Stocking for 29g reef?

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BrkD

Unregistered User
Nov 12, 2006
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making sure i wont overcrowd the tank. the fish i plan to get are:

2 percula clownfish
1 damsel - not sure of which one to get
1 royal gramma basslet or yellowhead jawfish.
1 neon gold goby

whatd you guys think? if i have room, is it possible to add a blenny? any suggestions on what damsel to get? also, please help choose between the basslet and jawfish.
 

Reefscape

I shoot people with a Canon
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Nov 8, 2006
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Personally, i would drop the damsel fish, and stick with the other 4, which is about your max limit on a 29gal tank...

Between the gramma and jawfish, i would choose the yellow headed jawfish as they have great personality. Ensure it has a good deep sandbed for it to burrow in..

Niko
 

MarkLehr

AC Members
Apr 3, 2005
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I agree. I would not recommend a Damsel in this small of an aquarium. They can become very aggressive in time. There are so many choices you may as well keep a different species. More importantly that the fish selection will be your cleaning crew, the importance of which can not be underestimated in a small reef environment.
 

Subliminal

AC Members
Feb 21, 2007
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Princeton, NJ
Get a chromie instead of a damsel.

I have a pair of percs, 2 chromies and a hawkfish in my 29g reef.

Damsels are the devil...just try and get them out when (not if) they start being jerks.

I plan on eventually adding one more fish, in the form of a mandarin of some sort...gotta get the pod pop poppin' before that, though.
 

SuperScro

AC Members
Sep 3, 2006
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Drop you damsel and you should be fine. Remember it is a reef, and you don't want an as big bio-load or something where it gives off to much waste you can handle in the tank.
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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Yes yes, damsels are the devil. They will pick on and beat up any fish in the same tank. Chromis are much better alternatives to damsels. I personally have 9 fish in my 29 gallon. Only one I wish I didn't have is the yellow tang as a 29g is no where near enough for that fish. He got his top fins nipped off the first month by my clown but other than that has been extremely healthy so I just can't do what my LFS tells me (flush it). As long as he is active and healthy I can't just toss him out. Been over 2 years and other than the fins he seems as healthy as the day I bought him.

I handle my excessive bio-load by doing 10 gallon/wk water changes and changing out my chemi-pure elite 47oz (BIG bag, $40) every 30 days. It is a lot of work but since I chose to go overboard with my fish I have to deal with the consequences.
 
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