Need some advice - 150 gallon stocking questions

[Amstar]

150 gallon 6 foot long mixed reef tank - 125 gallon sump - dose 2 part and phyto - feed several forks a day via avast marine plank auto feeder -also been pumping up my pods with Dinkins aquatics - several gallons worth spread out so far

Current stocking list:
6 green chromis (thought they wouldn’t thinned the herd by now)
Panda clownfish
2 banggai cardinals (small )
Leopard wrasse
Timor wrasse
Melanarus wrasse
Orange back fair wrasse

Future ideas:
Yellow watchman and pistol shrimp (from another tank)
Diamond goby (not sure about this with the Yellow watchman )
2 tangs - bristle and …? (Any ideas) maybe a mustard tang
Mandarin
Midas blenny

To much?

 

[Tamberav]

I have the same size tank but I wouldn’t put something as large as a mustard tang in it.

For “bigger” fish, I went with a yellow tang, foxface, and plan on a regal angel.

A mandarin may not work. I can never keep pods up with the sand sleeping wrasses even in a tank that size. They are ruthless hunters.

My bullet goby and Randal’s goby do fight a but it has worked itself out since the foot print is so large with a lot of rock.

 

[Amstar]

Agree the amount of pods I am going to need is going to be alot- mandarin will be last IF I think I can keep a good pod population for the wrasses and the mandarin -

I cultivate my own phyto might have to get into the pod cultivation.

 

[Amstar]

bump -suggestions?

thinking about moving the pistol and yellow watchman over today - but I do not have the diamond yet. I do have a lot of sand dwelling corals (Scolys, and plates) so second guessing the diamonds goby

 

[Zionas]

In a 150, the following Tangs are ones that should be fine:

Zebrasoma
-Yellow (get a smaller CB one)
-Purple (get a smaller CB one)
-Scopas
-Gem (more $$)
-Black Longnose (the issue is they come in large, personally not a big fan of them, but if you want one get a small one, and more $$)

Ctenochaetus
-Tomini
-Squaretail
-White Tail
-Twin-Spot
-Another orange looking one (think Cyanocheilus or cf striatus, maybe both)

Smaller Acanthurus
-Japonicus (“Powder Brown”)
-Lavender
-Convict
-Lemonpeel / Half-Black / Eibli Mimic (Pyrofeus, Chronixis)

This is for Tangs.

And I love Angelfish more, no very big (“large-large” Angels) in a 150.

Consider:
-Majestic (get a small CB one)
-Flagfin
-Goldflake (get a small CB one)
-Regal (choice to get small CB one)
-Blue-Line (wait for small CB one from Poma Labs)
-“Black Poma” / “Grey Poma”
-Singapore
-Cream / Red Sea Cream (Xanthotis- usually only available CB from Poma Labs)
-Swallowtails (Genicanthus sp- consider a pair of CB Bellus from Proaquatix, or whenever Biota offers CB Melanospilos)
-Bandit (if you can shell out $$ and get a captive bred one)
-Griffis
-Tiger (cost $$ and get a small CB one from Poma Labs)

Almost all of the Pomacanthus and Holacanthus is unsuitable for a 150. You’ll mostly be sticking to the Angels more closely related genetically to Centropyge. Any Centropyge will fit in a 150. Apolemichthys and Genicanthus are technically embedded in the “dwarf Angel” tree.

Rabbitfish. Foxfaces. And some of the other smaller species.

Smaller fish like Basslets.

If up for the challenge, Copperband Butterfly (good luck). Some of the deepwater Roaps butterflies I like them too. Burgess and Mitratus are the more common ones, though still not cheap. Declivis is rarer and might need special order. Tinker’s unavailable because Hawai’i and I have never seen Flavocoronatus in the West, and currently Guam not available for collection.

Or a CB Lemon Butterfly from Biota would actually be my first choice for a butterfly.

Not really my thing, and the females not as pretty, but some people like the Bluethroat Triggers.

Marine Betta (wait for CB one from Biota).

Wrasses (a whole world of its own for many). I see you have 4 already so maybe you might want different fish.

Do you want fewer but bigger fish, or a few bigger fish and many smaller fish?

If availability and budget allow, get aquacultured stuff.

 

[Amstar]

In a 150, the following Tangs are ones that should be fine:

Zebrasoma
-Yellow (get a smaller CB one)
-Purple (get a smaller CB one)
-Scopas
-Gem (more $$)
-Black Longnose (the issue is they come in large, personally not a big fan of them, but if you want one get a small one, and more $$)

Ctenochaetus
-Tomini
-Squaretail
-White Tail
-Twin-Spot
-Another orange looking one (think Cyanocheilus or cf striatus, maybe both)

Smaller Acanthurus
-Japonicus (“Powder Brown”)
-Lavender
-Convict
-Lemonpeel / Half-Black / Eibli Mimic (Pyrofeus, Chronixis)

This is for Tangs.

And I love Angelfish more, no very big (“large-large” Angels) in a 150.

Consider:
-Majestic (get a small CB one)
-Flagfin
-Goldflake (get a small CB one)
-Regal (choice to get small CB one)
-Blue-Line (wait for small CB one from Poma Labs)
-“Black Poma” / “Grey Poma”
-Singapore
-Cream / Red Sea Cream (Xanthotis- usually only available CB from Poma Labs)
-Swallowtails (Genicanthus sp- consider a pair of CB Bellus from Proaquatix, or whenever Biota offers CB Melanospilos)
-Bandit (if you can shell out $$ and get a captive bred one)
-Griffis
-Tiger (cost $$ and get a small CB one from Poma Labs)

Almost all of the Pomacanthus and Holacanthus is unsuitable for a 150. You’ll mostly be sticking to the Angels more closely related genetically to Centropyge. Any Centropyge will fit in a 150. Apolemichthys and Genicanthus are technically embedded in the “dwarf Angel” tree.

Rabbitfish. Foxfaces. And some of the other smaller species.

Smaller fish like Basslets.

If up for the challenge, Copperband Butterfly (good luck). Some of the deepwater Roaps butterflies I like them too. Burgess and Mitratus are the more common ones, though still not cheap. Declivis is rarer and might need special order. Tinker’s unavailable because Hawai’i and I have never seen Flavocoronatus in the West, and currently Guam not available for collection.

Or a CB Lemon Butterfly from Biota would actually be my first choice for a butterfly.

Not really my thing, and the females not as pretty, but some people like the Bluethroat Triggers.

Marine Betta (wait for CB one from Biota).

Wrasses (a whole world of its own for many). I see you have 4 already so maybe you might want different fish.

Do you want fewer but bigger fish, or a few bigger fish and many smaller fish?

If availability and budget allow, get aquacultured stuff.

Thank you for the detailed run down.

I am Leaning towards a few big fish and many smaller fish.- so probably a tommi /whitetail tang or a sailfin

I’m torn on a powder brown or blue as maybe a 3rd tang

Then not sure on the foxface if I got two/three tangs

 

[Zionas]

@Amstar That sounds like a good way. I think a 150 for a Powder Blue is dicey although others have done it for a long time. I think a Japonicus (Powder Brown) would be a better one for a 150. Or at least that seems to be the case. If you have 3 Tangs then I think that’s about your limit, so maybe best to not get the Foxface and overcrowd. A crowded tank with lots of big fish, unless a very, very big FOWLR, isn’t aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Amstar]

I am thinking I am going to go (From Dr Reef)
1) copper band butterfly fish
2) Powder Brown
3) then either yellow eye kole tang, Tommi tang or a a two spotted Bristletooth tang

thoughts?