Stocking question for Evo 13.5G

[necepticon]

Hi Everyone, 

I currently have my tank cycling and I've been doing research since I filled it with water. This is my first try at saltwater, and I have always wanted to keep a clownfish but I had been overwhelemed at trying saltwater. But I took the plunge and I'm going for my dream of keeping a clownfish.

 

 

My stocking plan;

 

1x clownfish (must have)

1x clown goby

1x royal gramma

 

CUC;

3x sexy shrimp

2x Narissus Snails

2x hermit crabs

 

Corals:

Zoa's

Frogspawn or Grape Coral

Pulsing Xenia

Pipe organ 

Plating Montipora

birdsnest

 

I crudely mocked it up but I have made a slight change to the aquascape since the mock up (added the archway to the right so the xenia placement might change.)

 

- is there an order in which to add the inhabitants of the tank so that they can all get along together better?

 

- can I add more fish? I feel like I might be at max with this plan.

 

- is the CUC ok? 

 

Thanks!

[mcarroll]

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

Hi Everyone, 

howdy!

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

I currently have my tank cycling and I've been doing research since I filled it with water. This is my first try at saltwater, and I have always wanted to keep a clownfish but I had been overwhelemed at trying saltwater. But I took the plunge and I'm going for my dream of keeping a clownfish.

A classic plan!  🙂 Have you encountered any good books or other good research materials of significance so far?  Martin Moe's books by any chance?  (Great starters.)

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

My stocking plan;

 

1x clownfish (must have)

1x clown goby

1x royal gramma

Work your way up to that slowly....adding most of the other critters (also slowly) first.   You might decide one one fish is best.  Or two.   Give yourself the chance to decide at each level.

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

CUC;

3x sexy shrimp

2x Narissus Snails

2x hermit crabs

Classic, but actually incorrect. 😉 

 

The shrimp are not cleanup crew at all.

 

Nassarius snails and hermits are both scavengers.

 

Most of your CUC should be herbivorous snails.  Turbo, Astrea, Trochus, Cerith, etc.

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

Corals:

Zoa's

Frogspawn or Grape Coral

Pulsing Xenia

Pipe organ 

Plating Montipora

birdsnest

Seems like a fine list to me.  Read up (in books when possible) on each coral so you can decide how important each one is to YOU with respect to it unique personality and requirements.  "Easy" and "Hard" are very relative terms.   Xenia is easy to grow but hard to live with.  Pipe organ is easy to live with but hard to grow.

 

It's important to choose corals you really want, not just corals that are "easy".   IMO you'll regret selecting corals on that basis.  Corals that take a little work are still "easy" if you ask me.  It's not hard to pick corals that are WORTH the little bit of extra work if you do your research.  👍  Seeing as many corals in person as possible really helps.

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

- is there an order in which to add the inhabitants of the tank so that they can all get along together better?

Not in general.  You don't have any Tangs to add last. 😉 

 

Do be mindful of corals like the Euphillia you selected that put out sweeper tentacles.  Whatever you place "downstream" from that coral could be at risk.  Strategic placement of the corals can avoid most troubles like this, however, just make sure you aren't caught off guard.  🙂 

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

- can I add more fish? I feel like I might be at max with this plan.

I think fewer would be better, but gauge your progress as you go – make sure you take your time along the way so that this can happen in a reasonable fashion.  👍

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

- is the CUC ok? 

see above

 

9 hours ago, necepticon said:

Thanks!

Looks VERY VERY bare.  I would not run the lights until you see an overall color change toward grey or tan.   As-is, it looks like a ready-for-grand-opening algae farm. 😬😉 

 

Hitting the tank with some phyto and pods during that time might not be a bad idea either.  Know anyone with a reef tank that would give you a little scoop of their sand, or a dirty filter pad?   Anythingn to get some live into your tank.

[phinatic]

10 hours ago, necepticon said:

3x sexy shrimp

2x Narissus Snails

2x hermit crabs

For the CUC, I'd recommend cerith or trochus snails. I have all of the above and I frankly worry that the Nassarius snails don't get enough food by the time the clowns, shrimp and hermits find it. You don't want to be in the position of feeding your cleanup crew. It will be hard to do that and keep your water in good shape. As mentioned above, herbivores would be your best bet at battling algae. My ceriths have been the best cleaners. The can get to every surface and also dig through the sand. As for my sexy shrimp, that another story. I have an active battle going on with them eating my SPS frags. Looking back, I wouldn't get them again.

 

42 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Strategic placement of the corals can avoid most troubles like this, however, just make sure you aren't caught off guard.  🙂

I would recommend planting macro algae in the locations where you will have corals. Just rubber band them to a small chunk of rock rubble. Then you can watch how the current interacts at that point in your aquascape and plan for how that will impact spacing and flow. You can pick something that has a little wiggle to it (not chaeto). I personally like gracillaria because its structure is similar to a sea fan. Then when you get your coral, just pull the algae out and place your coral in its spot.

 

In the meantime, you have something to look at while the tank breaks in and it will foster your pod population. As said above, I would also leave the lights off for as long as possible. You don't need them unless you add macro algae or coral. Your animals will be fine with ambient light from your room. You want every inch of that tank covered with bacteria before the lights are on for extended periods, so they have a head start on the algae.

[BadCrab]

Hi @necepticon!  Welcome!!!

I love your scape.  It looks great now and will only improve as you fill it in with coral.  I'm impressed with what you did - especially considering the restrictive footprint.

Regarding your posted stocking plans:
Clown Gobies are almost negligible in bioload.  They stay small, aren't messy, and barely swim.  I think he would be a great addition to a clownfish or clownfish pair.
The Royal Gramma, however, may cause you trouble.  I do think the tank is a little small for a basslet and that you'd need to be restrictively diligent about filtration and water changes to be successful in a nano.  If you're keen on trying, I would add this last as they can be boisterous and territorial.  I would not trust a Royal Gramma or other Basslet around small inverts like Sexy Shrimp - they're too expensive of a snack.

Could I suggest, instead, taking a look at a Firefish as your tertiary fish?  They're easily accessible at three distinctive price points, active swimmers, small, and typically timid.  They are prone to jumping, but I assume you're using the lid included with the tank kit or an aftermarket top.
Another option (but again, incompatible with Sexy Shrimp,) would be a Pistol and Goby pair.  Being able to observe that relationship is always something special.  But Pistols don't get along with passive inverts.  Another option entirely is to skip the third species and go with a mated pair of clowns, instead.


Regarding clean up crew:
As @mcarroll mentioned, the Sexy Shrimp are purely ornamental.  If anything, they'll steal food from your coral if given the chance.  And they'll look good doing it.

A handful of Nassarius and Hermits are a solid idea, but I again agree with mccaroll that you should build the foundation of that crew on herbivorous snails.  I personally don't trust hermit crabs but they're undeniably personable and good at their jobs.
Like everyone starting out, you're underestimating how much CUC you'll need.  I would start with a foundation of Cerith snails (Reef Cleaner's Dwarf Ceriths are my personal recommendation, but they're tiny and you'll want dozens of them.)  Other Cerith species, Nerites, and especially Banded Trochus are what I would (and do,) lean into.

 

Regarding coral:
Either avoid the Xenia or segregate it to its own rock island and be very weary about its potential invasiveness.  It can and will outcompete every other coral on your stockist - that's advice I suspect you will hear echoed by most.   Some Zoa/Palys can be like that too (If you're buying them locally pay attention to the frag racks they're on.)  I might use that Xenia space for more branching Euphyllia like Frogspawn.  Also (not super relevant,) but the clipart you used to represent the Birdsnest looks suspiciously like a Finger Leather instead.

[necepticon]

Thank you everyone for such great well thought out replies! I truly appreciate the help and advice, sometimes I've felt lost and overwhelmed with this but patience and research is what I have been falling back on. I have carefully read and re-read everyones responses and I'll be making some adjustments.

 

Royal Gramma is off the list. It's not a must have and looking more into it I hear more and more about possible aggression and if the tank is a bit on the small side for the fish I'll go without. Instead I was thinking of maybe the Helfrichi Firefish, expensive I know, but I'm thinking that it would be the last fish into the tank and the color/tempermant/size being perfect.

 

Adding the livestock into the tank will definately be a slow process. Once the tank completes the cycle, I wait a few days and make sure that the water is stable and consistant. Clownfish to go in first, then let it settle in for a month or so. Then I was planning on starting to add the CUC, not all at once of course and play it by ear on how many will be needed. As I add the livestock into the tank I plan on giving them a month or so at least to make sure that everything stays stable and good.

 

Revised Livestock

1 x Clownfish ( I plan on keeping a single one because I really dont want to have them breeding, and from what I read once they start you can't really stop them)

1 x Yellow Clown Goby

1 x Helfrichi Firefish

1 or 2 Sexy Shrimp

 

CUC

1 x Turbo Snail (more if needed)

2 x Cerith Snails (more if needed)

 

**CUC maybe**

1 x Fighting Conch (Not entirely sure about this one because of the size. My LFS says the ones they get grow up to 2"  so I would think It would work. I like them tho so I'm looking into them. (My LFS link for reference: https://www.jlaquatics.com/fighting-conch-small.html ) and I think feeding algae wafer to them would be ok as long as I can keep the water ok)

1 x Tuxedo Urchin (Also not sure because of size, I could go either way with this one honestly)

 

My big thing with the CUC is that they don't breed, I've had snail explosions with freshwater tanks in the past and it was a pain. And I also worry about the bioload although I do plan on getting a protein skimmer (Fluval PS2 vs Bubble Magus mini q)

 

@mcarroll I'm going to be looking for some books to read up on, don't know why but I forgot about books, just been looking online lol. And no I don't know anyone in my area with a saltwater tank or any tanks for that matter, but I did use live sand and dosed MicroBacter Start XLM to get the cycle going. Thank you on the advice on the corals, I like that approach and I'll be revising my coral list as I do more research.

 

@phinatic I love the idea of ading macro algae in place of the corals until I get them. Especially since I wasn't planning on getting any corals for 8 - 12 months (longer the better right?). This is a fish first tank where I'm going to try corals simply because I can. I had been considering getting some feather algae to act as a sort of in tank refugium although I'm not sure how it'll work with the algae eating inverts. I like the idea of having more to look at and give the fish more of an environment to be in.

 

@BadCrabTHANK YOU! I worked hard on the aquascape trying to keep so many things in mind (space to clean the glass, hiding places for the different fish, water flow, future growth of corals, ect). At one point I took a dremel to the center rock and made a better cave area. You can kinda see here in the picture from the back that they should have a fair amount of room in that cave overhang area. 

I like the firefish Idea and will probably go in that direction, I considered the goby/pistol shrimp pair but decided against it because I'd like something a bit more active and not hiding most of the time. although I do like the sand sifting aspect, not to mention the symbiotic relationship they share.

 

 

Again thank you everyone, your advice does not fall on deaf ears. My last tank was freshwater and had a Pea Puffer in it, and when he got sick, and no matter the treatment, he passed it hit me hard. I cleaned house and stepped away from the hobby for 4 years or so. This time I decided to try for my dream fish (Clownfish) and I'm going to do my best to make this tank successful. 

[phinatic]

Sounds like a thorough plan. I also like the asymmetry of your tank. I like the weighting to one side with open swimming on the other. I have a similar setup and really like it. Gives you the vibe of being at the reefs edge.