Frozen foods? I have no space for a fridge.

[Zionas]

First of all, I think I’m going to be getting a 90 gal tank instead of the smaller tank I had originally planned. It’ll be a significantly tighter fit for the apartment I am renting but as a beginner I’d rather not go below 75 gallons. I am considering a number of carnivorous species including Gobies, Blennies, Wrasses, Hawks and the Royal Gramma. The problem I have with feeding carnivorous fishes is that while I can order live and frozen foods from Chinese retailers, I don’t have the space in my apartment for a refrigerator. In that case, I am extremely concerned about making sure that whatever carnivorous dishes I keep are able to maintain a healthy diet, as I have absolutely no intention of sustaining them using only flakes and pellets. This is going to be a bummer for me so if anyone knows what to do, please let me know.


Furthermore, would a Coral Beauty be okay in a 90-gal tank? Is it Reef safe? Is it hardy? I have the same questions about another fish I want, the Yellow Coris Wrasse (my sand bed will probably be 3” thick so should be OK for it).

Even with omnivorous species that I plan to keep (Clownfish, maybe Coral Beauty if Reef safe) I intend to give them meaty foods and not just flakes and pellets (most likely pellets>flakes). I also want a reef tank instead of a FOWLR because corals are beautiful, so it’ll be fish and corals and inverts.

[Sk8r]

Clowns, royal gramma, chromis, blennies, and the like can survive pretty well on small size sinking-pellet food, but prefer the frozen. Inverts will eat anything, and so will many corals survive on fish poo. No angel is completely reef safe. It may or may not eat your corals, depending on the individual angel and what species of coral. If I could predict which angel would eat what, I'd go into fortune-telling. It seems highly individual.

[Michael Hoaster]

Pellets and flakes for most days is fine. When you go to market, get a little seafood treat for your fish, like a shrimp. Chop or grate it up and feed. Toss the leftovers in the trash. Nothing to freeze.

[Zionas]

What about Wrasses, Basslets, Dottybacks, Gobies and Hawks? Can they be sustained on a pellet diet with occasional frozen food feedings?

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes. And you can get creative. Having a sandwich for lunch? Pull a little piece of meat out of it and chop it up and feed them some. Also consider setting up a refugium to grow pods and/or mysids, if you can get them.

[Oldreeferman]

Royal Gammas can be pretty picky, mine i picked up as a juvenile & it simply ignored all dry foods & only will eat frozen Brine & Mysis shrimp & raw seafoods as mentioned. Gobies & the Gamma both also love any kind of pods in the DT so you should have no prob long as you don't get a specific pod eating fish also like a Mandarin etc. down the rd. If i was you id ask to see the Gamma eat flake or pellets before purchase. Clowns on the other hand will eat almost anything and will do it right from your hand, about as friendly as a fish comes.

[Zionas]

What about stuff like Blennies, Gobies, and the smaller Fairy / Flasher Wrasses, the Pink Streak, and the Yellow Candy Hogfish? Another concern I have about the Royal Gramma, as much as I’d love to have one, is that it’s an Atlantic species. It’s literally traveled around the world. I’m worried about the possibility of shipping stress and everything else. Maybe I should stick to Indo-Pacific species?


As for the tank size I’ve had to get it down to a 24”x24”x24” from my Chinese dealer. That would be 57 US long gallons. I know there’s a ton of hate for tanks of around that size but it’s the best I can do. As you can see from the dimensions it’s a cube. It’s going to be a tank with some easy-to-keep corals, inverts, and fish. I’ve ruled out Dwarf Angels, Tangs, Butterflies, Dottybacks, and Hawkfish because I want it to be a peaceful tank. No Six-Line / Four-Line / Halichoeres Wrasse either. Halichoeres because LA says they’re not reef safe and they tend to grow bigger.


My stocking plan so far is:
x2 Ocellaris Clownfish (3” max, no designer clowns, I hate them and much prefer the original. I can find them captive bred in China.)

x1 Royal Gramma (3”) or one of the 3” Fairy / Flasher Wrasses

x1 Pink Streak Wrasse (2.5” max)

x1 Yellow Candy Hogfish (4”)-beautiful but I am afraid 4” is a bit too big.

x1-2 small fish

Option A: Pair of Yellow or Green Clown Gobies (1.5” each)

Option B: Shrimp Goby (2.5”) with a shrimp

Option C: Tailspot Blenny (2.5”)


An alternative to the Gramma, as you can see, would be a Fairy / Flasher Wrasse. An alternative to the Hogfish would be either a Fairy / Flasher Wrasse (if I have one type I’ll get the other). I could even get a single Pajama Cardinal in place of my Gramma or the Hogfish.


Would this be considered overstocked?


I plan to get a good CuC, and some easy to keep corals



Looking forward to my first setup.

[Zionas]

Probably no room for a refugium. I wanted a Mandarin Goby but heard they’re difficult and I just don’t have the time and space for one.

[Zionas]

The aquarium will have a lid. Maybe even a Golden Assessor in place of the Royal Gramma if I can find one. They should be around the same size.

The order which I plan to introduce my fish is:

First two-
1. 3” Fairy / Flasher Wrasse / Royal Gramma or Yellow Candy Hogfish / Fairy / Flasher Wrasse 3”

2. 2.5” Pink Streak Wrasse


Second group-
1. x2 Ocellaris Clownfish


Third group-
1. Clown Goby pair / Shrimp Goby and Shrimp pair / Tailspot Blenny

[Michael Hoaster]

Sixty cubes are awesome. My first marine tank was a sixty cube. Since you don't know what fish will be available and affordable, you should make a big list of 'maybes'. Once you get there, make your real fish list from what you can get, then the order of introduction.

Have you made a list of equipment you'll need?

[Zionas]

Here's my species list so far. Hypotheticals:
-Ocellaris Clownfish TANK BRED (pair) 3" max Peaceful Up to 20 years Omnivore Reef Safe

-Yellow Coris Wrasse 5" max Peaceful Up to 10 years Carnivore Caution

-Yellow Candy Hogfish 4" 5-8 years (?) Peaceful Carnivore Reef Safe

-Yellow Assessor Basslet 3" 4-8 years (?) Peaceful Carnivore Reef Safe

-Royal Gramma Basslet 3" 5+ years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Fairy Wrasses (3"-4") 4-6 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Flasher Wrasses (3"-4") ~5 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Yellow Watchman Goby 4" 5+ years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Shrimp Gobies (2"-3") 2-3 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Tailspot Blenny 2.5" 2-4 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Bicolor Blenny 4" 2-4 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Pajama Cardinalfish 3" 3-5 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Pink Streak Wrasse 2.5" 3-4 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Firefish (Red, Purple, Helfrichi) 3" 3-4 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Dottybacks (Bicolor, Purple Stripe, Orchid, Purple, Splendid) 3"-5" 5-7 years Carnivore Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe

-Hawkfish (Flame, Falco, Longnose, Arc Eyed, Blood Red) 3"-5" Up to 10 years Carnivore Semi-Aggressive to Aggressive Reef Safe

-Clown Goby (Yellow / Green, possibly a pair) 1.5" ~3 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Melanurus Wrasse 4.5" Up to 1- years Carnivore Peaceful Caution

-Lined Wrasses (Four-Line, Six Line) 3" Up to 10 years Carnivore Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe

-Scissortail Dartfish 5" At least 5 years Carnivore Peaceful Reef Safe

-Swissguard Basslet 3" At least 5 years Carnivore Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe

-Pacific Peppermint Hogfish 5" 5-8 years (?) Carnivore Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe

-Blue Green Chromis (I will only keep 1) 4" At least 5 years (?) Omnivore Peaceful Reef Safe



Unlikely or Extremely Unlikely:
-Coral Beauty Angelfish 4" Up to 10 years (?) Omnivore Semi-Aggressive Caution

-Flameback Angelfish (African) 3" 5-7 years (?) Omnivore Semi-Aggressive Caution

-Tomini Tang 6" At least 5 years (?) Herbivore Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe



Long species list. Feel free to correct errors (lifespan, size, temperament), warn against / suggest alternatives. This is my first time ever going saltwater, I don't even have much experience with freshwater.

Equipment: Yes. I will be making a full list soon.

[Zionas]

These fish I am paying especially close attention to due to their potential for longer lives:
-Ocellaris Clownfish
-Yellow Watchman Goby
-Melanurus Wrasse
-Yellow Coris Wrasse
-Hogfish
-Hawkfish
-Lined Wrasses
-Golden Assessor
-Blue Green Reef Chromis
-Swissguard Basslet
-Royal Gramma
-Dottybacks
-Scissortail Dartfish

-Coral Beauty
-Flameback Angel
-Tomini Tang



These fish, because they have shorter lives, are more of a cautious purchase for me:
-Cardinalfish
-Fairy and Flasher Wrasses (my gosh are they beautiful)
-Pink Streak Wrasse
-Most blennies and gobies
-Firefish

[Zionas]

Also, a short-lived fish that I find beautiful but am way of purchasing is the Black Cap Basslet:

Semi-Aggressive Reef Safe 4" 3-5 years (?)

[Sk8r]

I'd skip the dottybacks. They're predators and aggressive ---most marine fish only eat each other. These guys want to fight just about everything. And they're smart and almost impossible to catch without taking your tank apart.

[Zionas]

I will not be getting a Dottyback. Except for the fancy one from Australia, the Neon, and the Fridmani, the others aren’t all that appealing to me. I’m definitely looking at a Dwarf Angel for my tank as the centerpiece, but I’m not sure if they’d do well in the hands of a novice with a new tank. If you know which members of the Centropyge genus are the hardiest and most suitable for a beginner, let me know.

My tank’s dimensions are 32”x22”x24”, not sure if that’d be enough to keep a Dwarf Angel happy. I’d also love to get a Wrasse / Hogfish, but I would like a genus / species that is less prone to jumping. I know the Fairy and Flasher species are especially prone to jumping and even if they don’t jump they have short lives. Maybe the Halichoeres / lined wrasses or a Yellow Candy Hogfish are a safer bet both in terms of longevity and less likeliness to jump? I’ll be providing a 2.5-3” sand bed, wrasse or not.

[Zionas]

Can Wrasses / Hogfish and Dwarf Angels hit 10+ years? If I don’t get inverts I might even consider a species or Hawkfish because I heard they’re also hardy and long-lived.