NanoRox Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 hey folks. I know, I know...another "can I add another fish" question but here it is. 14G nano with 4 sexy shrimp, 1 firefish goby and a mandarin (feed copious amounts of pods and farming my own in a stand alone container). I would like to add another "swimming" type of fish or perhaps a shrimp or watchman goby. Three fish too many? nitrates, phosphates undetectable using hobby grade tests. filtering with GAC, filter floss and a chaeto reactor Quote Link to comment
RIP Sebastian Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Duane Clark said: hey folks. I know, I know...another "can I add another fish" question but here it is. 14G nano with 4 sexy shrimp, 1 firefish goby and a mandarin (feed copious amounts of pods and farming my own in a stand alone container). I would like to add another "swimming" type of fish or perhaps a shrimp or watchman goby. Three fish too many? nitrates, phosphates undetectable using hobby grade tests. filtering with GAC, filter floss and a chaeto reactor You should be good. Just make sure that you add a peaceful fish like a cardinal or maybe a royal gramma. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Ya 1 more should be fine but definitely a peaceful fish. A royal gramma would be nice. Quote Link to comment
NanoRox Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 8 minutes ago, Clown79 said: Ya 1 more should be fine but definitely a peaceful fish. A royal gramma would be nice. I want one BUT I have read that being a basslet my sexy shrimp may not be safe. Quote Link to comment
RIP Sebastian Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 27 minutes ago, Duane Clark said: I want one BUT I have read that being a basslet my sexy shrimp may not be safe. Try a cardinal. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Duane Clark said: I want one BUT I have read that being a basslet my sexy shrimp may not be safe. Too bad. Cardinal should be safe. Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 On 2/19/2018 at 1:36 PM, RIP Sebastian said: You should be good. Just make sure that you add a peaceful fish like a cardinal or maybe a royal gramma. A cardinal? You mean a yellowstripe or longspine right? I would be extremely leery of a banggai or PJ with sexy shrimp... Why not just another firefish? You're limited with such a small tank and skiddish/small existing inhabitants... Quote Link to comment
RIP Sebastian Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 9 hours ago, ajmckay said: A cardinal? You mean a yellowstripe or longspine right? I would be extremely leery of a banggai or PJ with sexy shrimp... Why not just another firefish? You're limited with such a small tank and skiddish/small existing inhabitants... I didn't know that Bangaii's and PJ's were aggressive towards crabs. My PJs have showed not interest whatsoever in my crabs. Interesting. My PJs are pretty timid fish, so I figured they'd be okay. Quote Link to comment
NanoRox Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 9 hours ago, ajmckay said: A cardinal? You mean a yellowstripe or longspine right? I would be extremely leery of a banggai or PJ with sexy shrimp... Why not just another firefish? You're limited with such a small tank and skiddish/small existing inhabitants... dang really? I had settled on a PJ cardinal. I have heard multiple fire fish can fight. I was also hoping for a little variety. I am inclined to get a shrimp goby then but really wanted something that would swim mid tank more Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 3 hours ago, RIP Sebastian said: I didn't know that Bangaii's and PJ's were aggressive towards crabs. My PJs have showed not interest whatsoever in my crabs. Interesting. My PJs are pretty timid fish, so I figured they'd be okay. I agree they're generally quite reef safe - but they are also carnivores. I think generally they're invert safe but sexy shrimp are pretty darn small... Mysis shrimp in my frozen foods the size of sexy shrimp are pretty common lol... They can be aggressive eaters as well. Actually a few weeks ago my banggai (similar to the PJ) partially ate my 3" perc during a feeding. They both went for a piece of food and for a brief moment had the clowns head in it's mouth... Didn't seem to damage the clown fortunately but there's no doubt that cardinals can act aggressively. 3 hours ago, Duane Clark said: dang really? I had settled on a PJ cardinal. I have heard multiple fire fish can fight. I was also hoping for a little variety. I am inclined to get a shrimp goby then but really wanted something that would swim mid tank more So don't feel like you have to take my word as gospel... I'm not an authority on fish, I can only speak to my experiences/observations. The truth is that what we know as "stocking guidelines" are far from being hard rules. The stocking equation is never the same between tanks because there are too many variables to consider. Also fish aren't clones - they do have individual characteristics that can cause differences in behavior. My best advice is to understand that adding anything at all to your tank is a risk. Each time you add something there's an increased chance of disease, stress, nutrient level, bacterial populations, change in feeding/maintenance routine, good interactions between species, bad interactions between species, etc... Do your best to research possible incompatibilities and understand the risks. In this case you're taking a PJ cardinal which by most accounts is a very peaceful fish. In most peaceful to semi-aggressive reef tanks it's an ideal fit. But you have sexy shrimp. A particularly small (and pricey) invert. A sexy shrimp will fit in the mouth of even a smaller cardinal. What's the amount of risk you're willing to take? If you want an open water swimmer and don't mind if it picks off some sexy shrimp then the decision is easy. If you want the sexy shrimp to remain in your tank and safe then there are other fish that would pose less risk. Given your tank size I suppose adding another goby might not be a great idea after all... Maybe a smaller cardinal (Yellow stripe or long spine)? A Possum wrasse might also work though would put some pressure on the food supply of the mandarin. With a firefish and a mandarin though the possum wrasse might be more likely to be out and about than what you typically might hear about. Either way adding another fish will likely require a change in your maintenance routine. Quote Link to comment
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