My 94 litre river reef setup

[tetraTim]

I've got a river reef 94 litre tank, and I'm looking to stock it up over time. Thing is, I'm not too familiar with all the fish options out there, so I'd love some guidance.

I've got a few faves - Percula clowns, red fluxeonets, starry blenny, royal gramma, firtideflow, coflake beauty, regal damselfish, long nose hawkfish, dottybacks, yellow stripe anthias, candy basslet, bangaii cardinal, and yellow goby.

What I'm thinking of getting initially is 2 Percula clowns, a red fluxeonet, a royal gramma, a yellow tail blue damsel, and a starry blenny. Would this bunch work together?

[nixora]

2 Percula clowns are fine, no issues there. The Red Fluxeonet, though - I'm assuming that's a Red Scooter Dragonet? If so, just a heads up, you'll need plenty of pods in your tank, and make sure you get a fat one. Royal Gramma's are no problem, but with the Starry Blenny, just keep an eye on the size. Yellow Tail Blue Damsel, however, I'd advise against - they can be quite aggressive and might disrupt the peace in your tank.

For a 94L tank, I think 6 fish might be a bit too much - I only had 5 in my 130L, and I think 4 would be a more suitable number. The general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per 2 gallons, so for a 94L tank, that's 10 inches of fish.

Breaking it down, you've got: 2 Percula clowns at 5.5 inches, 1 Red Fluxeonet at 3 inches, 1 Starry Blenny at 5.5 inches, 1 Royal Gramma at 3 inches, and 1 Yellow Tail Blue Damsel at 3 inches.

I'd suggest considering a smaller stocking plan, such as: 2 Percula clowns at 5.5 inches, 1 Tailspot Blenny at 2.5 inches, and 1 Royal Gramma at 3 inches. Alternatively, you could swap the Tailspot Blenny for a Scooter Blenny, but keep in mind, it's flux, and most people end up upgrading to a bigger tank to accommodate the nicer fish.

[tetraTim]

Cheers nixora, thanks for the advice. I've actually ordered a book on saltwater fish, still waiting for it to arrive, but been doing some research online in the meantime. Found it tough to find decent info on tank size requirements and such, though. I'm with you, bigger tank is the way forward - loving my new 94L, but I can already see myself needing an upgrade later this year. Yellow tangs are my dream fish, but I know I'll need a bigger tank for those.

[nixora]

I've got a river reef 94 litre tank, and I'm looking to stock it up over time. Thing is, I'm not too familiar with all the fish options out there, so I'd love some guidance.

I've got a few faves - Percula clowns, red fluxeonets, starry blenny, royal gramma, firtideflow, coflake beauty, regal damselfish, long nose hawkfish, dottybacks, yellow stripe anthias, candy basslet, bangaii cardinal, and yellow goby.

What I'm thinking of getting initially is 2 Percula clowns, a red fluxeonet, a royal gramma, a yellow tail blue damsel, and a starry blenny. Would this bunch work together?

The rule of thumb is 1" per 2 Gallons, but with marines it's a different story. Bio load is more of a concern, as some fish like Tangs or Triggers have poor digestive systems, producing a lot of waste. On the other hand, Anenome Fish are relatively light on the bio load. You also need to consider your filter, skimmer, and other equipment.

I've got a useful link I can send you, it's great for gauging fish sizes and has some fantastic photos to browse through. I've found it really helps when deciding what fish to stock.

One thing to keep in mind, I'm quite cautious with Tangs as they're prone to whitespot. If you're looking at a Powder Blue, for example, there's a 90% chance you'll get it in your tank. That's just the way it is. I personally prefer the more robust ones like Bristletooths.