Stocking Advice for 65g DT (90g total system)

Luananeko

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System info:
65g DT w/ DSB
4.7g HOB Refugium w/ RDSB
30g Sump/Refugium combo
130lbs of LR

Current stock:
1 Firefish
1 Green Mandarin (captive bred)
3 sea urchins
2 cucumbers
Random hermits/snails
Mostly FOWLR, but I have a few zoas, a mushroom, and a Green Star Polyp colony.

I've had my tank up and running since October 2018, but honestly I haven't been able to do much with it for the vast majority of that time (due to a variety of reasons). Long story short, I started with a Firefish and Tiger Watchman Goby but the goby managed to escape what I thought was an escape proof top (surfed up the HOB refugium spillway and then leapt sideways off onto the carpet in the middle of the night). Since most of my planned stock list was jumpers (wrasses plus the goby), I didn't want to add any more until made the top COMPLETELY escape proof. I was dealing with being a new mom (my first) at the time, so the tank sat idle other than water changes/maintenance for a year due to a combo of not having time or mental bandwidth to attempt to McGuyver a solution for the HOB spillway. After a year, I realized the tank could probably support a Mandarin, so I added a pair, and lost the female immediately (she didn't make it through the drip acclimation, so I suspect either the shipping stresses were too much or I messed up the acclimation process somehow due to my inexperience). Thankfully the male made it! But still, cue more paranoia at adding anything more, plus the fact that I still hadn't fixed the escape routes in the top, and the tank has sat idle for another year. The male mandarin has continued to thrive and is a happy, fat 1.5" long, and my daughter is old enough now that I'm not quite so overwhelmed. Now that I have more time to spare for the tank I want to revisit my stocking plan so I have motivation to get through the mental block about fixing the top to be escape proof.

Current tentative stock list plan:
1 Firefish (in already)
1 Mandarin (in already)
1 Tiger Watchman Goby
1 Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse (C. Isosceles)
1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse (P. Mccoskeri)
1 Blue Flasher Wrasse (P. Cyaneus)
1 Exquisite Fairy Wrasse (C. Exquisitus)
1 Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse (C. Rhomboidalis)
1 Saddle Valenti Puffer

I know depending on the Puffer's personality I might not be able to keep much of a CUC. Would a Lawnmower Blenny fit too, or would I need to drop a wrasse to fit it? What do you guys think?
 

PBnJOnWheat

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System info:
65g DT w/ DSB
4.7g HOB Refugium w/ RDSB
30g Sump/Refugium combo
130lbs of LR

Current stock:
1 Firefish
1 Green Mandarin (captive bred)
3 sea urchins
2 cucumbers
Random hermits/snails
Mostly FOWLR, but I have a few zoas, a mushroom, and a Green Star Polyp colony.

I've had my tank up and running since October 2018, but honestly I haven't been able to do much with it for the vast majority of that time (due to a variety of reasons). Long story short, I started with a Firefish and Tiger Watchman Goby but the goby managed to escape what I thought was an escape proof top (surfed up the HOB refugium spillway and then leapt sideways off onto the carpet in the middle of the night). Since most of my planned stock list was jumpers (wrasses plus the goby), I didn't want to add any more until made the top COMPLETELY escape proof. I was dealing with being a new mom (my first) at the time, so the tank sat idle other than water changes/maintenance for a year due to a combo of not having time or mental bandwidth to attempt to McGuyver a solution for the HOB spillway. After a year, I realized the tank could probably support a Mandarin, so I added a pair, and lost the female immediately (she didn't make it through the drip acclimation, so I suspect either the shipping stresses were too much or I messed up the acclimation process somehow due to my inexperience). Thankfully the male made it! But still, cue more paranoia at adding anything more, plus the fact that I still hadn't fixed the escape routes in the top, and the tank has sat idle for another year. The male mandarin has continued to thrive and is a happy, fat 1.5" long, and my daughter is old enough now that I'm not quite so overwhelmed. Now that I have more time to spare for the tank I want to revisit my stocking plan so I have motivation to get through the mental block about fixing the top to be escape proof.

Current tentative stock list plan:
1 Firefish (in already)
1 Mandarin (in already)
1 Tiger Watchman Goby
1 Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse (C. Isosceles)
1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse (P. Mccoskeri)
1 Blue Flasher Wrasse (P. Cyaneus)
1 Exquisite Fairy Wrasse (C. Exquisitus)
1 Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse (C. Rhomboidalis)
1 Saddle Valenti Puffer

I know depending on the Puffer's personality I might not be able to keep much of a CUC. Would a Lawnmower Blenny fit too, or would I need to drop a wrasse to fit it? What do you guys think?
Personally, I love wrasse and tangs. I would potentially add a tang of your choice and some wrasse. Puffers are also super flavorful in that they have great personality (from my experience). Wrasse are pretty efficient and super colorful addition! Depending on the type may or may not need sand for late night diving! Your list works super well I think smaller fish also have some good flavors to add to the mix. I’ve also kept a bunch of wrasse together and they don’t hardly fight, especially amongst other fish! I think the plan is a go for me :)
 

Zionas

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I’m going to break it down for you (looking at your tentative wish list):

1. Tiger Watchman Goby- Sand sifter, hard to maintain even if they eat prepared foods. Many never do. It seems a lot of times people just don’t have the nutrients to maintain them in our closed systems.


2. Pintail Fairy Wrasse- That’s a beautiful one. I say go for it!


3. McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse- Yes.


4. Blue Flasher Wrasse- Not sure how well Flasher Wrasses mix, best to contact a member called evolved, he’s our resident wrasse expert. However if I remember correctly 2 Flashers should be fine. They will both turn male and you may see them engaging in competitive “flashing” displays.


5. Exquisite Fairy Wrasse- Again, contact evolved to see if this combo of Fairy Wrasses (Exquisite and Isoceles) will work. He has a chart for that.


6. Golden Rhomboid Fairy Wrasse- As above. Beautiful fish though.


7. Saddle Valentini Puffer- Same as you, I’ve debated a long time about whether to keep one, I know some people have had success but others say theirs ate corals and took out invertebrates. If you’re willing to take the risk, they’re really darn cute lol. I’d ask for more experiences.



You’re at about maximum for your tank if you get all these fish in.

Personally I’d replace the Tiger Watchman with a shrimp and goby combo.
 

Zionas

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I’m going to break it down for you (looking at your tentative wish list):

1. Tiger Watchman Goby- Sand sifter, hard to maintain even if they eat prepared foods. Many never do. It seems a lot of times people just don’t have the nutrients to maintain them in our closed systems.


2. Pintail Fairy Wrasse- That’s a beautiful one. I say go for it!


3. McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse- Yes.


4. Blue Flasher Wrasse- Not sure how well Flasher Wrasses mix, best to contact a member called evolved, he’s our resident wrasse expert. However if I remember correctly 2 Flashers should be fine. They will both turn male and you may see them engaging in competitive “flashing” displays.


5. Exquisite Fairy Wrasse- Again, contact evolved to see if this combo of Fairy Wrasses (Exquisite and Isoceles) will work. He has a chart for that.


6. Golden Rhomboid Fairy Wrasse- As above. Beautiful fish though.


7. Saddle Valentini Puffer- Same as you, I’ve debated a long time about whether to keep one, I know some people have had success but others say theirs ate corals and took out invertebrates. If you’re willing to take the risk, they’re really darn cute lol. I’d ask for more experiences.



You’re at about maximum for your tank if you get all these fish in.

Personally I’d replace the Tiger Watchman with a shrimp and goby combo.


In the “Fish Discussion” section look for guides written by a member called evolved. That’ll tell you what you need to know about wrasses. Also if you need more help maybe shoot him a PM.
 
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Luananeko

Luananeko

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Personally, I love wrasse and tangs. I would potentially add a tang of your choice and some wrasse. Puffers are also super flavorful in that they have great personality (from my experience). Wrasse are pretty efficient and super colorful addition! Depending on the type may or may not need sand for late night diving! Your list works super well I think smaller fish also have some good flavors to add to the mix. I’ve also kept a bunch of wrasse together and they don’t hardly fight, especially amongst other fish! I think the plan is a go for me :)
I don't know why, but Tangs don't really interest me much. If I grab an algae eating fish it would be a Lawnmower Blenny since they seem to have some fun personalities :)

I’m going to break it down for you (looking at your tentative wish list):

1. Tiger Watchman Goby- Sand sifter, hard to maintain even if they eat prepared foods. Many never do. It seems a lot of times people just don’t have the nutrients to maintain them in our closed systems.


2. Pintail Fairy Wrasse- That’s a beautiful one. I say go for it!


3. McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse- Yes.


4. Blue Flasher Wrasse- Not sure how well Flasher Wrasses mix, best to contact a member called evolved, he’s our resident wrasse expert. However if I remember correctly 2 Flashers should be fine. They will both turn male and you may see them engaging in competitive “flashing” displays.


5. Exquisite Fairy Wrasse- Again, contact evolved to see if this combo of Fairy Wrasses (Exquisite and Isoceles) will work. He has a chart for that.


6. Golden Rhomboid Fairy Wrasse- As above. Beautiful fish though.


7. Saddle Valentini Puffer- Same as you, I’ve debated a long time about whether to keep one, I know some people have had success but others say theirs ate corals and took out invertebrates. If you’re willing to take the risk, they’re really darn cute lol. I’d ask for more experiences.



You’re at about maximum for your tank if you get all these fish in.

Personally I’d replace the Tiger Watchman with a shrimp and goby combo.
Yeah, I know the puffers can be hit or miss. I'm not super attached to the corals or inverts, so I'm willing to risk them. All of my corals were itty bity $10 frags at my LFS that I added just to see how they'd do, and the inverts were all hitchhikers on the LR.

I LOVE all of Evolved's stuff about wrasse compatibility. I've read all of it, and the lion's share of the hundreds of pages on the Wrasse sticky thread. I ran this combo by the experts there back when I was first planning this tank actually :)

Oh wow, I didn't know that about the Tiger Watchman. Thanks for the heads up! Maybe I'll just swap it for the Lawnmower Blenny and not worry about a goby... Unless having one is really important with the potential lack of CUC?
 

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Great! And no, I don’t like a Goby contributes much to the CuC if at all. You might want to look for a Starry Blenny, IMO they look even better than the Lawnmower Blennies. :)

I’m glad you did your research regarding the wrasses. I think you have a great list. Now, to go ahead and get all the fish!
 
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Luananeko

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Great! And no, I don’t like a Goby contributes much to the CuC if at all. You might want to look for a Starry Blenny, IMO they look even better than the Lawnmower Blennies. :)

I’m glad you did your research regarding the wrasses. I think you have a great list. Now, to go ahead and get all the fish!

Oooo, good call, Starry Blenny looks gorgeous :D Are most similar sized Blennies about equal in how much algae they eat? Lawnmower ones always seem to be the go-to one everyone recommends for algae control (of the Blennies at least) when snails/crabs aren't likely to survive, so I just assumed I should stick to that one.
 

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