adding fish soon....

[topbottomfeeder]

Hi, I'm a newbie here, kept freshwater fish for a while before I went on to do a sw setup

I think that when my 110gal FOWLR tank finally finish cycling, I'll add:

first
4x ocellaris clowns(since they are hardier)

then
1x blue tang
1x yellow tang
how do I add them with out them fighting each other to the death?

then
1x cleaner shrimp(maybe)
plants

any recommendations on other organism(s)?


I have about 70+ pounds of sand(20/80 of live crushed coral and play sand),
30 pounds of live rock and 20 pound of dead rock, a protein skimmer not in a sump(I don't have the room), and a canister filter.

I don't think I'll be putting any more than 10 fish in the tank unless I find a place for a sump tank(and until I patch the giant hole in my wallet)

any suggestion? concerns?

[RubberFrog]

no

4x clowns in a 110 will be a death match
the tangs will get to big

sorry

There are some great "experts" on here who can advise yo better on stocking.

[Zappo]

I agree that the clowns will probably be an issue. I'm assuming the 110 gallon tank is the 48" type, which means it's also 24" short of a blue tang's requirements.

As for other fish, I'm a big fan of wrasses. They're just so much fun to watch as they weave in and out of the rocks, causing bright flashes of color as they pass by. And since you're planning on having sand, you might also want to consider a goby/shrimp pair. They'll do a great job of keeping the sand aerated, and they're also fun to watch.

[sponger0]

2 clowns, 1 tang and find some other fish. The tangs will fight for space or get stressed out

[topbottomfeeder]

Originally Posted by Zappo

I agree that the clowns will probably be an issue. I'm assuming the 110 gallon tank is the 48" type, which means it's also 24" short of a blue tang's requirements.

As for other fish, I'm a big fan of wrasses. They're just so much fun to watch as they weave in and out of the rocks, causing bright flashes of color as they pass by. And since you're planning on having sand, you might also want to consider a goby/shrimp pair. They'll do a great job of keeping the sand aerated, and they're also fun to watch.

the tank is actually 60" long and 18" wide and I think 24" high

Glad I didn't buy any fish yet.

[Jakester59]

the stock in my sig are all happy in my 90g. I only wish I had another anthias

[Meslo]

if you really used playground sand I would dump the tank and start over with real saltwater safe sand.

Playgound sand is full of silica and is not a good thing for a salt tank

[topbottomfeeder]

okay so the revised plan is
2 ocellaris clowns
1 yellow tang
1 dottyback(most likely a bicolor)

I'll keep this tank as an maximum of 8 fish.

and no cleaner shrimp, I don't think I'll need it yet, also I'm going to try and keep fish max size to around 5 inches

are there any other small to medium fish I should add? this is a tank that kids will see a lot, so I'm trying to keep hardy and colorful fish.

and there will be NO TAPPING on glass, EVER

[sponger0]

That looks like a much better list but I would go with a wrasse over a dottyback. I just think they are prettier fish. Also, I see no reason not to get a cleaner shrimp. They are the coolest.

If you want to attempt it, try a scooter blenny. Not a pretty fish but a cool fish to watch.

[topbottomfeeder]

Originally Posted by sponger0

That looks like a much better list but I would go with a wrasse over a dottyback. I just think they are prettier fish. Also, I see no reason not to get a cleaner shrimp. They are the coolest.

If you want to attempt it, try a scooter blenny. Not a pretty fish but a cool fish to watch.

wrasse and dottybacks arent compatible, right? I might get a bluehead wrasse over the bicolor, but I'm severely limited by the local petstore stock

also, I'm just trying to add as much color to the tank as possible, it looks really bland at the moment.

any other suggestions? anyone?

[sponger0]

Yes, from what Ive read dottybacks and wrasses dont go well together. But some people have had luck. Thats why I recomment a blue assessor. It is a dottyback/pseudochromis but claimed to be a perfect reefsafe tank mate.

[topbottomfeeder]

more revised list for the 110tank
first week
2 ocelaris clowns

2nd week
1 threadfin butterflyfish

3rd week
1 royal gramma
1 clown goby

not sure when to add
1 yellow tang

not sure if I should add them
2 or 3 pennant coralfish(should I keep a pair and would it conflict with the threadfin and the tang?)

[Modern-Revolution]

you can def add more fish then that...although it would be wise to wait until you have a good sump and skimmer. i would try to wait with the tang. they are usually best when added last. same goes with anotehr colorful fish you haven't mentioned. the pygmy (dwarf) angels would add a nice splash of movement and color. but like the tang, you should only choose one. a flame angel would work well with your setup imo.

i tried 4 clowns. all false percs added simultaneously to an fishless reef. the smaller female was killed by the larger one during the first night. they have been a trio ever since. i'm not suggesting that it was a great idea to try, just sharing my experience.

[MuffsAbby]

If you're planning to add five fish in the space of three weeks, then you'll likely have problems. I suggest you plan to stock more slowly. You can add the two clowns initially, but you should then wait at least a month (preferably 6 weeks to 2 months) before adding each successive fish. You should also QT (quarantine) all of the fish before you add them to the main tank.

As for a fish suggestion, have you considered a flame hawkfish? I just bought one a few weeks back and he's in my QT. He's bright red with a black stripe. He also has a wonderful personality...quite a unique fish. He doesn't swim much. He hops from place to place and constantly watches you. I suspect kids would enjoy the flame hawkfish.

[SushiGirl]

"Plants" aren't the same in saltwater as in fresh water. Macro algae are usually very invasive & make you wish you hadn't added them after all your rock and most of your sand is completely covered LOL. Some, like caulerpa, not only are invasive, but also bring other issues to the table such as going sexual and polluting your tank. You could go the halimeda route, but those require calcium to grow, so you would need to keep a check on your calcium levels. There are planted tanks out there, but they're not carefree & easy.

I agree on waiting longer between adding fish.

Enjoy your tank & welcome to the hobby!

[scarface70706]

a nice purple fire fish would be a nice addition to the tank. imo i feel that you should only add 1 - 2 fish once every 2 weeks so your tank can have some time to adjust with the bio load. also the yellow tang should be fine in your tank. the blue tang will out grow the tank so add with caution if you really want it but its not recommended. i have a 90 gallon system (4 feet) and i have a yellow and blue tang. i know eventually i will have to sell the blue tang before it gets too big and stressed out but for now only being 2" hes fine. probably in a year or so i might have to let him go but thats ok i feel its worth it since the blue tang is so cool looking. Flow is key with tangs imo. i have a mp40 in my system so the flow im creating in the tank makes the tangs swim harder since they love to swim. by doing this it minimizes the stress level on them. so far so good with the two but if i was you just stick with the yellow tang since you havent bought them yet. if you want look into a purple tang. i might just get rid of my two tangs and get one purple tang but we will see since i love my yellow tang.