great personality!

Ldoughty · May 10, 2020

I'll definitely look into some gobies and grammas. Thoughts on a flame back angel?

Sosuke · May 10, 2020

A small one may work for a while but is a potential threat to coral

Auquanut · May 10, 2020

Welcome to R2R!
What kind of clowns do you have. Clowns tend to be territorial, and some are more aggressive than others (maroons). A flameback angel may do better in a larger tank especially if you intend to keep corals. Are you looking for a certain coloration, activity level, size, etc...?

Webslinger · May 10, 2020

dwarft like to swim, you will need a lot of caves in your rockwork in that small of a tank

Ldoughty · May 10, 2020

Auquanut said:
Welcome to R2R!
What kind of clowns do you have. Clowns tend to be territorial, and some are more aggressive than others (maroons). A flameback angel may do better in a larger tank especially if you intend to keep corals. Are you looking for a certain coloration, activity level, size, etc...?

My 2 clowns are both standard occellaris. Ideally I would like to have some hardy utilitarian fish and then a show fish. Not sure if I want to pursue corals yet, or wait until I have a better handle on the hobby.

Auquanut · May 10, 2020

Your choices as far as numbers go are somewhat limited as you don't want to put too many fish in your tank. Lawnmower blennies are good for hair algae as long as you get one before there's a problem. In my experience, they will eat it as long as it's not too long.

I kept a long nose hawkfish (good for pest control) with an occellaris clown and a pajama cardinal in my 29 biocube for 2 years before transferring them to my 125. They did well together, but the HF wouldn't tolerate any new additions.

Ldoughty · May 11, 2020

Auquanut said:
Your choices as far as numbers go are somewhat limited as you don't want to put too many fish in your tank. Lawnmower blennies are good for hair algae as long as you get one before there's a problem. In my experience, they will eat it as long as it's not too long.

I kept a long nose hawkfish (good for pest control) with an occellaris clown and a pajama cardinal in my 29 biocube for 2 years before transferring them to my 125. They did well together, but the HF wouldn't tolerate any new additions.

Got it. What about fish such as gobies or wrasse? Reasonable for this tank?

Auquanut · May 11, 2020

Ldoughty said:
Got it. What about fish such as gobies or wrasse? Reasonable for this tank?

There are quite a few gobies that would work well. Some will pair up with pistol shrimp which is awesome to see. You'll have to do your research to determine what's best for you. They do tend to hide out a lot. Don't get an engineer! they get way too big. I've got 2 in my 125, and they're well over a foot long.

As far as wrasses go, there are some dwarf species that would work well. Again, you'll have to do some research. Some of them are not cheep. I personally wouldn't recommend a six line. In my experience, they tend to be overly aggressive.

You might consider a blenny like a bicolor blenny. Loads of character, but they tend to jump.

Oscar’s25Gal · May 11, 2020

Tangs are used to swimming miles a day in the ocean and therefore need big tanks. (around 4 foot long at LEAST)
I would not recommend buying a tang, even a juvenile. They grow to be massive. Dwarf angels are a bit more possible but still too big for that tank. There are some cool other fish however such as Banggai Cardinals, chromis, wrasses and gobies. I would recommend any of them to a tank that size. Good luck!

Ldoughty · May 11, 2020

Auquanut said:
Welcome to R2R!
What kind of clowns do you have. Clowns tend to be territorial, and some are more aggressive than others (maroons). A flameback angel may do better in a larger tank especially if you intend to keep corals. Are you looking for a certain coloration, activity level, size, etc...?

How long would you recommend to wait to add something such as a goby? Clowns have been in several days. Maybe a couple more weeks?

Ldoughty · May 11, 2020

Ldoughty said:
Have a 32 gallon biocube. It's been cycling for a couple weeks (I used premixed imagitarium ocean water), have 2 clowns and some crabs for now. Wondering what to get next as far as fish. I really like dwarf angels and tangs. Suggestions?

About how long after adding fish should you wait to add more? A few weeks?