265G FOWLR Stocking Help

Tztop

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So I recently got a 265 gallon tank (84"x24"x30") with a 75 gallon sump that I want to have as a FOWLR tank specifically for fish like angels, tangs, butterflys, and wrasses, but I'm having issues coming up with a good stocking list. I've only had any experience with smaller tanks and fish ( I have a 30 gallon anemone and clown tank), so this is my first venture into these species. As I've been looking through lists and trying to figure out my stocking, I've come across some really interesting fish, but don't know if they'd work in the tank. Here's the list of the must-have fish that I want in the tank:
Gem tang
Flame angel
Emperor angel
White cheek tang
Koran Angel
Copperband Butterfly

Here's some of my questions I have for stocking:
1. Would a dragon wrasse (Novaculichthys taeniourus) or a candy cane/pastel ring wrasse (Hologymnosus doliatus) be compatible with smaller fish like dragonettes, dwarf angels, butterflies, or damsels/clowns and could these two wrasses be kept in the tank together since they both get big?

2. Is this tank large enough to have a breeding pair of emperor angels and what would be the best way to introduce the two angels to the tank?

3. What are some other inhabitants for you'd suggest or think would be awesome to have in the tank?

4. Any tips on introducing these fish (other than in large groups and using an acclimation box)?
 

JumboShrimp

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Amazing size tank for a FOWLR. You have room for a full grown French Angel or full size Queen Angel, you know? Or how about a nice Clown Trigger? (Your plan for an Emperor is of course a ‘Must Have.’j Personally I like the look of mostly all big fish (like true pets), filled in with some tiny Damsels for size and color contrast. (Can’t beat Yellow Tails or Azures for that.) Any route you go, really think it through. Best wishes!
 

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20846483-8591-4C1C-9C77-67AF8E0D4324.jpeg B2B0076F-CF7F-45AF-BC31-404B312EC0A3.jpeg

Have you considered Negative Space Aquascaping (NSA)? These are 150s, with a lot of swim room. (Plus I wouldn’t go by ‘in the wild’ max sizes; maybe 80% of that, tops.) Anyway, I’m just spitballing ideas your way. Again, very jealous of your 265. :)
 
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JumboShrimp

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For big messy eaters you want (in my opinion) great filtration. A nice wide overflow box, good skimmer, good UV sterilizer. (Sorry, but in the tank showing the French Angel, hardly any of the filtration was installed yet; long story. Lol.) But anyway, with NSA rock work, you just take rubble rock or all types of ceramic and other media they sell these days and put it down in the sump. It leaves a lot of swim room for the fish. Just don’t take away ‘all’ their hiding/sleeping spaces altogether.
 
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Tztop

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Thanks for everyone's replies! The French and queen angels were definitely on my radar along with a regal angel. I already have an aquascape done, but as it's finished cycling, I've been trying to figure out what other fish i want in there. Here's the scape right now.
20210805_010443.jpg

I love the cave look and seeing fish swim and interact with the rock work. But i also made sure there was a lot of open swimming space.

Ps, the fish in the tank are mollies i liked.
 
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Tztop

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@dyno right now I have it cycled and am starting to look at sourcing some of the fish that I want to get and planning which ones to add when.

Here's the current stocking list that I want:
Large Angels:
Emperor Angel
Regal Angel
Queen Angel
Koran Angel
French Angel

Dwarf Angels:
Flame Angel
Coral Beauty
Bicolor or lemonpeel

Tangs:
Gem Tang
White Cheeked Tang
Blue Hippo Tang
Naso Tang (removed)

Butterflys:
Copperband
Pearlscale

Wrasses:
Blue head fairy
other fairy or coris wrasses
cleaner wrasse

Others:
Foxface of some sort
Variety of damsels for extra activity
some sort of schooling-type fish like anthias or maybe squirrel fish
 
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Zionas

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I gotta say that’s a fairly hefty stocking list even for a 265, haha. Just me though. I’d start by removing the Naso Tang, as I feel it might be a bit too much considering it’s a very large and active Tang when you already have several large angels. The rest should be fine.
 
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@Zionas I think you're right. Thanks for the input! I realized as I was typing that out and imagining all those one foot fish in that tank that it might be a bit much. So I'm gonna go with your suggestion and remove the naso.
 

dyno

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So I want you to be successful, because you love fish like I do. First as @JumboShrimp mentioned, plenty of surface area for your bacteria with media. What do you currently have going on in your sump? Is it a wet/dry or a berlin sump? What type of skimmer? U.V.? Make sure you have a great skimmer. Also, my favorite piece of equipment for bacterial filtration is a fluidized bed sand filter. They can handle anything, especially with the large number of fish you want to keep. Check out the Lifegard fluidized bed filter (link below). You can also buy a bunch of cerramic media and stock up the sump heavily. Make it so detritus doesn’t easily accumulate, you can put the media in bags, or use bio bricks, or use the FBF with back up biomedia. It is very important for you to choose the sizes and stock order of your fish. These fish can be outright violent. With multiple angels or tangs an acclimation box works super well. I had mine custom built for large fish from Octo Aquatics. They are life savers for introducing aggressive fish with each other. You can also use egg crate to section off part of your tank for new fish. Most importantly of all how are you going to keep the fish healthy. Are you buying online or at a LFS? Quarantining? OPEN to running copper in the main display? Would love to provide insight on your fish selection and the order to stock your fish. Will get back later this weekend.

On sale at Petco: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...24eb68ec3ba-1628269313-0-gqNtZGzNA3ijcnBszQdi
 

DaddyFish

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So I want you to be successful, because you love fish like I do. First as @JumboShrimp mentioned, plenty of surface area for your bacteria with media. What do you currently have going on in your sump? Is it a wet/dry or a berlin sump? What type of skimmer? U.V.? Make sure you have a great skimmer. Also, my favorite piece of equipment for bacterial filtration is a fluidized bed sand filter. They can handle anything, especially with the large number of fish you want to keep. Check out the Lifegard fluidized bed filter (link below). You can also buy a bunch of cerramic media and stock up the sump heavily. Make it so detritus doesn’t easily accumulate, you can put the media in bags, or use bio bricks, or use the FBF with back up biomedia. It is very important for you to choose the sizes and stock order of your fish. These fish can be outright violent. With multiple angels or tangs an acclimation box works super well. I had mine custom built for large fish from Octo Aquatics. They are life savers for introducing aggressive fish with each other. You can also use egg crate to section off part of your tank for new fish. Most importantly of all how are you going to keep the fish healthy. Are you buying online or at a LFS? Quarantining? OPEN to running copper in the main display? Would love to provide insight on your fish selection and the order to stock your fish. Will get back later this weekend.

On sale at Petco: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...24eb68ec3ba-1628269313-0-gqNtZGzNA3ijcnBszQdi
@dyno That's an interesting piece of equipment that I was totally unaware of. Have you used that FBD with something like Seachem Matrix, or is sand really the better option?
 
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Tztop

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Thanks @dyno for your help. It's what I was hoping to get before I started adding fish. My sump is a 75 gallon berlin style sump with I believe 100 micron filter socks (not sure of how fine they are) and a protein skimmer rated for over 200 gallons (again not sure of the exact make and rating). I got the sump, socks, and filter with the tank when I bought it from another hobbyist that had gotten it from someone getting out of the hobby. Theres still plenty of room in the tank to add more media like bags or bricks. While I'm not experience with a FBF, I'm open to trying it if it would be a better option than the bags or bricks.

I also agree that the stocking order is paramount for these types of fish. During my research of the fish, it recommended adding the regal angel in first, do you agree with that being one of the first fish?

I will also be getting an acclimation box. My plan was to get one of the gerbil/mouse cages and drill holes in it for water flow and suction cups for attaching to the tank.

As for fish health, my plan is to quarantine everything and I was going to do a mix between Dr Reef's quarantined fish and my LFS. They actually suggested dosing copper in the DT, specifically cupramine as its easier on the fish and the bacteria compared to copper safe or copper power. So I got the game plan of dosing copper when adding new fish to the DT and removing it over time with water changes. And since I don't plan on having any inverts in the tank due to the stocking, I'm not worried about the copper leaching into the rock work and sand bed.

So my first batch of fish currently stand as including the regal and the copperband with maybe a couple wrasses. Thoughts?
 

dyno

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@dyno That's an interesting piece of equipment that I was totally unaware of. Have you used that FBD with something like Seachem Matrix, or is sand really the better option?
Sand is the best by far. This is what all the large commercial filtration companies use for wholesale and aquariums. I am in love with it, can handle any bioload you can throw at it!
 

DaddyFish

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I also agree that the stocking order is p
I will also be getting an acclimation box. My plan was to get one of the gerbil/mouse cages and drill holes in it for water flow and suction cups for attaching to the tank.
I wouldn't bother with a DIY acclimation box. There's three sizes of this box available and I believe some people have had custom sizes also made.

 
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Here's a little update on the tank; have just added the first 5: a regal angelfish, a bicolor angelfish, a coral beauty angelfish, a copperband butterfly, and an auriga butterfly.
20210811_191405.jpg
20210811_203955.jpg

20210811_210615.jpg


While I've read that regals can be hard to acclimate to an aquarium and to get to eat, mine has been the best about acclimating. It was eating within a couple hours of being introduced! My coral beauty is the most shy of them all, which i didn't expect. It's hard to get a good picture.
 

dyno

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Awesome! Good luck. I do add copper with new additions too. Not a heavy dose though only 1ppm instead of the recommended 2.5. Regals are hard, good thing it is eating! Treat for flukes when you can and it will be fine.
 
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