Fish list: What do I need?

[msaxy8485]

Hello Reefcentral! I'm doing some preliminary research into a marine tank I want to start. I probably did this out of order, but I researched what fish I want to get first, and I plan on customizing my tank to the aesthetic of the fish I chose. So, heres the list:'

Black and White Heniochus
Yellow Tang
Blue Tang
Copperband Butterflyfish
Foxface Rabbitfish

Is a tank with these 5 fish even possible? Again, I chose these fish based on their aesthetic. If this tank is possible, what kind of setup am I looking at?

Thanks for your help!

[julie180]

180 gallon min in my opinion. Heniochus are extremely difficult to keep.

[shifty51008]

When you say blue tang do you mean hippo?

[msaxy8485]

Yup Blue Tang of the Dory variety

[Crooked Reef]

Very big tank. Two tangs need swimming space and territory.

[shifty51008]

Then your looking at an 8' long 280 gal tank.

[Spork3245]

Originally Posted by julie180

180 gallon min in my opinion. Heniochus are extremely difficult to keep.

I believe you're thinking of Moorish Idols, from my admittedly limited knowledge, heniochus aren't very difficult, but they need a constant source of nori/algae to graze upon.

As others have stated, with a blue tang you'll need a tank of 8 feet in length, minimum. If you drop the hippo tang you could likely get away with a large 6 foot long tank.

[julie180]

Yep, you are correct. My bad

[msaxy8485]

I did actually mean heniochus, unless the Moorish Idol is easier to take care of :-p. And why does the hippo blue tang in particular require so much space?

[Spork3245]

Originally Posted by msaxy8485

I did actually mean heniochus, unless the Moorish Idol is easier to take care of :-p. And why does the hippo blue tang in particular require so much space?

Moorish Idols are ridiculously hard to keep as they, generally, will only it live food and will refuse frozen/flake. My reply was to the poster saying Heniochus are difficult as he was confusing Moorish Idols with them, not you. Heniochus are pretty easy.
Hippo tangs get over a foot in length in adulthood, as such they need a very large tank.

[msaxy8485]

Oh, gotcha. So about how many gallons would a 6' tank be?

[Spork3245]

Originally Posted by msaxy8485

Oh, gotcha. So about how many gallons would a 6' tank be?

Depends on the dimensions, but they start at 125 gallons. Personally I would recommend a little bigger since you want to keep so many large fish, probably a 180

Also, are you planning on keeping corals or doing FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock)?

[msaxy8485]

OK thanks! And I'm planning on doing FOWLR, coral doesn't appeal to me too aesthetically and more importantly, a lot of the fish I like don't work well with coral. Or at least that's what I've read.

[Spork3245]

Originally Posted by msaxy8485

OK thanks! And I'm planning on doing FOWLR, coral doesn't appeal to me too aesthetically and more importantly, a lot of the fish I like don't work well with coral. Or at least that's what I've read.

All of the fish you mentioned are actually "With Caution" regarding corals, meaning that there's a decent chance they'll be okay as long as they are well-fed. You could always attempt a cheaper, easy to keep, coral and see if any of them go after it.

Also, just an FYI, Copperband Butterfly fish can be very picky eaters and as such hard to keep in home aquariums.

[Sk8r]

I would recommend starting with a much smaller tank and learn the ins and outs of the hobby before attempting some of the most difficult fish in a mega-tank. A tank requires a 20% a week water change, and that means, with a 200 gallon tank, pumping out 40 gallons of old water and making up 40 gallons of new and pumping it in, and we haven't even mentioned the problems of keeping it algae-free and lighted and heated and the protein waste skimmed out. No matter what automated systems advertise they can do, you will find yourself up to the armpits in salt water trying to arrange something, or lugging heavy buckets, or fussing with lights or emptying skimmers or cleaning filters. The best balance between learning and labor is probably in the 75 to 150 range, sizewise: don't forget the sump, which will be another 30 gallons. There's a lot of water, a lot of electricity, and the fish the ads show living together in happy proximity often turn out to have territorial issues.

[Fish_King_25]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

I would recommend starting with a much smaller tank and learn the ins and outs of the hobby before attempting some of the most difficult fish in a mega-tank. A tank requires a 20% a week water change, and that means, with a 200 gallon tank, pumping out 40 gallons of old water and making up 40 gallons of new and pumping it in, and we haven't even mentioned the problems of keeping it algae-free and lighted and heated and the protein waste skimmed out. No matter what automated systems advertise they can do, you will find yourself up to the armpits in salt water trying to arrange something, or lugging heavy buckets, or fussing with lights or emptying skimmers or cleaning filters. The best balance between learning and labor is probably in the 75 to 150 range, sizewise: don't forget the sump, which will be another 30 gallons. There's a lot of water, a lot of electricity, and the fish the ads show living together in happy proximity often turn out to have territorial issues.

I would definitely start with a/smaller tank and work your way up over time. You need to do an incredible amount of research before attempting to keep a tank of that size with that stock list..go slow and ask a lot of questions!

[msaxy8485]

Thanks for the information everyone! I wasn't very clear in my original post. This kind of tank is where I want to end up. With your help and a bit more research, I think I'm going to start with a 55 gallon tank with schooling fish like chromis and clownfish, and maybe a dwarf angelfish that fits into such a small tank. I work for a large pet supply company (which I know you all aren't the biggest fan of...) and I think with some help from my aquatics coworkers (who, trust me, aren't afraid of giving proper advice, albeit against policy) I'll be fully prepared when I do decide to start my project. Thanks again!

[Ambition]

If you are going with a 55g, you might as well bump it up to a 75g tank. The extra 6" front to back will make a huge difference for aquascaping. It will allow to make more depth appear with the extra depth added by this, which will aid in the aesthetics you are looking for.

[reeferstace]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1946079

[Spork3245]

Originally Posted by msaxy8485

Thanks for the information everyone! I wasn't very clear in my original post. This kind of tank is where I want to end up. With your help and a bit more research, I think I'm going to start with a 55 gallon tank with schooling fish like chromis and clownfish, and maybe a dwarf angelfish that fits into such a small tank. I work for a large pet supply company (which I know you all aren't the biggest fan of...) and I think with some help from my aquatics coworkers (who, trust me, aren't afraid of giving proper advice, albeit against policy) I'll be fully prepared when I do decide to start my project. Thanks again!

If you can, I would recommend starting with a 75, 55 gallon tanks have some-what weird dimensions depth-wise IIRC and do not have much space for aquascaping