Stocking Question

Sara0229

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I'm still working on my set up and am confused about how to stock my 55gal. I would like to have some sort of mix of Bumble bee goby, figure 8, and orange chromides. Some of what I read says they will be ok together but if so how many for this tank size? I've also read differing accounts on if they would even work together. Any input anyone?

Thanks!
 
I'm still working on my set up and am confused about how to stock my 55gal. I would like to have some sort of mix of Bumble bee goby, figure 8, and orange chromides. Some of what I read says they will be ok together but if so how many for this tank size? I've also read differing accounts on if they would even work together. Any input anyone?

Thanks!


it could work, figure 8's can be mean or nice. Chromides should be fine with bubblebees. If it was only those 3 fish, who all happen to be very small. You could have like 10 bubblebee's, 10 chomides and 2-3 puffers (puffers can be territorial.
Ive been looking for both figure 8's and dragon gobies for 3 months now with no luck, so good luck on finding the little guys.
 
Yeah I'm thinking just those three. I'm looking to order online (still not totally sure about this) and can't seem to find one sight with all three fish. I'd hate to have to pay seperate shipping for different sites but I may just have too. I don't know anyone's rep for online fish sellers but here's a link to to a figure 8 if your in the US:

My link
 
ah ya ive seen them online before, its just that i will not buy them online unless i must. Risk of shipping damage and cheaper to buy at local store if htey have them.
 
That pet place has wild type chromides and bumblebees at least, and they carry fig 8s but are out of stock. My personal history with that shop is good. They care about their livestock, and the fish came packed very well and both arrived alive. I'm not sure if they still have it, but they had a promotion where they had priority shipping (guaranteed to you before 10:30 am the day after shipping) free. They might not guarantee your fish if they will be exposed to more than 90 degrees F though. They will hold your order until weather is good, or you can tell them to go ahead, and waive your guarantee. If you contact them and ask for anything inparticular, they attempt (but do not guarantee) to get what you want, like a shy puffer or a mix of male and female chromides. I asked for a pair of chromides and it looks like they may have succeeded-no one's dead at least.


Regarding stocking for a 55g I'd start with mabye 1 puffer as they are territorial and dirty, 4 chromides, and about as many bumblebees as you think you can handle. Fig8s have a history of ignoring BBGs, and chromides are fast and large enough that they might be able to coexist with a fig8 decently well. I'm a bit concerned that chromides might try to eat the BBGs, but I have nothing particularly to back that up. Everyone is territorial here, but the BBGs will stick to the bottom, and each of the larger fish will have 11g to themselves, so it might just work out (assuming you get a decently docile fig8 and enough places for everyone to hide).

How are you going to cycle the tank? For a fish-in cycle you want about 1 inch of fish for 10 g of tank water. If you order all your fish at once you will probably have to order more later anyway because several will die. I know chromides are sensative, so for cycling get the puffer or the BBGs first. I'm not sure how tolerant puffers are of cycling conditions, but he packs enough of a bioload alone that you shouldn't need more fish. BBGs however are a below average bioload, so while it might take a while and require more fish, it would certainly be safer. Not sure how BBGs handle ammonia/nitrite either. You might just want to buy some mollies, they are reputable cyclers and it would be hard to find a local petstore that didn't have any. If you wanted to keep them the only potential risk would be with the fig8, but the fig8 is a risk anyway. Otherwise, just return them shortly after you get your new fish (don't expect any money back). You will still probably get a minicycle if you don't adjust the bioload slowly, however. So really, you might not save any money by buying all your fish at once, since you risk fatalities by doing it all at once. If you are doing a fishless cycle, never mind any of this.

I'm also worried because BBGs have a reputation for being fussy eaters, and fig8s/chromides are anything but fussy. You will need to have a plan for feeding them should the puffers and chromides gobble all the food before it gets down to the gobies.
 
I'm working on a fishless cycle now and I'm not in a big hurry to get the fish because I want to have everything as "right" as possible. I did have some old filter media but it was dry for a bit so I'm not sure anything would have been left on it but worth a try. :nod:

I've got two filters (HOB) running not sure the gph but one is for up to 60 gal and the other up to 20. I added a bunch a fish flakes to see the filtration/current and it looked good once I added the second. So I'm hoping this will be enough for the messy figure 8's.

I thought of getting some mollys to cycle but figured they wouldn't go with the figure 8 in the end and my son's community tank is full. I did think of taking someone from there to cycle with, maybe the glo-lite tetras but wasn't sure how they'd take to it but I do beleive they are pretty hardy (haven't added my salt yet). Another thought, can you cycle with mystery snails? They are pretty messy and I have a bunch. I also added a hornwort, needed something to look at!

As for feeding the gobys I was thinking about this and thought about maybe using a turkey baster to get it to the bottom if I needed to. Think that would work? As for caves I also have land hermit crabs and pals who have tons of shells. So I am getting a box of large shells that I can use for caves. I'm also doing live plants and I haven't decided on the rest of decor but I'd like a nice peice of wood but I'll see what the LPS has. And if I do go with chromides I'd need something for them maybe some rock structure.

I guess the wild card seems to be the darn figure 8 as you never know what they will do. But I'm real set on having them cause they are fun. So you think adding all the fish at once woulld be a bad idea? I have read to add 2-3 fish at a time but I know I've added more at once with no problems. But then again I've never had chromides. :S

Ordering online is pretty much my only option because the LPS's are 30 and 60 minutes away and only have your typical community fish with maybe a bichir or two. I have been looking at That Fish Place good to know someone who's dealt with them and had a good experience.

If you have more suggestions anyone please feel free! Thanks. :D
 
I would say to add the chromides as a group because of the cichlid dominance issues you just wrote about in the other thread. The BBGs can probably (up to about 5 or so) all go in at once because they are such a small bioload. So you will probably be fine just adding one species at a time, with the BBGs before the Chromides.

I have two competing trains of thought when it comes to when to add the puffer. On one hand, adding the puffer first might help you get a handle on whether you have a sociopath or a friendly puffer, and would allow you to decide which fish to add in addition if any. On the other hand, if you add the puffer first, he may decide that the entire tank is his kingdom and any fish you decide to add after the fact are intruders (basically inviting him to be a sociopath). At the moment, I'm more inclined to the "add puffer last" choice, since that way you'll only have to remove one fish if he doesn't mix well. However, if the puffer is the most important fish to you, you might want to just start with it, as otherwise you'll have a bunch of BBGs and Chromides you'll probably just have to donate to your LFS (judging from your description they probably won't be able to keep them well, either).

Plants are certainly a good choice. You'll probably need a lot of decor as keeping the puffer from getting bored will certainly help keep him from getting nippy, and chromides will want lots of places to hide and mabye even stash eggs if you're lucky. Everything I've read says the shells will work fine for the BBG. I'm still a bit concerned by the BBG's size compared to the Chromides and Fig 8s (i.e. bite-size); if you are not tied to them, I would consider just getting 2 puffers and 4 chromides and calling it good. You'll have to watch
the chromides for aggression towards each other still, so they aren't a sure bet either.
 

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