Critique my Stocking List! (140 Gallon)

[mikedb]

My Reefer Peninsula 650 (140 gal DT, 35 gal sump in basement) is mostly setup, and I am now planning how I will stock it. My plan is to have a mixed LPS/SPS reef with a nice mix of inhabitants. Invertebrates and corals will be added once the tank has stabilized and coralline is starting to appear- hopefully in the next 2-3 months. In the mean time, I am slowly loading up the tank with livestock by adding a fish or two every month, after the previous one(s) have completed quarantine.

When at all possible, I would like to purchase captive-bred fish. Due to my travel schedule, I also would like fish that can be fed using an automatic feeder for a few days at a time when necessary. The overall stocking goal is to maintain a peaceful, stable community that adds motion and a variety of color at all levels of the tank.

The tank has been set up since early February, and so far has spent three weeks cycling using two frozen shrimp and some Bio Spira. Last weekend, I replaced the shrimp with a pair of juvenile Ocellaris clownfish. Here's how the tank sits today (the clownfish sure look small in a tank this size!):

In quarantine, I just added a bonded pair of Radial Filefish. They will be residing there for another four weeks.

Now that we have a few 'must have' fish out of the way, it's time to consider who else will be joining them! Here is my current plan, in the order I would add them in- I would really appreciate input and comments:

Addition 3: Randall's Shrimp Goby & Banded Pistol Shrimp: Another 'must have'. I am debating between the Yellow Watchman Goby and the Randall's Goby, but ended up leaning towards the Randall's out of concern for the Yellow coloration of the YWG fading over time.

Addition 4: Purple Firefish (possibly a pair)

Addition 5: 3-5 Lyretail anthias (1 male, 2-3 females)- to add color and to swim in the middle of the water column. Any other fish I should be considering for this role?

Addition 6: Orange-back fairy wrasse

Addition 7: Biota Tank-bred blue mandarin (possibly a pair)

Addition 8: Scott's Fairy Wrasse

Addition 9: Purple Tang OR Biota Yellow Tang. I would prefer to put these in earlier to control algae, but am worried that they might become territorial.

That is the (tentative) plan. To summarize:

• 2x Ocellaris clownfish
• 2x Radial filefish
• Yellow Watchman OR Randall's goby & red banded pistol shrimp
• 1-2 purple firefish
• 3-5 lyretail anthias
• Orange-back fairy wrasse
• 1-2 Red mandarin
• Scott's Fairy wrasse
• Purple OR Yellow tang

What does everyone think? Too many fish, or not enough? Are there any interesting, peaceful, and/or colorful fish that I should consider adding or swapping for? Any possible conflicts or problems?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mattzang]

scott's fairy wrasse are supposedly quite mean

 

[Lateral72]

^^ What he said. Scott's are very aggressive, I'd do some other species, as it'd likely harass your Orange Back to death. If you're looking for a green-ish fairy, maybe look into one of the many C. temmincki variants or C. punctatus, or even the Blueside fairy.

Otherwise, your stocking looks fine.


Also fwiw, your Radial Filefish are really Matted (Aiptasia Eating) Filefish. Really similar species in terms of care, just a little different looking.

 

[Mortie31]

Anthias can sometimes be a pain to get feeding on pellets, so may be a problem with auto feeding

 

[nereefpat]

Agree to replace the Scott's, maybe with another wrasse.

The tang will be fine. No need to worry about it being territorial, since there are no other similarly shaped fish or any other algae eaters.

You did mention you wanted to do captive bred fish. The clowns you listed probably are that, but most likely none of the others are.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Agree to replace the Scott's, maybe with another wrasse.

The tang will be fine. No need to worry about it being territorial, since there are no other similarly shaped fish or any other algae eaters.

You did mention you wanted to do captive bred fish. The clowns you listed probably are that, but most likely none of the others are.

You can now get captive bred yellow tangs! Also red mandarins, radial or bristletooth filefish, and watchman gobies can all be captive bred! Idk about the anthias, wrasses, and filefish though

 

[mikedb]

Thanks, everyone, for the input- I really appreciate it!

scott's fairy wrasse are supposedly quite mean

^^ What he said. Scott's are very aggressive, I'd do some other species, as it'd likely harass your Orange Back to death. If you're looking for a green-ish fairy, maybe look into one of the many C. temmincki variants or C. punctatus, or even the Blueside fairy.
Otherwise, your stocking looks fine.

Thank you both for spotting this oversight on my part! I'll swap the Scott's fairy wrasse for another Wrasse- one of the options Lateral72 suggested, or perhaps an exquisite fairy wrasse.

Also fwiw, your Radial Filefish are really Matted (Aiptasia Eating) Filefish. Really similar species in terms of care, just a little different looking.

I had a feeling the naming was more marketing than anything. In any event, they seem to be adjusting well, and were happily wandering around the QT and eating lots of pellet and frozen food about 12 hours after moving in. My only concern with them is how reef safe they will be, despite the assurances by Biota... I really like these guys, and it would be a shame to have to re-home them.

Anthias can sometimes be a pain to get feeding on pellets, so may be a problem with auto feeding

Thanks for pointing this out- it does indeed look like feeding these guys may be a hassle. Does anyone have recommendations for an alternative brightly colored group of fish that might be a little easier to feed? Would the occasional 1-2 days of pellet-food-only while I am away cause undue stress?

You can now get captive bred yellow tangs! Also red mandarins, radial or bristletooth filefish, and watchman gobies can all be captive bred! Idk about the anthias, wrasses, and filefish though

Indeed! I was pleasantly surprised how many captive bred options have become available since I was last in the hobby 10+ years ago. Hence why I chose all those species, and why I will likely go with the yellow tang over the purple (and the yellow goby over the randall's). Unfortunately the anthias, wrasses, and firefish don't have a captive-bred alternative, but each are so unique that I'm going to make exceptions to the 'rule'. I am going to do some due diligence with regards to the sustainability of how they are captured, but still won't feel great about it.

 

[Jesterrace]

Definitely no on the pairing of firefish unless they are being sold as a mated pair, they will likely kill each other if you add more than one. Also you will need to nix the mandarins. Traveling and an auto-feeder simply cannot keep up with the demands of a Mandarinfish (even captive bred), they have very short digestive tracts and need to be fed almost constantly throughout the day. That is why they are considered a difficult fish to keep because few can keep up with their feeding demands. I agree to skip the Scott's and go with something like an Exquisite Fairy Wrasse instead, it will be a much better tank mate.

 

[Dodgersallday]

My Reefer Peninsula 650 (140 gal DT, 35 gal sump in basement) is mostly setup, and I am now planning how I will stock it. My plan is to have a mixed LPS/SPS reef with a nice mix of inhabitants. Invertebrates and corals will be added once the tank has stabilized and coralline is starting to appear- hopefully in the next 2-3 months. In the mean time, I am slowly loading up the tank with livestock by adding a fish or two every month, after the previous one(s) have completed quarantine.

When at all possible, I would like to purchase captive-bred fish. Due to my travel schedule, I also would like fish that can be fed using an automatic feeder for a few days at a time when necessary. The overall stocking goal is to maintain a peaceful, stable community that adds motion and a variety of color at all levels of the tank.

The tank has been set up since early February, and so far has spent three weeks cycling using two frozen shrimp and some Bio Spira. Last weekend, I replaced the shrimp with a pair of juvenile Ocellaris clownfish. Here's how the tank sits today (the clownfish sure look small in a tank this size!):

In quarantine, I just added a bonded pair of Radial Filefish. They will be residing there for another four weeks.

Now that we have a few 'must have' fish out of the way, it's time to consider who else will be joining them! Here is my current plan, in the order I would add them in- I would really appreciate input and comments:

Addition 3: Randall's Shrimp Goby & Banded Pistol Shrimp: Another 'must have'. I am debating between the Yellow Watchman Goby and the Randall's Goby, but ended up leaning towards the Randall's out of concern for the Yellow coloration of the YWG fading over time.

Addition 4: Purple Firefish (possibly a pair)

Addition 5: 3-5 Lyretail anthias (1 male, 2-3 females)- to add color and to swim in the middle of the water column. Any other fish I should be considering for this role?

Addition 6: Orange-back fairy wrasse

Addition 7: Biota Tank-bred blue mandarin (possibly a pair)

Addition 8: Scott's Fairy Wrasse

Addition 9: Purple Tang OR Biota Yellow Tang. I would prefer to put these in earlier to control algae, but am worried that they might become territorial.

That is the (tentative) plan. To summarize:

• 2x Ocellaris clownfish
• 2x Radial filefish
• Yellow Watchman OR Randall's goby & red banded pistol shrimp
• 1-2 purple firefish
• 3-5 lyretail anthias
• Orange-back fairy wrasse
• 1-2 Red mandarin
• Scott's Fairy wrasse
• Purple OR Yellow tang

What does everyone think? Too many fish, or not enough? Are there any interesting, peaceful, and/or colorful fish that I should consider adding or swapping for? Any possible conflicts or problems?

Thanks in advance!

African midas blenny.

 

[mikedb]

Apologies for the delay in my response- I missed the notification that there were replies and was just reference the list when I saw your messages...

Definitely no on the pairing of firefish unless they are being sold as a mated pair, they will likely kill each other if you add more than one. Also you will need to nix the mandarins. Traveling and an auto-feeder simply cannot keep up with the demands of a Mandarinfish (even captive bred), they have very short digestive tracts and need to be fed almost constantly throughout the day. That is why they are considered a difficult fish to keep because few can keep up with their feeding demands. I agree to skip the Scott's and go with something like an Exquisite Fairy Wrasse instead, it will be a much better tank mate.

Agreed- I wouldn't double the firefish unless they were pre-paired.

I had (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that, in a mature 140 gallon tank with a refugium, the native pod population would be sufficient to meet the needs of at least one mandarin, especially when supplemented by pellet foods a few times a day. Is my line of thinking incorrect? I don't believe the other fish on my list would compete for the copepods.

African midas blenny.

Great idea! Thanks.

 

[mattzang]

i believe the general rule is 50 gallons for every pod eater, so 140 gallons should be ok for 2 mandarins. i don't think you have any other big time pod eaters on your list

 

[mta_morrow]

Firefish only do well in pairs if they are already bonded. Otherwise you will end up with 1.

Tanks is far to young for 1 mandarin let alone 2.

Scott’s fairy wrasse and typically not pleasant with any other wrasse.

Add the purple or yellow tang last.

I have a reefer 525xl with 24 fish.

Feel free to check out my 24 peaceful fish with nonstop activity.

Build thread is in my signature and current stocking list is in the 1st post