To much fish for my tank?

[bjmartie]

So I'm running my tank fallow (90 gallon with 40 gallon sump) after an ich outbreak and getting towards the end now. I have a qt tank I have some fish in and also a separate 35 gallon tank.

I still have a sally light foot and a pistol shrimp in the 90 gallon. What I'm planning on adding back in, is the goby that was paired with the shrimp, 2xclowns and a coral beauty.

Now what I'm looking to do, is to have the tank as self sufficient as possible. I have a few zoas, a few flower pots, few polyps and two mushrooms.

Im not looking to do a water change more then every week or two. In my sump, I do have a good octo skimmer, UV light that I run occasionally, and also where I add my carbon and everything else for my tank.

Additional fish I'm looking to add in:

Blue tang-wife has to have it.

One spot fox face or a bristle tooth tang-hair alage

Fair wrasse-eat some critters

File fish or copper band butterfly - I've had a few aiptasia pop up already (4) and got them taken care of, but looking for something to eat on the other ones that I'm sure will come up later.

So will this all be to much for my tank?

I've had a good outbreak of hair alage and brown alage since I've been running the tank fallow. Turned my white lights off and been running just blue, but I'm looking to add fish that takes care of a lot of the alage.

Also, should I add more to my clean up crew? Maybe a few turbo snails?

I do have a few trocus snails still in the tank, but my pistol shrimp ate most of them, which I am ok with, but any ideas for other CUC he won't eat or that won't mess with my corals?

 

[reefbandit]

I’d avoid the blue tang. They get large and aggressive. I had one in my 240 gallon. And it would intentionally kill any new addition fish no matter what species. You could probably keep one for awhile if you get it small but you would eventually have to catch it and trade it in. I’d get a purple tang or gem tang if you want something special.

 

[i cant think]

So I'm running my tank fallow (90 gallon with 40 gallon sump) after an ich outbreak and getting towards the end now. I have a qt tank I have some fish in and also a separate 35 gallon tank.

I still have a sally light foot and a pistol shrimp in the 90 gallon. What I'm planning on adding back in, is the goby that was paired with the shrimp, 2xclowns and a coral beauty.

Now what I'm looking to do, is to have the tank as self sufficient as possible. I have a few zoas, a few flower pots, few polyps and two mushrooms.

Im not looking to do a water change more then every week or two. In my sump, I do have a good octo skimmer, UV light that I run occasionally, and also where I add my carbon and everything else for my tank.

Additional fish I'm looking to add in:

Blue tang-wife has to have it.

One spot fox face or a bristle tooth tang-hair alage

Fair wrasse-eat some critters

File fish or copper band butterfly - I've had a few aiptasia pop up already (4) and got them taken care of, but looking for something to eat on the other ones that I'm sure will come up later.

So will this all be to much for my tank?

I've had a good outbreak of hair alage and brown alage since I've been running the tank fallow. Turned my white lights off and been running just blue, but I'm looking to add fish that takes care of a lot of the alage.

Also, so I add more to my clean up crew? Maybe a few turbo snails?

I do have a few trocus snails still in the tank, but my pistol shrimp ate most of them, which I am ok with, but any ideas for other CUC he won't eat or that won't mess with my corals?

First off;
Fairy Wrasses DO NOT feed from the rockwork naturally. These are Planktonic feeders and so are show fish more than anything. Wrasses that eat “pests” and are peaceful with other wrasses are the smaller guys from the genus Halichoeres. This includes;
- Halichoeres iridis
- Halichoeres chrysus
- Halichoeres leucoxanthus
- Halichoeres timorensis
- Halichoeres biocellatus
Wrasses that are good for show are those from these genera;
- Cirrhilabrus
- Paracheilinus
- Pseudojuloides (Best for an established tank)
- Anampses (Best for an established tank)
- Macropharyngodon (Best for an established tank)

Paracanthurus hepatus is a bad move in a 4’ tank. You’ll be best having a juvenile but once they reach around 4-5 inches you’ll need to rehome as they are too active and also get aggressive.

Both a Siganus species and Ctenochaetus species will work in your tank as long as you pick wisely. It’s best to go for one (or two) of these - Make sure you pick a maximum of one from each genus if you wish to have two.
- Siganus magnificus
- Siganus uspi
- Siganus niger (Pricey and Rare)

- Ctenochaetus binotatus
- Ctenochaetus trunctatus
- Ctenochaetus cf. striatus
- Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus
- Ctenochaetus flavicauda (Pricey and rare)

Don’t rely on a fish to kill aiptasia. Hit them with something like AiptasiaX first then go for a CBB as they will be safer around more coral. Both fish are risky however a CBB if you pick well will be better long term. For a healthy CBB look for these;
- Is it eating? If not then leave it
- Does it show disease such as fins with white edging, ich, velvet, flukes? If it does, leave it
- Does it have any mouth issues? These are common with this species and often they are an issue long term and often a fish won’t eat if it does have a mouth issue.

These will be plenty for your tank. I have a 4’x2’x18” tank with 13 fish in it. I would go for a few wrasses from different genera for show. Such as;
2-3 from Cirrhilabrus
1-2 from Paracheilinus
2 from Halichoeres
1-3 from Anampses/Macropharyngodon

 

[bjmartie]

I’d avoid the blue tang. They get large and aggressive. I had one in my 240 gallon. And it would intentionally kill any new addition fish no matter what species. You could probably keep one for awhile if you get it small but you would eventually have to catch it and trade it in. I’d get a purple tang or gem tang if you want something special.

Yeah.. That's the ONE fish the wife has to have! Lol which we already had one and it died, which led to the running the tank fallow. My goal is to add it last and hopefully it will be ok then. We do plan on within a few years, getting a bigger tank once we get a house with a better place to put a bigger tank.

 

[doubleshot00]

Yeah.. That's the ONE fish the wife has to have! Lol which we already had one and it died, which led to the running the tank fallow. My goal is to add it last and hopefully it will be ok then. We do plan on within a few years, getting a bigger tank once we get a house with a better place to put a bigger tank.

If you HAVE to have that fish add him last and get him QT from someone like Dr Reef. I would also keep your fish bioload down. So maybe 8-9 fish max.

Btw i have the same tank and have a similar bioload as you want.

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Yeah.. That's the ONE fish the wife has to have! Lol which we already had one and it died, which led to the running the tank fallow. My goal is to add it last and hopefully it will be ok then. We do plan on within a few years, getting a bigger tank once we get a house with a better place to put a bigger tank.

I wouldnt repeat the same mistake that put you into a fallow tank. Cant tell you how many times ive heard/read the ill upgrade my tank down the road… id say 90% dont and 50% arent in the hobby. Wait til you upgrade - then get tang.

 

[bjmartie]

First off;
Fairy Wrasses DO NOT feed from the rockwork naturally. These are Planktonic feeders and so are show fish more than anything. Wrasses that eat “pests” and are peaceful with other wrasses are the smaller guys from the genus Halichoeres. This includes;
- Halichoeres iridis
- Halichoeres chrysus
- Halichoeres leucoxanthus
- Halichoeres timorensis
- Halichoeres biocellatus
Wrasses that are good for show are those from these genera;
- Cirrhilabrus
- Paracheilinus
- Pseudojuloides (Best for an established tank)
- Anampses (Best for an established tank)
- Macropharyngodon (Best for an established tank)

Paracanthurus hepatus is a bad move in a 4’ tank. You’ll be best having a juvenile but once they reach around 4-5 inches you’ll need to rehome as they are too active and also get aggressive.

Both a Siganus species and Ctenochaetus species will work in your tank as long as you pick wisely. It’s best to go for one (or two) of these - Make sure you pick a maximum of one from each genus if you wish to have two.
- Siganus magnificus
- Siganus uspi
- Siganus niger (Pricey and Rare)

- Ctenochaetus binotatus
- Ctenochaetus trunctatus
- Ctenochaetus cf. striatus
- Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus
- Ctenochaetus flavicauda (Pricey and rare)

Don’t rely on a fish to kill aiptasia. Hit them with something like AiptasiaX first then go for a CBB as they will be safer around more coral. Both fish are risky however a CBB if you pick well will be better long term. For a healthy CBB look for these;
- Is it eating? If not then leave it
- Does it show disease such as fins with white edging, ich, velvet, flukes? If it does, leave it
- Does it have any mouth issues? These are common with this species and often they are an issue long term and often a fish won’t eat if it does have a mouth issue.

These will be plenty for your tank. I have a 4’x2’x18” tank with 13 fish in it. I would go for a few wrasses from different genera for show. Such as;
2-3 from Cirrhilabrus
1-2 from Paracheilinus
2 from Halichoeres
1-3 from Anampses/Macropharyngodon

Awesome I appreciate the info! Well. Where the aiptasia was, I was able to move the frag out and scrap it off the frag and put a little super glue where it was and haven't seen it there since. What do you think about berghia nudibranch?

I am looking into getting aiptasia x, but I can only treat the ones I can see with that. Which I know they probably have others in the tank, why I'm looking for something else to help me out.

Would you suggest anything else for the CUC and to help with the alage? I did recently get my RODI from BRS, so I know that will end up helping as well.

 

[bjmartie]

If you HAVE to have that fish add him last and get him QT from someone like Dr Reef. I would also keep your fish bioload down. So maybe 8-9 fish max.

Btw i have the same tank and have a similar bioload as you want.

Yeah that's what I plan on doing for sure.

All fish from now on will run through the QT tank since I had my mess up.

 

[bjmartie]

I wouldnt repeat the same mistake that put you into a fallow tank. Cant tell you how many times ive heard/read the ill upgrade my tank down the road… id say 90% dont and 50% arent in the hobby. Wait til you upgrade - then get tang.

lol yea I hear that. Well I got the wife talking about the up grade more then me. Lol. So I think it will happen, but I definitely think I should wait too. I'll try and persuade the wife with other fish she can pick out until the upgrade.

 

[i cant think]

Awesome I appreciate the info! Well. Where the aiptasia was, I was able to move the frag out and scrap it off the frag and put a little super glue where it was and haven't seen it there since. What do you think about berghia nudibranch?

I am looking into getting aiptasia x, but I can only treat the ones I can see with that. Which I know they probably have others in the tank, why I'm looking for something else to help me out.

Would you suggest anything else for the CUC and to help with the alage? I did recently get my RODI from BRS, so I know that will end up helping as well.

I personally have never really dealt with Berghia’s I instead leave them as a very last resort. If everything else fails I’ll do berghias however they do starve after their only food source (Aiptasia) is gone.

Most snails will help with algae but nothing really ever completely decimates it other than keeping stable parameters.

 

[i cant think]

lol yea I hear that. Well I got the wife talking about the up grade more then me. Lol. So I think it will happen, but I definitely think I should wait too. I'll try and persuade the wife with other fish she can pick out until the upgrade.

Do you know what she specifically enjoys about the fish?

 

[bjmartie]

I personally have never really dealt with Berghia’s I instead leave them as a very last resort. If everything else fails I’ll do berghias however they do starve after their only food source (Aiptasia) is gone.

Most snails will help with algae but nothing really ever completely decimates it other than keeping stable parameters.

Awesome I appreciate your knowledge and info you've given me!

 

[i cant think]

Awesome I appreciate your knowledge and info you've given me!

No worries
Love helping out people along their journey in the hobby!

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

lol yea I hear that. Well I got the wife talking about the up grade more then me. Lol. So I think it will happen, but I definitely think I should wait too. I'll try and persuade the wife with other fish she can pick out until the upgrade.

Berghia nudis work well. Wouldnt recommend a fish for housekeeping duty. And yea go for a tomini tang. That would be a better choice. Take a look at - have her look at too - magnificent foxface. Awesome fish.

 

[bjmartie]

Berghia nudis work well. Wouldnt recommend a fish for housekeeping duty. And yea go for a tomini tang. That would be a better choice. Take a look at - have her look at too - magnificent foxface. Awesome fish.

Will do! I appreciate it!! Yea I like the foxface a lot!

 

[bjmartie]

No worries
Love helping out people along their journey in the hobby!

One last question, tomini tang and a fox face? You think they would do well together in a 90? And not have to big of a bioload with my other fish?

 

[MaxTremors]

Yeah.. That's the ONE fish the wife has to have! Lol which we already had one and it died, which led to the running the tank fallow. My goal is to add it last and hopefully it will be ok then. We do plan on within a few years, getting a bigger tank once we get a house with a better place to put a bigger tank.

A small 1-2” hippo tang will need to be rehomed within a year in a 4’ tank. They grow quite fast, and waiting too long to rehome it will cause it longterm health issues (stunted growth, compressed internal organs, fatty liver disease, obesity, and a drastically shortened lifespan). Once it reaches 4”, a 4’ 90g tank will be too small. Unless you have a realistic, concrete plan to upgrade within a year or have arrangement in place beforehand for a larger tank for it to go to, you shouldn’t get one. The fish’s health and well-being should come before what your wife ‘has to have’, use it as an excuse to upgrade.

 

[bjmartie]

A small 1-2” hippo tang will need to be rehomed within a year in a 4’ tank. They grow quite fast, and waiting too long to rehome it will cause it longterm health issues (stunted growth, compressed internal organs, fatty liver disease, obesity, and a drastically shortened lifespan). Once it reaches 4”, a 4’ 90g tank will be too small. Unless you have a realistic, concrete plan to upgrade within a year or have arrangement in place beforehand for a larger tank for it to go to, you shouldn’t get one. The fish’s health and well-being should come before what your wife ‘has to have, use it as an excuse to upgrade.

Awesome I appreciate it! I'll.make sure I'll show her this lol. Nah but I definitely think we are going to wait on until we do upgrade to the bigger tank.

 

[i cant think]

One last question, tomini tang and a fox face? You think they would do well together in a 90? And not have to big of a bioload with my other fish?

Yeah they can. I have my Siganus magnificus in with a Ctenochaetus binotatus in my 4’ tank. They don’t fight and honestly the Ctenochaetus is more so the follower, doesn’t care about being the ruler of the tank and is much more laid back than other tangs.

 

[bjmartie]

Yeah they can. I have my Siganus magnificus in with a Ctenochaetus binotatus in my 4’ tank. They don’t fight and honestly the Ctenochaetus is more so the follower, doesn’t care about being the ruler of the tank and is much more laid back than other tangs.

Awesome! Once again, thank you!