Adding tomini tang too early?

[Michael Hughes]

The first fish for our 125 g - a pair of ocellaris clowns - are finishing up QT early next week.

The rest of the planned stocking list (in order of introduction):

Red firefish
Engineer goby
Orange stripe prawn goby w/ pistol shrimp
Copperband butterfly
Yellow longnose butterfly (flavissimus)
Royal gramma
Melanurus wrasse
6 lyretail anthias
McCosker's flasher wrasse
Longnose hawkfish
Bluethroat trigger (male)

I originally had a tomini tang toward the end, but as the only herbivore on the list, I'm considering moving it up to the next introduction after the clowns (for it's utilitarian value). Is this something I'd regret later?

Moving it back to the end pushes it more than a year back since I'm QTing each fish for 30+ days.

The tank has been running 2.5 months but was seeded with rock and media from a frag tank 7 months older than that.

Any other feedback on the stocking order (for the tang and others) would be much appreciated!

 

[X-37B]

Tomini will be fine, very peaceful fish.. It will help with algae reduction from day one and complements your cuc.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

I wouldn't keep more than 1 butterfly in the tank. 1 Copperband is hard enough to keep fed well and not slowly wither away in a very mature tank where they can also graze the rocks. The anthias will also need 5+ small meals a day to keep alive as they are notoriously difficult unless you have some type of autofeeder, which will also benefit all of the other fish.

 

[Michael Hughes]

The anthias will also need 5+ small meals a day to keep alive as they are notoriously difficult unless you have some type of autofeeder, which will also benefit all of the other fish.

Agreed. This system was designed specifically for anthias, with small meals throughout the day. DIY frozen mix for planktivores (capelin roe, PE calanus, PE mysis, arcti-pods, and BBS) 3+ times a day, with the addition of pellets and flake alternating on an autofeeder 3+ times per day. Also have a 10 gallon refugium plumbed in just upstream of the return pump for nutrient export and growing additional pelagic pods for passively feeding throughout the day.

I wouldn't keep more than 1 butterfly in the tank. 1 Copperband is hard enough to keep fed well and not slowly wither away in a very mature tank where they can also graze the rocks.

Noted. I have seen it done successfully with these two species, but yes this will be the biggest challenge on my list. The frozen mix will include a susbtantial portion of polychaete worms as well (a primary dietary component of these two species in the wild, which is almost exclusively omitted in captivity except as incidental foraging on live rock - something I consider one of the reasons for their difficulty in the hobby) which will be supplemented with clam as needed. I'm also growing munnid isopods (which are benthic and quite a bit larger than copepods) in another system and will soon be seeding the DT and fuge with them along with the current thriving pod population. Hopefully these steps will put me on a path to success for one or both butterflies - along with patient training to get them eating mysis as well.

 

[Uncle99]

I always save tangs for last.

Many like to command large footprints in the tank and may not like you adding some of the guys on your list.

 

[BryanM]

I love my tomini tang. He's a worker, and very peaceful.

 

[winxp_man]

Tomini will be fine, very peaceful fish.. It will help with algae reduction from day one and complements your cuc.

As it goes with all salt fish, things almost come down to even the individual fish and what it’s been through. By brothers Tommy guy is a pile of dung! Only 2”-2.5” and wants to murder and play hands on any new fish! As of now he is fighting my brothers coral beauty! Before this I had a pair of maroons (for maroons model citizens) and he/she decided to go after them! The female is about 3.5-3.75” and she ended up giving him a smack down! Left her lip marks on his side big time! Haha!

So I tell people any given Sunday.

 

[PharmrJohn]

The first fish for our 125 g - a pair of ocellaris clowns - are finishing up QT early next week.

The rest of the planned stocking list (in order of introduction):

Red firefish
Engineer goby
Orange stripe prawn goby w/ pistol shrimp
Copperband butterfly
Yellow longnose butterfly (flavissimus)
Royal gramma
Melanurus wrasse
6 lyretail anthias
McCosker's flasher wrasse
Longnose hawkfish
Bluethroat trigger (male)

I originally had a tomini tang toward the end, but as the only herbivore on the list, I'm considering moving it up to the next introduction after the clowns (for it's utilitarian value). Is this something I'd regret later?

Moving it back to the end pushes it more than a year back since I'm QTing each fish for 30+ days.

The tank has been running 2.5 months but was seeded with rock and media from a frag tank 7 months older than that.

Any other feedback on the stocking order (for the tang and others) would be much appreciated!

I have the same concern with my upcoming tank. I'm planning on introducing my tangs towards the beginning to help keep algae at bay.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I think I'll at least push the tomini tang after the small peaceful stuff, making my next QT batch the firefish, prawn goby, and engineer.

The next fish on the list after that would be a copperband, intentionally early. I've seen reported success with adding them early so they can establish good eating habits before more stressful competitors arrive later on. Given the hit or miss responses about tominis here - which echoes what I've read on other threads - I should probably push the tang back after the copperband... and probably the longnose too...