Stocking

[aquasteve]

Tank is running for about a month with 6 chromis and 2 yellow tail damsels. Tank is pretty barren since I used dry rock and sand. Don't even have a hint of algae. Should I be adding snails or anything or would they just starve? Eventually would like to add a Majestic angel? How long should I wait before introducing one to my tank?

 

[jadakiss]

Welcome :p Can u give us some details to how big ur tank is and what filter equipment are u running for this tank.

 

[aquasteve]

stocking

Thanks for the reply. The tank is a 180 with a wet dry sump. It will be a FOWLR system.

 

[Kworker]

Honestly, wait a few months. Its a safe assumption that only a month in your biological filter is weak.

Waiting will also force you to really think about what you want as far as fish.

I have a 180 as well but mine is a reef. My planned stock list is somewhere on the lines of

2 Occ. Clowns
1 Achilles Tang
1 Tomini Tang
1 Hippo Tang
2 Bluethroat triggers
3 Gold Rhomboid wrasses
Small school of chromis, not sure on exact amount.
Possibly get myself a rabbitfish of some kind.

If you stay with all smaller fish (fish that stay small) you can get many more individuals.
Where if you get fish that are large and messy such as tangs, you will want to keep the individual count low.

 

[thirty6]

If staying fowlr. A harli tusk is nice addition

 

[aquasteve]

Actually I started out with 3 Yellow Tails and 7 Green chromis about 3 weeks ago. 1 chromis and 1 damsel died within the first week. 1 damsel is now face down in the rock and looks like he's dying. The rest of the fish are eating and looking fine. My parameters are all good other then my nitrates being high(40+). I will be buying a skimmer very soon. I was thinking of adding four more Chromis and just letting the tank age at least 2 or 3 months. Tusk is one of my favorites but Im still uncertain about adding inverts. Does my plan sound okay and is it uncommon to lose a few fish while the tank is new? Thanks for the support.

 

[thirty6]

Those are hardy fish: did you or were you cycling with them? Is so that's the reasoning behind the loss. Also depends where you got them from. Petco sells those fish regularly, but I would not purchase from them

 

[Kworker]

Fish can be lost due to acclimating procedure as well..

Most LFS's keep their tanks at approx 1.015. If you are keeping your tank at 1.025 thats a huge increase and can put the individuals through osmotic shock.

 

[aquasteve]

I drip acclimated them for an hour and they looked fine for a few days. I cycled the tank using pure ammonia from the hardware store. Im still running without a skimmer at the moment. All of my parameters were okay except nitrates which probably killed the fish so I've been doing several water changes to get them down.

 

[aquasteve]

Tank update

Purchased Majestic two weeks ago from Central Aquariums and couldn't be happier. Hes about 2 1/2 to 3 inches and eats pellets and is not nearly as shy as other Majestics I've had in the past. Not ready for next addition yet but looking to get advice. I either want to add a Magnificent Foxface or a Lemon Peel and Flame Angel. Problem is I don't know how to add the angels without fighting. In the past I found Lemon Peels very aggressive towards Flame angels. Should I pick just one or are there other methods to make it work?

 

[jvu61]

IMHO I like to drip new fish for about 2 hours. if there is a big change in the salt from 1.015 to 1.025 I think one hour is too little time. also this is a rather new tank I would add slowly maybe one fish per month maybe two per month. I would also get that skimmer up and running before I added any more fish. My thoughts are to get there home up 100% before moving in the tenants.

 

[albano]

IMHO I like to drip new fish for about 2 hours. if there is a big change in the salt from 1.015 to 1.025 I think one hour is too little time.

IMO/E, 1 hour is way too much time for drip acclimation, regardless of salinity.
New fish should be put in a 'matching' salinity QT, but if not, many 'experts' now say to temp acclimate only and then put fish into DT.
I have been temp acclimating and then a 15-20 min drip, for over 30 years with few (if any) losses, including with 1.018 shipping water to 1.026 in my tank.

 

[ReefDiver]

With a new tank you are still building up de-nitrifying bacteria in rock and sand. That being the case, you would want to go slow in running the skimmer. With your fish load, you shouldn't have to add ammonia. Normal feeding and waste products should do it.It would also be unusual if you don't get an algae bloom at some point.

 

[aquasteve]

I should have mentioned that. Skimmer is up and running since early December and Im not looking to rush it as far as adding fish. Just trying to establish a stocking list. Any input on the Magnificent Foxface and the Lemon Peel and Flame angel?

 

[aquasteve]

Any help

Any help with the fish I was asking about?

 

[lrasser]

i love my magnificent. Prob my favorite fish. He's in with some aggressive fish but hold his own. Docile in nature but if picked on he shows his spikes quickly and they back right off.