Tropical Fish Forums

[nicolaas]

I am a freshwater fan and having more then 100fish, I want to go to the next level.

The tank is a 25long and has a power head rated 500l/h and a power head rated 400l/h, I will get one more rated 400l/h.

I have been thinking about the stoking and have a idea of the fish I'd like to have,2 ocellaris clowns and a flame angel.

So any help is wanted,dead or alive!

[Osprey]

This is a 25 gallon tank?
I respectfully suggest that you stop at the pair of occelaris clowns and skip the third fish- at least for the first year or two. The general rule of thumb in salt water is one small fish per ten gallons; this means that if the tank is extremely stable and well maintained, you may be able to get away with a third fish, but it needs to be a small one, and flames actually do get to a fair size. They are also very active swimmers and need a little room; I wouldn't recommend one in less than a 45G tank. A year or two down the road you may want to consider a third fish, but I would advise picking something smaller.

If your clowns spawn (and they probably will!) and you have some entertaining inverts in the tank (I suggest some cleaner shrimp and either hermits or snails) there will be lots of colourful action to watch. SW aquariums are much more vibrant and full of movement than FW, so two fish in a tank aren't a disappointment in any way. I kept nothing but inverts and a pair of clowns in my 90G tank for the first six months, and they were endlessly entertaining!

How about other equipment? Are you going to have a sump? What kind of skimmer/lighting are you going to have? Is this to be a FO, FOWLR, or reef tank?
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Am I obsessed? Wait a minute... don't answer that!

[nicolaas]

It is going to be a FO with live rock as the filter.

Light will be a 20 and a 10watt.

What other fish do you think would work in this set up?

[Osprey]

As your eventual third fish? Bearing in mind that it would be wise to wait a year to make sure the tank is stable before pushing the stocking boundaries that far, here are a couple of suggestions:
Neon Goby (either blue or yellow)- a small, peaceful fish with cleaner tendencies. Captive-bred specimens are available as well, which is a boon if you're concerned about the hobby's impact on the environment. I should note that I have not personally kept this species of fish, but they are fairly common in the trade and have a good reputation.

Royal gramma. They're reasonably hardy and significantly smaller than a flame angel; they also don't have the same aggressive tendencies. Do make sure you provide lots of rockwork; they need plenty of hiding places to feel secure.

I also suggest considering a pair of skunk cleaner shrimp instead of a third fish- they are ridiculously entertaining and a slightly lighter bioload for the tank to support.

If the tank has live rock, then it is a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank. Oh, the abbreviations our hobby has! Lighting isn't a concern as long as you aren't considering adding corals or anemones to the setup; don't worry about increasing the wattage.

You may want to consider adding a large canister filter for mechanical filtration; it would greatly increase your total water volume and make the tank more stable. You would have to replace the filter media monthly to ensure that the filter doesn't turn into a nitrate factory, though.
_________________
Am I obsessed? Wait a minute... don't answer that!

[nicolaas]

I have read about the neon goby and I really like them.

I know to wait 8-12 months before getting more fish.

The royal gramma I like but not as much.

What about the Blue Green Reef Fish?

The skunk cleaner shrimp is also a nice looking shrimp.

Would a internal power filter rated 500l/h with bone charcoal be all right?

Could you help me with some of the meany salt water abbreviations?

What do you know about the (Centropyge aurantonotus) Fireball Angelfish?

[Osprey]

[FloridaBoy]