Stocking ideas...

[Bars]

I've been binge watching reef documentaries for the last 2 weeks and I've become obsessed with achieving a more ''realistic'' look. Realistic as in what the documentaries show us. I'm sure that's not always what it looks like, but I do like the look. I've actually decided to sell all my larger fish and fish that will eventually outgrow the tank. They'll all be going to a larger tank. What I'll have left is a pink bar goby w/ pistol shrimp and a tailspot blenny. I'd love some harems and pairs. Maybe one solo fish. I'm not worried about nutrients.

For my eyecatcher I'd love a harem of dispar Anthias. 1 male with 3 or 4 females. From what I've been told they're a little smaller than lyretails and overall more friendly. I've seen them in a few different tanks and I feel like these could be a suitable option. That's about the only thing I'm really sure of. I love wrasses, but they're not something I'm looking for with this stocking. Open water swimmers like fairies and flashers take away from the Anthias imo. A radiant or some type of leopard wrasse could be on the nomination list for a solo fish, but... A dwarf angel would be a lovely solo fish too, although it's a risk. I've also found them (coral beauties at least...) to be fairly territorial. Perhaps a cherub angel is a good option? I still have a few fleshy lps corals left (an acan and 2 blastos) and some euphyllia. Otherwise I have mostly softies. On the other hand, a Halichoeres wrasse is great for pest control...

Some other fish that have crossed my mind (not all of them together of course);
- Royal gramma > 3 or 4? I've kept a solo gramma before and it didn't excite me at all. They are more fun in groups according to some though. Main concern with this one is that they'll get quite bulky. Perhaps something similar (as in: bright colors and friendliness towards other fish), but smaller?

- Clown/coral goby > a pair. I don't have sps in the tank, except for some monti caps, so not worried about them eating polyps. Adds a nice splash of yellow and they won't be so in your face like most fish.

- Possum wrasse > 2. Not hugely attracted to them though. Have never seen them in person though...

- Allen's damsel > 4? Seen these in person and they look really cool. According to some they're more peaceful than the usual damsels. However... They're damsels. I do think these would look great with the Anthias though!

- Azure damsel > 4? I currently have one and color wise, I love it. Initially I bought 2 of them and they never argued. However, it does have a small territory and I'm thinking 4 will be way too much if I want any sort of peace in the tank. If a group of these isn't an option, the one I still have will go to a new home as well.

- Green banded goby or shark nose goby > 5 or so? From what I've read they don't do well in pairs, but a group might be able to work.

- Fire fish goby > a pair. From what I've read they're shy and maybe a bit boring. I love the look of them and I can't help myself but look at them for half an hour whenever my LFS has a pair.

The ones that excite me the most from above list are the allen's damsel, the green banded/ shark nose goby and surprisingly the royal gramma. I just love the look of damsels and Anthias together. The gobies would be a great addition due to their size and color. Pretty colors, but tiny, so you'll have to look for them. The grammas add a great amount of color and perhaps I could get some breeding action going. In some way they remind me of freshwater cichlids and I loved those back in the day.

The tank's just short of 4' in length. 2' wide and 20'' tall. I have a very open scape with tons of hiding places and little swim throughs. Again nutrients aren't a concern. I only have to worry about available territories.

I'd love to get some ideas and opinions.

 

[i cant think]

I've been binge watching reef documentaries for the last 2 weeks and I've become obsessed with achieving a more ''realistic'' look. Realistic as in what the documentaries show us. I'm sure that's not always what it looks like, but I do like the look. I've actually decided to sell all my larger fish and fish that will eventually outgrow the tank. They'll all be going to a larger tank. What I'll have left is a pink bar goby w/ pistol shrimp and a tailspot blenny. I'd love some harems and pairs. Maybe one solo fish. I'm not worried about nutrients.

For my eyecatcher I'd love a harem of dispar Anthias. 1 male with 3 or 4 females. From what I've been told they're a little smaller than lyretails and overall more friendly. I've seen them in a few different tanks and I feel like these could be a suitable option. That's about the only thing I'm really sure of. I love wrasses, but they're not something I'm looking for with this stocking. Open water swimmers like fairies and flashers take away from the Anthias imo. A radiant or some type of leopard wrasse could be on the nomination list for a solo fish, but... A dwarf angel would be a lovely solo fish too, although it's a risk. I've also found them (coral beauties at least...) to be fairly territorial. Perhaps a cherub angel is a good option? I still have a few fleshy lps corals left (an acan and 2 blastos) and some euphyllia. Otherwise I have mostly softies. On the other hand, a Halichoeres wrasse is great for pest control...

Some other fish that have crossed my mind (not all of them together of course);
- Royal gramma > 3 or 4? I've kept a solo gramma before and it didn't excite me at all. They are more fun in groups according to some though. Main concern with this one is that they'll get quite bulky. Perhaps something similar (as in: bright colors and friendliness towards other fish), but smaller?

- Clown/coral goby > a pair. I don't have sps in the tank, except for some monti caps, so not worried about them eating polyps. Adds a nice splash of yellow and they won't be so in your face like most fish.

- Possum wrasse > 2. Not hugely attracted to them though. Have never seen them in person though...

- Allen's damsel > 4? Seen these in person and they look really cool. According to some they're more peaceful than the usual damsels. However... They're damsels. I do think these would look great with the Anthias though!

- Azure damsel > 4? I currently have one and color wise, I love it. Initially I bought 2 of them and they never argued. However, it does have a small territory and I'm thinking 4 will be way too much if I want any sort of peace in the tank. If a group of these isn't an option, the one I still have will go to a new home as well.

- Green banded goby or shark nose goby > 5 or so? From what I've read they don't do well in pairs, but a group might be able to work.

- Fire fish goby > a pair. From what I've read they're shy and maybe a bit boring. I love the look of them and I can't help myself but look at them for half an hour whenever my LFS has a pair.

The ones that excite me the most from above list are the allen's damsel, the green banded/ shark nose goby and surprisingly the royal gramma. I just love the look of damsels and Anthias together. The gobies would be a great addition due to their size and color. Pretty colors, but tiny, so you'll have to look for them. The grammas add a great amount of color and perhaps I could get some breeding action going. In some way they remind me of freshwater cichlids and I loved those back in the day.

The tank's just short of 4' in length. 2' wide and 20'' tall. I have a very open scape with tons of hiding places and little swim throughs. Again nutrients aren't a concern. I only have to worry about available territories.

I'd love to get some ideas and opinions.

I wouldn’t get rid of ALL large fish and would recommend having maybe 1-2 larger fish, I find smaller fish add a natural look however they don’t add a completely natural look without the few larger sized fish. With possums I would recommend Atleast 3 if you want a group (I have a plan for a few years down the line in a 7’ dream tank to have about 5 of these fish). Here’s my 4’x2’x2’ tank for a few ideas;

Stock wise I have;
- Radiant wrasse
- Lubbocki fairy wrasse x2
- Jade wrasse
- Clownfish (Not a pair)
- CBB
- Magnificent foxface
- Flashing tilefish
- Melanospilos Swallowtail angelfish
- Black margin fairy wrasse
- Blue Eye Kole Tang

it sounds crowded but actually, it looks like it’s missing something (I’m glad I have two more wrasse growing out to go in this tank as the final touches). I would recommend a tilefish if you have a lid, they’re filled with character and IMO are the PERFECT reef fish (Another group of fish I have planned for a large group of several species in the 7’ dream tank). They come with a catch of being relatively uncommon and don’t deal too well with stress quite well unless established - I find not many flashing tilefish survive long in captivity due to people scaring them to get them to flash when actually, they flash whenever they get a chance or Atleast mine does. He’s never panicked or scared/stressed and flashes during Water Changes, feeding and of course when he’s scared.

 

[Bars]

I wouldn’t get rid of ALL large fish and would recommend having maybe 1-2 larger fish, I find smaller fish add a natural look however they don’t add a completely natural look without the few larger sized fish. With possums I would recommend Atleast 3 if you want a group (I have a plan for a few years down the line in a 7’ dream tank to have about 5 of these fish). Here’s my 4’x2’x2’ tank for a few ideas;
Stock wise I have;
- Radiant wrasse
- Lubbocki fairy wrasse x2
- Jade wrasse
- Clownfish (Not a pair)
- CBB
- Magnificent foxface
- Flashing tilefish
- Melanospilos Swallowtail angelfish
- Black margin fairy wrasse
- Blue Eye Kole Tang

it sounds crowded but actually, it looks like it’s missing something (I’m glad I have two more wrasse growing out to go in this tank as the final touches). I would recommend a tilefish if you have a lid, they’re filled with character and IMO are the PERFECT reef fish (Another group of fish I have planned for a large group of several species in the 7’ dream tank). They come with a catch of being relatively uncommon and don’t deal too well with stress quite well unless established - I find not many flashing tilefish survive long in captivity due to people scaring them to get them to flash when actually, they flash whenever they get a chance or Atleast mine does. He’s never panicked or scared/stressed and flashes during Water Changes, feeding and of course when he’s scared.

Oh yeah I agree about the larger fish. However, right now my larger fish are the ones that hang out in the bottom half of the tank, except for the mccoskeri. I'd rather have a nice group of slightly larger fish (i.e. Anthias) in the top half/open water and some smaller fish closer to the bottom and rocks. Plus what I really want is less species and larger numbers, rather than 1 of each. I'd like to see some specie specific interactions. It's something I enjoyed greatly with freshwater tanks, so I'd like to achieve that in saltwater too.

Tilefish are beautiful! Unfortunately a hefty price tag as well

 

[i cant think]

Oh yeah I agree about the larger fish. However, right now my larger fish are the ones that hang out in the bottom half of the tank, except for the mccoskeri. I'd rather have a nice group of slightly larger fish (i.e. Anthias) in the top half/open water and some smaller fish closer to the bottom and rocks. Plus what I really want is less species and larger numbers, rather than 1 of each. I'd like to see some specie specific interactions. It's something I enjoyed greatly with freshwater tanks, so I'd like to achieve that in saltwater too.

Tilefish are beautiful! Unfortunately a hefty price tag as well

Yeah, the price tags on even just the common tilefish is very hefty… my fish stock alone is probably around £400-£500, £109 of that is from the tilefish, £119 is from the Angelfish and another £99 is from the Foxface. So I have three rather hefty priced fish, surprisingly the foxface was cheap compared to its size, I think if I sold it now I could easily get £200 from it (Not that I would).
For sure get what you mean, in my dream 7’ tank I have more families of fish over different species of fish (I planned a few groups of wrasses, tilefish, a jawfish pair and a few others, I think the only ones not with multiples will be the angels - Even then, there’s 3 centropyge and 2 large - 1 pomacanthus and 1 Genicanthus - and a tang). Pairs and harems of fish definitely adds to that naturalistic look!!

 

[OrionN]

Your tank is about 100 gal or so, 4 feet. Any of the fishes below would absolutely do fine in this tank.
Flame Back Pygmy angel. This is a Male. You can add two or three females and they quickly form a harem. I have a thread of my Harem somewhere here. If you interested, you can search for it. They were in a 65 gal tank.

Black leopard wrasse. Here is my male and female

Onyx Percular clown fish. My favorite clown fish. These are wild caught clowns, perfect in form, no defect.

Lubbock Fairy wrasse

Meleagris Leopards. Two females and a male

Mandarin Male. The look of this fish is second to none, big or small.

McCosker Flasher

Radiant Wrasse, male (larger) and female. Male loss the 2nd and 3rd dorsal spots, mor color and more facial marking