Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

[Greybeard]

Ok... I'm building my fish list, might as well post and get an expert opinion

144g display, 60" x 30" x 18" tall Triton system reef. Fairly minimal rockscape, 1.5" 'special grade' sand, good flow, big macro refugeum, 4 liters of Matrix, GFO and GAC reactors, Vertex 180i... tank is about 3 months old, and starting to get fairly stable.

Current stock:
1x Smith's Blenny 3"
2x ORA Caramel Ocellaris Clowns 1.5"
1x Orange spot Rabbitfish 2"
1x Scopas tang 2.5"

Plan to add:
Bicolor Goatfish
Fairy wrasse of some sort
Male/Female pair of Lamarck's Angelfish (coming soon!)
Pair or trio of Anthias, not sure which
Pair of Chalk Bassletts
small school of Cardinalfish, blue-eye, yellowstripe, orangestripe, flame... not sure yet

Goatfish and Wrasse are going to wait a while, I want the tank more mature before I add either of those.

Stony corals, both LPS and SPS. Not a dedicated stix tank, really, but no softies.

 

[Young@Heart]

Feeling Better about this.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Ok... I'm building my fish list, might as well post and get an expert opinion

144g display, 60" x 30" x 18" tall Triton system reef. Fairly minimal rockscape, 1.5" 'special grade' sand, good flow, big macro refugeum, 4 liters of Matrix, GFO and GAC reactors, Vertex 180i... tank is about 3 months old, and starting to get fairly stable.

Current stock:
1x Smith's Blenny 3"
2x ORA Caramel Ocellaris Clowns 1.5"
1x Orange spot Rabbitfish 2"
1x Scopas tang 2.5"

Plan to add:
Bicolor Goatfish
Fairy wrasse of some sort
Male/Female pair of Lamarck's Angelfish (coming soon!)
Pair or trio of Anthias, not sure which
Pair of Chalk Bassletts
small school of Cardinalfish, blue-eye, yellowstripe, orangestripe, flame... not sure yet

Goatfish and Wrasse are going to wait a while, I want the tank more mature before I add either of those.

Stony corals, both LPS and SPS. Not a dedicated stix tank, really, but no softies.

The list looks pretty good. The only concerns for me are the scopas tang, as they get really big and they are tall, so a full grown scopas won't have much vertical space with only 18" tank height. The other concern is the goatfish, they get surprisingly big, and when first collected often have internal parasites.

 

[Greybeard]

The list looks pretty good. The only concerns for me are the scopas tang, as they get really big and they are tall, so a full grown scopas won't have much vertical space with only 18" tank height. The other concern is the goatfish, they get surprisingly big, and when first collected often have internal parasites.

I would expect to re-home the scopas at some point. I figure I've probably got a couple of years before he starts getting crowded. They're such excellent algae eaters, it seems worth it to me. I may swap him out for a Tomini tang, when he starts getting a little bigger.

On the Goatfish: I was not aware they commonly had parasites. The only experience I have with them is seeing one in a reef at a shop in KC. Run around all day scouring the sand bed... seemed like a good thing, and more interesting looking than many of the sand scavengers. I was aware of how big they got... I'll make certain, if I do get one, that it gets a prazipro treatment before going in the tank.

 

[Young@Heart]

Question (I think I may know answer, but I am unsure). I have a Pygmy Angelfish. I am starting to think about getting a Flame Angelfish, Question is will the get along? These guys would both be in 180 Gallon Tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Question (I think I may know answer, but I am unsure). I have a Pygmy Angelfish. I am starting to think about getting a Flame Angelfish, Question is will the get along? These guys would both be in 180 Gallon Tank.

It may work out. Introduce the flame using a social acclimation box. If the pygmy is too aggressive, you could remove both, move rock around and reintroduce simultaneously.

 

[coral-boss]

need a suggestion. going to swap my 6ft 125g reef to a 4' 120g reef. the 125 has mimic tang, purple tang, 2 clowns, blue jaw trigger and a Christmas wrasse. will these fish be ok in the new tank. also what would you recommend to add if anything? was thinking about a 6line wrasse to help with pest also. thoughts?

 

[eatbreakfast]

need a suggestion. going to swap my 6ft 125g reef to a 4' 120g reef. the 125 has mimic tang, purple tang, 2 clowns, blue jaw trigger and a Christmas wrasse. will these fish be ok in the new tank. also what would you recommend to add if anything? was thinking about a 6line wrasse to help with pest also. thoughts?

All those should be fine together. The Christmas wrasse should be working on some of the pests. Do you know the specific species of Christmas wrasse? Some mix with other wrasses well, some can be aggressive to other wrasses. Also, sixline can be jerks too.

 

[coral-boss]

cool thank you. don't remember the type of Christmas wrasse. I can try to get a good picture of him tonight if I can and post it If that helps. I was mainly worried about the space for the tangs going from a 6ft to a 4ft tank. what other fish could be recommended if any?

 

[eatbreakfast]

cool thank you. don't remember the type of Christmas wrasse. I can try to get a good picture of him tonight if I can and post it If that helps. I was mainly worried about the space for the tangs going from a 6ft to a 4ft tank. what other fish could be recommended if any?

Both of those tang should be fine in a 120g. It's only 5g less than the previous tank, and although 2' shorter, has more front to back swimming space.

Getting a pic of the wrasse will definitely help I'd which species.

Other inhabitant options include: Genicanthus angel, pyramid butterfly, royal Gramma, chalk bass, Midas blenny, longnose or flame hawk fish.

 

[coral-boss]

Both of those tang should be fine in a 120g. It's only 5g less than the previous tank, and although 2' shorter, has more front to back swimming space.

Getting a pic of the wrasse will definitely help I'd which species.

Other inhabitant options include: Genicanthus angel, pyramid butterfly, royal Gramma, chalk bass, Midas blenny, longnose or flame hawk fish.

awesome! this is much appreciated. thank you!

 

[Slayvoff]

What would go well with a couple of frostbite clowns? any wrasse breeds, wuay parrotfish or any other vibrant colored fish?

 

[eatbreakfast]

What would go well with a couple of frostbite clowns? any wrasse breeds, wuay parrotfish or any other vibrant colored fish?

Depending on tank size, there are many good options. For most tanks there is a wrasse that will work.

For 50-75g tanks, royal Gramma, flame or longnose hawk fish, flasher wrasses, small-md fairy wrasses, melanurus wrasse, Midas blenny, starry blenny, stigmatura blenny, yellow assessor, watchman goby, to mention just a few. For larger tanks more options open up such as a Genicanthus angel, pyramid butterfly, foxface or even a tang(depending on species and tank size).

 

[Slayvoff]

Depending on tank size, there are many good options. For most tanks there is a wrasse that will work.

For 50-75g tanks, royal Gramma, flame or longnose hawk fish, flasher wrasses, small-md fairy wrasses, melanurus wrasse, Midas blenny, starry blenny, stigmatura blenny, yellow assessor, watchman goby, to mention just a few. For larger tanks more options open up such as a Genicanthus angel, pyramid butterfly, foxface or even a tang(depending on species and tank size).

what about smaller than that? like 40-50?

 

[eatbreakfast]

what about smaller than that? like 40-50?

Scratch the melanurus wrasse off that list. A flasher or a small fairy wrasse species will still work, as will most of the other livestock listed for the 50-75g range.

 

[Slayvoff]

Scratch the melanurus wrasse off that list. A flasher or a small fairy wrasse species will still work, as will most of the other livestock listed for the 50-75g range.

Do all tangs require a ton of space? I really love the Achilles Tang

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Hey all,
Okay I'm rebuilding my system after a crash late last year. I've been gun shy with adding much over the last 10 months and am slowly starting to rebuild my coral collection. I am looking to do a very mixed reef with some choice SPS colonies( btw 10 and 20 types,some branching and some encrusting)various LPS, a health collection of zoas/palys and softies with a few NPS.
Tank stats are:
DT- 60"x30"x24" (187g) running for 3 years
Sand- 1 1/2"-3 1/2" of Tropic Eden Reef Flakes
Rock- Not really sure on the weight added in. Maybe 120-140 lbs of a mixture of Pukani/Fuji branch and shelf/Haitian/ and Alor. It is set in a 4 island configuration, using the branch rock as the bases for each structure.
Fish-
2 Perculas
1 powder brown tang (3")
1 Sailfin tang(3")
1 Yellow Belly Hippo(3")
1 Valentini Puffer (2 1/2")
1 Royal Garamma
4 PJ Cards
1 ruby dragonet

I would love some brighter colors. I Have stayed away from wrasses after a bad experience from a six line and melanarius. Both ran the tank for a long time, bullied my blue throat trigger and magnificent fox , loosing both back to back early last year. Both wrasses have been re homed.
Wish list:
A dwarf angel of some sort
A butterfly
Some smaller/med brightly colored swimmers
And possibly a Harlequin Tusk or eel

 

[eatbreakfast]

Do all tangs require a ton of space? I really love the Achilles Tang

There are tangs that can be in smaller tanks, but cloaer to 75g is smaller for a tang, and even then it's limited to species like kole, tomini, and borderline for a yellow. An achilles tang needs a lot of space, like 8'.

Hey all,
Okay I'm rebuilding my system after a crash late last year. I've been gun shy with adding much over the last 10 months and am slowly starting to rebuild my coral collection. I am looking to do a very mixed reef with some choice SPS colonies( btw 10 and 20 types,some branching and some encrusting)various LPS, a health collection of zoas/palys and softies with a few NPS.
Tank stats are:
DT- 60"x30"x24" (187g) running for 3 years
Sand- 1 1/2"-3 1/2" of Tropic Eden Reef Flakes
Rock- Not really sure on the weight added in. Maybe 120-140 lbs of a mixture of Pukani/Fuji branch and shelf/Haitian/ and Alor. It is set in a 4 island configuration, using the branch rock as the bases for each structure.
Fish-
2 Perculas
1 powder brown tang (3")
1 Sailfin tang(3")
1 Yellow Belly Hippo(3")
1 Valentini Puffer (2 1/2")
1 Royal Garamma
4 PJ Cards
1 ruby dragonet

I would love some brighter colors. I Have stayed away from wrasses after a bad experience from a six line and melanarius. Both ran the tank for a long time, bullied my blue throat trigger and magnificent fox , loosing both back to back early last year. Both wrasses have been re homed.
Wish list:
A dwarf angel of some sort
A butterfly
Some smaller/med brightly colored swimmers
And possibly a Harlequin Tusk or eel

Harlequin tusks get pretty aggressive.

The dwarf angel may nip at zoas and LPS.

Fairy and flasher wrasses are much better behaved than the wrasses you had previously.

A group of anthias adds color and activity, so would a group of zebra dartfish.

 

[jp_75]

any good algea eater what would go with midas blenny,fairy wrasse,clown and longnose hawkfish?
tank is 60 gallon reef

 

[eatbreakfast]

any good algea eater what would go with midas blenny,fairy wrasse,clown and longnose hawkfish?
tank is 60 gallon reef

Rainsford or hector's goby, bullet goby, maybe a starry blenny depending on the personality of your midas.