Stocking Order

[austinrazer]

I have an 80-gallon tank (Innovative Marine SR80 Pro 2) with a decent amount of live rock and ample swimming space. Not a ton of hiding spots though. I currently have a single juvenile yellow tang in the tank and plan on adding these fish to complete the stocking: Mandarin Fish, Flame Angelfish, and Longnose Hawkfish. Does this stocking list seem okay in terms of aggression and quantity for a 4-foot long 17-inch tall 80-gallon tank? My main concern is the order to add the rest of the fish. I already have the tang and I wanted to add the flame angel next, but from what I have seen they can be aggressive. Would stocking in this order cause any issues? Yellow Tang -> Flame Angelfish -> Mandarin -> Longnose Hawkfish. I Need some opinions here, please.

 

[coralboi56]

Definitely add the angelfish last. Out of those, they are the most aggressive.
I would go Mandarin- Longnose- angel

Always put the most peaceful fish first

 

[krollins]

I have an 80-gallon tank (Innovative Marine SR80 Pro 2) with a decent amount of live rock and ample swimming space. Not a ton of hiding spots though. I currently have a single juvenile yellow tang in the tank and plan on adding these fish to complete the stocking: Mandarin Fish, Flame Angelfish, and Longnose Hawkfish. Does this stocking list seem okay in terms of aggression and quantity for a 4-foot long 17-inch tall 80-gallon tank? My main concern is the order to add the rest of the fish. I already have the tang and I wanted to add the flame angel next, but from what I have seen they can be aggressive. Would stocking in this order cause any issues? Yellow Tang -> Flame Angelfish -> Mandarin -> Longnose Hawkfish. I Need some opinions here, please.

Not to be rude but how experienced are you? Do you know the care requirements of dragonets?

 

[austinrazer]

Not to be rude but how experienced are you? Do you know the care requirements of dragonets?

I know they require lots of copepods especially if they aren't trained to eat pellets or frozen. I am dosing phyto in my tank to boost their population. I am also going to start culturing pods soon to be an extra food source for the mandarin. I was planning on purchasing a captive-bred mandarin from biota as they are likely to eat pellets and this is also where I got my yellow tang and I have had great success with feeding him. I plan to add the Mandarin in roughly 4 months (Tank is almost 3 months old right now) if my copepod population seems strong enough. Am I missing another important requirement or does this seem like a good setup for a Mandarin?

 

[austinrazer]

Definitely add the angelfish last. Out of those, they are the most aggressive.
I would go Mandarin- Longnose- angel

Always put the most peaceful fish first

That order was what I first came up with, but I saw Biota had flame angels in stock and wondered how many problems it would cause if I did the angel next. Thanks for the input.

 

[littlefoxx]

I have an 80-gallon tank (Innovative Marine SR80 Pro 2) with a decent amount of live rock and ample swimming space. Not a ton of hiding spots though. I currently have a single juvenile yellow tang in the tank and plan on adding these fish to complete the stocking: Mandarin Fish, Flame Angelfish, and Longnose Hawkfish. Does this stocking list seem okay in terms of aggression and quantity for a 4-foot long 17-inch tall 80-gallon tank? My main concern is the order to add the rest of the fish. I already have the tang and I wanted to add the flame angel next, but from what I have seen they can be aggressive. Would stocking in this order cause any issues? Yellow Tang -> Flame Angelfish -> Mandarin -> Longnose Hawkfish. I Need some opinions here, please.

I would put the hawk in before the flame. How old is the tank? Mandarins need a mature tank with lots of pods before introducing. If its a newer tank I would wait about 9 months to get a good pod population going and even then dose pods!

 

[austinrazer]

I would put the hawk in before the flame. How old is the tank? Mandarins need a mature tank with lots of pods before introducing. If its a newer tank I would wait about 9 months to get a good pod population going and even then dose pods!

My tank is 3 months old. I will wait another 6 months before adding the mandarin if you think that is what is best. My poor yellow tang will be all alone until then. he probably prefers it that way though.

 

[littlefoxx]

My tank is 3 months old. I will wait another 6 months before adding the mandarin if you think that is what is best. My poor yellow tang will be all alone until then. he probably prefers it that way though.

Yeah probably best until you visibly see pods all over your rocks! And I say other than adding the flame last the order looks fine to me! Just keep in mind hawk fishes have been known to eat shrimps if you were planning on any shimp

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have an 80-gallon tank (Innovative Marine SR80 Pro 2) with a decent amount of live rock and ample swimming space. Not a ton of hiding spots though. I currently have a single juvenile yellow tang in the tank and plan on adding these fish to complete the stocking: Mandarin Fish, Flame Angelfish, and Longnose Hawkfish. Does this stocking list seem okay in terms of aggression and quantity for a 4-foot long 17-inch tall 80-gallon tank? My main concern is the order to add the rest of the fish. I already have the tang and I wanted to add the flame angel next, but from what I have seen they can be aggressive. Would stocking in this order cause any issues? Yellow Tang -> Flame Angelfish -> Mandarin -> Longnose Hawkfish. I Need some opinions here, please.

Longnose hawk is hard to trust and I would not mix with Mandarin. Flame and Mandarin however would work. My flame is a model citizen

 

[krollins]

Longnose hawkfish eat small invertebrates, so he might out compete the dragonet.

 

[austinrazer]

Longnose hawk is hard to trust and I would not mix with Mandarin. Flame and Mandarin however would work. My flame is a model citizen

From what I have read, people have had success with keeping both mandarins and longnose hawks together as long as the hawk cannot fit the mandarin in its mouth easily. I may reconsider though and go for a more peaceful fish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

From what I have read, people have had success with keeping both mandarins and longnose hawks together as long as the hawk cannot fit the mandarin in its mouth easily. I may reconsider though and go for a more peaceful fish.

Hawks will eat your shrimp, definitely go after anthias and smaller fish and this is from experience. Regard it as a chance you will take