Stocking a 41 Gallon reef tank
 

I am still in the early stages of setting up my reef tank, so far just have sand, live rock, 15 hermits, 2 turbo 2 cerith snails, and a brittle starfish.

I am looking for suggestions on stocking. Here are some of the fish I would like to put in, I have put a star before the fish I am really hoping for. please let me know what you think!
*Pair of clowns, (gold striped maroon/ Tomato / Sabae/ cinnamon)
(Which would be the best?)


*2-3 bangaii cardinal
A few Anthias?
Centerpiece fish: Copperband or *Racoon butterfly OR *Lemon peel angel OR Foxface/ *yellow tang/ yellow eyed Kole

These are just some ideas that I am throwing around. And I know that the tangs cannot be kept in my tank for their lifetime, however I plan to get a small tang or two then when they are starting to outgrow this tank, I will most likely be ready to upgrade.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Is there a better place to post this?

Id get a few fish off that list. Tangs, copperband.
Tangs as you know need big tanks even when young, its stressful on them to be cramped. Copperbands or butterfly fish alike, are notoriously difficult to keep as their dietary needs are tricky to maintain. You hear of a lot of copperbands dieing from lack of food ie anemone. Your tanks small as is mine, so a center piece fish can be tricky to decide on right now I have a six line wrasse which I really like, I had a dwarf cherub angel but recently lost him during my tank move. He was my center piece. There are lots of wrasse types for your size that would be beautiful, as well as beneficial pest control like my six line, who eats up large amphipods and other pests. Just my 2 cents.


Sorry for typos my phones auto correct sucks

Maroon clowns get big and as a pair, really mean. Clowns in general can be aggressive, so careful there. Tangs and Butterflies are probably not a great choice, although a small yellow or kole might work for a year or so. Anthias, probably not unless you got smaller species, some of which are expensive and tougher to keep. Dwarf angels would be good choices, and as mentioned, a lot of wrasses would fit in nicely.

Are any of the clowns I listed less-aggressive?

I really like the maroons, and think its cool how big they do get! Are they just going to be a PITA for me while working on the tank? or will they harrass other fish in the tank too?

And how about a single instead of a pair? Less aggressive?

Is it possible to have a yellow tang, lemonpeel angel, 2-3 bangaii cardinals with a pair of clowns? + maybe a couple small fish?

That's a really heavy stock list for a 41g especially since its sumpless. If it had a sump of equal or even half the volume, you might have better luck, but since you don't I would keep the stock a little less.

Fair enough. Hmm.. Would a clownfish do better singly, or the Bangaii?

either is fine, clowns (smaller ones) would generally be ok unless they started breeding. Then they might get a bit nippy. Bangaii can be nice to have breed too, and I think less nippy :)

I have a pair of ocellaris and a bangaii none are nippy yet, mind you my clowns aren't breeding or paired up yet. Are you planning on adding any filtration to the tank? Can't really do a sump now unless you do a HOB overflow, which can be noisy, but that can always be fixed, a larger volume of water allows for a bit more stock which is what your after so it may be worth looking into.

The skimmer and rock will filter, not really a lot of other options. A sump only increases the volume of water, it doesn't filter anything. It allows for (generally) a better skimmer, and hiding heaters. And maybe some extra rock.