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Stocking List Question

6K views 22 replies 3 participants last post by  onefish2fish 
#1 ·
I just received my Biocube 29 HQI and need help with a stocking list.

I would like to have the following:

2 Ocellaris Clownfish (tank bread)
1 Sailfin/Algae Blenny

Along with this, i would like to have Blue/Green Reef Chromis. How many do you think i could have. Or, would you recommend having 1 Yellowtail Damselfish?

I also thought about maybe a Banded Coral Shrimp, but as a beginner to SW i dont think i could care for it.

One more thing, i have NO IDEA what or how many of CUC creatures i need......any thoughts?

MetalArm3
 
#2 ·
metal,

the CUC should come first, that is, after your tank cycle and diatom bloom. i would then add a few different types of snails. nassarious, astrea, cerith, nerite, to name a few. a coral banded shrimp could work, but perhaps a more peaceful option would be a skunk cleaner shrimp.

2 clowns and a blenny sound like a good list IMO, and perhaps one chromi, do yourself the favor and skip buying any damsels. you have to remember after putting in about a pound of rock per gallon ( average ) your 29 gallon tank now has much less room inside.
 
#3 ·
Ok, I planned on buying 30lbs live Rick and 40lbs live sand. Is 40lbs live sand enough to have a deep sand bed?

How many snails do you figure?

Would it be considered fully stock with the 2 clowns, 1 blenny, and 1 chromi? I was hoping for like 3 chromis (to school), so could I swap the chromi for 1 bicolor dotty back?

And just out of curiosity, do you think a newbie like me can easily care for a scarlet cleaner shrimp?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to do it right,
MetalArm3
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#4 ·
every tanks footprint will vary, making it require different amounts of sand for a deep sand bed.

20-30 snails of different kinds sounds good to me.

your tanks to small for 3 chromis and even if it was large enough they would eventually pick eachother off until you were left with one anyways. i suggest a single chromi or the dotty back. not all your fish at once ofcourse.

the skunk cleaner will be out more in the open then the scarlet cleaner but yes, they arnt much harder then a fish to care for.
 
#5 ·
My tank is a cube, so smaller footprint.

Ok, so I'll let tank cycle than add 20-30 cleaner snails. After that I will add the two clownfish and blenny. Than like two weeks later add the shrimp and dottiback. How does that sound?
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#6 ·
tank cycle, then diatom bloom, then a mixture of snails ( say 10 astrea, 5 cerith, 5 nerite, 10 nassarious) then i would add the clown pair and wait a week or two, then the blenny and shrimp, wait a week or two, then the dotty back, wait a week or two and your tank should be pretty heavy stocked.
you can wait longer then a week or two between additions but thats the bare minimum. i suggest waiting longer, say a month to two between adding, but thats just me. its also strongly suggested to use a QT tank.
 
#8 ·
Ok, I figured I would get my CUC pack here for 25gal.
Super Snail Combo - Various

I don't have a qt tank. That isn't a big deal is it? And, while I'm waiting to add fish in slowly, I can go coral crazy?
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QT not a big deal. And no, you can't go Coral crazy while waiting on adding fish. They need cleaner water than the fish do. They don't do well with parameter spikes.
 
#10 ·
Ok, so I should wait like 2 months before adding corals?
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No, you can add some corals, but either add fish up front or add corals, but you should only add a few at a time in a new tank. They still expel detrious also. Then again, if your just adding small frags then you can add quite a few of those. Its the med to large corals that should be added slowly to a new tank.
 
#18 ·
no problem metal,

to add to foods, i recently picked up new life spectrums macro and micro food. im a big fan so far.

i always offer a large mixture of different foods though, so my fish arnt picky eaters ofcourse :wink: but more so they get all the nutrition they need for their longest life span. a good idea would be to check your area for a local asain supermarket and buy a bag of mixed seafood, make sure its raw. take it home, pre-rinse it. preferably with RO water, throw it into your mothers/wife/gfs food processor and make a home made fish food. adding things like selcon, liquid garlic, and food boosters might not be a bad idea either, alittle goes a long way here. then bag it or spread it out on eggcrate on a cookie sheet and freeze it ( so you can get little squares of frozen food )

**the biggest step to doing this is to make sure you wash the food processor cup BEFORE said mother/wife/gf returns home from work and put it back on the shelf :wink:
 
#19 ·
I will take your idea into consideration. I was mainly looking for dry food products, as said family members wouldn't appreciate fish food in said extremely packed freezer/fridge.

I was thinking a veggie based and something else in slow sinking pellet form while for the blenny, an algae wafer. How's that sound?

And I do like the like the idea of adding lettuce and other vegetables to the tank. Maybe I'll have better luck compared to my FW tank. They are super picky.
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#20 ·
I will take your idea into consideration. I was mainly looking for dry food products, as said family members wouldn't appreciate fish food in said extremely packed freezer/fridge.

I was thinking a veggie based and something else in slow sinking pellet form while for the blenny, an algae wafer. How's that sound?

And I do like the like the idea of adding lettuce and other vegetables to the tank. Maybe I'll have better luck compared to my FW tank. They are super picky.
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You could try the algae wafer, hoping no one else will grab it.
 
#23 ·
the nori or algae sheet on a food clip works well, a good trick is to cut it into strips ( but not all the way through to the other side so it stays as 1 piece ) to make the algae sway in the water and look more natural.

you can find these at the asain food store as well.. its what they wrap sushi in.
 
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