Stocking Ideas for 86 gal (326L)?

[sophohno]

My husband and I are getting our first marine tank and are trying to figure out what we eventually want to stock it with so we can prepare properly. The display tank is 120W x 55D x 53H cm and is 326L (~86gal) and we have a sump. We're planning to keep coral and do a mixed reef setup.

My husband wants to get an eel but we're concerned about them eating smaller fish. We think an engineer goby (or a pair of them) would be a safer substitute but I can't find a lot of info on exactly how big a tank should be to house a pair comfortably for their life.

Things we definitely want:
* 2 ocellaris clownfish + an anemone
* 1 blenny (not sure exactly what kind yet)
* 2 fire shrimp
* 1 tuxedo urchin
* either two engineer gobies (if they will fit) or a pistol shrimp + shrimp goby pair (I figured we can't do these + the engineer gobies due to them both burrowing)

Other things we're considering but not sure if we have space to add in addition to what we definitely want:
* 1 royal gramma basslet
* 1 fairy or flasher wrasse (would want a relatively peaceful one)
* 1 clown goby
* 1 flame or longnose hawkfish
* 1 tomini or kole tang
* some sort of snails / conches

Would appreciate any insight on what will work and what won't. Also any other suggestions are appreciated! We don't want to overstock the tank.

 

[fishywishy]

You won’t be overstocked, and everything on your list looks fine except for a few things:

While two engineer gobies could fit, I’d recommend getting just one or maybe skipping the goby altogether, as they require a very deep sand bed and can sometimes disrupt or collapse rockwork with their burrowing.

Hawkfish are known to sometimes go after cleaner shrimp, so although it doesn’t always happen, it’s a risk to consider.

Hold off on adding an anemone until your tank is more established.

Midas, forktail, and bicolor blennies are all good options.

 

[crabgrass]

Others will say fbis, but Tang last

 

[sophohno]

You won’t be overstocked, and everything on your list looks fine except for a few things:

While two engineer gobies could fit, I’d recommend getting just one or maybe skipping the goby altogether, as they require a very deep sand bed and can sometimes disrupt or collapse rockwork with their burrowing.

Hawkfish are known to sometimes go after cleaner shrimp, so although it doesn’t always happen, it’s a risk to consider.

Hold off on adding an anemone until your tank is more established.

Midas, forktail, and bicolor blennies are all good options.

Thanks! Have heard from others to maybe only consider the one engineer goby. My husband is set on at least one if we have the room for it. So think we'll have a think about how to best set up the tank so the rock work is stable and there's a deep enough sandbed for it to burrow in!

Really like the look of the Midas blenny so thanks for the suggestion!

 

[littlefoxx]

I loved my engineer goby. I lost her to a cucumber that nuked my tank. She would throw sand all over, so make sure you dont have any corals that need to go low or on the sandbed and that your rocks are on the glass and secure cause they will tunnel under them. I personally dont see an issue with two in your tank but only thing to consider is two means more sand thrown everywhere.

 

[Gjedde]

For blenny its hard to go wrong with a tailspot. We love ours. Also have a citron clown goby and a longnose hawkfish. They get along in our 56 gallon just fine.

 

[sophohno]

I loved my engineer goby. I lost her to a cucumber that nuked my tank. She would throw sand all over, so make sure you dont have any corals that need to go low or on the sandbed and that your rocks are on the glass and secure cause they will tunnel under them. I personally dont see an issue with two in your tank but only thing to consider is two means more sand thrown everywhere.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah I've read a lot about them shifting sand all over the place. Husband is definitely keen for them so we'll make sure to secure the rocks and have them on the glass when we set the scape up. Thanks :)

 

[sophohno]

For blenny its hard to go wrong with a tailspot. We love ours. Also have a citron clown goby and a longnose hawkfish. They get along in our 56 gallon just fine.

Just looked the tail spot blenny up and I really like the look of them! Thanks for the recommendation. Good to hear that a clown goby and hawkfish might work well with one too!

 

[AmazingYocool]

My husband and I are getting our first marine tank and are trying to figure out what we eventually want to stock it with so we can prepare properly. The display tank is 120W x 55D x 53H cm and is 326L (~86gal) and we have a sump. We're planning to keep coral and do a mixed reef setup.

My husband wants to get an eel but we're concerned about them eating smaller fish. We think an engineer goby (or a pair of them) would be a safer substitute but I can't find a lot of info on exactly how big a tank should be to house a pair comfortably for their life.

Things we definitely want:
* 2 ocellaris clownfish + an anemone
* 1 blenny (not sure exactly what kind yet)
* 2 fire shrimp
* 1 tuxedo urchin
* either two engineer gobies (if they will fit) or a pistol shrimp + shrimp goby pair (I figured we can't do these + the engineer gobies due to them both burrowing)

Other things we're considering but not sure if we have space to add in addition to what we definitely want:
* 1 royal gramma basslet
* 1 fairy or flasher wrasse (would want a relatively peaceful one)
* 1 clown goby
* 1 flame or longnose hawkfish
* 1 tomini or kole tang
* some sort of snails / conches

Would appreciate any insight on what will work and what won't. Also any other suggestions are appreciated! We don't want to overstock the tank.

everything looks good! make sure u got a good sandbed for the engineer gobies and add the more aggressive stuff last (gramma, hawkfish, tang) and you should be good!