Stocking question...Need help, going to LFS today to buy fish!

My water has finally gotten to perfect conditions! It's been a Long Cycle... pH 8.2 - SG 1.0235 - Nitrates 0ppm - Nitrites 0ppm - Ammonia 0ppm

I went to my LFS to get the pair of black clowns I had been wanting since I started my tank and have them test my water as well.

The kid working there told me if I eventually wanted more than two clowns that I should purchase all of my clowns at the same time as adding more later would cause territorial problems.

Right now I have a 125 gallon tank with a 35ish gallon sump and No Fish or CUC. I was planning on starting with a pair of clowns and some snails/crabs as a CUC.

Is this kid trying to sell me fish to make a quick buck or is he correct? I would like 4 of the orange clowns and a pair of 2 black clowns. Would it be ok to buy the 6 clowns together, each are about 1" or less in length. If I buy that many at once, should I buy some Live Rock to help seed my Dry Rock (125 pounds of Dry Rock already in tank) or buy my pairs of clowns at different times?

I don't want to overload my tank with a big bio-load but I don't think 6 tiny fish would really overload the tank.

I am planning on putting some Dry & Live Rock (or Sand, Recommendations on this are welcomed) in the center chamber of my sump with some Chaeto & Copepods.

Please help! I don't want to kill my critters or make them suffer/struggle to survive. Would it be okay to put two pair of orange clowns in with a pair of black clowns? As I said, these will be the only fish in the tank and it seems like 6" worth of fish would be okay in a 125g tank.

I would like to have my tank stocked with 4-6 Clowns, a Yellow Tang, Blue Tang, a Goby or two and maybe two different types of wrasse. That's my "Wish List" for now.

I may want to add some different species later but this is my list of what I want so far... I really am more interested in a Coral Reef Tank than a "Fish Tank" I want to introduce as many types of Coral as I can over time. I love the soft corals and some of the branching corals.

Basically, I need to know if the orange & black clowns are compatible tank mates and if adding 6 that are less than 1" each at once with a CUC is too much at once. I don't know if this kid is BSing me about adding them all at once to get a bigger sale. I do know that clowns can be territorial but is he correct about adding them all at once? He told me adding more later could cause issues between them over territory in the tank? These will be the only fish I add for at least a month. Also, what is the temp range (in Fahrenheit) of water that Clowns like best?

I will add coral frags as I can afford them but will probably wait at least 2 weeks before adding the first frags to make sure the fish are staying healthy.

Yes the clowns can become very territorial and aggressive with each other. You could get away with two sets of clowns if they reside in different areas of your tank. That is not to say you won't eventually have issues of aggression with them as they mature. Three sets wouldn't be a good idea, IMO.

You have a new system and going from no fish to four fish will affect your parameters. If it were me I would start off with a pair and wait a few weeks to see how your system reacts to the load. If your parameters stay in check then add another couple fish.

There are times you need to add certain fish together to try and reduce aggression. However, with a tank that has just cycled I don't think that is a feasible plan to add more than two fish.

I run my tank 79-80 degrees and have never had an issue with clowns or anything else I have kept.

I would suggest slowly raising your SG to 1.025-26 range. IME, that is a better level in a reef system.

I would also not add clowns first unless you're planning a semi-aggressive tank.

Occelaris or percula clowns would be ok as a first addition, since they are fairly docile with other types of fish.

I would advise however not to add more then two clowns to one tank. Once they hit sexual maturity and pair up, they will be relentless with other clowns in the same tank. Some people have managed to get more then 2 clowns in one tank with minimal issues but, that is an exception and shouldn't be used as the rule.

istrahd said:

I would like to have my tank stocked with Clowns, a Yellow Tang, Blue Tang, a Goby or two and maybe two different types of wrasse. That's my "Wish List" for now.

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What about the other fish listed as possible tank mates with Clowns. I will probably just buy a pair of orange clowns as they are $40/Pair and the black clowns are $90/pair. I forgot to list Blennys as a desired fish. I cant remember the names of the specific ones, Midas or Scooter Blenny, I think...

Any suggestions on other species of fish that would make good tank mates for the Cloans? whether bought today or in the next 2-3 months? I don't trustthe LFS guys to steer me in the right direction.

You're list looks fine, you may have the same issues with two gobies as you would with multiple clowns, they can be very aggressive towards each other. A scooter blenny is not actually a blenny, it's a dragonet similar to a mandarin.

As for the clowns, are they selling them as an actual pair? I would never pay for a pair since they jack up the cost so high, I would just buy two small babies separately and save the money.

+1 to everything Brian said.

BL1 said:

You're list looks fine, you may have the same issues with two gobies as you would with multiple clowns, they can be very aggressive towards each other. A scooter blenny is not actually a blenny, it's a dragonet similar to a mandarin.

As for the clowns, are they selling them as an actual pair? I would never pay for a pair since they jack up the cost so high, I would just buy two small babies separately and save the money.

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I did buy a pair of Orange Clowns. They sold the pair of black clowns I had wanted. The female is twice the size of the male and they are getting along wonderfully. I paid $60 for the pair. The other clowns they had were $25 for Oranges & $45 for blacks and they were all 1" or smaller.

I bought 10 snails & 10 crabs. The crabs were tiny little things, 1/4-1/2". I also bought 4 coral frags and a Hammer Coral that is about 6-7 inches long & 2.5: wide and has 8 or 9 heads on it. I will post some pics of my fish & corals after I clean the outsde of my tank and can get good, clear shots. It will probably be tomorrow before I get around to it. I have to go have a heart stress test done tomorrow and I am going through caffeine withdrawals at the moment... No Caffeine 24 hours before the test... This Sucks...

Anyhow its nice to see some life in the tank at last! The clowns are just swimming around staking out the tank and trying to decide what to claim as their own. I have a couple of caves in my rockwork and the big Hammer Coral I bought for them. Who knows what they will lay claim to as their turf... They are Clowns after all.

I will add a cleaner shrimp and more crabs & snails in a week or so but not adding any more fish for at least two weeks, probably longer!

Oh, I also bought a 7 pound piece of Live Rock that is thin and flat to make a "Shelf" for corals and a cave underneath it. I wanted it to help seed my Dry Rock and help the tank process Nitrites. I forgot to get any chaeto or copepods yesterday. I will go back by the LFS tomorrow after I leave the Hospital.

The Hammer sounds like a nice pick up, and I'm sure it was pricey as hell :mrgreen:.

25$ for a Occ or Perc Clown is a lot 0_o. I usually pay 10$ each lol

AnthonyTheNewbie said:

The Hammer sounds like a nice pick up, and I'm sure it was pricey as hell :mrgreen:.

25$ for a Occ or Perc Clown is a lot 0_o. I usually pay 10$ each lol

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The Hammer was priced at $125 but he dropped it to $110 since I was buying the Clowns & other frags. If you can identify the Corals, quote the message and add the names above or below the pics, thanks.

They told me the names but with my meds I'm lucky to remember my own name...

The last pic is a Coral Colony sitting on top of some purplish Live Rock and my snails are all over the the side of the Coral.

istrahd said:

The Hammer was priced at $125 but he dropped it to $110 since I was buying the Clowns & other frags. If you can identify the Corals, quote the message and add the names above or below the pics, thanks.

They told me the names but with my meds I'm lucky to remember my own name...

The last pic is a Coral Colony sitting on top of some purplish Live Rock and my snails are all over the the side of the Coral.

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I see a pink birdsnest (needs to be mounted on rock) , acan lord , zoanthid colony covered in snails

That isn't a Hammer. That's a frogspawn lol. But, at least it's a decent size.

AnthonyTheNewbie said:

That isn't a Hammer. That's a frogspawn lol. But, at least it's a decent size.

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It isn't a frogspawn either it is a torch:D

not a very good pic but If they are what I think they are the common name for those green zoas is radioactive dragon eyes.

Looks like a torch to me too.

Get the birdsnest (the brown bare tree looking one) up high and in high flow ASAP.

Nice pieces.

Those greens do look like radioactive dragon eyes.

I'm sticking with Frogspawn for the euphyllia, though. It looks like a couple of the tentacles are branching off into separate ends, which is the easiest way to tell the two apart.

salt_for_brains said:

It isn't a frogspawn either it is a torch:D

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Now that I'm on the comp instead of my phone, I can see that you're right lol :p