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

[eatbreakfast]

We went threw the fish list and cut it by more then 1/2, wife says an eel is a must from what I have read it seems a zebra is less likely to bother fish then a snowflake? I am leaning towards a snowflake?
Here is the fish that the wife picked out, still needs to be narrowed down.
Tank is a sr 80 ,thread is here
Which fish to cut from list ?
The listed wrasses are the ones we like can be knocked down to 1 unless they can get along then 2

Zebra Eel or snowflake one or the other is a must, but which one?

Flame Angelfish
(Centropyge loricula)

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Ctenochaetus strigosus

Pajama Cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera

Tahitian Butterflyfish
(Chaetodon trichrous)

One Spot Foxface
(Siganus unimaculatus)

Purple Dottyback
(Pseudochromis porphyreus)

Royal Gramma Basslet
(Gramma loreto)

Firefish
Nemateleotris magnifica

Purple Firefish
Nemateleotris decora

Blue Spot Jawfish
Opistognathus rosenblatti

Green Clown Goby
Gobiodon histrio

Red Striped Goby
Trimma cana

Falco Hawkfish
(Cirrhitichthys falco)

Axilspot Hogfish
(Bodianus axillaris )

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
(Macropharyngodon bipartitus)

Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus

McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Paracheilinus mccoskeri

Grey Head Wrasse
Halichoeres leucurus

Velvet Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus


Thanks for any help/suggestions
nate

Zebra eel gets way too big for that tank.

A snowflake will likely pick off a few fish from the list.

Purple dottyback will not work with the gramma and firefish.

Firefish don't coexist longterm. Choose 1.

Blue spot jawfish need cooler temps than all the others.

The trimma will be on the menu for the hawkfish, hogfish, and eel.

Choose between the foxface and the kole tang. That tank won't support 2 lg algae eaters well.

 

[Nate77]

Zebra eel gets way too big for that tank.

A snowflake will likely pick off a few fish from the list.

Purple dottyback will not work with the gramma and firefish.

Firefish don't coexist longterm. Choose 1.

Blue spot jawfish need cooler temps than all the others.

The trimma will be on the menu for the hawkfish, hogfish, and eel.

Choose between the foxface and the kole tang. That tank won't support 2 lg algae eaters well.

Awesome thank you , any of the wrasses I list will be ok?

Does this look better? anything to add or remove?

snow flake eel

Flame Angelfish
(Centropyge loricula)

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Ctenochaetus strigosus

Tahitian Butterflyfish
(Chaetodon trichrous)

Pajama Cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera

Royal Gramma Basslet
(Gramma loreto)

Purple Firefish
Nemateleotris decora

Green Clown Goby
Gobiodon histrio

Falco Hawkfish
(Cirrhitichthys falco)

Axilspot Hogfish
(Bodianus axillaris )

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
(Macropharyngodon bipartitus)

Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus

McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Paracheilinus mccoskeri

 

[eatbreakfast]

Awesome thank you , any of the wrasses I list will be ok?

Does this look better? anything to add or remove?

snow flake eel

Flame Angelfish
(Centropyge loricula)

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Ctenochaetus strigosus

Tahitian Butterflyfish
(Chaetodon trichrous)

Pajama Cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera

Royal Gramma Basslet
(Gramma loreto)

Purple Firefish
Nemateleotris decora

Green Clown Goby
Gobiodon histrio

Falco Hawkfish
(Cirrhitichthys falco)

Axilspot Hogfish
(Bodianus axillaris )

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
(Macropharyngodon bipartitus)

Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus

McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Paracheilinus mccoskeri

That list is a lot better. Although I am wary of the snowflake, but get a small one and add it toward the end of stocking.

The wrasses will be fine, but get them in before the hogfish.

 

[Nate77]

That list is a lot better. Although I am wary of the snowflake, but get a small one and add it toward the end of stocking.

The wrasses will be fine, but get them in before the hogfish.

Awesome thank you, I was figuring add eel last.may only go with 1 or 2 wrasses, now to figure out stocking order or don't much matter except for wrasse(s) ,eel and hogfish?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Awesome thank you, I was figuring add eel last.may only go with 1 or 2 wrasses, now to figure out stocking order or don't much matter except for wrasse(s) ,eel and hogfish?

Eel, hogfish, tang, angel toward the end, other fish earlier.

 

[Nate77]

Thank you very much @eatbreakfast

 

[Bigfish of La.]

My current list of fish include PJ cardinal, yellow tail damsel and 2 clown fish in a DB80.

Currently I have a Par. Lineopunctatus and Par. Flavianalis wrasse in a 20G QT. In the beginning one was picking on the other, but have settled down and once in DT I think everything will be fine.

My want list:
Wife wants a tail spot blenny and a longnose hawkfish, these are a must if possible.
My list include some that most likely won’t make the final list, but here goes:
Mac. Meleagris Leopard
Mac. Ornatus Ornate
Hal. Chrysottaenia Vrolik
Hal. chrysus Canary
Hal. Claudia Christmas
Hal. Biocellatus Red Line
Cirr. Exquisitus Exquisite
Cirr. Filamentosus Whipfin
Cirr. Rubrimaginatus Pink Margin
Par. McCoskeri McCosker

I know this is a long list, but which of these can I add to the tank?
Most importantly, which should go in first and then last?

Thanks

 

[eatbreakfast]

My current list of fish include PJ cardinal, yellow tail damsel and 2 clown fish in a DB80.

Currently I have a Par. Lineopunctatus and Par. Flavianalis wrasse in a 20G QT. In the beginning one was picking on the other, but have settled down and once in DT I think everything will be fine.

My want list:
Wife wants a tail spot blenny and a longnose hawkfish, these are a must if possible.
My list include some that most likely won’t make the final list, but here goes:
Mac. Meleagris Leopard
Mac. Ornatus Ornate
Hal. Chrysottaenia Vrolik
Hal. chrysus Canary
Hal. Claudia Christmas
Hal. Biocellatus Red Line
Cirr. Exquisitus Exquisite
Cirr. Filamentosus Whipfin
Cirr. Rubrimaginatus Pink Margin
Par. McCoskeri McCosker

I know this is a long list, but which of these can I add to the tank?
Most importantly, which should go in first and then last?

Thanks

Any of those wrasses would work except for the C. filamentosus, as long as the system can handle the bioload. Order doesn't matter much with those species either.

 

[Bigfish of La.]

Any of those wrasses would work except for the C. filamentosus, as long as the system can handle the bioload. Order doesn't matter much with those species either.

Thanks for the reply. So happy they all made the list except the whip fin, I had an idea he would not make it.

I see you have a DB80 and I'm sure some wrasse. My tank is 9 months old but it is established with rocks an corals from another tank, and tank parameters for nitrate and phos are near zero. I have a super skimmer that pulls out all the nasty stuff, block of marine pure, so based on that how many fish would this tank be able house?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thanks for the reply. So happy they all made the list except the whip fin, I had an idea he would not make it.

I see you have a DB80 and I'm sure some wrasse. My tank is 9 months old but it is established with rocks an corals from another tank, and tank parameters for nitrate and phos are near zero. I have a super skimmer that pulls out all the nasty stuff, block of marine pure, so based on that how many fish would this tank be able house?

Based on that between 15-20 fish.

 

[MPS]

I’m looking for a clean up crew for algae and detritus that won’t turn into lunch for for snowflake eel.
My Clown tang and dwarf angels do a good job at most of the algae.
I’m thinking about a sea star of some type that won’t hassle my corals.
Thoughts?

 

[Bigfish of La.]

Based on that between 15-20 fish.

Is there a rule of thumb for so many inches of fish per gallons of tank ?

 

[norfolkgarden]

Is there a rule of thumb for so many inches of fish per gallons of tank ?

No, not really.

Or

6 to 7 gallons per 3 inch fish.
Your tank filtration can probably handle a much, much higher bio load, but the issue really becomes personal space per fish.

This is also assuming you have things spread out between swimmers and perchers and burrowers. Filling every habitat zone allows you to jam a few more fish in.
You can jam 20 small fish in a 75 gallon tank (I have in the past). But the original fish start to act different.
And the new fish don't have any elbow room.
Everything is just a little freaked out and nothing really settles.

It turns out to be depressing because none of them are happy. It gets pretty obvious that some of them are *very* unhappy.
Even though you went with "compatable" fish there are just too many of them.

Hope this helps keep your fish happy.
[emoji4]

 

[eatbreakfast]

I’m looking for a clean up crew for algae and detritus that won’t turn into lunch for for snowflake eel.
My Clown tang and dwarf angels do a good job at most of the algae.
I’m thinking about a sea star of some type that won’t hassle my corals.
Thoughts?

What size tank?
Urchin, tigertail cukes, serpent or brittle stars.

Is there a rule of thumb for so many inches of fish per gallons of tank ?

No real rules. There are so many variables, metabolic rate, activity level, territoriality, interactions with tankmates, aquascape, flow, filtration, among others, that any attempts to make stocking rules is folly.

 

[MPS]

110Gal mixed reef. I've heard that urchins are notorious for moving coral around.

 

[eatbreakfast]

110Gal mixed reef. I've heard that urchins are notorious for moving coral around.

They can definitely move stuff around, but you are limited with what won't be eaten by a snowflake eel.

 

[MPS]

They can definitely move stuff around, but you are limited with what won't be eaten by a snowflake eel.

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the input.

 

[JonoB]

Ok guys, need some help. I have a 30 gallon long (48x12x12) reef tank. Right now, I have 2 black clowns, 1 firefish, 1 green clown goby, and then my CUC of a cleaner shrimp and a few snails. I want to add one more fish, do you think I could? And if so, what would be a good option. I was thinking a royal gramma but I'm not sure.

 

[mta_morrow]

Ok guys, need some help. I have a 30 gallon long (48x12x12) reef tank. Right now, I have 2 black clowns, 1 firefish, 1 green clown goby, and then my CUC of a cleaner shrimp and a few snails. I want to add one more fish, do you think I could? And if so, what would be a good option. I was thinking a royal gramma but I'm not sure.

A royal gramma is a great choice and given the tankmates, you will most likely see it and the firefish out and about most of the time. A watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair will work as well and give you a bottom dweller.

 

[Jmas4]

I was thinking of having a Pico tank with cool inverts that can't be in a display tank. This tank will be plumbed into my main display, so the problems of water quality will be negated. I was thinking of having zoas, acans, and leathers in the tank as well. Current stock list is 6 sexy shrimp, 3 pom pom crabs, a pair of bumblebee shrimp, 1 porcelain crab, 1 emperor shrimp and tiger sea cucumber pair.
Any issues with the stock? Any advice? How big will the tank need to be? Maybe fluval spec 5?

What are your thoughts of a harliquin shrimp? Do they only eat the tube of the star fish or the whole leg? I heard reports of both. Since they are messy eaters, if I have some nassarius snails will that help?