Bio-load question for 40g breeder

[Chrisnugent942]

Tank cycled last week and I just put in two wyoming whites. I actually have a couple questions
1.The next fish I would like is a diamond goby and i was wondering when would be a good time to add him to my tank with out it being too much of a bio load too soon
2. Whats the max amount of inches/fish should i keep in a 40g breeder. I do plan on making it a reef as well
3. And finally, other than the fish I named, what are some cool stocking options for a 40g breeder

 

[Copingwithpods]

I wouldn't recommend adding that goby to a new tank as it feeds off the microfauna in the sand which a new tank is just lacking.

As per fish inch per gallon, don't think of it that way. Think if it more in terms of the fishes territorial size tolerance, temperament, species and available space.

 

[Dempsey941]

1.The next fish I would like is a diamond goby and i was wondering when would be a good time to add him to my tank with out it being too much of a bio load too soon
2. Whats the max amount of inches/fish should i keep in a 40g breeder. I do plan on making it a reef as well
3. And finally, other than the fish I named, what are some cool stocking options for a 40g breeder

I agree with the above that diamond goby will not survive long term in a new tank, and IMO even if the tank was well established I don't know if a 40B has a big enough footprint for there to be enough micro fauna to appease their appetites in the long run.

You can't really think of fish in the inches per gallon rule in this hobby. I usually separate fish into 3 categories; Rock dwellers, Open water swimmers, and Bottom/sand dwellers. You want to make sure your tank has enough territory for each fish in each category so you've already have 2 clowns which I usually place in the open water category (but they could fit in any category depending on where they decide to be hosted). So maybe look at 1 or 2 other open water swimmers such as flasher wrasses, cardinals, or a smaller specie of sand burrowing wrasse. Then the rock dwellers, the number of these fish relate entirely to amount of rock you have available in your tank. Look into fish like the royal gramma, blennies, and maybe some hawkfish (longnose/flame). Then finally your sand/bottom dwellers these are your watchmen gobies and their pistol shrimps.

Realistically if you do regular water changes and keep good husbandry skills and keep a balance of open water swimmers, rock dwellers, and sand/bottom dwellers you could have 6-8 fish in your 40B and have a successful group if added in the right order.

Currently in my 40B I have the following:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"

Currently sitting at 7 fish, but I am actively searching for an 8th or 9th fish, most likely some flavor flasher wrasse to replace the one I lost, but make your additions slowly only 1 or 2 fish in a month or even every other month.