Tang Compatability

[kingfisherfleshy]

Hi guys, I just got a 125g aquarium for FREE! Its a long awesome part of the whole Cinderella story, that was, and is, my aquarium. Moral of the story is this. My now 4" blue hippo tang is going to love the upgrade, BUT...could I add a chevron tang? I love this fish, and I would either add them both at the same time, (the chevy would be smaller...2-3" MAX at time of purchase) or, get the smaller chevy 1-2" and let him grow to size in the 125g before adding any of my other fish or corals.

The tank was running when I got it with sand, LR, and corals. The sand is aragonite, but no longer live because I had to wash it. (This guy hadnt siphoned in 7 years...) The system is recycled now and looking good.

I feed newlife spectrum, selcon enriched mysis, and different colors of dried algae daily. On top of this I am starting a calurpa "colony" in the 125 that I have had running in the 75 since before I had the tang. I keep in in check with trimmings...and of course the tang. I just feed the algae clip to keep pressure off the different algaes he grazes on.

The other inhabitants would be 2x "clarkii" clowns...(I think one of these has been mis-identified) and...I dont know. I would like to have some other fish though.

Bottom line...can I do this? Any suggestions on courses of action, and what suitable tank-mates would be? Thanks, Forrest

 

[KLR]

I have had 2 groups of Powder Brown, Desardini, and Hippo tang in a 75 gal live happilt and never fight....1st group lost 2 tank crash................
I think it would work.

 

[KLR]

Right now i have desardini and hippo together and they have never ever faught..

 

[damac20]

In one tank I have a hippo and a yellow tang and in the other I have a sailfin and purple tang. They all get along fine. The purple and sailfin had a rocky start but Purples can be pretty mean anyway. They would just kind of bow up on each other and do a little fin flare and that was about it. Now they swim around together almost like a school of two.

 

[jaytizzle]

Chevron and blue tangs should get along just fine. They are both appropriately sized that as long as they are the only Large-sized fish (I am talking about mature size, not current size) that you choose then you should be fine. You can accent them with plenty of other smaller fish but add slowly and be careful that you do not choose any other fish that will get over 5".

 

[FishLipz]

You should be fine with those two. They are not similar in shape, or color. I keep a regal and yellow together in one of my tanks and a purple and naso in another. Like jaytizzle said, they should be the only large fish in a tank that size.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

This is great news...the next biggest fish would probably be a wrasse...I am looking at an adorned wrasse. Then of course the clowns which potentially could get to be like 5"? The big one right now is probably a little over an inch and the little one is about a half an inch. Other than that maybe a group of two or three damsels and some sort of goby or blenny? Suggestions again? Thanks.

 

[jaytizzle]

That combo should be fine, King. I wouldn't count clowns as large fish. damsels, gobies, blennies, and wrasses would all be appropriate additions. I have something like 17 fish in my 120g and I am not even close to finished adding yet! Just take your time and be smart about your additions and you will be fine.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

So I had some time today and I came up with a full stock list for the 125:

Chevron Tang Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis
Mystery Wrasse Pseudocheilinas ocellatus
Adorned Wrasse Halichoeres cosmetus
Midas Blenny Ecseniles midas
My clowns...which were supposed to be clarks, and I think one is, but I think the first one I bought, which I bought for its dark coloration among the "clarks" is actually a akindynos clown.
Domino Damsel Dascyllus trimaculatus

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[KLR]

I know its a large tank but i know when damsels get large they can kill or harass to kill......My lfs had 2 damsels the size of my palms... . . i might would go with a nice small school of anthias or something....just me though, i get paranoid alot 2 so keep that in mind,lol

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Yea...Im aware of that. I couldnt come up with anything else to to have as a small singular fish. I already have a wrasse and a goby so I would want to stay away from that. As you can see Im trying to kinda keep it exotic. I dont want anything too common. I just have always loved the dominos. Any other suggestions?

As far as the actual stocking process goes, I know that stocking multiple wrasses and tangs can be problematic so any words of advice on that? Thanks

 

[KLR]

Possum wrasses are neat...

 

[TANKSALOT]

+1 on the Damsels.
They get very aggressive and then you pretty much have to destroy the tank to catch them for removal.
Besides they are no more exotic than Anthias

 

[FishLipz]

If you like a damsel, I'd go with a Starki damselfish. Smaller, less aggressive and really beautiful in my opinion.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

I dont really like damsels...I guess they are okay like i said. Smaller solitary fish is kinda cool. The possum wrasses are okay...but really expensive. I dont know if I want to put out that kind of cash for such a small fish.

No words of advice on the tang or wrasse introductions?

Anyone think that this stocking list is too much for the tank? Im currently running to backpac cprs with overflow boxes...but I am planning on upgrading to remoras (2x of the 75g variety) with overflow boxes for mechanical/chemical/biological filtration. I am also planning on buying the eheim classic for aquariums up to 160g. Thanks

 

[jaytizzle]

you can fit a ton of different wrasses in that tank. I have 6 different ones in my 120 and plan to add several more. I wouldn't do the damsel. Chromis are a cool addition and there are a lot of pretty cheap options out there.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Okay...so no damsel. I think that the "tons of wrasses" look gets done too often, and doesnt really look natural, and Im a stickler for that. Could I sneak a couple of anthias in? The species I am considering would be:

Fathead Sunburst Serranocirrhitus latus
Lyretail Anthias Pseudanthias squamipinnis
Red-Stripe Anthias Pseudanthias fasciatus
Resplendant Anthias Pseudanthias pulcherrimus
Squareback Anthias Pseudoanthias pleurotaenia

Looking to probably get away with a group of three here. Really like all of these. Any personal experience or thoughts on how bio-load would be with these? Known compatibility issues? Thanks

 

[FishLipz]

I had a group of 5 resplendants in my 120. I started with all females, and they are really beautiful and active. Unfortunately, as with many anthias, they pick on the smallest and weakest of the group. I'm down to two now, two years later.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Hmm. The fatheads, resplendants, and the redstripe are my three favorites. I wonder if the fatheads which tend to be more inclined to solidarity would do better. Apparently you can put them in the same tank at the same time and they will school...who knows. They are probably the last fish to go into the setup anyways. Once I get the three fish out that are in there now, and some good calurpa growth established, I will buy the chevron and add the blue hippo at the same time.

 

[MikeB]

Reef 2 Reef - Compatibility Chart