Hoosier
Community Member
TL;DR Summary: 150g LPS, sand bottom, NSA aquascape. Draft fishlist includes: yellow tang, YEKole tang, lawnmower blenny, yellow coris wrasse, melanus wrasse, lawnmower blenny, several blue chromis, coral beauty or flame angel, potentially others. Filefish if needed for aiptasia control.
I’m building my first significant reef tank, and reading posts here and pulling information from elsewhere has made it clear that I shouldn’t just add fish willy-nilly. It's a lot more complicated than when I had freshwater fish tanks 30 years ago. I’m in the hobby for the inverts, so for me I don’t have a whole set of particular fish that I’ve been wanting to get, and I don’t have a body of knowledge build up in my head.
I’m hoping to get some advice on whether my draft plans are sensible, what “batches” to stock the tank in (i.e., who has to go before whom to keep the peace), whether I’m overdoing it (or under), whether any of the fish I’m considering have hidden pitfalls, and whether I’m leaving myself some scope for future additions. (I know this post is long since I’m organizing all my thoughts on what to do, so TIA if you’re reading through this.)
The Tank: I have a 150g tank, 5’ x 2’ x 2’, that will primarily have LPS/soft corals (eventually, some NPS), and therefore won’t have massive flow or high light. Some interesting other inverts are possible, but I have no specific plans beyond CUC. I’ll have sand substrate, 1" deep (grain size TBD). I’ve made an NSA aquascape with several caves.
I don’t have the facilities to quarantine fish properly, and even if I did, I’m not sure that I’d trust myself to do it right. If I can, I probably will source fish from one of the reputable merchants selling pre-quarantined fish. (I will be quarantining corals, but unlikely to QT all CUC)
Fish Goals:
1. Avoid fussbudgets. I’m away from home for a day or two fairly often, and for a week or more a few times a year. My plan is to address this with some combination of crossed fingers, automatic feeders, and reef sitters, and it would be nice to have a fish community that’s easy-going.
2. Maximize functionality of fish for maintaining the reef ecosystem. Fish that earn their keep through pest management or interesting behaviors are welcome.
3. Have something yellow. It’s my mom’s favorite color, and she’s been a big part of planning this (if you’ve seen the aquascaping pix on my build thread, that’s her workshop I’m using). Ever since I started going to fish stores as a kid she has talked about how nice yellow tangs are. Regardless of other challenges, this is something I probably have to do. Other yellow fish would fine, too.
4. Avoid crowding. I’m not sure how to judge this, as I can’t find extensive data on bioload or rules-of-thumb about numbers of fish. I see pics & video of tanks with dense swarms of fish and they’re amazing, but not really what I want to achieve.
5. That said, I like the idea of having several of the same kind of fish to form a little shoal. Of little fish. Small is good. Multiples of a species are good, particularly if small, but I’m not sure which that could make sense for. (I’m on board with the possibility of re-homing fish that grow too big, as long as I can replace them with something).
6. Limit the drama – either from aggression between fish, or decimating LPS corals. Also, nothing venomous.
7. I haven’t actually figured out what a reasonable total budget for (pre-QT) fish for a 150g tank would be, but for now I’d rather invest in the corals. Maybe eventually I’d be willing to acquire one of the higher-cost fish in the hobby, but for now the Gem Tangs and Swiss Basslets are not in the picture.
8. Captive-bred is good, for a variety of reasons, but not required.
Draft Fish List:
A. Yellow tang. Seriously, how can I not? It’s functional, captive-bred are available, and it’s what I know my mom wants. Even if the Hawaii ban sends prices through the roof, I think I can’t not do this. My main question is when should it be introduced relative to other fish and cycling the tank. And whether a trio would be ridiculous.
B. 1 yellow-eye Kole tang (maybe). This is mainly linked to functionality, and supposedly the bristletooths are the best algae-eaters. Of the bristletooths, this is the one I like best. Don’t even know if this will be available anymore. Questions—are 2 tangs enough to handle the algae in a 150? Is there a better bristletooth choice than YEKT for some reason? Does the odd-number rule for tangs apply to tangs as a group (in which case I’d need to get a third tang of some kind) or to specific tang species? Alternatively, is three yellow tangs a reasonable possibility (with zero YEKole tangs) for a 150g LPS?
C. Lawnmower blenny. Dull, but functional algae-eater, and plus I’d like to have a few substrate-dwelling fish. Or are these over-rated?
D & E. Wrasses: Yellow coris wrasse & Melanus wrasse (&/or maybe others?). (I’ll have a screen over the tank) More yellow, and a preventative measure against some pests. Plus, I like wrasses. Melanus Spoken of highly by folks on R2R, and looks pretty cool. But maybe not reef-safe? Maybe there are others that would be better choices (there seems to be debate over 6-line wrasses). Maybe McCosker’s flasher wrasse, or various fairy wrasses?
F. A small group of blue chromis. I like the idea of having a shoal of little blue fish, and these seem to be the best candidate. But how many? 4? 5? Is there a smaller fish that would make for a good blue shoal? I think of chromis as small, so I was surprised to find they can get up to 5"! The smaller damsels all seem to be aggro, though, so may not be the best bet for low drama. A shoal of lemon damsels would be an alternative to have a group and have yellows.
G. Some kind of dwarf angel. Probably a flame or coral beauty, or maybe a pair. But are these too risky for an LPS tank? (Potter’ses are nice, too, but they’re caught in Hawaii, so...)
H. A pair of clownfish. Probably with a 'nem.
I. An aiptasia-eating filefish? I’m not sure if this is a good idea as a preventative measure in an LPS tank or not, but I’d at least like to preserve the option of adding one if needed later.
J. Other stuff. I don’t know if the above list is already overdoing things, but some other possibilities are pajama cardinalfish, lemon damselfish, something in the goby group, australian stripey, an assessor or dottyback. Maybe even a dragonet (I know, they’re fussbudgets, but zooplankton are easy for me to get in abundance.)
Thanks,
Hoosier
I’m building my first significant reef tank, and reading posts here and pulling information from elsewhere has made it clear that I shouldn’t just add fish willy-nilly. It's a lot more complicated than when I had freshwater fish tanks 30 years ago. I’m in the hobby for the inverts, so for me I don’t have a whole set of particular fish that I’ve been wanting to get, and I don’t have a body of knowledge build up in my head.
I’m hoping to get some advice on whether my draft plans are sensible, what “batches” to stock the tank in (i.e., who has to go before whom to keep the peace), whether I’m overdoing it (or under), whether any of the fish I’m considering have hidden pitfalls, and whether I’m leaving myself some scope for future additions. (I know this post is long since I’m organizing all my thoughts on what to do, so TIA if you’re reading through this.)
The Tank: I have a 150g tank, 5’ x 2’ x 2’, that will primarily have LPS/soft corals (eventually, some NPS), and therefore won’t have massive flow or high light. Some interesting other inverts are possible, but I have no specific plans beyond CUC. I’ll have sand substrate, 1" deep (grain size TBD). I’ve made an NSA aquascape with several caves.
I don’t have the facilities to quarantine fish properly, and even if I did, I’m not sure that I’d trust myself to do it right. If I can, I probably will source fish from one of the reputable merchants selling pre-quarantined fish. (I will be quarantining corals, but unlikely to QT all CUC)
Fish Goals:
1. Avoid fussbudgets. I’m away from home for a day or two fairly often, and for a week or more a few times a year. My plan is to address this with some combination of crossed fingers, automatic feeders, and reef sitters, and it would be nice to have a fish community that’s easy-going.
2. Maximize functionality of fish for maintaining the reef ecosystem. Fish that earn their keep through pest management or interesting behaviors are welcome.
3. Have something yellow. It’s my mom’s favorite color, and she’s been a big part of planning this (if you’ve seen the aquascaping pix on my build thread, that’s her workshop I’m using). Ever since I started going to fish stores as a kid she has talked about how nice yellow tangs are. Regardless of other challenges, this is something I probably have to do. Other yellow fish would fine, too.
4. Avoid crowding. I’m not sure how to judge this, as I can’t find extensive data on bioload or rules-of-thumb about numbers of fish. I see pics & video of tanks with dense swarms of fish and they’re amazing, but not really what I want to achieve.
5. That said, I like the idea of having several of the same kind of fish to form a little shoal. Of little fish. Small is good. Multiples of a species are good, particularly if small, but I’m not sure which that could make sense for. (I’m on board with the possibility of re-homing fish that grow too big, as long as I can replace them with something).
6. Limit the drama – either from aggression between fish, or decimating LPS corals. Also, nothing venomous.
7. I haven’t actually figured out what a reasonable total budget for (pre-QT) fish for a 150g tank would be, but for now I’d rather invest in the corals. Maybe eventually I’d be willing to acquire one of the higher-cost fish in the hobby, but for now the Gem Tangs and Swiss Basslets are not in the picture.
8. Captive-bred is good, for a variety of reasons, but not required.
Draft Fish List:
A. Yellow tang. Seriously, how can I not? It’s functional, captive-bred are available, and it’s what I know my mom wants. Even if the Hawaii ban sends prices through the roof, I think I can’t not do this. My main question is when should it be introduced relative to other fish and cycling the tank. And whether a trio would be ridiculous.
B. 1 yellow-eye Kole tang (maybe). This is mainly linked to functionality, and supposedly the bristletooths are the best algae-eaters. Of the bristletooths, this is the one I like best. Don’t even know if this will be available anymore. Questions—are 2 tangs enough to handle the algae in a 150? Is there a better bristletooth choice than YEKT for some reason? Does the odd-number rule for tangs apply to tangs as a group (in which case I’d need to get a third tang of some kind) or to specific tang species? Alternatively, is three yellow tangs a reasonable possibility (with zero YEKole tangs) for a 150g LPS?
C. Lawnmower blenny. Dull, but functional algae-eater, and plus I’d like to have a few substrate-dwelling fish. Or are these over-rated?
D & E. Wrasses: Yellow coris wrasse & Melanus wrasse (&/or maybe others?). (I’ll have a screen over the tank) More yellow, and a preventative measure against some pests. Plus, I like wrasses. Melanus Spoken of highly by folks on R2R, and looks pretty cool. But maybe not reef-safe? Maybe there are others that would be better choices (there seems to be debate over 6-line wrasses). Maybe McCosker’s flasher wrasse, or various fairy wrasses?
F. A small group of blue chromis. I like the idea of having a shoal of little blue fish, and these seem to be the best candidate. But how many? 4? 5? Is there a smaller fish that would make for a good blue shoal? I think of chromis as small, so I was surprised to find they can get up to 5"! The smaller damsels all seem to be aggro, though, so may not be the best bet for low drama. A shoal of lemon damsels would be an alternative to have a group and have yellows.
G. Some kind of dwarf angel. Probably a flame or coral beauty, or maybe a pair. But are these too risky for an LPS tank? (Potter’ses are nice, too, but they’re caught in Hawaii, so...)
H. A pair of clownfish. Probably with a 'nem.
I. An aiptasia-eating filefish? I’m not sure if this is a good idea as a preventative measure in an LPS tank or not, but I’d at least like to preserve the option of adding one if needed later.
J. Other stuff. I don’t know if the above list is already overdoing things, but some other possibilities are pajama cardinalfish, lemon damselfish, something in the goby group, australian stripey, an assessor or dottyback. Maybe even a dragonet (I know, they’re fussbudgets, but zooplankton are easy for me to get in abundance.)
Thanks,
Hoosier
