Reef Lineup - Compatibility

[Cajun Reefer]

I'm doing some research and trying to come up with a game plan of what type of fishes I can successfully keep. I'm looking for an interesting display with some good colors and movement.

I have a 90 gallon that is currently housing 1- Yellow Tang, 2- False Percula Clownfish, and 1- Blue Damelfish. I'm thinking of getting rid of the Blue Damelfish and adding 4 or 5- Green Chromis and 3 or 4- Bartlett Anthias. Or would this be too much of a bioload?

Hopefully, they will not be an issue with SPS and clams that I would like to have in the future.

If the above lineup is acceptable, would it be better to quarantine and add the Green Chromis first or the Bartlett Anthias.

Thank y'all for your help!

 

[leebca]

Dennis,

Congratulations on doing it right! So few people plan like this. But determining what you can keep, the commitment you are willing to put into it and the suitability of the livestock is basic to the hobby. Yet few do this.

Without knowing more about your setup (ancillary equipment, flows, amount of LR, etc.) I would say that the plan will not be too much bio-load for the 90.

Put the Chromis in first.

 

[Cajun Reefer]

Dennis,

Congratulations on doing it right! So few people plan like this. But determining what you can keep, the commitment you are willing to put into it and the suitability of the livestock is basic to the hobby. Yet few do this.

Without knowing more about your setup (ancillary equipment, flows, amount of LR, etc.) I would say that the plan will not be too much bio-load for the 90.

Put the Chromis in first.

Thanks, Lee!

I have the following equipment currently setup:
90G Perfecto aquarium, 100+ lbs LR, 75 lbs LS, 2-Seio 1500's, Octopus HOT Skimmer, 2- Phosban Reactors (Activated Carbon & PhosGuard) on MJ400's, Pinpoint pH monitor, Niveaumat ATO. 48" 260 watts Coralife PC (2-Actinic & 2-10,000°K). 55 gallon QT.

I also have following equipment sitting in my spare bedroom ready to go:
Going to drill tank & setup a 29G sump w/ Mag 7 return, Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer & Sequence Dart closed loop system w/ two- 3/4" Sea-Swirls. Neptune AquaController III. 2-IceCap 250W electronic ballasts w/ PFO mini HQI pendants. IceCap 48" T5HO Retro w/ SLR Reflectors. MRC Nilsen Kalk Reactor. Tunze Osmolator. I wish I would have started off this way instead of wasting so much money.

I will probably wait about a month after I get the above equipment setup to let things settle down and equalize again in the aquarium before adding the new fish, since I will be removing the sand and liverock to drill the tank, etc. I will keep them in a container of water with good circulation while working on the tank. And I also plan on waiting a few weeks in between adding the Chromis and Anthias.

I also have a 30 gallon Oceanic cube which will be my next project.

 

[leebca]

Looking good!

You can't go wrong by being patient and going forward slowly.

 

[JeffGil]

I was contemplating adding in a small group of chromis as well, but I've heard that after a year or so they pretty much kill each other off!

 

[leebca]

Can't say I've heard that before. I have, over the years about 100 Chromis in various size groups. I currently have 3 in my quarantine tank I use a dither fish. They are together and been in there together for 4 years now.

I have seen this on more than one occasion: When one of the Chromis is ill, the others will attack it. The fish seem to know when one is sick even before the hobbyist sees it sometimes. It seems to be Nature's way to avoid wasting resources in a school/grouping of fishes.

 

[ReefferMan]

I think you have to put the chromis's in at the same time? I have one so far and wanted to get another chromis but i was told not to because the other one would kill it. Im no eye witness of this, its just what i was told.

 

[leebca]

I think you're right. The 'pack' or group should be put into the display at the same time. Although I advocate individual quarantine for marine fishes, a group like this should be quarantined together, too.

 

[JeffGil]

Can't say I've heard that before.

I'm just going off of a thread on reef central about the chromis behavior (hey c'mon RF was down a little while yesterday lol)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1413854&highlight=blue+chromis