Will my system be overcrowded with this stocking list?

[SofishticatedREEFER]

I ended up breaking down my system to make a move an sold him but at first it was a little skeptical about the prepared food at first so I did live brine mixed with some dead (wet) mysis

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

In my opinion it’s easier to train to take prepared food early in the morning when the lights are dim and late at night when the lights are ramping down they are some what cryptic by nature made for less competition with my wrasses

 

[Indytraveler83]

Well, today’s a sad day for me. After determining the behavior of the rest of my stocking list, I have unfortunately decided to axe my Marine Betta too. It’s always been a must-have fish for me, but considering that it will have all active tank mates among the other larger fish, I am afraid it won’t thrive and be too reclusive in my tank. This leaves me with 14 fish and I might add back the two PJ Cardinals for a total of 3 pairs.

I have always hoped to find a specimen that’s already eating frozen or even flakes and pellets at my LFS, but it’s a gamble and my LFS does not get them in more than 1-2, maybe 3 at a time. It’s a gamble. If I need any live foods to initiate a feeding response, my LFS does not really provide them so I’ll be absolutely helpless.

Don't give up on the marine betta if you really want one, you just may have to look outside your normal sources.

I managed to find a captive bred juvenile specimen at an lfs I visit when taking a break from my in-laws. I NEVER had to feed it live, it was eating frozen mysis by day 2.

Mine isn't reclusive or shy, and over time his feeding response has gone from slow and tentative (used to feed him with long feeding tongs) to bold and on par with my clownfish and anthias.

He also gets along quite well with my yellow tang and isn't intimidated by the fast movement of the tang or the assorted wrasse and anthias in my system.

If you can, find a captive bred one, as they are usually much better conditioned for life in your reef tank.

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

+1 on captive bred they adjust a lot better less finicky = a higher chance of success given your attentive to the betta

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

Don't give up on the marine betta if you really want one, you just may have to look outside your normal sources.

I managed to find a captive bred juvenile specimen at an lfs I visit when taking a break from my in-laws. I NEVER had to feed it live, it was eating frozen mysis by day 2.

Mine isn't reclusive or shy, and over time his feeding response has gone from slow and tentative (used to feed him with long feeding tongs) to bold and on par with my clownfish and anthias.

He also gets along quite well with my yellow tang and isn't intimidated by the fast movement of the tang or the assorted wrasse and anthias in my system.

If you can, find a captive bred one, as they are usually much better conditioned for life in your reef tank.

I’m somewhat of a live food lover I get to watch fish find an hunt food as they would some what naturally even tho I know it’s unnatural for swaths of brine shrimp to show up 4 times a day in nature lol

 

[Zionas]

Lol I’m sure that wouldn’t be the case in the wild. Unfortunately I live halfway across the world and I can’t get access to many captive breeders like ORA, Sustainable Aquatics and so on. That means no captive bred Betta for me. As much as I’d love to. Here the only fish we get Captive bred on a regular basis are Clowns, and sometimes large angels (Chaetodonplus), recently I’ve seen captive bred Cuban Hogfish Show up (one at a time). And then Golden Trevallys.

Can my larger fish, x2 Heniochus, x1 YT and x1 Foxface live their whole lives inside a tank of my size? The Heniochus I’m a bit concerned about coz FishBase says they get to 10” though I’ve heard 7-8” is more of a realistic max size.

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

Lol I’m sure that wouldn’t be the case in the wild. Unfortunately I live halfway across the world and I can’t get access to many captive breeders like ORA, Sustainable Aquatics and so on. That means no captive bred Betta for me. As much as I’d love to. Here the only fish we get Captive bred on a regular basis are Clowns, and sometimes large angels (Chaetodonplus), recently I’ve seen captive bred Cuban Hogfish Show up (one at a time). And then Golden Trevallys.

Ahh man so wild caught it is if you can stalk the betta you want I would stop in at the pet store every day for a week watch it eat watch it’s behaviors an see if that’s the right one for you I stalk all my fishes lol I just took my 3 wrasses out of qt

 

[Cali-Saltwater-1st-Timer]

Ha! I have 40 fish in my 6 x 2 x 2. If you have the filtration to support that bioload and the feeding required to keep them healthy go for it! Just need adequate export.

 

[JumboShrimp]

If I recall doing an R2R search, I think about half the folks complained that their Marine Betta ‘hid’ most of the time. I think your selection(s) are better without it, personally.

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

If I recall doing an R2R search, I think about half the folks complained that their Marine Betta ‘hid’ most of the time. I think your selection(s) are better without it, personally.

Different fish have different personalities m there’s nothing wrong with a fish who’s reclusive an will pop up to be seen only a few times a day marine bettas are beautiful hardy and intelligent fish

 

[JumboShrimp]

I won’t fully disagree with you, @SofishticatedREEFER , but the personality of the ‘human’ also comes into play. Lol. I had a One Spot Fox Face that did nothing but hide except when feeding, and after about a year or two I couldn’t take it anymore. To me he was just taking up valuable bio-load, so I traded him back into my LFS.

 

[Zionas]

Are any of fish unable to live out their full lives in a 6-foot tank? Especially the 2 Bannerfish, will they need to go into a 7-foot or 8-foot down the line?

 

[JumboShrimp]

That question has a bit of a ‘Tang Police’ aspect to it, and of course I have never been a fish myself (Lol), but this is my H. Singularis. They are the ones I told you grow quite large. As they get bigger, the while and black merge into a sort of carbon fiber look. Anyway, he seems very happy in a 6-foot tank. (You can see the Damsel, large Lunar Wrasse, and Cleaner Fish for comparison purposes.) But of course you were talking about two (2) banner fish, in addition to a Hog Fish, and others. If you really love the idea of 2 smaller Banner Fish, maybe start with them and work out from there...

 

[Zionas]

Whoa that’s an awesome lil fish lol.

 

[JumboShrimp]

His main body would cover my palm.

 

[Zionas]

Big guy lol but really pretty. How long have you had him? Has he suffered any health issues before?

 

[JumboShrimp]

A good two years, never any problem. Eats Nori, pellets, frozen, and a mussel on the half shell.

 

[Zionas]

Great. What other large fish do you have currently?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I went from having a LOT of fish in my 6-foot FOWLER to slowly getting down to far, far fewer— my dream fish. Eventually I will move to an 8-foot tank. (Oh, and I also pulled all the sand and went bare bottom; it took several weeks to get there with a running tank, but I basically scooped it out a bit at a time.)

 

[Zionas]

Those are some nice fish! Good luck! I really wish I could get a larger tank, now I’m saying this with a 6’ I also wish I had an 8’ lol. I’m starting to understanding the true meaning of always wishing our tanks were bigger lol. Best of luck with your upgrade! When do you think it’ll be possible? I know the Emperor gets to like 15 inches, the Clown Trigger to like 20 inches, the Harlequin Tusk around the same max size as your Singularis and the Purple Tang also to around 10”. Your Lunare will be about 7” fully grown.

What do you have for smaller fish?