First time stocking list suggestions

[Finbar]

I'm planning my first tank and I'm working on the stocking list. I'm aiming for a larger tank (between 165g and 180g). I'm aware its an ambitious size for a first tank but I don't want to have to worry about upgrading a few years down the road and I plan on taking things really slowly.

Currently I'm leaning towards a DSB with a mix of LPS and SPS coral. Probably a brittle star and some crabs as part of the CUC.

I know I want a yellow tang, one or more gobies, and one day, many years from now, a mandarin. I'm considering a clown with an anemone, some wrasses, and maybe some blennies. I'm aiming for mostly peaceful tank mates though I know the tang doesn't fit with that.

I'vee been having trouble navigating compatibility charts and finding any suggestions how to approach this. Any help or suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Chef Mateo]

Yes go big, wish I had done that now I'm trying to upgrade

If you are having tangs just add them last

If you would like to maybe write down a list or stock list of fish you are interested in myself and others can give critiques
I can give some suggestions if you give me specific body shapes or colours in mind

 

[CookieRdReef]

I'm a new reefer with a peaceful 75g tank. Royal Gramma are peaceful and colorful. Yellow Coris wrasse are great for pest control and peaceful. Long nose hawkfish is another one of my favorites. All are considered beginner fish- easy to feed, hardy, eat frozen or pellets.

 

[Finbar]

I thought hawkfish were dangerous to inverts like snails, shrimp and crabs.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Saltwater compatibility charts aren't as easy to navigate as freshwater, and I totally understand if you are struggling with it.

Tangs aren't necessarily aggressive, but it depends on the animal, territory and tank mates. As stated before, adding them last would help. I see no issues with the stocking ideas you have so far.

Theres a ton of fish that could be appropriate for what your proposing. Here's a few questions to ask yourself:

Do you want a lot of smaller fish, or a smaller group of large fish? Or a mix of the two?

What type of care can you give the fish? Can you feed 3x a day, hand feed special foods or get live foods? Or would you prefer animals that are simpler to care for? (No shame in that answer, just know what you can manage)

Are there any colors you are targeting? Plan to keep a lot of any species, or a sampling of several animals?

Go through your favorite vendor website and just browse fish. Find ones that have care/price requirements that you think you can handle, then post the list here. We can help you narrow it down, or make additional suggestions.

Edit: Also will your tank have a secure top/lid, or is it open? Many saltwater fish are "carpet surfers."

 

[CookieRdReef]

Longnose are not as much of a invert threat as flame hawks. Mine personally doesn't bother anything and is my kids favorite fish because of the perching on rocks and corals. Wrasses may go after some snails but eating pests makes up for it for me. Most fish has some potential downside. Even clowns are know to be aggressive. You can look on liveaquaria.com for stocking ideas. They list each fishes typical temperament, if they are reef safe, level of difficulty, max size etc.

 

[Chef Mateo]

Yep I agree with @CookieRdReef a longnose should be good with inverts.

Liveaqauria is a great source and if you want to do some further researching search up the fish on reef2reef and there should be plenty of posts about the fish in question. It's better to hear examples from people who have kept the fish you are curious about

I can send you my 180 stocklist but it is very wrasse heavy, I don't have my tank yet just planning.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Sounds like an exciting build! Get the 180g and you won’t need to upgrade in the future! But I personally would stay away from DSB and consider bare bottom or go with a standard size sand bed. DSB historically cause issues down the line. Might not be the first year or two but as the tank matures all that decay just breaks down and gets trapped under that sand..

In terms of fish I always like to look at areas of where the fish tend to swim and if they are doing something for the tank;
A lawnmower blenny is an algae eater and stays at the bottom while tangs swim laterally looking for algae to pick off the rocks. Wrasses will swim in and out of the rock structure and hunt down parasites to eat.

How often you are able to feed them is also a consideration. Anthais are very active swimmers but need to be fed 2-3x a day. Unfortunately I can’t keep up with the feeding schedule so I don’t have anthais.

What’s your tank goals? (Fowlr or corals)
How often are you able to feed?
What’s your nutrient export plans?

 

[Finbar]

Do you want a lot of smaller fish, or a smaller group of large fish? Or a mix of the two?

What type of care can you give the fish? Can you feed 3x a day, hand feed special foods or get live foods? Or would you prefer animals that are simpler to care for? (No shame in that answer, just know what you can manage)

Are there any colors you are targeting? Plan to keep a lot of any species, or a sampling of several animals?

Edit: Also will your tank have a secure top/lid, or is it open? Many saltwater fish are "carpet surfers."

I'm not a hundred percent sure but probably lots of little fish. The tang is probably is about as big as I'll go.

I have a pretty demanding job so I'm not home most of the day. I plan on using autofeeders to supplement this but obviously that does limit my options some. I can spot feed or feed live food maybe once or twice a day at most (probably more like once)

I'm not targeting specific colors more just going for bright and vibrant.

I was looking at wrasses so a secure lid was part of the plan to avoid jumpers.

Longnose are not as much of a invert threat as flame hawks. Mine personally doesn't bother anything and is my kids favorite fish because of the perching on rocks and corals.

Good to know their beautiful and I'm definitely adding them to the list of possibles

 

[Indytraveler83]

I'm not a hundred percent sure but probably lots of little fish. The tang is probably is about as big as I'll go.

I have a pretty demanding job so I'm not home most of the day. I plan on using autofeeders to supplement this but obviously that does limit my options some. I can spot feed or feed live food maybe once or twice a day at most (probably more like once)

I'm not targeting specific colors more just going for bright and vibrant.

I was looking at wrasses so a secure lid was part of the plan to avoid jumpers.



Good to know their beautiful and I'm definitely adding them to the list of possibles

For smaller, peaceful fish a few suggestions then:

Fairy or flasher wrasse (tons of variety)
Zebra barred dartfish
A royal Gramma
Cardinalfish
Firefish

Couple of fish to be cautious with:

Anthias- gorgeous fish, but locating healthy ones and keeping them well fed can be challenging. I keep lyretails, but they are certainly not "beginner" fish.

Dottybacks- striking and beautiful, but evil as they come. And nearly impossible to catch once you have them.

Damsels- some can be nice, some are very mean. Easy to keep and good looking, they vary alot in temperament.


Couple of notes to help:

"Reef safe with caution"- pay attention to what it means for this animal, and if that threatens what you want to keep. I keep several of these animals (Melanarus wrasse, longnosed hawkfish, marine betta). All of them leave my medium sized snails and crabs alone, I just can't keep dwarf snails or baby hermits. The hawkfish and Melanarus leave shrimp alone, but the marine betta eats peppermint shrimp and smaller. In the end, I don't worry about it. Crabs murder each other regularly anyways, so I expect losses and don't get expensive varieties.

Aggression- can take a lot of forms in this hobby. For instance, dottybacks are usually just jerks to everyone. Tangs on the other hand are usually only jerks to certain types of fish, and will leave many others alone.

 

[Finbar]

For smaller, peaceful fish a few suggestions then:

Fairy or flasher wrasse (tons of variety)
Zebra barred dartfish
A royal Gramma
Cardinalfish
Firefish

Couple of fish to be cautious with:

Anthias- gorgeous fish, but locating healthy ones and keeping them well fed can be challenging. I keep lyretails, but they are certainly not "beginner" fish.

Dottybacks- striking and beautiful, but evil as they come. And nearly impossible to catch once you have them.

Damsels- some can be nice, some are very mean. Easy to keep and good looking, they vary alot in temperament.


Couple of notes to help:

"Reef safe with caution"- pay attention to what it means for this animal, and if that threatens what you want to keep. I keep several of these animals (Melanarus wrasse, longnosed hawkfish, marine betta). All of them leave my medium sized snails and crabs alone, I just can't keep dwarf snails or baby hermits. The hawkfish and Melanarus leave shrimp alone, but the marine betta eats peppermint shrimp and smaller. In the end, I don't worry about it. Crabs murder each other regularly anyways, so I expect losses and don't get expensive varieties.

Aggression- can take a lot of forms in this hobby. For instance, dottybacks are usually just jerks to everyone. Tangs on the other hand are usually only jerks to certain types of fish, and will leave many others alone.

Good to know I was planning on keeping a lot of smaller snails like dwarf cerith so I'll have to consider the hawkfish carefully.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Small fish suggestion;Orchid dotty back, Midas blenny, yellow Coris Wrasse (other fairy wrasses too), 5 blue green chromis, Yellow assessor, pink spot goby, A pair of cardinal fish, a pair of clown fish, three fire fish. That will give you a lot of variety and a lot of movement within the rock structure and water column.

1 or 3 yellows tangs would do fine in the 180 if they are small and introduced together. That size tank with the variety of fish, feeding, and hiding spots will reduce aggression and create a chain of command of some sorts where the bigger more aggressive becomes the boss and the others fall in line. Still have a back up plan for aggression for the future; another tank, trade for coral, donate/sell back to LFS),

Larger bioload fish but are great additions; a kole eye tang, magnificent fox face, a pair of blue throat trigger fish, Bellus or Japanese swallowtail angel fish.