Stocking assistance please

[Jonathan Troutt]

Hey guys/gals, i finally got my 75 up and running. I just got through with the upgrade from a 40breeder to this 75. During the upgrade i had a hiccup and had to take all of my livestock to my local store.

So now i have a clean slate and figured i would ask for some help.

The tank will be a mixed tank. I just enjoy some lps too much to go all sps, but i gotta have me some sticks as well.

So i want some kind of dwarf angel something striking. Was thinking a Flame, yes i know they can be nippy with lps. Ive read if you keep them fed it help mitigate the issue.

I would like some kind of tang as well. I dont like the kole tang.The yellows are ok and of course the kids love the blue hippos. Either of these and i would have to trade them in when they get to be adults. Well maybe not the yellow but for sure the hippo.

Copperbanded butterfly maybe?

Some kind of wrasse maybe a naoko?

Anthia because they beautiful.

Wife will require me to have a royal gramma. Thats one of her favorite fish.

Im thinking hard about clowns. Kids love em but the things are total butt HOLES!! I used to like em till i owned em for a while. Mean little things. So this is a maybe. I feel like you cannot have a reef without some kind of clowns. I really like the maroon clowns but i here they are even more aggressive than the ocellaris.

Once my pod population becomes established again i will be getting another mandarin. I had a target spot and they are just cool fish. So that is a staple.

There it is. Ideas? Help me think this through and come up with a good list.

The only have to haves are a mandarin down the road and a royal gramma. Thanks in advance those this community!

Oh and the tank isnt done filling up yet.

 

[Angel_Anthias lover]

A yellow tang or a blue tang could work but, would your children be ok with having to give it up?
A copperband does get quite big and i dont think it could work in the long run, maybe a prognathodes aculeatus instead?

Marroons are very agressive and if you want clowns youre best going with some small perculas.

Any wrasse you like should be fine just make sure theyare all compatible.
Smaller anthias will be good too like dispars and ignitus or rarer ones if you like such as randalls and resplendens.

A school of damsels would be nice from the genus chrysiptera, a geometric pygmy perchlet, fang blennies, prawn gobies are all interesting additions

 

[Mark Novack]

The Hepatus isn't really optional is it? No other blue like it save for Cherenkov radiation. Get a 2" specimen and you'll be fine for many years before it gets too big. 75 gallon is not that small a tank.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

The Hepatus isn't really optional is it? No other blue like it save for Cherenkov radiation. Get a 2" specimen and you'll be fine for many years before it gets too big. 75 gallon is not that small a tank.

That's how I was thinking. Get them small and let them grow. By the time they get too big I may be ready for another upgrade but if not my local store would swap me and prolly even QT the replacement for me as well. I still got a bit before fish go in which is why I wanted to start planning.

I like the idea of a school of smaller fish. Banggai's have always caught my eye as well. But anthias are very striking. Something like the pictilis or bali lunate although the get bigger than the bartletts which I also find very beautiful

 

[BestMomEver]

Tomini tang.... cool fish. Also, I have a Pygmy (cherub) angel. Not as flashy as a flame but he behaves himself. I like him. I had a Naoko Fairy Wrasse. He may be living in my overflow. I can’t find him and the same day he went missing, I found my six line in my filter sock. You could get a six line. Mine is a great fish. I’ve had him for a few years and he’s never bothered anyone. I have a breeding pair of Clarkii clowns. They are only aggressive when someone comes too close to the nest. They are nearly full grown too. They allow my sunrise dottyback to live under the adjacent rocket so they’re not all bad.

Good luck and congrats on the new tank!

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Tomini tang.... cool fish. Also, I have a Pygmy (cherub) angel. Not as flashy as a flame but he behaves himself. I like him. I had a Naoko Fairy Wrasse. He may be living in my overflow. I can’t find him and the same day he went missing, I found my six line in my filter sock. You could get a six line. Mine is a great fish. I’ve had him for a few years and he’s never bothered anyone. I have a breeding pair of Clarkii clowns. They are only aggressive when someone comes too close to the nest. They are nearly full grown too. They allow my sunrise dottyback to live under the adjacent rocket so they’re not all bad.

Good luck and congrats on the new tank!

I had a six line in my 40breeder. It wasn't a bad fish was just wanting something different this time if that makes sense. My brother has a pair of Solomon island Clarkii clowns. They are mean as all get out.. lol He had to remove his lawnmower because they wouldnt leave it alone.

 

[Westside Guy]

Im thinking hard about clowns. Kids love em but the things are total *** HOLES!! I used to like em till i owned em for a while. Mean little things. So this is a maybe. I feel like you cannot have a reef without some kind of clowns. I really like the maroon clowns but i here they are even more aggressive than the ocellaris.

I love my clowns and in my opinion for a tank your size they are a must!
You are correct about the maroons so I would consider either a pair of Gladiators or Picassos. I have paired Gladiators from ORA that arrived extremely healthy at my LFS and I brought them straight home in their original shipping bags as soon as they arrived.

ORA Gladiator

ORA Picasso

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

I love my clowns and in my opinion for a tank your size they are a must!
You are correct about the maroons so I would consider either a pair of Gladiators or Picassos. I have paired Gladiators from ORA that arrived extremely healthy at my LFS and I brought them straight home in their original shipping bags as soon as they arrived.

You know some designer clowns sound like just the ticket vs regular. I was really not wanting any regular clowns in this tank. I dont know why I forgot about designer clowns. Thank you for reminding me.

 

[Mark Novack]

Frankly, I'd just go Chromis Veridis. They school well, are not aggressive, and have no special demands. Plus, they shimmer. Anthias are gorgeous fish until the last one dies.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Another dwarf angel is the coral beauty. But any dwarf is capable of deciding that lps are lunch.

Siganus unimaculatus could be another direction over a butterfly or angel.

 

[Westside Guy]

ORA has a wide assortment of designer clowns and you should inquire at the LFS in your area if they purchase from them. You can also email them directly and ask if there is a LFS near you they ship to (that is what I did).
[email protected]

Not all are in production at the same time so you need to check on which are available. My two Gladiators were shipped and labelled as a "Pair" and they have been inseparable since the day they arrived.

ORA Clownfish | ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

ORA is the leader in captive bred clownfish. We sell the finest fish and have developed some of the most popular strains in the industry including the Picasso, Platinum, Black Ice, Spotcinctus, Domino and Midnight.

www.orafarm.com

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Frankly, I'd just go Chromis Veridis. They school well, are not aggressive, and have no special demands. Plus, they shimmer. Anthias are gorgeous fish until the last one dies.

What do you mean anthias are gorgeous until the last one dies?

ORA has a wide assortment of designer clowns and you should inquire at the LFS in your area if they purchase from them. You can also email them directly and ask if there is a LFS near you they ship to (that is what I did).
[email protected]

Not all are in production at the same time so you need to check on which are available. My two Gladiators were shipped and labelled as a "Pair" and they have been inseparable since the day they arrived.

ORA Clownfish | ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

ORA is the leader in captive bred clownfish. We sell the finest fish and have developed some of the most popular strains in the industry including the Picasso, Platinum, Black Ice, Spotcinctus, Domino and Midnight.

www.orafarm.com

Thank you for the info

 

[rkpetersen]

ORA Gladiator

ORA Picasso

Good example pics of the basic differences between ocellaris (top) and percula (bottom) clowns.
Thickness of black markings, color of the iris around the eye's pupil, shape and number of rays in the dorsal fin.

 

[rkpetersen]

What do you mean anthias are gorgeous until the last one dies?

They can be hard to keep. High energy fish, need to be eating constantly.
Some species will also bicker amongst themselves, stressing the weaker ones til they die.
Bartlett's anthias is particularly bad in this regard. Start with 8, wind up with 1 or 2 left 6 months later.

 

[Westside Guy]

Good example pics of the basic differences between ocellaris (top) and percula (bottom) clowns.
Thickness of black markings, color of the iris around the eye's pupil, shape and number of rays in the dorsal fin.

I was torn between the Gladiator and the Picasso and in the end my wife demanded that we get the Gladiators.
She was right, they look beautiful in our tank!

 

[BestMomEver]

Frankly, I'd just go Chromis Veridis. They school well, are not aggressive, and have no special demands. Plus, they shimmer. Anthias are gorgeous fish until the last one dies.

Green chromis are great fish but the same can apply to them as does anthias.... you’ll start with a bunch and end up with a few. They’re peaceful with everyone except amongst themselves. I had eight and now have three.

I had a six line in my 40breeder. It wasn't a bad fish was just wanting something different this time if that makes sense. My brother has a pair of Solomon island Clarkii clowns. They are mean as all get out.. lol He had to remove his lawnmower because they wouldnt leave it alone.

My Clarkii are really only aggressive towards me. Sometimes I have to reach in to right a lps that’s fallen over and if I’m too close to their nest, they’ll bite me.

If you like butterflies, look into the pyramid species. Very beautiful and reef safe. They are planktavores, not coralavores.