Angels, Wrasse and Tangs, Oh My!

MeanGreenStompa

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My 180 gallon tank is now 5 months old, it has settled down, gone past the 'ugly' stage, with the exception of a bit of cyano remaining on the sand that is fading in color as we speak. Several corals, soft and lps, have settled in nicely including some euphyllia, a bubble and some duncans. A group of six chromis, a BTA with a pair of maroon clowns, a lawnmower blenny, a striped blenny and a royal gramma have all gone in and settled in nicely with each other. I have aimed for corals that are less likely to be snacked on, so no blastos or other large fleshy types. I'm also running a 40watt Pentair UV.

So, now I'm looking towards the bigger guys. I have a wishlist of species overall and know that I likely can't fit them all in. I would like to know what should go in in what order, specifically when we get to the 'add this fish last' tangs and angels, as which one of the 'should be last' fish should actually be last?

List of fish to stock:

Wrasses:
Cuban Hog
Harlequin Tusk
Richmond's Wrasse

Dwarf Angels:
Flame
Multicolor
Genicanthus

Tangs:
Orange Shoulder
Convict
Kole
Hippo

Angel:
Emperor

I know there is a risk of coral predation by the angels, I'm (I think) willing to do a bit of trial and error and if I lose just one type of coral to the snacking, that's ok, I'd rather not lose everything though.

Thank you.
 

nereefpat

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I think that most of that is okay. You will have a packed tank though. Hopefully you plan on big export (skimmer, rock, sand, fuge, water changes).

I would not get the cuban hog. Not as big as the spanish hog, but still can get large and messy and mean. There may be compatibility issues with the tusk too, I'm not sure. Maybe someone else can chime in here.

That tang list should be fine. The hippo and orange shoulder will get large, 10".

I would add the tangs last, with the orange shoulder the last of them, unless you can QT and add them together. The imperator angel will be the boss. If you get a small juvenile, it can go in whenever. If you end up with one closer to an adult, the tank will be his. If it were my tank, I wouldn't get quite so many big fish, but that doesn't mean you can't pull it off.

Hope that helps.
 
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MeanGreenStompa

MeanGreenStompa

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I think that most of that is okay. You will have a packed tank though. Hopefully you plan on big export (skimmer, rock, sand, fuge, water changes).

I would not get the cuban hog. Not as big as the spanish hog, but still can get large and messy and mean. There may be compatibility issues with the tusk too, I'm not sure. Maybe someone else can chime in here.

That tang list should be fine. The hippo and orange shoulder will get large, 10".

I would add the tangs last, with the orange shoulder the last of them, unless you can QT and add them together. The imperator angel will be the boss. If you get a small juvenile, it can go in whenever. If you end up with one closer to an adult, the tank will be his. If it were my tank, I wouldn't get quite so many big fish, but that doesn't mean you can't pull it off.

Hope that helps.
Thank you, I have 4in sand bed, 200+lbs of live rock, Tunze DOC 9012 DC skimmer, do a 25% water change every two weeks. I will be adding a 40gal refugium with macroalgaes and some of those denitrifying blocks soon (next couple of months) and upgrading the skimmer to a Reef Octopus Regal 250 External 10" at the end of next year (black friday special I expect).

I do go back and forth on the tusk and hog, as I love the look of both these species but do worry about the possibility of them predating on smaller fish.

I was also under the impression that the Orange shoulder was likely to be the most peaceful of the tangs I intended to keep? Is it more aggro than I'm giving it credit?

 

Zionas

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In Rudie Kuiter’s book he says the Hippo (Indo-Pacific variant) tops out just shy of 11” for the largest specimen he has encountered but according to him most don’t exceed 8” (Indo-Pacific variant). Have you found that to be true? Of course I still think they need that 180 but just curious about your opinion.
 

Zionas

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Tangs: Orange Shoulder and Hippo I’d check. Kole and Convict- no problem. IMO I’d add a Zebrasoma except the Sailfins, along with Kole (Ctenochaetus) and Convict (Acanthurus).

Wrasses:

Cuban Hog- I’d check.

Richmond’s- No problem.

Harlequin Tusk- Not sure how big most specimens get so I’d check but my instinct tells me should be fine.


Angels:

Genicanthus- No problem. A pair of Watanabei, Bellus, or Spotbreast would look great. Maybe Red Sea Swallowtails too. Or a single Lamarck’s as it’s a bit harder to sex them.

Multicolor- No problem.

Flame- Another Centropyge. Might be doable, probably worth a shot, add both at the same time if possible. No guarantee though.

Emperor- Check for how big most get.


IMO for a 180 with this list you’d be somewhat limited on the smaller fish you can stock.

I’d probably cap out at 5 bigger fish for a 180 and the rest be smaller / medium sized fish.

If this were me I’d do maybe 1 Zebrasoma Tang, 1 Ctenochaetus, 1 smaller Acanthurus and a pair of a smaller Genicanthus species.

If the Harlequin Tusk is OK I’d probably do 3 Tangs, the Tusk, and a Lamarck’s.

Richmond’s Wrasse is pretty though the smaller Halichoeres like the Melanurus, Red Lined etc. have pretty much the same colors.



Just my thoughts.
 

nereefpat

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Thank you, I have 4in sand bed, 200+lbs of live rock, Tunze DOC 9012 DC skimmer, do a 25% water change every two weeks. I will be adding a 40gal refugium with macroalgaes and some of those denitrifying blocks soon (next couple of months) and upgrading the skimmer to a Reef Octopus Regal 250 External 10" at the end of next year (black friday special I expect).


Excellent

I was also under the impression that the Orange shoulder was likely to be the most peaceful of the tangs I intended to keep? Is it more aggro than I'm giving it credit?

You really don't have any bullies in that group. The orange shoulder will be the most active. It will also be the biggest, besides arguably the hippo. But Hippos are *usually* easy going, although eccentric. That group of 4 will be fine, IMO.
 
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