30 Gallon Stock

[kalh]

Hi all,

 

I have a 30G with a 20G sump and am thinking of stocking the following in a mixed reef:

- Mated pair mandarin dragonet (I will be buying captive-bred dragonets and cultivating my own pods if I can't train them to frozen)

- 1 Flame angel

- 2 Harlequin shrimp

- 3 Sexy shrimp

- 1 Cleaner shrimp

- A few snails

 

Any experiences or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Dutchymomo]

Everything sounds great except the harlequin shrimps because they only eat starfish. If you can afford a live star every so often then go for it, but otherwise you could make a starfish only tank to propagate them but the each need their own area to prevent cannibalism. Otherwise i would not get harlequin shrimp. 

Also I would watch for the angel nipping coral as it can sometimes happen. Otherwise go for it. 

[kalh]

1 hour ago, Dutchymomo said:

Everything sounds great except the harlequin shrimps because they only eat starfish. If you can afford a live star every so often then go for it, but otherwise you could make a starfish only tank to propagate them but the each need their own area to prevent cannibalism. Otherwise i would not get harlequin shrimp. 

Also I would watch for the angel nipping coral as it can sometimes happen. Otherwise go for it. 

Thanks for your feedback! I was going to keep a couple of chocolate chip starfish in my sump and break a leg off to feed them every week or so.

Yes, that is a concern about the angel. I was going to stick a small frag into the QT tank with my angel to make sure that it doesn't nip, and keep it well fed. Do you have any other ideas?

[paulsz]

You would need to cultivate a large amount of pods for the mandarin dragonets. They hunt for them all day long and in a 30g+20 sump, you may not even have enough pod supply  for one. 

 

I've also been thinking about the flame angel for my 35 cube. I worry about them nipping on my corals but i've heard it's a 50/50 chance so you may get lucky.

[Dutchymomo]

Yeah I agree with Paulsz you are going to need a lot of pods for a pair of dragonets. You would need double the amount you would probably get. 

I am going to have a 29 gallon with 

-two clowns

-maybe a flame angel

-maybe a chromis or two

-a goby or shrimp goby pair

also lots of softies and lps

 

what lights do you have on your tank just wondering 

[kalh]

52 minutes ago, paulsz said:

You would need to cultivate a large amount of pods for the mandarin dragonets. They hunt for them all day long and in a 30g+20 sump, you may not even have enough pod supply  for one. 

 

I've also been thinking about the flame angel for my 35 cube. I worry about them nipping on my corals but i've heard it's a 50/50 chance so you may get lucky.

Ideally I can get them trained on a mix of pellets, frozen, baby brine shrimp, and pods. But yes, I will be waiting to add them until I have many, many pod cultures going lol!

[kalh]

50 minutes ago, Dutchymomo said:

Yeah I agree with Paulsz you are going to need a lot of pods for a pair of dragonets. You would need double the amount you would probably get. 

I am going to have a 29 gallon with 

-two clowns

-maybe a flame angel

-maybe a chromis or two

-a goby or shrimp goby pair

also lots of softies and lps

 

what lights do you have on your tank just wondering 

Lol I know! I've started calculating how many cultures I will need... and it's a lot.

 

The lights I'm planning to get: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017GX73YY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1SD0Bb2KYE0RE?fbclid=IwAR0MGrj7kgBkwrTA3ecxy0uyKLOehHG5kGFBCUC-kzQYXNvtQK9u6zh4G1k

 

These lights are also great for some SPS 🙂

[jesseatam]

Flames get big, I would say no to any dwarf angels in a 30.

[HookedOnAquariums]

17 minutes ago, jesseatam said:

Flames get big, I would say no to any dwarf angels in a 30.

He could easily do a cherub or flameback. they stay about 2 and a half inches

[StinkyBunny]

You're playing with fire with a Flame in an SPS tank. I personally don't trust them not to nip at corals. There are very few angels that I'd trust in a reef tank. Coral Beauty angels out of The Philippines, Resplendent angels and Flamebacks out of Africa or Fireballs out of Brazil.

[kalh]

On 10/27/2018 at 6:13 PM, StinkyBunny said:

You're playing with fire with a Flame in an SPS tank. I personally don't trust them not to nip at corals. There are very few angels that I'd trust in a reef tank. Coral Beauty angels out of The Philippines, Resplendent angels and Flamebacks out of Africa or Fireballs out of Brazil.

I've heard that angels are all 50/50 when it comes to nipping... It's always a risk, which I hope to mitigate with nori to graze on and QT with a couple of frags. Have you had experience with those angels? I have heard that Flamebacks (though beautiful) can be aggressive. I was considering a cherub or coral beauty as an alternative. What are your thoughts?

[A Little Blue]

That's a very ambitious stocking list. If you are willing to take some risk as well as provide specific care for other species on your list, I would say go for it. Personally, I would stay away from anything that might make my life more difficult and have very little value in return. 

[BlennyBoi]

On 10/25/2018 at 11:51 PM, kalh said:

Thanks for your feedback! I was going to keep a couple of chocolate chip starfish in my sump and break a leg off to feed them every week or so.

Yes, that is a concern about the angel. I was going to stick a small frag into the QT tank with my angel to make sure that it doesn't nip, and keep it well fed. Do you have any other ideas?

do not intentionally break starfish legs. the starfish might get an infection and die. its better to buy a couple of, say, fromia stars (which are reef safe, unlike chocolate chips) cause the harlequins dont kill stars (other than asterinas), they just pick at it and let it regrow. if you dont want to go through all this, just get a different species, like sexy shrimps (not cbs tho! i lost a clown to one!)

[BlennyBoi]

On 10/28/2018 at 9:13 AM, StinkyBunny said:

You're playing with fire with a Flame in an SPS tank. I personally don't trust them not to nip at corals. There are very few angels that I'd trust in a reef tank. Coral Beauty angels out of The Philippines, Resplendent angels and Flamebacks out of Africa or Fireballs out of Brazil.

yeah, i would go with a coral beauty. flames are risky in a reef tank.