90 gallon stocking

[User 28262454]

Hey all, new here and got a question about stocking.
planning on getting a 90 gallon tank set up in the next couple months and after it is properly cycled I have a general idea of what fish I would wanna throw in there. My current idea would be something like
- 2 ocellaris clowns
- bristletooth tang
-shrimp/goby pair (probably a tiger and an orange spotted goby)
-1 helfrichi firefish (Might end up just getting a purple) + I will have a lid on the tank
-1 long nose hawkfish

I would also be interested in getting some cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, banded coral shrimp, anemones, and some corals (some of each type)

I am very open to all opinions and nothing is concrete on the list. What order would you recommend I add these fish?
I do have some other general questions

- how needed is a sump and skimmer
- would I be able to add some more fish down the line and if so would there be any issues if they were less aggressive then some of the other fish like the tang
- I am kinda nervous about buying fish online, how safe would this option be and what would be the best sites to order from

 

[JumboShrimp]

Are you familiar with Saddleback clowns? They have a unique swim pattern; very cool for a 90-gallon. There should be a couple of videos online— including from the ocean.

 

[User 28262454]

Those clowns actually look very nice! I defiantly like the ones that are black with some white stripes, If were to buy one looking like the image attached would it stay with that sort of color patter or would it change to be a bit more orange?
Also how many would you recommend getting for this tank?

 

[JumboShrimp]

They can change ever-so-slightly (darker or lighter) but basically what you show there is how they look; they definitely did not turn orange. They are my favorite Clown; they can be singular, and do not need an anemone. Great for a FOWLR. They will cover a little more ground in your tank than a typical Clown, but of course will find a favorite area.

 

[sfin52]

Hey all, new here and got a question about stocking.
planning on getting a 90 gallon tank set up in the next couple months and after it is properly cycled I have a general idea of what fish I would wanna throw in there. My current idea would be something like
- 2 ocellaris clowns
- bristletooth tang
-shrimp/goby pair (probably a tiger and an orange spotted goby)
-1 helfrichi firefish (Might end up just getting a purple) + I will have a lid on the tank
-1 long nose hawkfish

I would also be interested in getting some cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, banded coral shrimp, anemones, and some corals (some of each type)

I am very open to all opinions and nothing is concrete on the list. What order would you recommend I add these fish?
I do have some other general questions

- how needed is a sump and skimmer
- would I be able to add some more fish down the line and if so would there be any issues if they were less aggressive then some of the other fish like the tang
- I am kinda nervous about buying fish online, how safe would this option be and what would be the best sites to order from

No coral banded shrimp with other shrimp they will kill them.

 

[PokeFish]

Tbh i like dart fish way more than firefish. U could get a nice trio

 

[User 28262454]

If I were to get a different type of coral banded shrimp like a purple would that work in there or still not compatible with the other shrimps?

 

[User 28262454]

Tbh i like dart fish way more than firefish. U could get a nice trio

So if I were to replace the firefish with something like scissortail dartfish that would be better?
Also I have seen some places say that if the tank isn't big enough they may become agressive and split into pairs, would my tank be large enough or should I just get a pair from teh start?

 

[sfin52]

If I were to get a different type of coral banded shrimp like a purple would that work in there or still not compatible with the other shrimps?

Yes purple tend to stay smaller and docile.

 

[sfin52]

I would strongly encourage to pick some fish for jobs they do. Like a bristle tooth tang. Several good ones to chose from and stay smaller and suitable for 4ft tanks.

 

[PokeFish]

So if I were to replace the firefish with something like scissortail dartfish that would be better?
Also I have seen some places say that if the tank isn't big enough they may become agressive and split into pairs, would my tank be large enough or should I just get a pair from teh start?

I think your tank is big enough also its not better- just sayin i think they look cooler

 

[blaxsun]

Just make sure you have a good lid for anything shaped like a torpedo.

 

[doubleshot00]

I have the same tank and a very similar stock. That Hawkfish may kill the shrimp.
Im putting a pair of purple firefish and a yellow eye kole tang in my tank.

 

[i cant think]

Hey all, new here and got a question about stocking.
planning on getting a 90 gallon tank set up in the next couple months and after it is properly cycled I have a general idea of what fish I would wanna throw in there. My current idea would be something like
- 2 ocellaris clowns
- bristletooth tang
-shrimp/goby pair (probably a tiger and an orange spotted goby)
-1 helfrichi firefish (Might end up just getting a purple) + I will have a lid on the tank
-1 long nose hawkfish

I would also be interested in getting some cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, banded coral shrimp, anemones, and some corals (some of each type)

I am very open to all opinions and nothing is concrete on the list. What order would you recommend I add these fish?
I do have some other general questions

- how needed is a sump and skimmer
- would I be able to add some more fish down the line and if so would there be any issues if they were less aggressive then some of the other fish like the tang
- I am kinda nervous about buying fish online, how safe would this option be and what would be the best sites to order from

The hawkfish won’t kill the shrimp, I’d actually be shocked if it did. I have a wrasse that is meant to eat shrimp in with 2 Skunk Cleaner shrimp from Indonesia. The wrasse is about 4.5 inch, possibly pushing 5 inch and the shrimp are 2 inch, one is pushing 3 inch. The wrasse doesn’t even look at the shrimp, he may look at a juvenile cleaner and eat it but even then I doubt it.
As for fish online, I personally don’t do it and get them from an LFS. This is due to the LFS having fish you can see the state they’re in, what they eat, ect… Yes QT is often still needed but if you have a trustworthy LFS nearby then you most likely don’t need to QT.
Sump and Skimmers are needed if you want to have a larger amount of fish than the tank on its own can hold. If you want to stay low on Bio-Load then a Skimmer isn’t necessarily needed. There’s plenty of thriving reefs out there without a skimmer or sump. I recommend having a skimmer though just so you can have the nutrient export, as for the sump I love it because you can have some of the most extraordinary inverts appear. I have a thriving sponge in mine that grows and reproduces. The babies then land in my main display and give the fish another food to try. My CBB loves it as I have a breeding population of Aptaisia in the sump and he will eat the younger specimens that land in the main display. Next time I do maintenance in my sump I’ll try get a photo of the microfauna that may not survive in my main display but thrives in my nano.
You can add more fish down the line however, Id add the tang last just in case of aggression. I’d add an easier species of Butterflyfish to the list, one of the forcipiger species or even a chelmon species as they really are interesting and help with pest eradication. Also get a wrasse or two in there (I’d avoid sixlines and go for a Halichoeres) so that there’s another line of defence with coral.
I’d also have a look at the Lyretail Hawkfish, they’re beautiful and look similar to Long nose hawks.

 

[User 28262454]

After some more research and taking in the advice I have come up with a somewhat new stocklist

-copperband butterfly
-fairy wrasse
-bristletooth tang
-shrimp/ goby
- 1 saddleback or 2 ocellaris ( havent fully decided)
-3 scissortail dartfish
-1 helfrichi firefish
- royal gamma
- 1 longnose hawkfish (im in love with their body shape)

Also probably gonna get some fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp, purple or gold banded, and some type of anemone.

Any compatibility issues with this list? Since this one is a bit bigger Im guessing I would need a sump + skimmer?
Could the sump fuction as a QT or would i need to set another one up for that?
Finally would i be able to put coral in there or just keep it a FOWLR?

Thanks again for all the replies the advice is very helpful!

 

[User 28262454]

After some more research and taking in the advice I have come up with a somewhat new stocklist

-copperband butterfly
-fairy wrasse
-bristletooth tang
-shrimp/ goby
- 1 saddleback or 2 ocellaris ( havent fully decided)
-2 scissortail dartfish
-1 helfrichi firefish
- royal gamma
- 1 longnose hawkfish (im in love with their body shape)

Also probably gonna get some fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp, purple or gold banded, and some type of anemone.

Any compatibility issues with this list? Since this one is a bit bigger Im guessing I would need a sump + skimmer?
Could the sump fuction as a QT or would i need to set another one up for that?
Finally would i be able to put coral in there or just keep it a FOWLR?

Thanks again for all the replies the advice is very helpful!

Also forgot to mention that I was looking into added an orange spotted blenny to the list

 

[i cant think]

After some more research and taking in the advice I have come up with a somewhat new stocklist

-copperband butterfly
-fairy wrasse
-bristletooth tang
-shrimp/ goby
- 1 saddleback or 2 ocellaris ( havent fully decided)
-3 scissortail dartfish
-1 helfrichi firefish
- royal gamma
- 1 longnose hawkfish (im in love with their body shape)

Also probably gonna get some fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp, purple or gold banded, and some type of anemone.

Any compatibility issues with this list? Since this one is a bit bigger Im guessing I would need a sump + skimmer?
Could the sump fuction as a QT or would i need to set another one up for that?
Finally would i be able to put coral in there or just keep it a FOWLR?

Thanks again for all the replies the advice is very helpful!

You could go with a reef - Avoid fleshy LPS. As for QT as a sump, I personally wouldn’t as diseases can still get through to the main display. As for bio load, I’d say you’re still rather low as wrasses, gobies and dartfish aren’t heavy bioload fish to my knowledge.

 

[User 28262454]

Think Im almost done with this list. Apparently the orange spotted blenny could be aggressive so im thinking of probably changing it for a lawnmower blenny, heard they mostly like to eat algae so would it be beat to wait a couple months (5?) to put him in. If i were to wait for this i would probably also have to wait to put the tangs and other aggressive fish in though?
Do you think I would be able to throw a carpenter flasher wrasse in there aswell?
Some questions about a qt-
If I were to get some of the fish special ordered from a reliable lfs would I still need to qt
How big would the qt need to be?
Also how long would you recommend I qt the fish?

Once again I appreciate the help so much!

 

[i cant think]

Think Im almost done with this list. Apparently the orange spotted blenny could be aggressive so im thinking of probably changing it for a lawnmower blenny, heard they mostly like to eat algae so would it be beat to wait a couple months (5?) to put him in. If i were to wait for this i would probably also have to wait to put the tangs and other aggressive fish in though?
Do you think I would be able to throw a carpenter flasher wrasse in there aswell?
Some questions about a qt-
If I were to get some of the fish special ordered from a reliable lfs would I still need to qt
How big would the qt need to be?
Also how long would you recommend I qt the fish?

Once again I appreciate the help so much!

I wouldn’t swap it for a Lawnmower blenny as many people on here actually say they don’t eat algae too often. You also already have an algae eater, the Tang. If you added another algae eater there’s the possibly going to be more aggression for food. Carpenters flasher wrasse will be just fine in there, provided that the Cirrhilabrus specimen isn’t aggressive. heres a complex chart showing the aggressive species and the mild species if you need it. Obviously this is most likely not all of them as there are over 50 species and some have been renamed.

 

[User 28262454]

Ive really looked into some of the dragonets and I know I would have to wait a long time to put one in but how hard do you think they are to care for?
(Would be putting it in instead of the blenny)