120g fish and invert stocking thread!

[Cthulukelele]

I am having a heck of a conundrum deciding what to add to my tank (~3 months old)

Currently I have a molly miller blenny and 2 ocellaris clowns.

For inverts I have a few blue leg hermits, a few scarlet hermits, 2 emerald crabs, 2 peppermint shrimp, a skunk cleaner shrimp, a tuxedo urchin, astrea snails, trochus snails, and a few nassarius snails. Future inverts I probably want: nerite snails, cerith snails, pompom crab, randalli pistol shrimp, maybe sexy shrimp?, feather dusters, christmas tree worms, blood shrimp, tiger tail cucumber, and fighting/tiger/spider conch. Let me know if there are any other ones that would be interesting! I love the life they add to a tank!

That being said, I am really torn on fish. This is a list of all the fish I am interested in. Any advice/opinions/direction on any of these fish would be GREATLY appreciated.

The fish for my mixed reef
4x anthia (probably either lyretail or squareback--if not either then probably a small shoal of chromis then)
1x fairy wrasse (not sure which)
1x mystery wrasse
1x carpenters/mccoskers flasher wrasse
1x halichores wrasse (probably christmas or melanarus)
1x yellow tang
1x bristletooth tang (probably a kole tang)
1x bangai cardinal
1x yellow watchman goby
1x blue spot puffer
1x firefish
1x royal gramma
1x green clown goby

Any other interesting fish would be appreciated to have brought up. I imagine this would be severely overstocked, so I was hoping for help/info in pruning the list. I know the blue spot puffer is mainly a pipe dream.

 

[rkpetersen]

First what is the size and shape of your tank? Also are you planning on adding corals at some point and if so, what kind?

The inverts you're thinking of adding are all good although I personally would skip the nerites as they love to walk up and out of your tank and you find them dried out on the floor pretty regularly if you have a bunch. Christmas tree worm rock can be tough because you have to provide filter feeding for the worms as well as the right conditions for the still living porites coral. Then there's the either/or choice of Harlequin Shrimp versus starfish. They're both great to have around so the best solution is setting up another tank. :)

Regarding fish, that's a nice list. If your tank's big enough you can probably keep most or all of those together. I'd add the wrasses in the order flasher, fairy, halichoeres. ( I've kept a Carpenter's, Lineatus, and Melanurus together in 100g and they all were ok.) Add the kole tang before the yellow tang. Banggais would be better as a bonded pair if you can find them, and add them early. Green clown goby won't be happy unless it has some corals to perch on. Do you like pygmy angels? I love them but they don't always respect corals. The puffer could be rough on your inverts. Strongly recommend using quarantine to keep your DT disease free. :)

 

[Maritimer]

Of the anthias you mention, lyretails are probably the better bet for hardiness ... and for being pretty rugged with one another.

Keep in mind that mystery wrasses don't always play nicely with other wrasses - if you add one, do it toward the end of your stocking.

With wrasses, several of different-but-similar species, such as three different flashers, may put on quite the display - without doing real harm. Halichoeres are wonderful wrasses! There are several which are sometimes called "Christmas" - look for H. claudia in that group, consider avoiding H. ornatissmus, he can be a tad ornery. (Beautiful, though!)

I'd add the bristletooth tang before the yellow, or both tangs at the same time.

Puffer ... or inverts ... They're like puppies - they chew on everything. (Green clown goby _may_ nip at SPS.) For certain, the puffer / mystery wrasse / larger Halichoeres will limit you to larger shrimps. Sexies would likely be out.

Quarantine fishes ... and inverts & corals, if you can. The supply chain has been a tad rough around the edges (OK, it's downright filthy) lately.

Consider a sea-urchin, such as a tuxedo. They're great for helping to keep algae mowed down, but like to carry things about as camouflage. Like glops of hair algae, or your zoanthid colonies.

~Bruce

 

[Cthulukelele]

First what is the size and shape of your tank? Also are you planning on adding corals at some point and if so, what kind?

The inverts you're thinking of adding are all good although I personally would skip the nerites as they love to walk up and out of your tank and you find them dried out on the floor pretty regularly if you have a bunch. Christmas tree worm rock can be tough because you have to provide filter feeding for the worms as well as the right conditions for the still living porites coral. Then there's the either/or choice of Harlequin Shrimp versus starfish. They're both great to have around so the best solution is setting up another tank. :)

Regarding fish, that's a nice list. If you're tank's big enough you can probably keep most or all of those together. I'd add the wrasses in the order flasher, fairy, halichoeres. ( I've kept a Carpenter's, Lineatus, and Melanurus together in 100g and they all were ok.) Add the kole tang before the yellow tang. Banggais would be better as a bonded pair if you can find them, and add them early. Green clown goby won't be happy unless it has some corals to perch on. Do you like pygmy angels? I love them but they don't always respect corals. The puffer could be rough on your inverts. Strongly recommend using quarantine to keep your DT disease free. :)

The tank is 4x2x2 120 gallon. I have a 20 gallon qt tank up and running.

I was probably going to add a blue linkia starfish late in the game. Thanks for the invert info :)

I expect to keep sps, lps, and a few softies with a focus primarily on sps and lps. Currently have a little of all of them doing well in the tank (in tank now: plating monti, acro, zoas, digitata, setosa, toadstool, torch, favia, ricordea yuma + florida). I also eventually want a bta. The picking is what I was worried about with the pygmy angels. I love coral beauties and flame angels.

And yeah the puffer is my favorite fish, so it was the only one I added that was probably unrealistic. It is gonna be last on the addition list as I slowly try to convince myself the tank is too full to add it :P

 

[Cthulukelele]

Of the anthias you mention, lyretails are probably the better bet for hardiness ... and for being pretty rugged with one another.

Keep in mind that mystery wrasses don't always play nicely with other wrasses - if you add one, do it toward the end of your stocking.

With wrasses, several of different-but-similar species, such as three different flashers, may put on quite the display - without doing real harm. Halichoeres are wonderful wrasses! There are several which are sometimes called "Christmas" - look for H. claudia in that group, consider avoiding H. ornatissmus, he can be a tad ornery. (Beautiful, though!)

I'd add the bristletooth tang before the yellow, or both tangs at the same time.

Puffer ... or inverts ... They're like puppies - they chew on everything. (Green clown goby _may_ nip at SPS.) For certain, the puffer / mystery wrasse / larger Halichoeres will limit you to larger shrimps. Sexies would likely be out.

Quarantine fishes ... and inverts & corals, if you can. The supply chain has been a tad rough around the edges (OK, it's downright filthy) lately.

Consider a sea-urchin, such as a tuxedo. They're great for helping to keep algae mowed down, but like to carry things about as camouflage. Like glops of hair algae, or your zoanthid colonies.

~Bruce

Yeah the mystery and puffer are likely not going to be added. I want to go with a very small halichores wrasse species. Which one is the littlest? Lol. I honestly don't think I even want a mystery. Meant to take that off the short list. Have my qt tank up and running :)

Thanks for anthia info :)

I actually have a tuxedo urchin I love who carries around a few shells and a yuma mushroom for awhile lol.

 

[Cthulukelele]

First what is the size and shape of your tank? Also are you planning on adding corals at some point and if so, what kind?

The inverts you're thinking of adding are all good although I personally would skip the nerites as they love to walk up and out of your tank and you find them dried out on the floor pretty regularly if you have a bunch. Christmas tree worm rock can be tough because you have to provide filter feeding for the worms as well as the right conditions for the still living porites coral. Then there's the either/or choice of Harlequin Shrimp versus starfish. They're both great to have around so the best solution is setting up another tank. :)

Regarding fish, that's a nice list. If your tank's big enough you can probably keep most or all of those together. I'd add the wrasses in the order flasher, fairy, halichoeres. ( I've kept a Carpenter's, Lineatus, and Melanurus together in 100g and they all were ok.) Add the kole tang before the yellow tang. Banggais would be better as a bonded pair if you can find them, and add them early. Green clown goby won't be happy unless it has some corals to perch on. Do you like pygmy angels? I love them but they don't always respect corals. The puffer could be rough on your inverts. Strongly recommend using quarantine to keep your DT disease free. :)

Of the anthias you mention, lyretails are probably the better bet for hardiness ... and for being pretty rugged with one another.

Keep in mind that mystery wrasses don't always play nicely with other wrasses - if you add one, do it toward the end of your stocking.

With wrasses, several of different-but-similar species, such as three different flashers, may put on quite the display - without doing real harm. Halichoeres are wonderful wrasses! There are several which are sometimes called "Christmas" - look for H. claudia in that group, consider avoiding H. ornatissmus, he can be a tad ornery. (Beautiful, though!)

I'd add the bristletooth tang before the yellow, or both tangs at the same time.

Puffer ... or inverts ... They're like puppies - they chew on everything. (Green clown goby _may_ nip at SPS.) For certain, the puffer / mystery wrasse / larger Halichoeres will limit you to larger shrimps. Sexies would likely be out.

Quarantine fishes ... and inverts & corals, if you can. The supply chain has been a tad rough around the edges (OK, it's downright filthy) lately.

Consider a sea-urchin, such as a tuxedo. They're great for helping to keep algae mowed down, but like to carry things about as camouflage. Like glops of hair algae, or your zoanthid colonies.

~Bruce

Also do ya'll think a 4 foot 120 gallon is big enough for a 4 fish shoal of of squareback or lyretail anthias?

 

[Maritimer]

Among the smaller Halichoeres, IIRC, would be H. claudia, H. biocellatus (red-line wrasse) and H. iridis (radiant wrasse - pricier, but _wow_ colors!). I seem to recall that the "yellow coris" which is actually a Halichoeres, doesn't get huge either.

I wound up going with dispar anthias for my tank - mostly because I can _afford_ a group of those ... if I can get them through quarantine. Well ... until today ... found some "different" anthias mixed in with dispars at the LFS. They were being sold as dispars (for $10 each!), but they look closer to young bimaculatus or lunates. Probably start a thread on 'em.

Lyretails, I think, would be OK in a 4' tank. Pink squares get pretty big - I think they'd _be_ OK, but they might kind of dominate the tank, visually.

~Bruce

 

[Cthulukelele]

Also this beast lost a claw killing a juvenile mantis shrimp hitchhiker I didn't know I had last week. Can we please give her a round of applause?

 

[davocean]

I have lyretails in my 120g, that would be my choice.
Personally I'd skip the yellow tang cause I hate inviting headaches, they usually are, and may limit additions, especially in that size tank.
I like one tang in that size tank(same size as mine) and I'd be looking at the bristle as they are great grazers.
I like room for other pretty colors that are mostly headache free, I'd much rather have anthia than a couple tangs bullying each other all day.

I have 0 input on wrasses, other than your wrasses may be to you like anthia are to me, variety and colors in sizes better suited for that size tank.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I have lyretails in my 120g, that would be my choice.
Personally I'd skip the yellow tang cause I hate inviting headaches, they usually are, and may limit additions, especially in that size tank.
I like one tang in that size tank(same size as mine) and I'd be looking at the bristle as they are great grazers.
I like room for other pretty colors that are mostly headache free, I'd much rather have anthia than a couple tangs bullying each other all day.

I have 0 input on wrasses, other than your wrasses may be to you like anthia are to me, variety and colors in sizes better suited for that size tank.

Thanks for the input! The lyretails are where I was leaning.

The kole tang will be one of the first additions. I would add the yellow tang last if at all, and I appreciate you sharing your experience with them. I've heard they can be kinda rude especially in 4' tanks.

Yeah the wrasses are for color and interesting behavior. Watching them hunt is something I'm looking forward to. Also flasher wrasses flashing is a super cool behavior. Fairy wrasses are just super colorful and an interesting sheepish fish. The halichoeres wrasse is gonna be a super pecky hunting fish to watch.

How many lyretails do you have? They get along quite well? 1 male and a few females?

 

[davocean]

I have one male and 4 females, could have added more but I want at least one other species group added, dispars maybe, carberryi's maybe, we'll see what's available and looking good to me when time comes to order.

I used to buy all female lyretails, and let them work out who becomes male, but in a couple cases over a long period of time I had submales, or full transition challenging original male.

Last few tanks I went for a much larger established male and small females, seems to be working best for me

 

[Cthulukelele]

I have one male and 4 females, could have added more but I want at least one other species group added, dispars maybe, carberryi's maybe, we'll see what's available and looking good to me when time comes to order.

I used to buy all female lyretails, and let them work out who becomes male, but in a couple cases over a long period of time I had submales, or full transition challenging original male.

Last few tanks I went for a much larger established male and small females, seems to be working best for me

That makes sense! Do you think if you got say 4 females but with one that is significantly larger, that would accomplish the same goal?

 

[Jesterrace]

I am having a heck of a conundrum deciding what to add to my tank (~3 months old)

Currently I have a molly miller blenny and 2 ocellaris clowns.

For inverts I have a few blue leg hermits, a few scarlet hermits, 2 emerald crabs, 2 peppermint shrimp, a skunk cleaner shrimp, a tuxedo urchin, astrea snails, trochus snails, and a few nassarius snails. Future inverts I probably want: nerite snails, cerith snails, pompom crab, randalli pistol shrimp, maybe sexy shrimp?, feather dusters, christmas tree worms, blood shrimp, tiger tail cucumber, and fighting/tiger/spider conch. Let me know if there are any other ones that would be interesting! I love the life they add to a tank!

That being said, I am really torn on fish. This is a list of all the fish I am interested in. Any advice/opinions/direction on any of these fish would be GREATLY appreciated.

The fish for my mixed reef
4x anthia (probably either lyretail or squareback--if not either then probably a small shoal of chromis then)
1x fairy wrasse (not sure which)
1x mystery wrasse
1x carpenters/mccoskers flasher wrasse
1x halichores wrasse (probably christmas or melanarus)
1x yellow tang
1x bristletooth tang (probably a kole tang)
1x bangai cardinal
1x yellow watchman goby
1x blue spot puffer
1x firefish
1x royal gramma
1x green clown goby

Any other interesting fish would be appreciated to have brought up. I imagine this would be severely overstocked, so I was hoping for help/info in pruning the list. I know the blue spot puffer is mainly a pipe dream.

I would skip the mystery wrasse as they often turn into invert munchers. The Melanurus will be likely to pick off snails, hermits and small shrimp over time. The Christmas Wrasse would probably be better, but make sure you get the H.Claudia variety. One of the issues with Christmas Wrasses is that there are 2 or 3 varieties that look similar that are referred to as Christmas Wrasses and Halichoeres Ornatissimus is one of them and can be a downright jerk to other wrasses. Claudia on the other hand is generally well behaved, so make sure you verify the latin name of said fish before ordering to make sure you are getting the right one. It looks like you have changed your mind on the puffer, which is good because they can be a bit of an issue with reefs and fin nipping. Oh and skip the Yellow Tang, I had one in my 90 gallon (same tank as yours just 6 inches less in width) and it tried to claim my whole 90 gallon for itself after less than a month. If you want a Yellow algae remover a One Spot Foxface would be a much better choice.

 

[Jesterrace]

Also this beast lost a claw killing a juvenile mantis shrimp hitchhiker I didn't know I had last week. Can we please give her a round of applause?

Very cool, what kind of hermit is your hero?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Very cool, what kind of hermit is your hero?

Shockingly it was an emerald crab!

I would skip the mystery wrasse as they often turn into invert munchers. The Melanurus will be likely to pick off snails, hermits and small shrimp over time. The Christmas Wrasse would probably be better, but make sure you get the H.Claudia variety. One of the issues with Christmas Wrasses is that there are 2 or 3 varieties that look similar that are referred to as Christmas Wrasses and Halichoeres Ornatissimus is one of them and can be a downright jerk to other wrasses. Claudia on the other hand is generally well behaved, so make sure you verify the latin name of said fish before ordering to make sure you are getting the right one. It looks like you have changed your mind on the puffer, which is good because they can be a bit of an issue with reefs and fin nipping. Oh and skip the Yellow Tang, I had one in my 90 gallon (same tank as yours just 6 inches less in width) and it tried to claim my whole 90 gallon for itself after less than a month. If you want a Yellow algae remover a One Spot Foxface would be a much better choice.

So my take away is the melanarus would be a gamble as would be the yellow tang. I appreciate the input! The mystery wrasse is out. I had forgotten about the nipping and decided against one just forgot to take it off my short list.

I am going to add everything else and see where I am before the yellow tang. Will probably hold off entirely. The only hard choice I have is the melanarus. I love the way it looks, and I have a friend who has one, and it's my favorite fish to watch because of the hunting. Maybe when I see a chrysus or claudia in person it will be able to sway me :p

 

[davocean]

That makes sense! Do you think if you got say 4 females but with one that is significantly larger, that would accomplish the same goal?

Probably, I do like to make sure the male has no problem keeping in check w/out being challenged.
If they are all the same size at purchase, I think there is always probability of one that just has better health or genetics and grows faster, which could cause issues.

I have had groups that had submales that remained submale for quite some time, a year maybe w/ just a short dorsal spike, but I always spotted it knowing inevitably one day it's going to complete transition and become an issue.

 

[Jesterrace]

I get it, I have a Melanurus and I love having it. I do have to replace my snails and hermits more often with it in and it and my Coral Beauty ripped apart my replacement cleaner shrimp within 24 hours of introducing it (not sure if the fish killed it or if it just didn't make it and they took advantage of an easy meal with a recently deceased shrimp). It left my original cleaner (which was much larger) alone though. I have been a bit shy about adding shrimp in my tank since then. I have considered the possibility of adding a large Fire Shrimp to my tank though.

 

[rkpetersen]

Also flasher wrasses flashing is a super cool behavior.

Just want to mention that if you only get one flasher wrasse it isn't likely to flash much if at all, even if you buy it as a terminal phase male. Especially with larger and/or more aggressive wrasses in the same tank. They'll likely all get along ok after sorting things out, but the flasher won't be flashing. To get him to flash he needs a couple of females around.

 

[rkpetersen]

I get it, I have a Melanurus and I love having it. I do have to replace my snails and hermits more often with it in and it and my Coral Beauty ripped apart my replacement cleaner shrimp within 24 hours of introducing it (not sure if the fish killed it or if it just didn't make it and they took advantage of an easy meal with a recently deceased shrimp). It left my original cleaner (which was much larger) alone though. I have been a bit shy about adding shrimp in my tank since then. I have considered the possibility of adding a large Fire Shrimp to my tank though.

I have 3 large fire shrimp and a moderate size banded coral shrimp in the same tank as a moderately large male melanurus, and he never bothers them. They were there before he arrived, though. I have had a couple skunk cleaner shrimp disappear under mysterious circumstances. He also does like to dive for snails in the sandbed now and then. Or if I accidentally uncover a snail while aquascaping, he will really pounce on them, as he follows me around waiting for it. Smart fish, that wrasse.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Just want to mention that if you only get one flasher wrasse it isn't likely to flash much if at all, even if you buy it as a terminal phase male. Especially with larger and/or more aggressive wrasses in the same tank. They'll like all get along ok after sorting things out, but the flasher won't be flashing. To get him to flash he needs a couple of females around.

Aw man :( I hope it at least does it occasionally! If not, it's still a beautiful fish. Thanks for letting me know.