PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by lokian

Thanks for all the help... i will switch out the goby with the goby shrimp pair... what are the down sides?

For me the biggest downside was selection as there are so many desirable/interesting ones. If it were me, I would consider a bonded pair of gobies (not always easy to find) with one or two shrimp. You can introduce alpheus shrimp with gobies together or separately; just be sure you get shrimp which will associate. Also, you must have sand.

will there be a problem with having 3 tangs in one tank? when should they go into the tank...

Possibly. The powder blue will be the most aggressive and also the most difficult. By the way, if you don't like the Kole tang, you might consider a chevron.

[MrFolgers]

I have a 75 gallon tank with 60 lbs of crushed coral and 45 lbs of live rock. For filtration i have a HOB filter and and bak pak protein skimmer. I plan on having a volitan lionfish, snowflake eel and a niger trigger

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by MrFolgers

I have a 75 gallon tank with 60 lbs of crushed coral and 45 lbs of live rock. For filtration i have a HOB filter and and bak pak protein skimmer. I plan on having a volitan lionfish, snowflake eel and a niger trigger

Triggers and lionfish don't mix -- the triggers like to nip at the fins of the lions. Plus, a ****** will get too big for a 75. The lion and eel might work, but will have to keep an eye on the water quality.

[lcs]

I have a 56gal DT with a total volume with sump of about 65gal. The tank has been set up for 16 months. I currently have some LPS, rics, zoas, and declining SPS frags. I will add more rics and LPS sometime in the future. For swimmers I have a yellow watchman goby for whom I will be adding a shrimp buddy soon, a coral beauty who has been in the tank since last May, and a skunk cleaner shrimp. I had a Carpenter's wrasse who jumped to her death a few weeks ago so I'm reluctant to get another wrasse, but I do like them very much.

So . . . I need fish that will stand up to the angel, but not beat up on (or eat!) the YWG.

My ideas are:

firefish pair (or should I stick with one?), but I'm concerned about the angel
ocellaris clown (not sure about a pair and I wouldn't want them to host in my very happy frogspawn)
comet
P. fridmani (but I already have purple in the angel)
anthias - never had one before and worry about the difficulty in keeping one.

That's a lot of "buts"!

Any other suggestions would be most welcome!

[MOOSE1504]

OK BACK AGAIN

THE 55 JUST WASN'T BIG ENOUGH SO I WENT OUT AND GOT A 125. HAS QUAD T5 LIGHTS WITH 4 LEDS, HAVE A FLUVAL 305 WITH A MARINELAND 350 PLUS A PIGGY BACK PROTEIN SKIMMER RATED FOR 125. I HAVE CARIBBEAN SAND IT IS LIKE A SAND/CRUSHED CORAL MIX. (BLACK AND WHITE) ALSO HAVE 30 LBS OF LIVE ROCK AND A TON OF DIY LIVE ROCK COOKING UP. THIS IS THE LIST OF FISH I AM WANTING TO GET WHEN THE TANK HAS CYCLED.

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Royal Gramma Basslet
Ocellaris Clownfish
Blue Green Chromis
Engineer Goby
Eyelash Lawnmower Blenny
Orange Spot Prawn Goby
Long Nose Hawk
Blue Hippo Tangs
Yellow Tang
Purple Tang
Melanurus Fairy Wrasse
Emerald Crabs
Sally Lightfoot Crabs
Sand Cleaning Sea Star
Linckia Starfish
Maybe try a Moorish Idol in with the bunch ????

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by lcs

I have a 56gal DT with a total volume with sump of about 65gal. The tank has been set up for 16 months. I currently have some LPS, rics, zoas, and declining SPS frags. I will add more rics and LPS sometime in the future. For swimmers I have a yellow watchman goby for whom I will be adding a shrimp buddy soon, a coral beauty who has been in the tank since last May, and a skunk cleaner shrimp. I had a Carpenter's wrasse who jumped to her death a few weeks ago so I'm reluctant to get another wrasse, but I do like them very much.

So . . . I need fish that will stand up to the angel, but not beat up on (or eat!) the YWG.

My ideas are:

firefish pair (or should I stick with one?), but I'm concerned about the angel
ocellaris clown (not sure about a pair and I wouldn't want them to host in my very happy frogspawn)
comet
P. fridmani (but I already have purple in the angel)
anthias - never had one before and worry about the difficulty in keeping one.

That's a lot of "buts"!

Any other suggestions would be most welcome!

Well, the coral beauty should not notice a firefish, but unless you get a bonded pair, one firefish is all you can keep long term. However P. fridmani may (not will) notice a firefish but should not notice or be noticed by the angel. Clownfish will associate with whatever they feel like (the animal or space being associated with is the host, not the clown; best to learn the terminology correctly).

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Royal Gramma Basslet
Ocellaris Clownfish
Blue Green Chromis
Engineer Goby they are called this because they rearrange stuff
Eyelash Lawnmower Blenny
Orange Spot Prawn Goby
Long Nose Hawk not safe for shrimp
Blue Hippo Tangs your tank is not large enough
Yellow Tang may conflict with a purple
Purple Tang may conflict with a yellow
Melanurus Fairy Wrasse
Emerald Crabs If large and hungry they can prey on fish
Sally Lightfoot Crabs I distrust crabs that may prey on fish
Sand Cleaning Sea Star not recommended; will deplete your live sand
Linckia Starfish often starve
Maybe try a Moorish Idol in with the bunch a more difficult fish, best to wait ????

[MOOSE1504]

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE READ
BLUE HIPPO TANGS
Recommended Tank size: Requires a 20 gallon or larger aquarium with a number of hiding places and plenty of room to swim.To keep multiple specimens, introduce the entire lot at once into the marine system.

YELLOW BELLY BLUE HIPPO TANG
Recommended Tank size: Requires a 50 gallon or larger aquarium with a number of hiding places and plenty of room to swim.Though peaceful towards most tankmates, the Yellow Belly Hippo Tang will demonstrate aggressive behavior towards other fish of its own species. To keep multiple specimens, introduce the entire lot at once into the marine system`

SALLY LIGHT FOOT
The Sally Lightfoot Crab, also known as the Nimble Spray, Short, or Urchin Crab. With their brown body and orange to yellow rings on their legs, Sally Lightfoots are a reef-safe crab, very active algae eaters and enjoy feeding off of algae on rockwork

EMERALD CRAB
Excellent Algae Eater
including troublesome Bubble Algae!Green Emerald Crabs are reef-safe algae eaters and an excellent addition to your cleaner crew. They are one of the few inverts that will eat nuisance bubble algae which makes them very popular among reef keepers. It will also feed on uneaten meaty foods and many of the types of nuisance algae found in reef aquariums

[MOOSE1504]

SAND STAR
This peaceful omnivore will effectively clean even the largest home aquarium of detritus and left over food.
Description: The Sand Sifting Sea Star efficiently consumes mass amounts of detritus and uneaten food. A great addition to any reef tank, this nocturnally active sea star will move large amounts of sand as it burrows into the substrate in its search for food

LINCKIA STAR
These Stars feed on algae found on aquarium glass, rockwork, and substrate. They are completely reef safe and are a must have for anyone with either a fish-only or reef tank.
Diet:If introduced to a large well established aquarium, very little needs to be done to supplement Linckias. The bacterial film that comprises the mainstay of the Linckias diet usually appears in abundance in well established and seasoned aquariums.


IF THESE INFO IS WRONG PLEASE LET ME KNOW

[5ft24]

LFS will make them all sound friendly and that they will fit in your tank just to make a buck...

[spoiled739]

My LfS buys Linkias all the time and most of the time they do not make it out of the store, because they starve to death. There was a guy that worked there that told me that stars are pretty much a waste of money and that sand sifting stars usually do not do their job. But that is just my experience.

[5ft24]

Only stars I have seen last are Brittles and Serpents... reading on the linkia's, their diet is really unknown, so they pretty much starve to death

[MOOSE1504]

Brittles and Serpents stars, is that the only other reef safe stars that dont die in a week or so?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE READ
BLUE HIPPO TANGS
Recommended Tank size: Requires a 20 gallon or larger aquarium with a number of hiding places and plenty of room to swim.To keep multiple specimens, introduce the entire lot at once into the marine system.

RC recommended tank size is 240 gallons; can you imagine a 1 foot fish in a 20 gallon tank?

YELLOW BELLY BLUE HIPPO TANG
Recommended Tank size: Requires a 50 gallon or larger aquarium with a number of hiding places and plenty of room to swim.Though peaceful towards most tankmates, the Yellow Belly Hippo Tang will demonstrate aggressive behavior towards other fish of its own species. To keep multiple specimens, introduce the entire lot at once into the marine system`

RC recommended tank size is 240 gallons; can you imagine a 1 foot fish in a 20 gallon tank?

SALLY LIGHT FOOT
The Sally Lightfoot Crab, also known as the Nimble Spray, Short, or Urchin Crab. With their brown body and orange to yellow rings on their legs, Sally Lightfoots are a reef-safe crab, very active algae eaters and enjoy feeding off of algae on rockwork

So, when you are trying to get rid of yours, write us back and I will give you some strategies for doing so

EMERALD CRAB
Excellent Algae Eater
including troublesome Bubble Algae!Green Emerald Crabs are reef-safe algae eaters and an excellent addition to your cleaner crew. They are one of the few inverts that will eat nuisance bubble algae which makes them very popular among reef keepers. It will also feed on uneaten meaty foods and many of the types of nuisance algae found in reef aquariums

For aquarists who feed infrequently, they have been know to go after fish

Your knowledge is from reading, or your LFS, mine is from 20 years saltwater experience

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

SAND STAR
This peaceful omnivore will effectively clean even the largest home aquarium of detritus and left over food.
Description: The Sand Sifting Sea Star efficiently consumes mass amounts of detritus and uneaten food. A great addition to any reef tank, this nocturnally active sea star will move large amounts of sand as it burrows into the substrate in its search for food

Unfortunately, they deplete your live sand then starve to death

LINCKIA STAR
These Stars feed on algae found on aquarium glass, rockwork, and substrate. They are completely reef safe and are a must have for anyone with either a fish-only or reef tank.
Diet:If introduced to a large well established aquarium, very little needs to be done to supplement Linckias. The bacterial film that comprises the mainstay of the Linckias diet usually appears in abundance in well established and seasoned aquariums.

Hey, go for it. It is your money!


IF THESE INFO IS WRONG PLEASE LET ME KNOW

I already provided it once. Now twice.

[Toddrtrex]

I have to agree with all that Steve has posted. You couldn't pay me (( well, if it was enough... )) to put a sandsifting star and/or a linka in any of my tanks -- just don't like watching things slowly starve to death.

Don't know where you found the info about the "hippo" tangs -- and wonder why they had different tank sizes (( both very wrong )) for a normal one and a yellow belly -- aside from the color there is nothing different between the two.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

Melanurus Fairy Wrasse

I forgot to mention. There is no fairy wrasse of this name; there is an Anampses melanurus but I doubt you would find one for sale.

[MOOSE1504]

Your knowledge is from reading, or your LFS, mine is from 20 years saltwater experience[/QUOTE]



http://www.aquacon.com/saltwater_fish_aquarium.html

This is a web site that I just found and have been looking at the fish on to get a idea of what I want my tank to have. I'm not tiring to chap any ones a$$ here I am wanting to learn from other mistakes to save the heart ache

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

http://www.aquacon.com/saltwater_fish_aquarium.html

This is a web site that I just found and have been looking at the fish on to get a idea of what I want my tank to have. I'm not tiring to chap any ones a$$ here I am wanting to learn from other mistakes to save the heart ache

Notice the name of that site aquaCON -- they have an awful track record, and best to stay away from them.

[MOOSE1504]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

I have to agree with all that Steve has posted. You couldn't pay me (( well, if it was enough... )) to put a sandsifting star and/or a linka in any of my tanks -- just don't like watching things slowly starve to death.

Don't know where you found the info about the "hippo" tangs -- and wonder why they had different tank sizes (( both very wrong )) for a normal one and a yellow belly -- aside from the color there is nothing different between the two.

I don't want to be the reason for anything dyeing, I don't want to waste money to watch some thing die. This is the reason I signed up for this site to get someone's hands on experience and not the lies from LFS and bad sites.

[MOOSE1504]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

Notice the name of that site aquaCON -- they have an awful track record, and best to stay away from them.

Whats a good site to look up fish with correct info about them? My wife is a picture person so pictures are a must.

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

Whats a good site to look up fish with correct info about them? My wife is a picture person so pictures are a must.

Besides RC, Live Aquaria is good.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

Whats a good site to look up fish with correct info about them? My wife is a picture person so pictures are a must.

Well Live Aquaria is a reasonable online fish provider and is a sponsor of RC. Aquacon has a terrible reputation.

[Llamaguy]

Originally Posted by MOOSE1504

http://www.aquacon.com/saltwater_fish_aquarium.html

This is a web site that I just found and have been looking at the fish on to get a idea of what I want my tank to have. I'm not tiring to chap any ones a$$ here I am wanting to learn from other mistakes to save the heart ache

Good rule of thumb: never trust anyone trying to sell you something.

I can only imagine the Blue hippo is a type and they mean 120.

[snorvich]

However, reading will not take you very far since the real problem is the potential interactions among fish. Todd and I can give you what we have observed, but in some cases we are going to err. Both of us try to err on the side of conservatism.