Fish stocking

[Bos]

Don't have my tank yet, planning a Red Sea 425XL 4ft tank (maybe a 525XL, 5ft debating the maintenance required and extra expense)

Anyway, unlike most listings, I'm going to ask what CAN'T I keep in a 48" 116G tank

Stock in a 'normal' LFS please.....

I have a rough idea of at least what I want to start with, just want to see what experienced 'bigger' tank reefer have

 

[OrionN]

I think your question is "wrong". You should look/ask and see which fish should go "well" in that size tank rather than not doing well. One of the best Pocket guide I recommended is the a pocket guy by Scott W. Michael: Reef Aquarium Fishes 500+ Essential-to-Know Species. I used a previous version when I at the LFS when I was a novice. You can buy this book at the cost of less than the cost of an average fish. IT WILL keep you from a lot of grief and from wasting a lot of money from dead fish.
BTW, what fish to put together in a tank depends a lot on what fish you have/will have in there, not just the size.
Re-ask your question and you will get a lot better information to guide you in stocking your tank. Important questions are:

What kind of tank are you looking to put together? What kind of corals? FOWLR?
Aggressiveness level of the fishes?
What are your must have fish? Favorites? For fish stocking I would start from this and go from there?
What utility fish need to go into it?
..., ..., ...

 

[Maritimer]

No list that we could create for you could possibly be comprehensive, and any such list could not account for what types of fish you actually want to look at for the next 5 - 20 years.

Over at LiveAquaria, you can "search" fish by "Minimum Aquarium Size". Look through the results to find fish you like, and then look for those at your LFS - or ask if your LFS can order them in for you. (Try to negotiate a ball-park price before the order goes out, if you can . . . )

~Bruce

 

[Jesterrace]

Don't have my tank yet, planning a Red Sea 425XL 4ft tank (maybe a 525XL, 5ft debating the maintenance required and extra expense)

Anyway, unlike most listings, I'm going to ask what CAN'T I keep in a 48" 116G tank

Stock in a 'normal' LFS please.....

I have a rough idea of at least what I want to start with, just want to see what experienced 'bigger' tank reefer have

I can give you the general "no list" for a 4 foot long tank:

Any but the smallest bristletooth tangs
All large angels (dwarf and Pygmy are fine, other than their coral nipping proclivities, of course)
All but the smallest of butterflyfish (and none of the ones that will work are reef safe)
Triggerfish
Big Puffers (the smaller toby variety would be fine)
Squirrelfish
Foxface/Rabbitfish (although the One Spot would work in a larger 4 foot tank)
Larger Wrasses
Sharks and Rays
Any Grouper (except the Marine Betta)
Parrotfish

 

[Bos]

I think your question is "wrong". You should look/ask and see which fish should go "well" in that size tank rather than not doing well. One of the best Pocket guide I recommended is the a pocket guy by Scott W. Michael: Reef Aquarium Fishes 500+ Essential-to-Know Species. I used a previous version when I at the LFS when I was a novice. You can buy this book at the cost of less than the cost of an average fish. IT WILL keep you from a lot of grief and from wasting a lot of money from dead fish.
BTW, what fish to put together in a tank depends a lot on what fish you have/will have in there, not just the size.
Re-ask your question and you will get a lot better information to guide you in stocking your tank. Important questions are:

What kind of tank are you looking to put together? What kind of corals? FOWLR?
Aggressiveness level of the fishes?
What are your must have fish? Favorites? For fish stocking I would start from this and go from there?
What utility fish need to go into it?
..., ..., ...

True, ok, going from my previous tank:

No current sw fish
Tank will be mix reef tank
Aggression level.....everyone wants peace

Favourite/Wanted fishes

-Kole Eye Tang
-Pair of Maroon Clown
-Pair Pajama Cardinalfish
-Pair Kaudern Cardinalfish
-Diamond watchman goby (later date)
-Yellow Watchman goby + Pistol shrimp
-Starry Blenny
-Tail spot blenny
-Bicolor blenny
-Peacock Wrasse
-Yellow OR Purple Tang
-Royal Gramma Basslet

Thats my list atm......

 

[JumboShrimp]

If you can possibly swing that extra foot of length— 5’ long instead of 4’— I would strongly encourage you to do it. Believe me, that extra swim-room will prove itself a positive thing for years to come (including 6” extra of turn-around-room on each end of your rock work, assuming you will leave room both in front and behind your rock for true circular ‘lap’ swimming.)

 

[OrionN]

I think your is is OK except the Maroon clowns. Consider having smaller less aggressive clowns. Consider some Fairy wrasses, Leopard wrasses and Melanurus wrasse. mandarin dragonette. Some smaller angels. IMO either purple or yellow tang will be OK in your 4 foot tank.

 

[Bos]

I think your is is OK except the Maroon clowns. Consider having smaller less aggressive clowns. ..... IMO either purple or yellow tang will be OK in your 4 foot tank.

So even with no other clowns in tank, a pair of Maroons in a 4 ft is a bad idea? They shouldn't be aggressive to other fish right IF given enough space

Purple tangs get bigger than Yellow tangs right? Yellow would be safer in a 4ft?

 

[Bos]

If you can possibly swing that extra foot of length— 5’ long instead of 4’— I would strongly encourage you to do it. Believe me, that extra swim-room will prove itself a positive thing for years to come (including 6” extra of turn-around-room on each end of your rock work, assuming you will leave room both in front and behind your rock for true circular ‘lap’ swimming.)

yea, that's the hard part, 4 or 5. With 5ft, the cost increases quite a bit, tank -wise and equipment wise but I do see where you are coming from, especially if I want the options of having tangs such as Purple, Kole, Yellow maybe Powder (but 5ft is probably still too small)
Just the lights themselves, non-heavy SPS, taking Hydra's as an example, I'll need 3x Hydra 26HDs instead of two or 2 Orpheks instead of one.
Rocks and sand I'll need so much more too

On the positive side, the tank will be that much more stable with an extra 100L

 

[OrionN]

Maroon clown not only aggressive toward other clowns. They are also are very aggressive fish that know to drag other fish and feed them to their anemone.
Yellow tang is a little smaller than Purple tang but not by a whole lot.

 

[JumboShrimp]

If you love yellow, and a nice active fish, take a look at a Bi-colored (dwarf) Angel instead of either Tang. That would be my advice in a 4’ tank. As for the Maroon Clown(s), “search” them on R2R and you will get a wealth of advice; maybe even nice alternatives (i.e., smaller, less aggressive clowns) that you hadn’t really considered. You’re in no rush— and there is also fish-compatibility to keep in mind for your grand plan.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just think— if you get the 5’ tank, you can enjoy this algae eating beauty! (Lol)

 

[Bos]

Just think— if you get the 5’ tank, you can enjoy this algae eating beauty! (Lol)

hahaha, good one! That's the main one I want.
No rush, tank will take a month, got to preorder. In the mean time, getting rocks and curing/bleaching them and of course asking for info/opinions on r2r

 

[JumboShrimp]

Well since I’m on a roll (lol), the Kole Tangs are compatable with these gorgeous creatures!