80 gallon lagoon upgrade - stocking plan

[adittam]

Hi all -
So my current tank is a 46 gallon bowfront (take a look by clicking on my build thread badge!), and I’ll be upgrading soon to an 80 gallon 48” long x 24” wide x 16” tall tank. My plan is to have it aquascaped a little more open than my current tank so there is more open swimming room. Corals are mixed reef, with the majority being LPS and softies. I also have a BTA. The only current fish inhabitants are a pair of small occy clowns and a bicolor blenny, so I’ll have a bunch of room to play with.

My main goal with the tank upgrade is to keep a yellow tang, so a Biota captive bred YT is definitely on the list. I love the look and behavior of a Melanarus wrasse, so I’m thinking that will be on the final list also. Other than that, my options are open. Another small tang or two would be really cool, but not a necessity if that would be too tight. Ideas/recommendations?

 

[Bridgerdean]

Midas blenny. Lots of bang for you space.

 

[adittam]

Midas blenny. Lots of bang for you space.

Compatible with a bicolor blenny?

 

[Tamberav]

Dwarf angel? Leopard wrasse? Springer damsel?

I have just a yellow tang in my 80 shallow (for tangs I mean). I tried a kole type with it but noticed stress among the fishes so removed that one. I think between the yellow, copperband, and kole… there was just not enough space to keep stress low.

But my tangs were both adult size and so is my Copperband.

Yellow captive come in super tiny and you can find super tiny tomini tangs so maybe two tiny guys would work and neither of those would outgrow a 80.

 

[adittam]

Dwarf angel? Leopard wrasse? Springer damsel?

I have just a yellow tang in my 80 shallow (for tangs I mean). I tried a kole type with it but noticed stress among the fishes so removed that one. I think between the yellow, copperband, and kole… there was just not enough space to keep stress low.

But my tangs were both adult size and so is my Copperband.

Yellow captive come in super tiny and you can find super tiny tomini tangs so maybe two tiny guys would work and neither of those would outgrow a 80.

Exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for, thanks!

I’ve been eyeballing a biota coral beauty…any idea if captive bred coral beauties are less apt to nip at corals than wild caught ones?

 

[adittam]

Dwarf angel? Leopard wrasse? Springer damsel?

I have just a yellow tang in my 80 shallow (for tangs I mean). I tried a kole type with it but noticed stress among the fishes so removed that one. I think between the yellow, copperband, and kole… there was just not enough space to keep stress low.

But my tangs were both adult size and so is my Copperband.

Yellow captive come in super tiny and you can find super tiny tomini tangs so maybe two tiny guys would work and neither of those would outgrow a 80.

Do you find the yellow tang stresses out your copperband?

 

[Tamberav]

Do you find the yellow tang stresses out your copperband?

No cuz my Copperband is very mean and is the tank boss. Lol He chased the Tangs all over when I first added them. That’s very unusual though as the Tangs are as big as him but he holds his own and is kinda a bully.

 

[Tamberav]

Exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for, thanks!

I’ve been eyeballing a biota coral beauty…any idea if captive bred coral beauties are less apt to nip at corals than wild caught ones?

No idea. I never had issues with potters angels or coral beauty’s when I kept them. I know experiences vary.

 

[jaganshi066]

Exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for, thanks!

I’ve been eyeballing a biota coral beauty…any idea if captive bred coral beauties are less apt to nip at corals than wild caught ones?

I have a multicolor flameback and cherub angel, none of them nip corals. Also they flameback and cherub stay on the smaller side for dwarf angels

 

[adittam]

Everything I’ve heard about dwarf angels is that they’re reefsafe until they’re not. Which means that anecdotal stories are great, but not super useful.

Very curious if any breeders have any meaningful input about captive bred varieties of dwarf angels behaving better or the same as their wild-caught siblings?
@Biota_Marine

 

[jaganshi066]

They’re reef safe

 

[ninjamyst]

They’re reef safe

That's a pretty bold statement and contradicts thousands of other people experiencing the opposite. So no, they are in general not reef safe. It's a gamble and one day yours will start nipping and you gonna be ticked.

 

[jaganshi066]

That's a pretty bold statement and contradicts thousands of other people experiencing the opposite. So no, they are in general not reef safe. It's a gamble and one day yours will start nipping and you gonna be ticked.

There are just as many people with tens of years of experience who say the opposite of you. Someone posted that for 20 years his dwarves never nipped

 

[adittam]

That's a pretty bold statement and contradicts thousands of other people experiencing the opposite. So no, they are in general not reef safe. It's a gamble and one day yours will start nipping and you gonna be ticked.

There are just as many people with tens of years of experience who say the opposite of you. Someone posted that for 20 years his dwarves never nipped

I'm not really looking for a debate on whether or not dwarf angels are reef safe; there are a million threads on this topic already, and the consensus is, it depends on the individual fish.

I AM looking for info about if captive bred dwarf angels have notably different behavior patterns than wild-caught specimens.

 

[Biota_Marine]

I'm not really looking for a debate on whether or not dwarf angels are reef safe; there are a million threads on this topic already, and the consensus is, it depends on the individual fish.

I AM looking for info about if captive bred dwarf angels have notably different behavior patterns than wild-caught specimens.

We don't keep them with corals while raising them, so our coal beauty angelfish never encounter a coral until they are introduced to a reef tank. Many reefers say that captive bred angelfish are in fact less likely to eat coral, but it is still a possibility. This species generally may nip at clams, fleshy polyps, soft corals, etc. in the reef aquarium. It's very dependent on the individual, and to a degree how often it's fed. Some dwarf angelfish can cohabitate with corals for years until one day they taste a coral and like it. The old saying is that dwarf angelfish are reef safe...until they aren't.

 

[adittam]

We don't keep them with corals while raising them, so our coal beauty angelfish never encounter a coral until they are introduced to a reef tank. Many reefers say that captive bred angelfish are in fact less likely to eat coral, but it is still a possibility. This species generally may nip at clams, fleshy polyps, soft corals, etc. in the reef aquarium. It's very dependent on the individual, and to a degree how often it's fed. Some dwarf angelfish can cohabitate with corals for years until one day they taste a coral and like it. The old saying is that dwarf angelfish are reef safe...until they aren't.

Thanks for getting back to me, @Biota_Marine! I am also wondering if you have any idea what the timeline will be on having Biota melanarus wrasses available for purchase? I'd love to get several centerpiece fish for my new 80 gallon build from Biota, and a melanarus, a yellow tang, and a coral beauty are all at the top of my wish list.

 

[adittam]

Plan as of right now (in order of stocking):
2 occy clowns (in current tank)
bicolor blenny (in current tank)
neon cleaner goby
carpenter's flasher wrasse
melanarus wrasse (biota, if they have them)
coral beauty angel (biota)
tomini tang
yellow tang (biota)


Would still love some more suggestions as anyone has them!

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

six line wrasse and firefish are some of my favorite bright little zippy fish - kali

 

[adittam]

six line wrasse and firefish are some of my favorite bright little zippy fish - kali

I've already decided against a 6-line, even though they are fun to watch. Too many horror stories of them being peaceful for a while and then randomly turning into terrors.

 

[esse]

That's exciting!! I really like the 16" lagoon tanks. Do you know which one are you going with?