4ft fish list

[rowenaad]

Hello im planning to upgrade from my WB 20 + WB15 to a Cade 1200 penninsula (133g display/150g total) with a reef x 560 expansion (18 g).

Im taking fish from WB20 to main display and fish from WB15 to the expansion.

I’m planning to have these in the display

Existing:

• Flagtail goby&pistol shrimp pair
• Purple firefish
• Tailspot blenny
• Yellow striped cardinalfish

New:

• Magnificent rabbitfish (hoping it would take care of bubble algae)
• Twospot bristlefish
• A tang from Zebrasoma: i think the yellow tang is the smallest from the genus but the price tag is terrifying tho i like their color. Purple tang has a much gentler price tag, but would it fit in this tank size and i heard they can be more aggressive?
• Lyretail anthias group (1M3F)
• Flasher wrasse: im leaning towards carpenter or royal
• I would like a dragonnet or two if possible. Would this size sustain both a wrasse and one or two dragonnet? Im culturing pods and plan to have a refugium down the road

I love the look of hawkfish but i believe my current will all be in danger. I also love small fish even with larger size. I would still enjoy searching for them. I have a clam in tank so nippers are out.

Are 2 tangs + a rabbitfish excessive for this tank size? Is this list maxing out its capacity? Is there any other recommendations?

 

[Aqua Ultraviolet]

Nice list for a 4ft setup. I’d just be careful not to overstock and make sure the fish have enough swimming space and compatible temperaments. Adding them gradually will also give the system time to adjust.

 

[slingfox]

I personally wouldn’t get a Purple Tang for a tank that size.

 

[Cael Gallery]

Hello im planning to upgrade from my WB 20 + WB15 to a Cade 1200 penninsula (133g display/150g total) with a reef x 560 expansion (18 g).

Im taking fish from WB20 to main display and fish from WB15 to the expansion.

I’m planning to have these in the display

Existing:

• Flagtail goby&pistol shrimp pair
• Purple firefish
• Tailspot blenny
• Yellow striped cardinalfish

New:

• Magnificent rabbitfish (hoping it would take care of bubble algae)
• Twospot bristlefish
• A tang from Zebrasoma: i think the yellow tang is the smallest from the genus but the price tag is terrifying tho i like their color. Purple tang has a much gentler price tag, but would it fit in this tank size and i heard they can be more aggressive?
• Lyretail anthias group (1M3F)
• Flasher wrasse: im leaning towards carpenter or royal
• I would like a dragonnet or two if possible. Would this size sustain both a wrasse and one or two dragonnet? Im culturing pods and plan to have a refugium down the road

I love the look of hawkfish but i believe my current will all be in danger. I also love small fish even with larger size. I would still enjoy searching for them. I have a clam in tank so nippers are out.

Are 2 tangs + a rabbitfish excessive for this tank size? Is this list maxing out its capacity? Is there any other recommendations?

Hawkfish and Zebrasoma (either species but especially purple) is a bad idea in that tank. A long-nosed hawk won't eat your small fish unlike a flame but might still bully other fish, especially wrasses.
I would only consider a dragonet if you find one that is already accepting frozen foods or pellets.
Have you considered Nemanthias species instead, ie dispar or Bartlett's? They tend to do better than lyretails and have less risk of them killing eachother.
You could definitely do a few more wrasses in that tank. Fairies, small Halichoeres, Macropharyngodon or Pseudocheilinus (not sixlines) are good options.

 

[rowenaad]

I personally wouldn’t get a Purple Tang for a tank that size.

Hawkfish and Zebrasoma (either species but especially purple) is a bad idea in that tank.

Thanks. For whatever reason i had the impression purple tang is of a similar size as yellow tang but is indeed much larger, so that's completely out of the picture. Even yellow tang becomes a question mark now loll, but i guess the rabbitfish and bristletooth tang would be enough as for algae control?

Have you considered Nemanthias species instead, ie dispar or Bartlett's? They tend to do better than lyretails and have less risk of them killing eachother.

Bartlett's come expensive where i live, so im choosing between dispar and lyretail and read lyretail is the hardier of the two, but i would jump ship in no time if dispar is not much more work but more peaceful.

You could definitely do a few more wrasses in that tank. Fairies, small Halichoeres, Macropharyngodon or Pseudocheilinus (not sixlines) are good options.

thats good to hear. i would love a few more wrasses esp the leopard wrasse but do they fall under the same care requirements as a dragonet?

 

[Cael Gallery]

Thanks. For whatever reason i had the impression purple tang is of a similar size as yellow tang but is indeed much larger, so that's completely out of the picture. Even yellow tang becomes a question mark now loll, but i guess the rabbitfish and bristletooth tang would be enough as for algae control?


Bartlett's come expensive where i live, so im choosing between dispar and lyretail and read lyretail is the hardier of the two, but i would jump ship in no time if dispar is not much more work but more peaceful.


thats good to hear. i would love a few more wrasses esp the leopard wrasse but do they fall under the same care requirements as a dragonet?

I just saw that you're also in Australia.
Purples do get a bit larger than yellows, but really the issue is more so aggression rather than size.
Rabbitfish eat tonnes of algae so i don't think you'll have an issue especially with a tang and a blenny, but if you do have any algae issues you can always just get some trochus or nerite snails.

Neither are too bad, but i do think dispars are hardier than lyretails, and they look much better IMO, lyretails look too much like goldfish. The most important thing with any species of anthias is they need to be fed very often, like at least 3-4 times a day in small portions. If you get ones that eat pellets, i would set up an autofeeder to automatically add a small amount of pellets several times a day in addition to whenever you feed the tank frozen. They're obligate planktivores so they're picking tiny particles of zooplankton from the water nonstop for 12 hours a day in the wild.

As for the leopard wrasses, they don't have the same requirement as dragonets as they accept prepared foods much more readily, though they also spend a lot of time foraging for pods.

I highly recommend Anything QT. He's based in Brisbane and sells all his fish fully quarantined and conditioned, which means they'll eat prepared foods, which is very important for leopard wrasses and dragonets. The quarantine part might not be important if your other fish aren't quarantined, but the guarantee that they'll eat pellets is well worth the extra cost for sensitive fish in my opinion.

 

[rowenaad]

I just saw that you're also in Australia.
Purples do get a bit larger than yellows, but really the issue is more so aggression rather than size.
Rabbitfish eat tonnes of algae so i don't think you'll have an issue especially with a tang and a blenny, but if you do have any algae issues you can always just get some trochus or nerite snails.

Neither are too bad, but i do think dispars are hardier than lyretails, and they look much better IMO, lyretails look too much like goldfish. The most important thing with any species of anthias is they need to be fed very often, like at least 3-4 times a day in small portions. If you get ones that eat pellets, i would set up an autofeeder to automatically add a small amount of pellets several times a day in addition to whenever you feed the tank frozen. They're obligate planktivores so they're picking tiny particles of zooplankton from the water nonstop for 12 hours a day in the wild.

As for the leopard wrasses, they don't have the same requirement as dragonets as they accept prepared foods much more readily, though they also spend a lot of time foraging for pods.

I highly recommend Anything QT. He's based in Brisbane and sells all his fish fully quarantined and conditioned, which means they'll eat prepared foods, which is very important for leopard wrasses and dragonets. The quarantine part might not be important if your other fish aren't quarantined, but the guarantee that they'll eat pellets is well worth the extra cost for sensitive fish in my opinion.

Thankss i have autofeeders for holiday and will surely set them up for anthias. i've heard good things about Anything QT. We also have 2 shops that sell quarantined fish locally but good to have another option.

how many wrasse do you think would be reasonable if we remove the Zebrasoma? Sounds like they all have very similar feeding behavior and will wipe out the pods easily

 

[Cael Gallery]

Thankss i have autofeeders for holiday and will surely set them up for anthias. i've heard good things about Anything QT. We also have 2 shops that sell quarantined fish locally but good to have another option.

how many wrasse do you think would be reasonable if we remove the Zebrasoma? Sounds like they all have very similar feeding behavior and will wipe out the pods easily

It depends. You could easily have 5+ wrasses. I had about 17 or 18 at one point in my old 6 foot 750l tank, though many of those were in different genera from the ones recommended for your size tank.
I believe @i cant think's tank is 5 foot and he's got 10+ wrasses. He is more familiar with the smaller 'reef safe' wrasses so can probably give you better guidance on that.