RSM250 stocking question

Magick88

New Member
Hi,

Would be grateful for help with stocking. I am re-starting my RSM250, have already 3 fish:

1. Occ. clownfish (about 1.5", rather peaceful)
2. Gold-headed (sandsifting) goby (2.5-3", doing well, had it >2months)
3. Firefish (regular) (2", for about 1 month)

Other livestock:

1. Large fire shrimp (almost 3" trunk)
2. Conch
3. ~10 big Nerites
4. ~12 Florida Ceriths
5. ~18 Nassarius Vibex
6. ~60 dwarf Ceriths

Corals (it will be softies/LPS tank)

1. Toadstool leather
2. Finger leather
3. Symphylia (brain)
4. Paly colony
5. Frogspawns
6. Mushrooms
7. Duncans, chalice and a single SPS frag (I got as a freebie ;))
8. Zoas
9. Many hitchhiker featherdusters

I am running stock equipment + chiller + small DIY refugium with chaeto in the stock sump.

Thinks are going well, CUC got under control a small GHA outbreak related to pellet feeding, now almost no visible algae with several per days feeding of rinsed frozen food and freeze-dried coral food :)
In the future, I would like to add a Derasa clam (near top) and RBTA, kept them successfully in RSM250 before, plus more softie corals: hammer, torch, acans, pulsing kenya, more zoas, perhaps candy cane and some photosynthetic gorgonians.

So I was thinking of adding more fish. I am far away (1-1.5 h drive) for any LFS and the best one is >1.5 away, so unfortunately I would probably have to order more than 1 fish at the time :(.

My wish list:

* something peaceful and colorful: Royal Gramma?
* perhaps a more higher maintenance, but peaceful fish: McCosker wrasse?
* One bigger fish, ideally herbivorous: small (1-1.5") Yellow Tang (or small flame hawk, if my concerns about compatibility are not valid)

Questions:

1. I also like flame hawkfish a lot, but from what I read it could bother my fire shrimp (and sand sifting goby?) plus eat all my feather dusters? :( I was also considering to get a Christmas worm rock at some point (and keep it at the very top) - sounds like flame hawk would destroy it? Does size also matters - Blue zoo is offering tiny flame hawks, below 1" even

2. I understand that RSM250 would be long term to small for a yellow tang - but do you think I would be ok with a small (1-1.5") YT for 1-2 years? I plan to upgrade to RS 525 or something like that within that time frame. I also have another RSM250 (thanks to Reefmack, who posted a deal I could not refuse, even though was shopping for a much smaller tank). I am thinking of setting it up as a semi-aggresive community tank (with a small snowflake eel and flame hawk and a banggai pair), so if yellow tang would become to aggressive, I could also move it there.

3. How much a yellow tang would grow from 1-1.5" within 1 year? 2 years?

4. What other fish would you recommend for a peaceful community RSM 250 tank? I am looking both for colorful and interestingly behaving fish. I planned to add a tailspot blenny, is supposed to be very entertaining, but the one my LFS had seemed barely alive and as kids said, too small and transparent to see :(. Might be a better nano fish.

I am sorry for such a long post and looking forward to all comments/advice.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Most of what your planning is ok, except for the yellow tang.

Tangs are big dirty fish and require a lot of room. The minimum tang size is about 100 gal.
The small tangs you see are very young fish and grow quickly.

If you actually get a tank that meets the requirements of the fish, then by all means get a yellow tang. Far too often people think they will upgrade and that upgrade day never comes.

Don't think that because you get a fish small that it's not going to grow. In the case of hawks that small guy will grow and at some point eat your shrimp. That's just the nature of the fish. Now I like the hawks a lot, so I'd skip the shrimp and get the hawk, but everyone is different.

Consider updating your profile with your general location. Perhaps others will know of a good LFS for you that's not a long drive, or at least you might find some one to go with.
 

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
FWIW, this was my fish list:
Clown pair (as required by saltwater law everyone must have this).
Bangaii Cardinalfish pair
Midas Blenny (very cute)
Flame hawkfish (probably my favorite with Blenny...great personality)
Tomini Tang (Not really my favorite. But, kids loved it).
Royal Gramma (awesome fish. Very colorful and peaceful).

This combination worked out very well for me with all of them having their own space and living in peace and harmony and all that.
 

Magick88

New Member
Hi Dave and Pat,

thank you both for prompt answers :)

Dave,
I already have a fire shrimp, kids love it, no chance I can trade it to get a flame hawk. Bummer :( I know everybody plans to upgrade, but in my case I know I will be moving because of work in 18months time, so chances are really good for upgrade.

Pat,

do you have any shrimp with your hawk? Midas blenny also sounds like a great idea, to add a splash of yellow instead of YT. I was also thinking about Tomini tangs, but yellows seem much more attractive. Maybe better skip the tang at all then.

Looking forward to other comments/suggestions.
 

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
Hi Dave and Pat,

thank you both for prompt answers :)

Dave,
I already have a fire shrimp, kids love it, no chance I can trade it to get a flame hawk. Bummer :( I know everybody plans to upgrade, but in my case I know I will be moving because of work in 18months time, so chances are really good for upgrade.

Pat,

do you have any shrimp with your hawk? Midas blenny also sounds like a great idea, to add a splash of yellow instead of YT. I was also thinking about Tomini tangs, but yellows seem much more attractive. Maybe better skip the tang at all then.

Looking forward to other comments/suggestions.

I'm sad to say I think the flamehawk could well munch on your shrimp. I had two cleaner shrimp before I added my hawk and I didn't after. I'm really not positive what happened to them, but you can see what I think did.

The Midas Blenny really is great. Very cute and also doesn't take up much territory. Mine found a hole in the live rock in the center of my tank he liked and mostly just lived there. He acted kind of like an eel just poking his head out of the hole most of the time. He never bugged anyone.
 
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Magick88

New Member
I'm sad to say I think the flamehawk could well munch on your shrimp. I had two cleaner shrimp before I added my hawk and I didn't after. I'm really not positive what happened to them, but you can see what I think did.

The Midas Blenny really is great. Very cute and also doesn't take up much territory. Mine found a hole in the live rock in the center of my tank he liked and mostly just lived there. He acted kind of like an eel just poking his head out of the hole most of the time. He never bugged anyone.

Hi Pat,

thanks for your input, so Midas blenny is now on my wish list! Yellow is my favorite color, so it cannot get any better than a yellow peaceful fish with a personality. It seems that no online retailers from whom I considered buying (like LA or BlueZoo) currently have it, but I keep an eye on it.
Looks like flame hawk is a big no no with my shrimp, thanks for sharing your experience, I was thinking maybe tiny hawk would work with my big shrimp, but sounds like it is better not to risk it.

Anybody has an experience with McCosker or other flasher wrasse? My son saw McCosker at LFS and is now obsessed. It seems like a good fit for my peaceful reef, I am only concerned about anthias style multiple a day feeding. I travel often and then I had a tank sitter who was feeding only every 2-3 days plus an established tank population in the tank. Frankly, in my old tank, my fish, especially clowns, seem to eat mostly pods, not the food I was feeding. Do you think pods would be enough for McCosker together with every 2-3 days feeding? I was thinking of putting a massive amount, like 6,000 mixed pods plus some live phyto before going away for eg a week.
 

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
Hi there
I've had a flamed Hawks, spotted Hawk and long nose altogether with cleaner shrimp, and even with other types of shrimp and never had a problem ,
and for the last few years now have a spotted Hawk with two cleaner shrimp.


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Magick88

New Member
Hi there
I've had a flamed Hawks, spotted Hawk and long nose altogether with cleaner shrimp, and even with other types of shrimp and never had a problem ,
and for the last few years now have a spotted Hawk with two cleaner shrimp.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, thanks for chiming in. Do you have your success is related to relative size, like small hawk vs. large shrimp? or introducing a small hawk early. when it is not(?) a danger to the shrimp so that they learn to live with each other?
 

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
Hi, thanks for chiming in. Do you have your success is related to relative size, like small hawk vs. large shrimp? or introducing a small hawk early. when it is not(?) a danger to the shrimp so that they learn to live with each other?
The ones that I name I had for a number of years" To near enough for size if you go by the book on what Size they may grow to and the shrimp were medium size to start off with they never paid them any attention whatsoever, i'm not saying your shrimp will be 100% safe if you get the same type of Hawks I myself have never witnessed any loss to do with it two and that's having them on and off over 40 years.


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Magick88

New Member
The ones that I name I had for a number of years" To near enough for size if you go by the book on what Size they may grow to and the shrimp were medium size to start off with they never paid them any attention whatsoever, i'm not saying your shrimp will be 100% safe if you get the same type of Hawks I myself have never witnessed any loss to do with it two and that's having them on and off over 40 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!
 
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