180 Gallon Display Stocking - Critique Welcome!

[AbnormalReefer]

Hello all! A few months ago I asked this same question regarding a 270 gallon system (with a 180 gallon display) however, my tastes have since changed and my knowledge in the hobby has grown. Long story short, I want people to critique my stock list. Tell me what to remove and what to keep on this hypothetical list (some of the fish I already have).

Now, some of you will probably think I am crazy for even suggesting a stocking list like this! Please be gentle regarding the shark though. I currently have it and realize it will outgrow my tank eventually, however, my one lfs has a 5000 gallon centerpiece tank that they'd be willing to place him in there!

Thanks all! - Ed at AbnormalReefer

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

You can probably keep about a third of that in a 180.

 

[MSB123]

Hello all! A few months ago I asked this same question regarding a 270 gallon system (with a 180 gallon display) however, my tastes have since changed and my knowledge in the hobby has grown. Long story short, I want people to critique my stock list. Tell me what to remove and what to keep on this hypothetical list (some of the fish I already have).

Now, some of you will probably think I am crazy for even suggesting a stocking list like this! Please be gentle regarding the shark though. I currently have it and realize it will outgrow my tank eventually, however, my one lfs has a 5000 gallon centerpiece tank that they'd be willing to place him in there!

Thanks all! - Ed at AbnormalReefer

The tangs will outgrow that tank quickly. Without even taking any other fish into consideration, 6 tangs, 3 of which are large tangs, in a 180 will not work out.
And then you add a foxface, parrotfish, and a trigger.
The parrot and trigger will most likely nip at the shark.
Not a good mix. I would drop the PB tang, and Vlamingi tang.
#reefsquad

 

[MICHAEL MARRON]

Hello all! A few months ago I asked this same question regarding a 270 gallon system (with a 180 gallon display) however, my tastes have since changed and my knowledge in the hobby has grown. Long story short, I want people to critique my stock list. Tell me what to remove and what to keep on this hypothetical list (some of the fish I already have).

Now, some of you will probably think I am crazy for even suggesting a stocking list like this! Please be gentle regarding the shark though. I currently have it and realize it will outgrow my tank eventually, however, my one lfs has a 5000 gallon centerpiece tank that they'd be willing to place him in there!

Thanks all! - Ed at AbnormalReefer

I want to add a pair of Blue Throat Triggers to a 90 gallon reef...will they devour my clean up crew?

 

[MSB123]

No.

I want to add a pair of Blue Throat Triggers to a 90 gallon reef...will they devour my clean up crew?

They are considered reef safe.
A 90 is too small for 1, much less 2.
I would recommend at least a 180 for a pair.
They are active and fast swimmers.

 

[saltyhog]

Agree with dropping the PB and Vlamingi tangs. The later gets absolutely huge, the former is a jerk to other tangs.

With all those algae eaters and aggressive eaters I would also consider nixing the Quoyi. They are incredible fish but very difficult to keep with few success stories. Check out this thread for info on them. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/little-surprised-i’ve-got-one-quoyi-parrotfish.358301/

I like the damsel idea...highly recommend Azure, Starcki and Talbots. Stick to that genus and avoid the big mean ones (domino, etc.).

Lastly the bird wrasse is really cool, but not reef safe.

 

[AbnormalReefer]

The tangs will outgrow that tank quickly. Without even taking any other fish into consideration, 6 tangs, 3 of which are large tangs, in a 180 will not work out.
And then you add a foxface, parrotfish, and a trigger.
The parrot and trigger will most likely nip at the shark.
Not a good mix. I would drop the PB tang, and Vlamingi tang.
#reefsquad

Hi,

That's odd.... I've had the trigger for a month or so with the shark. I thought bluethroat triggers were planktonic and don't usually pick on things like say, the clown trigger?

PBT dropped. Now, the vlamingi I have already and would like to keep him. Is there any way that can be made possible?

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Agree with dropping the PB and Vlamingi tangs. The later gets absolutely huge, the former is a jerk to other tangs.

With all those algae eaters and aggressive eaters I would also consider nixing the Quoyi. They are incredible fish but very difficult to keep with few success stories. Check out this thread for info on them. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/little-surprised-i’ve-got-one-quoyi-parrotfish.358301/

I like the damsel idea...highly recommend Azure, Starcki and Talbots. Stick to that genus and avoid the big mean ones (domino, etc.).

Lastly the bird wrasse is really cool, but not reef safe.

Powder Blue is officially dropped from the list. However, the vlamingi I already have and would like to keep if possible?

As for the Quoyi from what I've read seems like mixed results. Some eating pellets easily others refusing all feed.

For damsels I was planning the talbots and lyretail damsels in the Neopomacentrus genus.

I don't really keep any inverts besides a cleaner shrimp, and from what I've read they don't eat coral. So would I be able to get by? Or would you still recommend nixing it for another reason?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

First, I would limit yourself to 4-6 “big” fish. I personally have a 180 and can’t imagine more than 4 “big” fish in mine but I see others keeping a few more than me. This includes tangs, angels, butterfly, rabbitfish/foxface, trigger. Narrow these down to 6. As others have said, PBT is aggressive and vlamingi gets too large. If you already have the vlamingi I would seriously consider trading it in instead of moving it to the new tank so you don’t have to deal with catching it in a few months.

I would drop the parrot. It also counts as a “big” fish, gets too big for a 180 (in terms of size and also grazing space) and the feedback on keeping them alive isn’t great.

I don’t have experience with the bird wrasse and hogfish, so I won’t comment on those.

You’re list of misc smaller fish is reasonable, but too many. I would keep this at 10-12 smaller fish total. I would skip the maroons because they are aggressive and will want 1-2 square feet of your 8 available all to themselves. Be careful about your damsel choices. Some are peaceful but most are not.

The shark and the snowflake eel... keeping the eel is a possibility but I think it will reduce the number of big and small fish I’ve recommended above. The shark is a bad idea all around and should be traded in sooner rather than later.

All of these fish need space to swim, and space to hide and sleep. You can’t fit enough rock in a 180 to give you’re entire fish list somewhere to sleep at night, and if you did, they’d have nowhere to swim during the day. None of those small fish are going to want to sleep anywhere near a eel or shark any more than you want to share a bedroom with a lion and a bear. The shark will necessitate that you have a reduced amount of rock, which will only exacerbate the problem.

 

[AbnormalReefer]

First, I would limit yourself to 4-6 “big” fish. I personally have a 180 and can’t imagine more than 4 “big” fish in mine but I see others keeping a few more than me. This includes tangs, angels, butterfly, rabbitfish/foxface, trigger. Narrow these down to 6. As others have said, PBT is aggressive and vlamingi gets too large. If you already have the vlamingi I would seriously consider trading it in instead of moving it to the new tank so you don’t have to deal with catching it in a few months.

I would drop the parrot. It also counts as a “big” fish, gets too big for a 180 (in terms of size and also grazing space) and the feedback on keeping them alive isn’t great.

I don’t have experience with the bird wrasse and hogfish, so I won’t comment on those.

You’re list of misc smaller fish is reasonable, but too many. I would keep this at 10-12 smaller fish total. I would skip the maroons because they are aggressive and will want 1-2 square feet of your 8 available all to themselves. Be careful about your damsel choices. Some are peaceful but most are not.

The shark and the snowflake eel... keeping the eel is a possibility but I think it will reduce the number of big and small fish I’ve recommended above. The shark is a bad idea all around and should be traded in sooner rather than later.

All of these fish need space to swim, and space to hide and sleep. You can’t fit enough rock in a 180 to give you’re entire fish list somewhere to sleep at night, and if you did, they’d have nowhere to swim during the day. None of those small fish are going to want to sleep anywhere near a eel or shark any more than you want to share a bedroom with a lion and a bear. The shark will necessitate that you have a reduced amount of rock, which will only exacerbate the problem.

Hm... tough crowd haha

Let's see.... so powder blue is out the table so.... would the kole tang count as a "big" fish since they only reach 6" in length or so?

I'll reduce the number of damsels as well as remove the hogfish. I was planning to stick to talbots and lyretail damsels none of the dominos or anything like that.

As for the maroons, I've already had them for a while now. I really like them but if it's for the better good I am open to other options.

The shark is a bit more of a tough situation... I've seen YouTubers like PuffDaddyReef do an epaulette shark in a 160-180 gallon, however, to be fair he has significantly less fish than I want. However, I really like the shark and if it means reducing my fish stock I'll be open to change. TIA

 

[Hemmdog]

Hm... tough crowd haha

Let's see.... so powder blue is out the table so.... would the kole tang count as a "big" fish since they only reach 6" in length or so?

I'll reduce the number of damsels as well as remove the hogfish. I was planning to stick to talbots and lyretail damsels none of the dominos or anything like that.

As for the maroons, I've already had them for a while now. I really like them but if it's for the better good I am open to other options.

The shark is a bit more of a tough situation... I've seen YouTubers like PuffDaddyReef do an epaulette shark in a 160-180 gallon, however, to be fair he has significantly less fish than I want. However, I really like the shark and if it means reducing my fish stock I'll be open to change. TIA

If your LFS has a 5k gal tank and will take the shark, give it to them, that’s a great opportunity for the fish to have a half decent life. You won’t want it in a small reef, you will always have sky high nitrates and tons of other issues. YouTube reefers tend to give some of the worst advice I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe anyone actually listens to those jabronis.
If you want a anthias tank have an anthias tank, if you want tangs have tangs and a few wrasses. This giant reef ecosystem with tons of different fish in schools sounds great in theory and I love it, but your going to need a 500 gal tank to make that a reality. I’d get 3 tangs, 2-4 wrasses, a Goby of some sort, then go from there.

 

[AbnormalReefer]

If your LFS has a 5k gal tank and will take the shark, give it to them, that’s a great opportunity for the fish to have a half decent life. You won’t want it in a small reef, you will always have sky high nitrates and tons of other issues. YouTube reefers tend to give some of the worst advice I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe anyone actually listens to those jabronis.
If you want a anthias tank have an anthias tank, if you want tangs have tangs and a few wrasses. This giant reef ecosystem with tons of different fish in schools sounds great in theory and I love it, but your going to need a 500 gal tank to make that a reality. I’d get 3 tangs, 2-4 wrasses, a Goby of some sort, then go from there.

Ok... so I have decided to scrap the blue tang as well as move the snowflake eel to another tank (should be easy, starve him a few days and he goes right down the overflow in the sump for easy catching).

So that leaves me with 5 existing tangs. A vlamingi, a giant sailfin, a purple, a koi scopas, and a spotted kole. The reason I did not include the sailfin was because i was planning to rehome it, however, have now decided otherwise. I also have a foxface and still am interested in the parrot.

I'm stuck as to which tangs to potentially rehome at this point. The purple, vlamingi, and sailfin were my original trio while the koi scopas is highly valued and the kole just has great personality! I'm already in the process of rehoming 2 other big fish; an atlantic blue tang and a bicolor foxface. I'm not quite sure what i can do from here on out since I've ruled out most of the "hypotheticals" now being down to a quoyi parrot as my only future fish plus some smaller fish. Thanks all!

 

[LesPoissons]

I would not get the quoyi. I can 100% understand the desire. the success stories are very few and not updated. these fish simply do not do well in captivity. They survive and look beautiful for months, eat like pigs (if it eats) and then dies, suddenly, with apparently 0 cause. It happened to me and broke my heart. I just recently posted asking if anyone else has had any luck. The other person who responded has been through 3. I contacted the owner of my LFS for more info bc we've known each other for years- he gets them in semi frequently and I was just going through this same decision to re-purchase myself. He is interested in them as well and I found out he has been keeping friendly tabs with the customers who purchased them after his died, bc he doesnt like selling fish with a 0% survival rate. As far as he knows, 17 (mine included) over the last 2(ish) years that were purchased by frequent/repeat customers. 0 are still alive. 0. from 17 differernt reefers. Theres a reason these fish are not more popular and never seen in LFS display tanks.

You could get rid of the chromis, they arent interesting or colorful lol. I had a school ion my 220, after 3 years they killed each other off, down to 3 for now. Most people say they eventually get down to 1.

I would not consider your tank size at all suitable for the longevity/health/happiness of a shark. I would not go by what the celebrities have- bc its likely just a showpiece and they have very little info on the fish, someone else set their tank up, someone else maintains it, and someone else replaces anything that dies prematurely.

 

[Jesterrace]

Hm... tough crowd haha

Let's see.... so powder blue is out the table so.... would the kole tang count as a "big" fish since they only reach 6" in length or so?

I'll reduce the number of damsels as well as remove the hogfish. I was planning to stick to talbots and lyretail damsels none of the dominos or anything like that.

As for the maroons, I've already had them for a while now. I really like them but if it's for the better good I am open to other options.

The shark is a bit more of a tough situation... I've seen YouTubers like PuffDaddyReef do an epaulette shark in a 160-180 gallon, however, to be fair he has significantly less fish than I want. However, I really like the shark and if it means reducing my fish stock I'll be open to change. TIA

The problem is that with the shark you are basically committing to a predator tank. Either the fish will become food for the shark if they are small enough or if the fish are large enough they will view the shark as a threat and harass and attempt to kill it. Sharks really belong in dedicated tanks in most cases or with other predators.

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Alright everybody, I've done some pondering and some thinking, and have decided to rehome my shark to a friend with a 500 gallon FOWLR tank. As of today, my tank is shark free.

I have decided to get 3ish wrasses to replace the shark. Most likely 2 Halichoeres sp. wrasses and a sixline (yes, I'm aware they can be jerks, but I'm assuming a 180 gallon will be enough for 3 wrasses to coexist). So that'd leave me with 4 tangs, 3 wrasses, a foxface, a bluethroat trigger (should I rehome her?), 3 chromis, and a pair of maroon clownfish. Was thinking maybe a trio of anthias and some bottom dwelling fish to complete the tank?

I was also wondering if any of the big wrasses would work. Such as the bird wrasses or banana wrasse. My concern is not with the inverts, as I don't keep any besides a cleaner shrimp. My main concern would be when one puts on size it would start intimidating smaller fish or some smaller Halichoeres wrasses I want. Or is it like tangs where as long as you diffuse the aggression it will be okay? Thanks everyone! Selling the shark was not easy, but it was for the better!

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Alright everybody, I've done some pondering and some thinking, and have decided to rehome my shark to a friend with a 500 gallon FOWLR tank. As of today, my tank is shark free.

I have decided to get 3ish wrasses to replace the shark. Most likely 2 Halichoeres sp. wrasses and a sixline (yes, I'm aware they can be jerks, but I'm assuming a 180 gallon will be enough for 3 wrasses to coexist). So that'd leave me with 4 tangs, 3 wrasses, a foxface, a bluethroat trigger (should I rehome her?), 3 chromis, and a pair of maroon clownfish. Was thinking maybe a trio of anthias and some bottom dwelling fish to complete the tank?

I was also wondering if any of the big wrasses would work. Such as the bird wrasses or banana wrasse. My concern is not with the inverts, as I don't keep any besides a cleaner shrimp. My main concern would be when one puts on size it would start intimidating smaller fish or some smaller Halichoeres wrasses I want. Or is it like tangs where as long as you diffuse the aggression it will be okay? Thanks everyone! Selling the shark was not easy, but it was for the better!

Only one Wrasse. No butterflies?

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Only one Wrasse. No butterflies?

Hi, I figured a 180 would have enough territory sand wise for a few sand burying wrasses?

As for the butterflyfish, I simply don't feel up to getting one (copperband). They're picky eaters from what I hear and aren't as competitive as tangs are. Plus that'd be another big fish on the list as it matures... I already have an aiptasia eating filefish which does his job great keeping small aiptasia in check!

 

[mattzang]

i wouldn't add small halichoeres wrasses to that stocklist, especially if you get a banana wrasse and/or bird wrasse

 

[AbnormalReefer]

Hey all,

Here is my updated stocking list attached below.

Changes:

Removed shark
Added wrasses
Scrapped idea of big wrasse
Thinned down fish stocking to 5-6 big fish total...