Please help me plan our additions!

[Sanveann]

My husband and I are total saltwater newbs and just set our new 75g tank up on Saturday. We are obviously waiting a bit for the tank to stabilize; the plan is to visit our LFS (Preuss -- they've been awesome) in the next week or so, have them test our water and see if we're ready to start our cleanup crew.

However, being a big planner, I'm thinking ahead to what we'd like to add down the line We know we would like to do at least some corals eventually, so I want reef-safe fish and inverts. Also, I tend to get very distressed about fish getting picked on and/or eaten, so I'd also like very peaceful fish that will all play nicely!

In addition, my husband really wants to focus on South Pacific fish (that's where he learned to dive).

This is what I'm thinking:

• * Blue green chromis (four or five)
• * A clownfish (we have two kids under 5; we kind of HAVE to have a Nemo)
• * Some sort of fairy wrasse. I LOVE the way they look, and they sound easy to care for and relatively peaceful, from what I've read.

And, uh, that's about where my ideas end. Any more suggestions that might work are welcome! Obviously, we don't plan on adding all our fish at once, but I'm hoping to get a good plan for what we eventually want.

Also, suggestions about tank janitors are welcome! It sounds like we'll want to avoid hermit crabs, so they don't eat our snails. What about emerald mithrax crabs? My husband really has his heart set on one.

Thanks in advance for any help you have to offer!

[Misled]

Welcome to Reef Central. Think of some kind of screening for the top. Fairies can be jumpers.

[gcgrad]

I personally like a pair of clownfish. As far as other reef safe fish I recommend a royal gramma. You can look into gobies and blennies as they are good additions to a reef. 75 gallon limits your options as far as tangs go. A kole tang could work though. Hope this helps!

[aandfsoccr04]

I would stay away from emerald crabs as they are predatory feeders. If you don't want hermits in your tank, I don't think you'll want an emerald crab. Also if you are the type that doesn't like to see your fish get picked on I wouldn't recommend 4 or 5 green chromis. I've read a lot of stories about people's 4 or 5 green chromis becoming just 1 or 2 green chromis. I think clownfish is a good choice and generally makes a great first addition as they are rather hardy. If you do decide to go with wrasses make sure you do have some type of cover over your tank. Some wrasses use the sand bed to sleep in as well so if you plan to go barebottom this may not work so well.

[Sanveann]

Good to know about the emeralds! Are any crabs considered safe?

[Sanveann]

Gcgrad, I do like the royal grammas a lot! Are there any particularly gobies or blennies you recommend? They're all so cute!

Also, does anyone have any experience with purple firefish? They're gorgeous and seem like they might work well for us.

[NateDawg]

I think the Diamond Watchman Goby is cool. Not only is it nice looking, but it also sifts the sand through its gills, separating sand from detritus, and does a really good job of it. It leaves little white clean mounds of sand! It will also form a symbolic relationship with a pistol shrimp. Best of luck!

[sporto0]

I would suggest buying a saltwater master test kit & do the testing yourself. Also hermit crabs don't always kill the snails, yes it happens but not to the point where they wipe them all out, leave them plenty of empty shells to choose from & the poaching will be minimal, a good mix of Turbo, Nassarius, & Cerith snails will do a great job on the glass & hard to reach upper equiptment, hermits do a fantastic job on the rock & sand. I think sometimes hermits get a bad reputation, sometimes undeservingly so, of course this is only speaking of my experiences.