Fish to add to a new 90 gallon tank

Venzzla · Jan 22, 2019

Hi all, first time post here. I have a few questions if someone would answer it would be greatly appreciated. I am about to start a 90 gallon tank (wanted bigger but current space won’t allow it ). One of my questions is would this be too many fish for the aquarium ( yellow tang, blue tang, Midas blenny , mandarin goby, diamond goby, 2 clownfish mated pair , mckoshers wrasse, flame angel, and about 6 anthias which only one would be a male ). I obviously wouldn’t add all this at once so I wouldn’t over whelm the biological filter. Second question is what order should I add them. I’m thinking clownfish first tangs last.

ndrwater · Jan 22, 2019

1st off, welcome to R2R !
Second, that is a LOT of fish for a 50 gallon.
A blue tang will outgrow that tank VERY quickly. I would wait at least a year for a Mandarin as they are 99% of the time pod eaters and need a very well established tank.
If I were to choose from the rest of your list as to what to add 1st, I'd start with the clowns, then probably the flasher wrasse or diamond goby.
The yellow tang should probably go last as they can be territorial.

Venzzla · Jan 22, 2019

Thanks for the welcome ! This is for a 90 gallon tank not a 50 but I’m thinking that might be a typo? Yes the mandarin would definitely be a later on down road addition plus I plan on doing a refugium with cheato and getting a nest of those little boogers. Lol. Is there a limit to anthias as long as only one male ? Also , different anthias ok to add together assuming all females ?

Venzzla · Jan 22, 2019

Also thinking about putting just two or theee pieces of LPS coral in tank. Maybe frogspawn, hammer coral and anemone any thoughts on this as far as care level? I would be running 2 kessil above this tank.

Jesterrace · Jan 22, 2019

Blue Tang and Yellow Tang will outgrow the tank and will likely express their displeasure in the form of aggression towards their tankmates. Had to remove a Yellow Tang that wasn't half grown from my 90 gallon after roughly a month for being a total butthead. Replace the Yellow Tang with a One Spot Foxface and you will be happier. The Mandarinfish will definitely need a well established pod population to do well, they need to feed almost constantly during the waking hours. Is this a reef tank or just FOWLR? The Flame Angel can nip at your corals and can be an assertive fish as well. If you want a Tang stick with one of the following: Yellow Eye Kole Tang, Two Spot Tang (aka Blue Eye Kole Tang), Squaretail Tang or Tomini or Flame Fin Tang. If you have patience and don't mind spending a small fortune the White Tail Bristletooth is gorgeous and will work. They will all do well in a 90 gallon long term provided they are the only Tang in the tank. I would skip the Anthias. Not because they won't work but because the bioload will be significantly reduced by removing them.

Ryan1783 · Jan 23, 2019

Welcome to R2R!!

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

Thanks Ryan!

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

I want to just put in a couple of corals. If possible I would prefer to either manually dose or pick corals that don’t need dosing. I’ll either take your suggestion on the tang or get the tang and if it is aggressive I’ll trade it with a friend at LFS. My wife really wants that yellow tang! Lol. On the anthias that’s what I really want. Maybe I’ll just cut back on the number of anthias say 3 ? One male and two females so bioload won’t be as bad ?

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

I will also establish those pods first before adding mandarin. Do wrasses eat copepods ? My thoughts are yes

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

Also if I decide to forgo the corals and go fish only does the live rock need such strong lights for coralline algae or can I cut back on expenses and just go with whatever lights come with the tank?

nereefpat · Jan 23, 2019

I agree that the blue tang will get way too big for a 90.

My opinion is that the yellow if fine, if it's the only tang. It will potentially go after other deep bodied fish too. I had a yellow tang snap one day in my 90, killing a butterfly after they had been together over a year.

Anthias are possible, but it will be a challenge. The hardiest ones, like lyretail and bartlett, usually badger the other ones in the group. Dispar and ignites might be your best bet, but i'm not sure about a group of six in a 90. Also keep in mind that you don't want to buy females and a male. Get all small females and let them sort out the sexing/hierarchy.

You are correct on adding the tang last. Dwarf angel should also be near the last. Clowns near the beginning is usually fine. If you want any anthias, I would add them second, right after the flasher wrasse.

If you don't get corals, fish and coralline algae do just fine with dim lights. I have plenty of coralline growing in my sump, for example.

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

Yeah I’m thinking I will pass on the blue tang. Yellow I am going to try. Just buy it small and make sure it doesn’t bully. Thanks for the advice on the anthias. I think I’m only going to add 3. Take your advice and maybe just get all females. How about clowns can you add two different types ? I’m thinking no. Anotherwords day 2 Wisconsin’s with 2 ocellaris?

nereefpat · Jan 23, 2019

Most likely, only one pair of clowns will work for a 90.

They can be different breeds of the same species, like a black occ and a regular occ. I've seen folks report success pairing occ and perc too.

Venzzla · Jan 23, 2019

Thanks nereefpat

Jesterrace · Jan 23, 2019

Venzzla said:
I want to just put in a couple of corals. If possible I would prefer to either manually dose or pick corals that don’t need dosing. I’ll either take your suggestion on the tang or get the tang and if it is aggressive I’ll trade it with a friend at LFS. My wife really wants that yellow tang! Lol. On the anthias that’s what I really want. Maybe I’ll just cut back on the number of anthias say 3 ? One male and two females so bioload won’t be as bad ?

The Foxface isn't far off for looks and actually has more color diversity. My middle kid loves the color Yellow and was heartbroken when I removed the Yellow Tang, but when I showed him the new Foxface he was pretty happy. Here is my One Spot: