Stocking question for 40g tank

AndyGB4

Hey everyone,

My 40 gallon tank has cycled, and my clean-up crew is running around doing their thing, and the water parameters are great, so now it's time to think about stocking it!

I did tons of reading but would still like your input, so here's what I'm thinking. I really want to get a pair of Clownfish, so Ocellaris seems like my best bet, since it's my first SW tank and they're more hardy, plus more peaceful then the other clownfish varieties, right? The Clowns will most likely be my first purchase, and the rest of the fish will come later, but I just want to get a full idea of where I'm going with this tank.

Besides some input on the clownfish, what else do you guys recommend to get along with them? Since my tank isn't so big, I'm looking for more peaceful fish.

Also, because the tank is smaller, how many fish can I really stock? I know SW fish need much more room than FW fish. Also my tank is built a little bit taller than most (therefore a bit less wide) so there's a bit less left-to-right room to swim?

And just for further information, I currently have a bunch of different snails, a few blue-legged hermits, an emerald crab and 2 peppermint shrimps + 1 scarlet skunk shrimp. Will that also affect the fish that I will be looking to buy?

Thanks for all the help guys!

Reefing Madness

List is tsill to long for us to throw at you. Easier if you throw a few ideas out there, and we can kinda point you in the right direction.
The Clowns are an excellent choice.

AndyGB4

Ya after all the reading I did today on different species, my brain has turned to mush! lol

So I was looking at maybe some Green Chromis? They seem easy to take care of and pretty peaceful. What do you think? and how many should i get for my size tank (40g)?

There's also the Damselfish that my girlfriend really likes, but I don't like that they can be a bit aggressive, and read that I should probably introduce them to the tank towards the end.

So maybe something like 2 ocellaris to start, then later I would get some (maybe 3?) Green Chromis, and if it's not too crowded I could get 1 Damselfish at the end?

What's your input on that?

Reefing Madness

No Damsels or Chromis. I know your not going to believe this, but the odds on keeping more than one of either of those is slim. Those are some mean lil fish, and usually chase each other to the point of death. Now, if you want one Chromis, that will work, but how about the Jumbo Chromis, even better.
Clowns are a good choice, eveyone wants those.
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AndyGB4

I know that about Damselfish, but I guess I missed that on the chromis. some nano fish look pretty cool. and even some Wrasse fish! I'm at work so I can't research too much, but are there some wrasse that r pretty easy to take care of?

I'm gonna pass by the LFS to check out what they're selling, because tmrw I'd like to finally buy my clowns, and I need to decide which LFS to go to, for better price and healthier looking fish!
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Reefing Madness

Basically those Wrasse that I posted are relatively easy to care for.

AndyGB4

Thanks. So I passed by a small LFS close by and they don't have many saltwater fish because they're slowly building up their saltwater side of things. They had some Ocellaris that they were selling for 25$ which is much Jesper than my other LFS (35$). and they all seemed pretty healthy and active. so I'll probably be buying a pair in about 8 hours from now lol.

So for my clowns should I be buying one a bit smaller than the other so the bigger one becomes the female and there won't be aggression between them?
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Reefing Madness

Doesn't matter, they will turn sexes anyway.

AndyGB4

ok so I bought my Ocellaris! got 2 little guys, theyre real cute how they wiggle up and down lol It's been about 16 hours now, I've had the lights off the whole time. How long should I wait before tuning on the lights? because it shows if there light in the room they hide more, so they're still a bit scared for sure.

also, I put a really tiny piece of frozen brine shrimp, but they didn't budge at all, which I figured, because they're still very new to the tank. I was just curious lol. how long should I wait to try and feed them? and should the lights be on when I do?
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Reefing Madness

I'd just turn the lights off for an hour for acclimation. Then turn em on, you can try and feed them right away if you want. Got any Mysis Shrimp?