Sticking ideas for a 400 gallon mixed system

[btackerman]

God morning everyone, I entered into a contest and I had won a $650 gift certificate to liveaquaria. Super excited about this but at the same time I am not to sure on what to purchase. So I want some ideas and please note that my stocking list bellow have been together for a long time now and some will break the comparability rules and I have been very successful. I will also post a picture of the tank (6 FT x 4ft) and aquascaping and here is my stocking list:

Vlamingi tang
Regal tang
Stripped Bristol tooth tang
Moorish Idol
Annularus angelfish
Niger triggerfish
Male Coral cat shark
2 gold stripped maroon clownfish, very large
2 mandarin gobies
2 lyretail anthias female
Lawnmower blenny
Coral beauty angelfish
Bird wrasse

Any other ideas of what I can include except for a yellow tang?

 

[Wannabereefvet]

God morning everyone, I entered into a contest and I had won a $650 gift certificate to liveaquaria. Super excited about this but at the same time I am not to sure on what to purchase. So I want some ideas and please note that my stocking list bellow have been together for a long time now and some will break the comparability rules and I have been very successful. I will also post a picture of the tank (6 FT x 4ft) and aquascaping and here is my stocking list:

Vlamingi tang
Regal tang
Stripped Bristol tooth tang
Moorish Idol
Annularus angelfish
Niger triggerfish
Male Coral cat shark
2 gold stripped maroon clownfish, very large
2 mandarin gobies
2 lyretail anthias female
Lawnmower blenny
Coral beauty angelfish
Bird wrasse

Any other ideas of what I can include except for a yellow tang?

Since your list does not care about the lives of innocent invertebrates I would go with an Australian harlequin tusk lol. I’ve had mine in QT for about two months, I got him from live aquaria and tbh he wasn’t the healthiest fish when he arrived (which is partly FedEx’s fault, but also live aquarias) but once I got him eating he made progress quickly and continues to. He has quickly become one of my favorite fish.

Generally I feel like live aquaria are hit or miss. Either I get an excellent quality fish (like my copperband butterfly), or the fish comes to my door and I end up having to treat them for months. (Which I don’t mind, so I still go to them)

Shark wise, I would change species. Coral cat sharks are great because of how they swim around etc. but they just get really long and might make your tank seem crowded. An epaulette will also swim around at feeding time once they get used to you. They don’t get too long, and they’re good looking. They’ll eat out of your hand no problem if you train them to.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Squirrelfish! Dude you cant go wrong. Lol. These guys are SO kool!
D

 

[btackerman]

Since your list does not care about the lives of innocent invertebrates I would go with an Australian harlequin tusk lol. I’ve had mine in QT for about two months, I got him from live aquaria and tbh he wasn’t the healthiest fish when he arrived (which is partly FedEx’s fault, but also live aquarias) but once I got him eating he made progress quickly and continues to. He has quickly become one of my favorite fish.

Generally I feel like live aquaria are hit or miss. Either I get an excellent quality fish (like my copperband butterfly), or the fish comes to my door and I end up having to treat them for months. (Which I don’t mind, so I still go to them)

Shark wise, I would change species. Coral cat sharks are great because of how they swim around etc. but they just get really long and might make your tank seem crowded. An epaulette will also swim around at feeding time once they get used to you. They don’t get too long, and they’re good looking. They’ll eat out of your hand no problem if you train them to.

I would love to have a epaulette but my only concern is don’t they get to be 4 ft. I also do not know if I can trust one being mailed and surviving for $800. If it was guaranteed then yes but I know they are not.

I only have a starfish in the tank as a clean up crew so not concerned about that. And I do harlequin tusk but I had one about 15 years ago who ate almost all of my fish

 

[Wannabereefvet]

I would love to have a epaulette but my only concern is don’t they get to be 4 ft. I also do not know if I can trust one being mailed and surviving for $800. If it was guaranteed then yes but I know they are not.

I only have a starfish in the tank as a clean up crew so not concerned about that. And I do harlequin tusk but I had one about 15 years ago who ate almost all of my fish

Epaulettes stay around 2ft, maybe some hit 3 but I’ve never seen one bigger than 2.5ft.

you can try looking around online for someone trying to get rid of one, a lot of people don’t realize what they’re getting into with sharks.

As for the tusk, sorry for bringing it up then. That’s a brutal loss. I’ve heard of tomato clowns doing that too.

A fish I really like is my orange spot rabbit fish. He’s an absolute pig, super hardy, good looking, changes colors based on his mood and has a lot of personality. They’re not hard to find and they’re peaceful

 

[btackerman]

So I think I am going to take a risk lol, I was thinking about ordering 1 purple tang, 2 sailfin tangs, 1 powder blue tang and a fox face and not one would be under 5”. What do you guys think?

 

[Zionas]

IMO 1 Purple, 1 Yellow / Gem, and 1 Sailfin.

The rest looks okay.

 

[btackerman]

IMO 1 Purple, 1 Yellow / Gem, and 1 Sailfin.

The rest looks okay.

I just have a hard time spending the money on a yellow when literally a year ago I saw one for $30. I think it is sad a large purple can sell for $200 and a small yellow is closer to 6

 

[Zionas]

Yeah forgot about the ban. I think you could give 2 Sailfins a try.

 

[btackerman]

So I got my fish in today and unfortunately my foxface did not make it through shipping but everyone else acclimated great. I left for a few hours and when I got back one of my sailfins fins are all torn up. I thought at fist it was the purple and just out of nowhere my regal and vlamingi started showing signs of extreme aggression. I only have the lights on for feeding but what else should I do to limit the aggression. Also will the fins on tangs grow back

 

[Zionas]

They will. Just keep a stable tank and feed them well. Sorry to hear you’re having trouble and this is in a 400 gallon. Sorry to hear the Foxface didn’t make it through shipping. Was it delayed,

 

[btackerman]

They will. Just keep a stable tank and feed them well. Sorry to hear you’re having trouble and this is in a 400 gallon. Sorry to hear the Foxface didn’t make it through shipping. Was it delayed,

It was a little delayed but at least they are giving me the credit for him and yes this is in a 400 gallon. I figured 4 4-5” long tangs and a shark in a 40 breeder was a bad idea. The only one doing great with no damage is the powder blue. The purple has some damage but I am not sure why the sailfins are the ones getting bullied