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Coral Vue Hydros

Fluval Evo 13.5 Stocking


DCJ

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Hallo Nano-Reef!

I'm brand new to the forum and brand new to the saltwater world

 

I've got some 10+ years of freshwater experience and from that I've learned the best thing to do is research and research and research some more

 

I'm planning on getting the Fluval Evo 13.5 gal, initially setting it up as a FOWLR and then maybe adding some soft corals (dare I... a couple of LPS?) 6 months down the line after the FOWLR settles, but we'll see how that goes. I'll be switching out the stock media and possibly be trying some chaeto in the first chamber because I won't be getting the skimmer.

 

I'm just mulling over my eventual fish stocking and wondered if I could get your opinions on some of this.

 

The only real certainty I have is a standard firefish and a yasha haze goby (with a randall's shrimp possibly), otherwise I've been looking at the following:

 

Yellow Clown Goby
Panamic Barnacle Blenny
Tanaka's Pygmy Wrasse
Firecracker Goby (Trimma rubromaculatus)

 

 - I'd get those barnacle shells for the blenny (might get them anyway, I quite like the look of them) - would he have much of a bioload?
- I'm attracted to the Clown Goby because I'd see him around a bit more and I like the yellow
- The Wrasse is adorable, but I'd be concerned that I wouldn't see him a lot, plus that I'd have a lot of red in the tank
- And I have seen the gobies in the flesh, they're teeny tiny, I could get a few of them - what's their bioload like?

 

I don't want to be ridiculous and shove too many fish into a tank that can't take them. Would I be able to add the Barnacle Blenny to the Firefish and YH Goby and still have room for the YC Goby/Pygmy Wrasse/FC Gobies? Would you suggest a different combination of fish? I was looking at the Neon Blue Gobies but I'm not sold on them really.

 

Dream, dream, dream.

 

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I just picked up a yellow clown goby for my fluval evo 5 gallon. I've had these guys in the past and love them. I will say i think he is about all the 5 will handle, but I have a boat load of verts in there with him.

10 nassarius snails

12 blue legged hermits

2 scarlet hermits

1 turbo

3 misc snails

200 copepods +

And a porcelian crab

 

I'd say you could do him and the fire fish in the 13.5. 

 

I have the 13.5 as well and plan on doing a nem and clown pair only. 

 

Not very experienced but thats my two cents. Good luck and looking forward to pics. 

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The bioload of those gobies is probably less than the bioload of a shrimp. Don't be too worried about corals either, many of the softies, lps, and even some sps will grow like weeds in less than optimal conditions.

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I had  barnacle Benny in my mixed reef with no problems.He lived in a hole in the L R . Didn't bother anyone or vise versa. He was always looking out waiting for a morsal of food to float by. Very interesting with loads of personality

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Blennies are great fish. Full of character and out and about.

Clown gobies are cute but they just perch or hide.

 

Check compatability for firefish and blenny on liveaquaria.com. Similar shaped fish can have territorial issues.

 

In a 13.5, 2 fish is about it or 2 fish and a small goby. Really depends on size of fish.

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Thank you everyone for commenting so far, your advice is really helpful :)
 

Crazystang98 - I have no idea what kind of invertebrates I want to put in there as of yet apart from a shrimp for the YH goby - is your 5 happy with them all in there?

 

1.0reef - that's the kind of info I need, thank you. Could you offer any idea on the bioload of the others? Would bioload be more of an issue in stocking the 13.5 gal considering the size of the fish I'm looking at here?

 

jambon - I love getting feedback from people who have owned these guys. Was he out and about a lot or did he stay in his little hole? I was looking some info up on them, some YT vids and what not and saw that they tended to stick to their holes, which is why I was wondering about stocking with them, if I could get away with having one with the Firefish and Yasha Haze plus another fish because they seemed to squat down in one place for the majority of the time unless they were springing out to eat. They're quite small as well so if they didn't put too much strain on the bioload of the tank that might be another reason I could keep one too

 

Clown79 - thank you for your input, I hadn't really thought about the clown gobies perching behaviour. They'd be easier to see but not really swim around as much I suppose. Liveaquaria give blennies and dartfish a 'Y' for compatibility, but I'd set up their ideal territories at either end of the tank (not that they'd necessarily listen to me about where they should live).

 

I initially wanted a clownfish but I'm aware their bioloads are quite large, and that there's some argument over if they can fit in the 13.5.

 

So I thought to maximise the number of fish i could keep I should keep the sizes and bioloads small and space out territories across the tank. So the YH goby SHOULD (ha) stay in the bottom level, the firefish around their rock area, the barnacle blenny in his hole wherever he decides to make it.

 

Would adding the FC gobies make any difference to the bioload or would it be the same as adding shrimp? If so could I even get away with adding a fifth species? I'm not so sure when I put it like that actually. Should I be looking at a Pygmy Wrasse at all? And now I'm not sure about the Clown Goby.

 

Thanks again everyone!

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

@DCJ

“Not that they will listen to me”.  Humor is good.  

 

Your bioload plan is very heavy.   Before you get to that bioload, your tank must have a compatiable ecosystem to deal with that much food input that would be required to feed that many fish.  The same nutrients that your macro algae refugium use to grow will also grow undesirable algae in your tank.  Algae & coral zooanthelia need light and nutrients.  The wild reefs of the world would be algae dominated if it were not for herbivores.  With that in mind, you should choose your clean up crew wisely.  Hermit crabs eat snails.  If you can get an Emerald Crab, get it after algae starts growing.  I have seen them take oyster flesh from an anemone.  So they are omnivores as or most Shrimp.  Focus on snails initially.  If you do use good live rock, you may even get micro starfish as part of detrivores sandbed crew.  Always include amphipods (herbivores) and copepods (detrivores) as part of CUC.  With respect to pods establishing mature populations, you would be well served to not add fish for three months and allow your live rock to sprout things which may surprise you.  

 

Fish & inveterate behavior is not absolute.  I have had Perpermint Shrimp that eat Aptasia when other food was abundant and some Peppermints not touch Aptasia.

 

PS.  I think from a behavior point of view, you are putting too many differrent fish together in too small an area.  As your first reef tank, you should not push the envelope on sociology or biology.

 

I noticed you maintained FW for ten years.  You might consider using ornamental macro in your display tank.  Most of my tanks are macro algae lagoon tanks with the coral types you mentioned.  You should include colorful mushrooms with your coral stocking list.  With that said, you should use GAC.   That is the only media I would recommend.  Reef inhabitants need nitrogen, phosphate and iron to grow.  All photosynthetic organisms are not limited in growth by the most abundant nutrients but by the least abundant.  After 45 years, my reef keeping methods are to feed heavy and grow everything with suitable janitors to clean the garden of weeds.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...
jjmccloud2011
On 2/10/2018 at 3:00 PM, Clown79 said:

2 ocellaris clowns in a 13.5 would be fine but no more fish. I have 2 in a 10g, many do.

 

Clowns generally stick to an area and venture around sometimes.

 

 

I have a young 1.5" pair of frostbite clowns in my evo 13.5. Plenty of room for them. I do plan to add a cleaner shrimp and small yellow watchman goby but I think it should be fine 

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jjmccloud2011
2 minutes ago, jjmccloud2011 said:

I have a young 1.5" pair of frostbite clowns in my evo 13.5. Plenty of room for them. I do plan to add a cleaner shrimp and small yellow watchman goby but I think it should be fine. Love these little guys, shout out to Sustainable Aquatics for this bonded pair

 

20210226_091300.jpg

20210227_122928.thumb.jpg.db38310000ed81f7292e43e515a19049.jpg

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2 hours ago, jjmccloud2011 said:

I have a young 1.5" pair of frostbite clowns in my evo 13.5. Plenty of room for them. I do plan to add a cleaner shrimp and small yellow watchman goby but I think it should be fine 

That should be fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...
TheReefBean
On 2/10/2018 at 8:51 PM, NGnanoreef said:

Probably gonna get yelled at for this but oh well. I have 2 clowns and a royal gramma in my evo and they do just fine. I do weekly water changes and nothing else.

I also do, and they do extremely fine and many people I know agree, My friend has had a six line wrasse, two clownfish, a Royal Gramma, and a goby in a ten gallon for 5 years with no problems.

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