If you were starting a new big reef, what would you have in your stock list?

[i cant think]

Ugh. I'm so indecisive. I have a hard time committing to a list. LOL

Here are the ones I'm thinking about currently (in no particular order):

Flashers:

• madagascar flasher (already mentioned this is one of my dream fish, but cost prohibitive, so extremely unlikely...)
• McCosker's Flasher
• Carpenter's Flasher
• Diamond Tail Flasher
• ...I'm honestly open to most any variety. I just know I want to see these guys flashing at each other. LOL So throw out some suggestions.

Fairies (definitely not necessarily going with all of these...just undecided atm):

• Johnsonii
• Rhomboid
• Flame
• Lineatus
• Exquisite
• Pylei or briangreenei
• Orange Back
• ...open to more suggestions

Others:

• Potters or other leopard (I like bluestars too)
• Tamarin of some kind
• who knows... LOL

Madagascan Half Bars are coming down in price now - I had my transitioning male but a few weeks ago he went MIA. I love this fish but if I’m honest, there’s other nice wrasses out there for similar prices that do better overall.

Absolutely go for the Carpenter’s Flasher. I know everyone loves the Mccoskeri but the displays of the Carpenteri is unbeatable IMHO.

The Diamond Tail is one of my must have fish. I’ve had a male but haven’t gone for another as I’ve been waiting to upgrade my tank but with that in the next few weeks it’s on my list. This fish just displays for no reason. If you get the chance, try get a female as the transitioning phase of all these wrasses is gorgeous to watch.

Another variety of Flasher I recommend looking at is the Red Fin Flasher, Paracheilinus rubricaudalis. They’re gorgeous in person. Another I don’t see mentioned much is the Royal Flasher, Paracheilinus angulatus. I’ve seen a couple and their displays are stunning.

Fairy wise, unfortunately the flame is no longer available as he is a Hawaiian endemic. But a good alternative I find is the Magma Fairy (Cirrhilabrus shutmani). They have a higher price tag but IMO they’re worth it.

The Johnsonii is a gorgeous fairy when you see them in display, the only downside is their price tag. Not much to say on them as they are peaceful and should get along with everyone!

Rhomboid you’ll want to add early on. These guys can be sensitive to going into established, high active reefs but once added first they seem to do much better. Another great option

Lineatus can be somewhat more boisterous than other fairies but will still get along with them for the most part. I’d add this guy in later on as one of the last fairy/flasher wrasses.

Exquisitus again great choice - I’d personally hold out for a Vanuatu variant. I’d add this earlier on as well for the same reasons as the Rhomboid and Johnsonii.

Pylei or Briangreeni I would pass on as they can be too boisterous for other fairies unfortunately. I’d personally look at a species from within the Rubriventralis complex as a good replacement.

Orange Back is another I’d add later on as they can be boisterous enough to withstand a more active tank and aren’t boisterous to cause issues with other fairies/flashers.

Another complex I would look into is the Lubbocki complex. I’ve had 3 wrasses from this complex and they’re just so colourful for the price they are!
Here’s all 3 I’ve had - the first two are Cirrhilabrus lubbocki and the last is Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis.

I’d definitely be considering a harem of leopards in this tank! I know that’s one thing I’m planning for my upgrade is trying out pairs or harems of sand sleeping wrasses.
Unfortunately the potters is one we can’t get anymore but the rest of the leopards we can still get!

Tamarins are a great idea, I’d look into Neoguinaicus, Twistii, Meleagris as the first 3 options to trial with this genus then consider species like femininus or lennardi down the line. Generally, this is a genus which can go in at any time but I’d still try get them in prior to the tangs.

And as a last couple to consider… get some Halichoeres like;
Halichoeres lapillus, Halichoeres iridis and Halichoeres leucoxanthus
And also look at the Xenojulis margaritaceus, I love mine.

 

[i cant think]

magnificent foxface

+1 to this, a foxface or two is always a great idea! I had a Tongan Black and still have a Magnificent and I love(d) both. Unfortunately an unstable rock killed my Black.

 

[McPuff]

For fairy wrasse I would say Labouti. They are so pretty.

Any inclination toward a large angel? I love having a blueface in my reef... but it's always been a top 3 fish for me.

 

[krollins]

+1 to this, a foxface or two is always a great idea! I had a Tongan Black and still have a Magnificent and I love(d) both. Unfortunately an unstable rock killed my Black.

Whoah. I didn't know that there were all black species.

 

[i cant think]

Whoah. I didn't know that there were all black species.

Yep! I’m so annoyed that I didn’t check the base rocks for stability as he was a gorgeous display fish.

 

[littlefoxx]

So as I'm getting ready to get my new 225g peninsula reef going, I'm getting really excited thinking about what I might include in the livestock list! The plan is that this will be a mixed reef that will be SPS dominant. I have a few fish that I know for sure I want to keep, and some that I'm still on the fence about. Here are my current thoughts:

Fish I want for sure:

1. Harlequin Tuskfish
2. Japanese Swallowtail Angel pair
3. Pair of clowns (already have one pair...might add a second pair)
4. Blue Tang
5. Yellow Tang (my wife's favorite fish)
6. Purple Tang
7. Other zebrasoma (probably a desjardini sailfin, but I'm open to ideas...I know I want a zebrasoma trio)
8. Mandarin dragonet
9. Various wrasses (I love flasher and fairy wrasses and might have a leopard wrasse as well...the madagascar flasher has been my dream fish for a while, but not sure how available those are...last i checked, they were still super expensive, so not likely...)
10. Various gobies/blennies (I'm thinking a few more sedentary grumpy looking fish would be fun...I also LOVE barnacle blennies)

On the fence:

• Some kind of eel (I'm a bit concerned that having an eel might be a no-go with the gobies/blennies)
• Sohal tang (I LOVE the look of these fish, and this is the first tank I'll have ever had that comes close to being big enough...but I have also heard horror stories about these guys and am thinking that if I get one, I may end up regretting it)
• Achilles Tang (hadn't considered this one yet, but @i cant think mentioned it below...so now I'm thinking about it)
• I feel like there are more that should be included as "maybe" fish here, but this is off the top of my head and all I can think of right now...

So yeah...those are my ideas so far...

I have 2 questions for discussion.

1. What do you guys think of the above lists?
2. If you had a tank around this size, what would be on your wishlist?

Snowflake would probably leave the blennies and others alone if you feed them well. Mine wont eat silversides even, just squid, shrimp and other non fish inverts. My jeweled on the other hand ate my midas blenny… he is a fang tooth. Wouldnt trust a fang tooth eel with small fish as far as I could throw him! Lol. My snowflake is very mild tempered and shes a sweet eel. Lets me pet her too

 

[Kathy Floyd]

I was just getting ready to tag Littlefox about the eel. Daniel, just get an even bigger tank and you can have them all!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Madagascan Half Bars are coming down in price now - I had my transitioning male but a few weeks ago he went MIA. I love this fish but if I’m honest, there’s other nice wrasses out there for similar prices that do better overall.

Absolutely go for the Carpenter’s Flasher. I know everyone loves the Mccoskeri but the displays of the Carpenteri is unbeatable IMHO.

The Diamond Tail is one of my must have fish. I’ve had a male but haven’t gone for another as I’ve been waiting to upgrade my tank but with that in the next few weeks it’s on my list. This fish just displays for no reason. If you get the chance, try get a female as the transitioning phase of all these wrasses is gorgeous to watch.

Another variety of Flasher I recommend looking at is the Red Fin Flasher, Paracheilinus rubricaudalis. They’re gorgeous in person. Another I don’t see mentioned much is the Royal Flasher, Paracheilinus angulatus. I’ve seen a couple and their displays are stunning.

Fairy wise, unfortunately the flame is no longer available as he is a Hawaiian endemic. But a good alternative I find is the Magma Fairy (Cirrhilabrus shutmani). They have a higher price tag but IMO they’re worth it.

The Johnsonii is a gorgeous fairy when you see them in display, the only downside is their price tag. Not much to say on them as they are peaceful and should get along with everyone!

Rhomboid you’ll want to add early on. These guys can be sensitive to going into established, high active reefs but once added first they seem to do much better. Another great option

Lineatus can be somewhat more boisterous than other fairies but will still get along with them for the most part. I’d add this guy in later on as one of the last fairy/flasher wrasses.

Exquisitus again great choice - I’d personally hold out for a Vanuatu variant. I’d add this earlier on as well for the same reasons as the Rhomboid and Johnsonii.

Pylei or Briangreeni I would pass on as they can be too boisterous for other fairies unfortunately. I’d personally look at a species from within the Rubriventralis complex as a good replacement.

Orange Back is another I’d add later on as they can be boisterous enough to withstand a more active tank and aren’t boisterous to cause issues with other fairies/flashers.

Another complex I would look into is the Lubbocki complex. I’ve had 3 wrasses from this complex and they’re just so colourful for the price they are!
Here’s all 3 I’ve had - the first two are Cirrhilabrus lubbocki and the last is Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis.

I’d definitely be considering a harem of leopards in this tank! I know that’s one thing I’m planning for my upgrade is trying out pairs or harems of sand sleeping wrasses.
Unfortunately the potters is one we can’t get anymore but the rest of the leopards we can still get!

Tamarins are a great idea, I’d look into Neoguinaicus, Twistii, Meleagris as the first 3 options to trial with this genus then consider species like femininus or lennardi down the line. Generally, this is a genus which can go in at any time but I’d still try get them in prior to the tangs.

And as a last couple to consider… get some Halichoeres like;
Halichoeres lapillus, Halichoeres iridis and Halichoeres leucoxanthus
And also look at the Xenojulis margaritaceus, I love mine.

This is super helpful info! Thanks! I'll definitely refer back to this as I get ready to order.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Snowflake would probably leave the blennies and others alone if you feed them well. Mine wont eat silversides even, just squid, shrimp and other non fish inverts. My jeweled on the other hand ate my midas blenny… he is a fang tooth. Wouldnt trust a fang tooth eel with small fish as far as I could throw him! Lol. My snowflake is very mild tempered and shes a sweet eel. Lets me pet her too

Good info. I'm thinking my best shot would be to get one while it's still small (and the fish won't fit in it's mouth yet) and let it grow in the tank with the fish so that it learns to eat what I feed rather than the other tank mates.

 

[Freenow54]

So for me I want a minimalist tank for fish. Trying to find small schooling fish. It is very difficult. I saw this tank featured by Aquariums Design Group. Mostly soft flowing coral, and because of the light binload only about 6 rocks in a 60

 

[Daniel@R2R]

So for me I want a minimalist tank for fish. Trying to find small schooling fish. It is very difficult. I saw this tank featured by Aquariums Design Group. Mostly soft flowing coral, and because of the light binload only about 6 rocks in a 60

For small schooling fish, maybe check out redspot cardinalfish. I think they do well in schools/shoals. They're a bit small for my tank IMO, but could be good in a 60 I think.

Photo by @melev

 

[Jakejtown]

If I had a tank that size I would have to have a Naso Tang. Those orange fat lips!!

 

[Freenow54]

For small schooling fish, maybe check out redspot cardinalfish. I think they do well in schools/shoals. They're a bit small for my tank IMO, but could be good in a 60 I think.

Photo by @melev

They would be perfect. Thanks for taking the time to do that appreciate it.

 

[i cant think]

This is super helpful info! Thanks! I'll definitely refer back to this as I get ready to order.

No problem! I love to talk wrasse with others haha, it’s probably the one family I have spent hours talking about when volunteering my LFS.

 

[Doctorgori]

Angels & Idols !!!!
Rock beauty, Regal and Moorish Idol are my “ centerpiece” fish

I just stocked a 900xxxl and will eventually do the tank thread like we are supposed to lol

 

[MizzouMark]

The Golden Dwarf Moray Eel (Gymnothorax melatemus) is a fish safe eel you can consider. I had a pair in my 225 gal FOWLR. They will go after shrimp but didn't bother any of my fish.

 

[mfinn]

First thing I would stock a new tank with is that new Australian live rock