So I’m a few days into cycling my new 100g (+30 gal sump) and I’m trying to finalize my stocking list and stocking order so I can start thinking about where to source the first couple of fish. I have a 30 gallon tank set up with one clown and CUC so those will probably be the first inhabitants. I am planning to use the 30 gallon as a quarantine for the new additions over the next few months unless someone tells me that’s a bad idea. I’m planning to make this a mixed reef tank over the next 6ish months but fine taking things slow for a bit. Check out my build thread for more info on the system.
I came up with the dream list but now have tons of questions like which fish have similar diets, figuring out compatibility, and trying to figure out the right order in which to stock. Including the “dream list” and some of my comments / questions below. Would really appreciate any advice on compatibility and/or ordering. Do I need to make sure that any of these are the first 1 or 2 fish in the new tank to make sure there aren’t aggression or stress issues down the road?
Any other must haves that I’m missing? Does this feel too heavy in the bottom of the water column? Anything here that is absolutely not something I should be considering?
I came up with the dream list but now have tons of questions like which fish have similar diets, figuring out compatibility, and trying to figure out the right order in which to stock. Including the “dream list” and some of my comments / questions below. Would really appreciate any advice on compatibility and/or ordering. Do I need to make sure that any of these are the first 1 or 2 fish in the new tank to make sure there aren’t aggression or stress issues down the road?
- Pair of clowns (likely extreme Picasso)
- Twin spot goby (orange spot as alternative)
- Goby / pistol shrimp combo (can I have 2 gobies?)
- Set of zebra bar dart fish
- Tang(s) - is 2 too many for 100g? Any specific preference between these if I have to chose one?
- Red Sea Sailfin Tang
- Chevron Tang
- Wrasse - do I need to stick with one species? Do they need to be in pairs? Considering:
- Flasher Wrasse (2F + 1M)
- Halichoeres wrasse
- Blue green Chromis (Should I be thinking about other or additional chromis?)
- Flame angel (or coral beauty) - from what I’ve read, it’s basically a 50/50 shot when it comes to being reef safe. I think I’ll take my chances to start since I don’t have any coral yet. If they’re a nuisance, I can figure it out from there
- Royal gramma
- Gulf signal blenny (recommend other/additional blennies?)
- Jawfish (thinking blue dot or chinstrap - okay w. Gobies?)
- Blue spotted puffer (is this ok w/ corals? Ok w/ tank size?)
- Jewel damsel and/or sapphire damsel
- Mandarin Dragonet (I know... since I dont have a refugium for pods, I’ll only do it if I can get a captive bred fish feeding on pellets . But I Really love this fish so I dont want to get other livestock that will preclude me from getting one in the future)
- Boxfish / cowfish - probably my favorite on this list but also the one that makes me the most nervous. Are there particular species that work best in a smaller (100g) reef tank? If I introduce them early will that help prevent stressful situations?
- Harlequin Shrimp (i know, another crazy one) - I love the way they look and think the ~weekly starfish feeding might be a fun recurring event (kind of like feeding a snake?)... would love to hear anyone’s positive or negative experience here. I live 4 blocks from LFS so I’m confident in regular access to starfish without having to maintain them myself.
Any other must haves that I’m missing? Does this feel too heavy in the bottom of the water column? Anything here that is absolutely not something I should be considering?