Fish compatibility for a large reef tank(about 150-200 gallons)

[NickNH]

Awesome list. Start culturing pods to keep the Wrasse happy. I plan to do wrasses in my 40g office tank. Consider some utilitarian fish such as a file fish for the amenones and to pick the rocks and sand clean of food as well as a small tang. A white tail ($150) or gem ($400) would be perfect! I recently got a White Tail. It's absolutely stunning!

Do you think a scrawled filefish and a powder blue tang would work or no?

 

[Reef By Steele]

Do you think a scrawled filefish and a powder blue tang would work or no?

I don’t know much about the filefish as I’m not sure many of them are reefsafe, but I have a powder blue and three other tangs in my 110. If you want more than 1 tang just be careful to not mix from the same family.

 

[NickNH]

I don’t know much about the filefish as I’m not sure many of them are reefsafe, but I have a powder blue and three other tangs in my 110. If you want more than 1 tang just be careful to not mix from the same family.

OK, I was aware about tangs being a touch aggressive. Dou you have an idea why the other guy suggest a filefish? What do they accomplish specifically that I would be lacking? Ijust looked closer at them, they apparently eat coral and anemones quite prolifically, both of which I would need.

 

[Mikeltee]

Do you think a scrawled filefish and a powder blue tang would work or no?

You need a 6' tank to ethically house any other type of tang aside from Bristletooth and Yellows. Many people do, but it's not cool. I had a hippo for a couple of years in my 48x22x30. He was still small but he freaked out and started frantically swimming in the tank. It stressed all the other fish out and they all died. I'll never have any other type of tang in my tank aside from the aforementioned. If you have a 6' 200g you would probably be fine with a few large tangs. Powder blues are one of my favorites. I've had a couple. They are highly susceptible to velvet so make sure you have a quarantine protocol in place and stick to it. My first PB brought in velvet and killed 20+ fish within 24 hours. They need copper as well. No hybrid TTM for them. Wrasse should incorporate hybrid TTM qt protocol and then 2 weeks of prazipro. I have a six-line finishing up Wednesday and he did great.

 

[Mikeltee]

OK, I was aware about tangs being a touch aggressive. Dou you have an idea why the other guy suggest a filefish? What do they accomplish specifically that I would be lacking? Ijust looked closer at them, they apparently eat coral and anemones quite prolifically, both of which I would need.

For pest anenomes that you are guaranteed to get. It's the only thing that has worked for me and I have tried all other methods over 14 years. Mine is reef safe. There are reported cases of them picking at particular SPS. No one I know has reported this though.

 

[NickNH]

You need a 6' tank to ethically house any other type of tang aside from Bristletooth and Yellows. Many people do, but it's not cool. I had a hippo for a couple of years in my 48x22x30. He was still small but he freaked out and started frantically swimming in the tank. It stressed all the other fish out and they all died. I'll never have any other type of tang in my tank aside from the aforementioned. If you have a 6' 200g you would probably be fine with a few large tangs. Powder blues are one of my favorites. I've had a couple. They are highly susceptible to velvet so make sure you have a quarantine protocol in place and stick to it. My first PB brought in velvet and killed 20+ fish within 24 hours. They need copper as well. No hybrid TTM for them. Wrasse should incorporate hybrid TTM qt protocol and then 2 weeks of prazipro. I have a six-line finishing up Wednesday and he did great.

OK given the one per genus rule with tangs and the suggestion to have 6 feet of room would this lineup of tangs work since they are all reef safe and different enough to dissuade aggressive behavior
Blue powder
Hippo
Tomini
Purple
Naso
Also filefish are huge from what I can tell, are there small filefish?
Also I checked the exact volume and it is a 180 gallon tank if that matters.

 

[Mikeltee]

If I am dumping 700 dollars into a tank, 200 into live rock, and 400 into a strong filter, 120 dollars extra a month for a few months is not a big jump to me, but maybe I am crazy

What is this filter you speak of? You are going to need a skimmer. There's a small chance that you can be successful with an algae scrubber but that's more for advanced reefers. You want to start out with a skimmer for sure. You will have a sump, correct? If you have a 200g without a sump you are going to need several hang on back skimmers like the aquamaxx bullet 3. I have one on a 40g and it works great but i regret not drilling it and adding a small sump. I also suggest culturing pods. I invest 30 minutes a week and harvest 2g/week of phyto and have 8g of 3 strains of pods. My investment was $250. It's simple and necessary if you want to have a mandarin.

 

[Mikeltee]

OK given the one per genus rule with tangs and the suggestion to have 6 feet of room would this lineup of tangs work since they are all reef safe and different enough to dissuade aggressive behavior
Blue powder
Hippo
Tomini
Purple
Naso
Also filefish are huge from what I can tell, are there small filefish?
Also I checked the exact volume and it is a 180 gallon tank if that matters.

I'd stick with 3 tangs and my filefish is about 4" and he's fully grown. This is the one you are after... "aptasia eating filefish" they are $40

 

[NickNH]

What is this filter you speak of? You are going to need a skimmer. There's a small chance that you can be successful with an algae scrubber but that's more for advanced reefers. You want to start out with a skimmer for sure. You will have a sump, correct? If you have a 200g without a sump you are going to need several hang on back skimmers like the aquamaxx bullet 3. I have one on a 40g and it works great but i regret not drilling it and adding a small sump. I also suggest culturing pods. I invest 30 minutes a week and harvest 2g/week of phyto and have 8g of 3 strains of pods. My investment was $250. It's simple and necessary if you want to have a mandarin.

A sump and a an additional skimmer that would be plumbed in.

 

[NickNH]

I'd stick with 3 tangs and my filefish is about 4" and he's fully grown. This is the one you are after... "aptasia eating filefish" they are $40

Ah, I was seeing some species that were like 4 feet long, that is much more reasonable.

 

[Mikeltee]

Ah, I was seeing some species that were like 4 feet long, that is much more reasonable.

Lol yea I wasn't aware of different types. The aptasia eating are very popular in our community. I never got one because they are so ugly. Meanwhile I spent hundreds on aptasia X, a laser, a majanoe wand etc etc and all that did was cause more aptasia to spread. I tried nudibranches before but they didn't work out. They are like $30 a pop and you need at least 5 to get started and it takes forever for them to populate. Once the aptasia are gone they die. If you buy coral, you will eventually get aptasia. My filefish is like a pet. He comes to the tank when you are near and he gets along with all the other fish. Him and bicolor blennies are my favorite for that trait. Add a blenny to the list. I just got a midas but bicolor are similar in behavior. They are super interesting. They hop from rock to rock checking you out.

 

[Reef By Steele]

OK, I was aware about tangs being a touch aggressive. Dou you have an idea why the other guy suggest a filefish? What do they accomplish specifically that I would be lacking? Ijust looked closer at them, they apparently eat coral and anemones quite prolifically, both of which I would need.

That is why I love the looks of some like and I forget the green with orange spots. But the only one considered reef safe is the aiptasia eating file fish and it is with caution. So I would not have one in a reef.

 

[NickNH]

That is why I love the looks of some like and I forget the green with orange spots. But the only one considered reef safe is the aiptasia eating file fish and it is with caution. So I would not have one in a reef.

What about a butterfly fish like a copperband? They should leave fully grown coral and anemones alone while removing unwanted anemones like aiptasias.

 

[i cant think]

I was looking into building a reef tank, my mother grew up with one but doesn't remember much so I was asking here. I was planning on stocking the following
2 black ocellaris clowns
2 pink skunk clowns(this is the main concern, I know people here have kept multiple pairs of different clownfish species but I am unsure if it will actually work.)
1 azure damselfish
1 lubbock fairy wrasse
1 royal gramma
1 mandarin dragon fish
1 elegant firefish
1 tail spot wrasse
1 dusky wrasse
1 newton's wrasse
1 swiss guard basslet
1 blackcap basslet
2 kaudern's cardinalfish
1 ruby dragonet
1 Hawaiian cleaner wrasse
1 coral beauty angelfish
2 scarlet cleaner shrimp
Some corals
3 rock flower anemones

I should have room because they are all small and most of them hide, and the Tank I have picked out has very strong filtration, most of these will be fine at the same water parameters and are fairly hearty.
Is there any obvious incompatibility that I overlooked? I tried to limit aggressive fish to one of a species and with very different looks to avoid fights.

Remove the Newton’s Wrasse, thalassoma are outright aggressive and will take out most fairies, and other calm wrasses. Yes, in general we can mix wrasses of different genera but there are rules towards it, I recommend looking into the Wrasse Lovers Thread first to make sure your wrasses will be compatible and not end up dead due to one being too aggressive (yes even in a 6’ tank, thalassoma are going to be downright nasty).

The rest are alright however you likely will not be able to get a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse unless it is captive bred (which don’t seem to be around currently).

 

[i cant think]

What about a butterfly fish like a copperband? They should leave fully grown coral and anemones alone while removing unwanted anemones like aiptasias.

IMHO, Copperbands (and Butterflies in general) are not for a beginner. Get your tank setup, get your first few fish and then start considering one later down the road.

They will take out anemones that are closed up (I.e. bubbletips) as well as aiptasia and majanos.

 

[Reef By Steele]

IMHO, Copperbands (and Butterflies in general) are not for a beginner. Get your tank setup, get your first few fish and then start considering one later down the road.

They will take out anemones that are closed up (I.e. bubbletips) as well as aiptasia and majanos.

That is interesting. I had never heard they would take out majano. I had one in a 110 and he did a splendid job on my aiptasia and left my bubble tip alone. But my bubble tip was hanging out in the cestipulara so possible that save it.

I might get one for my FOWLER to fight the Majano.

 

[NickNH]

IMHO, Copperbands (and Butterflies in general) are not for a beginner. Get your tank setup, get your first few fish and then start considering one later down the road.

They will take out anemones that are closed up (I.e. bubbletips) as well as aiptasia and majanos.

OK, what would be an easier alternative since the filefish is not the greatest with coral and the anemones I would want to keep.

 

[i cant think]

OK, what would be an easier alternative since the filefish is not the greatest with coral and the anemones I would want to keep.

Filefish are the only other good move for a fish side but invert wise, peppermints are always good. The true peppermints are unlikely to nip at coral, it’s more the false peppermints that do it.

 

[NickNH]

Filefish are the only other good move for a fish side but invert wise, peppermints are always good. The true peppermints are unlikely to nip at coral, it’s more the false peppermints that do it.

Hmm, they might get picked off but I would reckon that the shrimp would work fine.

 

[katonge]

Any more than a pair of clowns is very risky.
The mandarin and ruby are exclusive pod eaters and will quickly starve in a new tank. Do them down the road.

Not if you get aquacultured ones.