Plans for my first reef aquarium. Would appreciate advice

[Numenor]

After having multiple freshwater tanks in the last years, I decided to take the next step and start a reef tank and join this community.
Having researched all individual fish, it seems to me that they are compatible, but I would appreciate your insight.

Taking all necessary steps regarding set-up and cycling, I am considering the following for a 80 gallon tank with sand substrate and live rock:

Start after fully cycled tank (first six months):
Engineer Goby x1
Clownfish x2
Hermit crabs x2
Blue green chromis small school
Dragon tongue algae

Additions after (six months+)
Cowfish x1 (Removed)
Copper banded butterfly x1 (Removed)
Mandarin fish x1
Torch coral
Sand sifting starfish
Foxface rabbitfish x1

Optional addition after 1 year:
Pinnatus batfish x1 (Removed)
Sea urchin x1

Once again, appreciate any advice on this list or alternatives.

 

[fishski13]

So to be honest, the stocking list has me concerned since you are a newbie in the saltwater world. The first batch is perfectly normal and sounds good. However the second batch has the cowfish which under stress releases chemicals in the water killing your entire stocking. This fish is often for the experts of the hobby we go through many precautions to get it the best environment. Next the copper band butterfly is also a fish that is hard to keep and since you are a newbie I would stay away for a little while until conditions and feeding is optimal. This fish is very hard to get to eat. Lastly the pinnatus batfish grows very big around 1 and half feet and is also hard to keep. They are also very hard to find. Unless you are upgrading on size around 150 gallon plus, the batfish would not be a good addition.

Personally, as a newbie you should stay away from all these fish and stick to the known and trusted fish that will be right for you tank and you can have sway room for any mistakes you make along the way. Look into dwarf angelfish, small tangs (like bristletooth), or foxface, if you want to get a bigger showcase fish in there. For other fish, all gobies are simple to care for and very good for beginners.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm definitely not an expert on tank stocking just yet, so I'll let others deal with most of your list, but I will say, long term at least, the Pinnatus batfish will outgrow your tank - they get pretty big and abnormally tall, so they really need a big tank (both height and lengthwise) to do well. Generally the minimum recommended seems to be about 200 gallons (and it's usually recommended to go with a 30"+ tall tank).

Other things to keep in mind:
>Cowfish (as mentioned above) can release toxins when stressed, so you want to be very careful with them.

>Mandarins have special dietary needs (some people can get them eating pellets and frozen food, but live pods are usually needed is my understanding).

>Some people have had mixed results with schooling fish - recommendations I've seen include keeping odd numbers (3, 5, 7, etc.) and keeping large numbers (like 9-11+ fish) for schooling. I've also heard that you need to make sure you're getting Chromis viridis (one of like three species commonly known as blue green chromis) for them to not kill each other off.

>Sand sifting starfish (and pretty much all other kinds of starfish too) usually starve in captivity - you might be able to target feed it with things like clam on half shell, oyster, mussel, snail, whelk or conch meat (a lot of places offer these frozen), a good quality omnivore food (like LRS Reef Frenzy) etc. It should swallow any of these foods whole, as long as the food isn’t too big for the star. They generally feed on detritus in our tanks, but target feeding might provide enough of the proper nutrition for them, and these are supposed to be some of the kinds of food they eat in the wild anyway.

>The urchin might eat the dragon tongue algae (I'm not entirely sure).

 

[Numenor]

So to be honest, the stocking list has me concerned since you are a newbie in the saltwater world. The first batch is perfectly normal and sounds good. However the second batch has the cowfish which under stress releases chemicals in the water killing your entire stocking. This fish is often for the experts of the hobby we go through many precautions to get it the best environment. Next the copper band butterfly is also a fish that is hard to keep and since you are a newbie I would stay away for a little while until conditions and feeding is optimal. This fish is very hard to get to eat. Lastly the pinnatus batfish grows very big around 1 and half feet and is also hard to keep. They are also very hard to find. Unless you are upgrading on size around 150 gallon plus, the batfish would not be a good addition.

Personally, as a newbie you should stay away from all these fish and stick to the known and trusted fish that will be right for you tank and you can have sway room for any mistakes you make along the way. Look into dwarf angelfish, small tangs (like bristletooth), or foxface, if you want to get a bigger showcase fish in there. For other fish, all gobies are simple to care for and very good for beginners.

Thanks for taking the time to provide me with feedback.

I agree that the difficulty level of the cowfish, copperband and pinnatus batfish is concerning and I will look into different fish.

I will take my time with learning from the first batch and see how things develop.

 

[vetteguy53081]

After having multiple freshwater tanks in the last years, I decided to take the next step and start a reef tank and join this community.
Having researched all individual fish, it seems to me that they are compatible, but I would appreciate your insight.

Taking all necessary steps regarding set-up and cycling, I am considering the following for a 80 gallon tank with sand substrate and live rock:

Start after fully cycled tank (first six months):
Engineer Goby x1
Clownfish x2
Hermit crabs x2
Blue green chromis small school
Dragon tongue algae

Additions after (six months+)
Cowfish x1
Copper banded butterfly x1
Mandarin fish x1
Torch coral
Sand sifting starfish

Optional addition after 1 year:
Pinnatus batfish x1
Sea urchin x1

Once again, appreciate any advice

Avoid cowfish and assure for mandarin you have built a large supply of copepods in the tank. Cowfish as neat as they are will eventually stop eating, eyes get sunken in and one day you find it on the bottom listless. Ive seen too many do this over the last 3 decades

 

[Numenor]

I'm definitely not an expert on tank stocking just yet, so I'll let others deal with most of your list, but I will say, long term at least, the Pinnatus batfish will outgrow your tank - they get pretty big and abnormally tall, so they really need a big tank (both height and lengthwise) to do well. Generally the minimum recommended seems to be about 200 gallons (and it's usually recommended to go with a 30"+ tall tank).

Other things to keep in mind:
>Cowfish (as mentioned above) can release toxins when stressed, so you want to be very careful with them.

>Mandarins have special dietary needs (some people can get them eating pellets and frozen food, but live pods are usually needed is my understanding).

>Some people have had mixed results with schooling fish - recommendations I've seen include keeping odd numbers (3, 5, 7, etc.) and keeping large numbers (like 9-11+ fish) for schooling. I've also heard that you need to make sure you're getting Chromis viridis (one of like three species commonly known as blue green chromis) for them to not kill each other off.

>Sand sifting starfish (and pretty much all other kinds of starfish too) usually starve in captivity - you might be able to target feed it with things like clam on half shell, oyster, mussel, snail, whelk or conch meat (a lot of places offer these frozen), a good quality omnivore food (like LRS Reef Frenzy) etc. It should swallow any of these foods whole, as long as the food isn’t too big for the star. They generally feed on detritus in our tanks, but target feeding might provide enough of the proper nutrition for them, and these are supposed to be some of the kinds of food they eat in the wild anyway.

>The urchin might eat the dragon tongue algae (I'm not entirely sure).

Thank you for your reply.
For a "non-expert" your input was very useful.

Mandarins are tricky eaters from what I saw, but it's hard to resist those colors. So I will need to do more research to ensure it has a good life.

Real shame that starfish usually starve. I read that some starfish can be handfed to ensure they eat enough.

 

[Numenor]

Avoid cowfish and assure for mandarin you have built a large supply of copepods in the tank. Cowfish as neat as they are will eventually stop eating, eyes get sunken in and one day you find it on the bottom listless. Ive seen too many do this over the last 3 decades

Cowfish seem too ambitious as a beginner. Thanks for the reply!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you for your reply.
For a "non-expert" your input was very useful.

Mandarins are tricky eaters from what I saw, but it's hard to resist those colors. So I will need to do more research to ensure it has a good life.

Real shame that starfish usually starve. I read that some starfish can be handfed to ensure they eat enough.

Yeah, some starfish can be force-fed, but they don't usually get the nutrition they need. It is a pity.