PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Bshanks4321

No worries, thanks for replying Snorvich. Do you think my current stocking list is okay as is or will i have issues?

A female maroon clown will want to control about 50 gallons of tank space, so that is the primary area of concern since they are very aggressive. Secondarily, that dwarf angel really needs a larger tank since it is a grazer and eats constantly. In the longer run that may become an issue.

[Portsie]

Looking for some help. 72g sumpless bow front. Mated pair of tomatoe clowns, green mandarin, Aussie orange tail damsel, ywg/pistol. I have a yellow eye kole tang coming in this week. Would you say this pretty much maxes me out, or could I add a splendid dotty back too.
Thanks

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Portsie

Looking for some help. 72g sumpless bow front. Mated pair of tomatoe clowns, green mandarin, Aussie orange tail damsel, ywg/pistol. I have a yellow eye kole tang coming in this week. Would you say this pretty much maxes me out, or could I add a splendid dotty back too.
Thanks

Ignoring the fact the a splendid dottyback is very aggressive, you already have some issues: tomato clowns once sexually mature are aggressive, damsels are aggressive, and a kole tang is marginal for this tank size. The mandarin is also right on the borderline suitable for this sized tank especially with no sump or refugium. So I would definitely not add another aggressive fish. Bioload is not really the issue, however, it is more a behavioral one.

[Dakarta]

I was suggested to post this here to get some more expert advice on my livestock selection.

The tank will be a 120 gal 48 x 24 x 24. I will be using live rock, and a refigium. there will be live rock in the sump, display tank and the refugium. Not sure exact size of Sump yet but was thinking of 60 gal.

I have been given some advice already and have put it in my fish diary so I can make final decisions later.

So I did some research and since a tank is usually built for it's inhabitants.... I came up with a list of things I would like in my tank. Trust me this list is not all inclusive and I don't want everything listed.

I would like to hear some suggestions on what may go well together and complement each other. Anything definitely not to get. I welcome any suggestions that may not be on here as well that anyone may have. Once I narrow down my livestock I can move on with getting set up for the tank build.

I intend to do my best to keep all fish purchases tank bred and al coral aquacultured if possible.

Livestock to consider for the 120 Gal Reef tank
Inverts:
Urchin: Purple short spine, Pencil, Pincushion, long spine, or tuxedo
Sponge
Shrimp: Peppermint, Fire, or Scarlet skunk
Feather dusters and coco worms
Porcelain crab
Trapezia crab (need sps coral)
Anemone(s) (to host clowns)
Clam: Derasa, crocea, Maxima, Squamosa
Snails for CUC various types. suggestions would be welcome
Hermits for CUC various types
Cucumber ? one of the places I have been looking at for livestock has a CUC with a mini cucumber in it

Fish:
Clown: Pair of Black Ocellaris, Ocellaris, or Percula
Cardinal: three of one type Bangai, Spotted, or Yellow Striped
Damsel: one of Blue Sapphire or Yellow Tail
Basslet: one of Black cap or Royal Gramma
Tang: one Bristle tooth Tomini
Dartfish: one firefish
Blenny: one of Yellow eye comb tooth, Harp tail, or Black comb tooth
Anthias: one of Bartlett’s, Sunset, Princess, Pictilis, or Central Pacific
Wrasse: one of Orange back Fairy, Whip fin fairy, or Carpenter’s Flasher
Chromis: three or four of Black Bar, Black and White, Vanderbuilt, or Blue/green
Gobies: One or two of Green clown, Catalina, Yellow Stripe cling fish, Neon Blue, Engineer, Green banded, Hector’s, Orange Stripe Prawn, or Sleeper Gold head

I would like to have a dragonette. I know they need a well established tank. I saw one at my LFS. They told me that they do train them to spot feed on pellets and frozen food.

Plants:
Halimeda
Shaving Brush
Maiden’s Hair
Kelp
Macros in refugium

Corals:
This is where I really need some help and suggestions of what would work well, and what would not. Not really sure here. Would like a nice rounded selection of coral to cover whole spectrum. Hear SPS and LPS are more difficult and think I would like to start with softies but eventually do want to have SPS and LPS too maybe.

More recent suggestions have me leaning toward an LPS dominate tank with some softies and a few SPS near the top. Still don't know exactly what species though.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Dakarta

I was suggested to post this here to get some more expert advice on my livestock selection.

The tank will be a 120 gal 48 x 24 x 24. I will be using live rock, and a refigium. there will be live rock in the sump, display tank and the refugium. Not sure exact size of Sump yet but was thinking of 60 gal.

I have been given some advice already and have put it in my fish diary so I can make final decisions later.

So I did some research and since a tank is usually built for it's inhabitants.... I came up with a list of things I would like in my tank. Trust me this list is not all inclusive and I don't want everything listed.

Note: I only provide commentary on Marine Fish Compatibility so coral and invert questions should be elsewhere

I would like to hear some suggestions on what may go well together and complement each other. Anything definitely not to get. I welcome any suggestions that may not be on here as well that anyone may have. Once I narrow down my livestock I can move on with getting set up for the tank build.

I intend to do my best to keep all fish purchases tank bred and al coral aquacultured if possible.

Livestock to consider for the 120 Gal Reef tank
Inverts:
Urchin: Purple short spine, Pencil, Pincushion, long spine, or tuxedo
Sponge
Shrimp: Peppermint, Fire, or Scarlet skunk
Feather dusters and coco worms
Porcelain crab
Trapezia crab (need sps coral)
Anemone(s) (to host clowns)
Clam: Derasa, crocea, Maxima, Squamosa
Snails for CUC various types. suggestions would be welcome
Hermits for CUC various types
Cucumber ? one of the places I have been looking at for livestock has a CUC with a mini cucumber in it

Fish:
Clown: Pair of Black Ocellaris, Ocellaris, or Percula Obviously, only one pair, but all listed have similar behavioral characteristics
Cardinal: three of one type Bangai, Spotted, or Yellow Striped For Bangai, only a male and female will coexist and they should be tank raised for sustainability
Damsel: one of Blue Sapphire or Yellow Tail aggressive, may limit tank mates
Basslet: one of Black cap or Royal Gramma
Tang: one Bristle tooth Tomini
Dartfish: one firefish introduce early; prolific jumper and egg crate will not keep them in
Blenny: one of Yellow eye comb tooth, Harp tail, or Black comb tooth
Anthias: one of Bartlett’s, Sunset, Princess, Pictilis, or Central Pacific Some of these species are difficult such as Pictilis and anthias do best if fed multiple times per day
Wrasse: one of Orange back Fairy, Whip fin fairy, or Carpenter’s Flasher whip fin is aggressive, the others are fine; also prolific jumpers
Chromis: three or four of Black Bar, Black and White, Vanderbuilt, or Blue/green a group will become one over time; also highly susceptible to uronema
Gobies: One or two of Green clown, Catalina, Yellow Stripe cling fish, Neon Blue, Engineer, Green banded, Hector’s, Orange Stripe Prawn, or Sleeper Gold head catalina requires cool temperatures, engineer gets large and moves stuff around, sleeper gobies usually starve long term, neon are excellent but short lived, cling fish are difficult

I would like to have a dragonette. I know they need a well established tank. I saw one at my LFS. They told me that they do train them to spot feed on pellets and frozen food.

Unfortunately, training them is interesting but usually will not sustain them long term; however your tank, once established for 9 months should be of sufficient size to sustain them.

Plants:
Halimeda
Shaving Brush
Maiden’s Hair
Kelp
Macros in refugium

Corals:
This is where I really need some help and suggestions of what would work well, and what would not. Not really sure here. Would like a nice rounded selection of coral to cover whole spectrum. Hear SPS and LPS are more difficult and think I would like to start with softies but eventually do want to have SPS and LPS too maybe.

More recent suggestions have me leaning toward an LPS dominate tank with some softies and a few SPS near the top. Still don't know exactly what species though.

all fish above are coral safe. However clownfish do not always associate with the anemone provided. They can and will often associate with certain LPS corals which can damage them. FYI.

[Dakarta]

Steve, thanks for the advice and it really helps me to narrow down my selections. I'll try to find where to post my inverts and corals. Thanks again.

BTW could you give me any info on a shrimp/goby pair

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Dakarta

Steve, thanks for the advice and it really helps me to narrow down my selections. I'll try to find where to post my inverts and corals. Thanks again.

BTW could you give me any info on a shrimp/goby pair

You can only have one per tank. All have pretty much the same behavior so pick one that is attractive. Alpheus Randal is the shrimp. And yes, they will find each other even if added separately.

[Rumjahn]

Hello,

I have a 90 gallon (48x18x26) DT with a 55 gallon sump, live rock in DT and refugium in the sump. VorTech MP40. Currently have complete CUC, zoas, palys, green star polyps and anthelia all thriving.

Livestock includes:
4 blue/green chromis
2 clownfish (about 4 years old)
1 engineer goby (fully grown)

Looking to get a yellow tang and/or a copperband butterflyfish.

Which should I get first, or can I get both at the same time? Thanks!

[rale2001]

thanks snorvich

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Rumjahn

Hello,

I have a 90 gallon (48x18x26) DT with a 55 gallon sump, live rock in DT and refugium in the sump. VorTech MP40. Currently have complete CUC, zoas, palys, green star polyps and anthelia all thriving.

Livestock includes:
4 blue/green chromis over time, the vast majority of time, these diminish to one or at most two
2 clownfish (about 4 years old)
1 engineer goby (fully grown)

Looking to get a yellow tang and/or a copperband butterflyfish. Reef Central's recommendation for tank size for tangs is found here. Note that the minimum tank size we recommend is 100 gallons for a yellow tang. Copperband butterfly fish are a roll of the dice; they often do not eat, and often do not eat aiptasia. They require peaceful tank mates, so a yellow tang might intimidate this fish.

Which should I get first, or can I get both at the same time? Thanks!

What species of clownfish?

[Rumjahn]

Originally Posted by snorvich

What species of clownfish?

It's a True Percula Clownfish.

I know that the 90 gallon is a little small for the yellow tang, but my 120 gallon build is in the works, so I'll be transferring the entire tank over to it in a few months' time.

So it sounds like you're recommending either the Copperband or the Yellow Tang, but not both?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Rumjahn

It's a True Percula Clownfish.

No problem.

I know that the 90 gallon is a little small for the yellow tang, but my 120 gallon build is in the works, so I'll be transferring the entire tank over to it in a few months' time.

So it sounds like you're recommending either the Copperband or the Yellow Tang, but not both?

correct. For the CBB, Australian endemic are more likely to succeed.

[Rumjahn]

Thank you very much!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Rumjahn

Thank you very much!

You are most welcome!

[Crna]

Hi guys! I have a 29 gallon biocube that currently has one Ocellaris and one Citron Goby. Inverts include a standard CUC with snails and hermits, a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and one small emerald crab. I had a Purple Firefish that died, and have planned on getting another. Lately, I have been thinking about a Wrasse instead of the Firefish. My plans are to run a fuge in chamber two, and eventually I would like to get a Dragonette. I'm definitely a novice at this point, and that is something to hope for in the future. At this point, would a wrasse work, and if so, what would you recommend? Thanks!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Crna

Hi guys! I have a 29 gallon biocube that currently has one Ocellaris and one Citron Goby. Inverts include a standard CUC with snails and hermits, a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and one small emerald crab. I had a Purple Firefish that died, and have planned on getting another. Lately, I have been thinking about a Wrasse instead of the Firefish. My plans are to run a fuge in chamber two, and eventually I would like to get a Dragonette. I'm definitely a novice at this point, and that is something to hope for in the future. At this point, would a wrasse work, and if so, what would you recommend? Thanks!

The only wrasses that would work are Pink-Streaked Wrasse and one of the three species of possum wrasse. A dragonette is an unlikely success story in this sized tank

[Crna]

My wife really likes the possum wrasse, and I hadn't considered the pink-streaked. I really appreciate the advice! There is so much misguided advice out there, and I can't imagine the time it must take to monitor this thread. Thanks!

[OceanWolf]

I have a JBJ 28G nanocube with 1.5 inch livesand. My numbers are all zero and I have the tank going for two months. It is running with 89W Led, Mp10wes, Koralia 450 nano, two stock circulation pumps, stock skimmer all controlled by a Reef Angel. I have a Aquamaxx Hob-1 on the way to get better skimming.

Current Livestock;
2 Juvenile Clowns
1 Fire Shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp ( I got him for Bristleworm issue)
3 Turbo Snails
2 Nassarius Snails
2 Blue legged hermit crabs (small)
Lots of bristleworms (I didn't buy them. :-) )
1 GSP
1 Mushroom
1 Anenome ( trying to figure out what it is, looks like RTBA)

I had a Three Striped damsel that I returned to the store before the clowns added.

Wish list:
Small Blue Tang (requested by wife)
Chocolate Chip Starfish (maybe)
Cow fish (maybe)
Humu Humu (maybe)
Hardy Corals

What do you think?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Crna

My wife really likes the possum wrasse, and I hadn't considered the pink-streaked. I really appreciate the advice! There is so much misguided advice out there, and I can't imagine the time it must take to monitor this thread. Thanks!

Both are excellent, well mannered, and interesting. Remember there are three species of possum wrasse, all of which have similar behaviors, but different morphology.

I have been doing this thread (I am the only one who answers it) for years with many thousands of questions. Always a pleasure.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by OceanWolf

I have a JBJ 28G nanocube with 1.5 inch livesand. My numbers are all zero and I have the tank going for two months. It is running with 89W Led, Mp10wes, Koralia 450 nano, two stock circulation pumps, stock skimmer all controlled by a Reef Angel. I have a Aquamaxx Hob-1 on the way to get better skimming.

Current Livestock;
2 Juvenile Clowns
1 Fire Shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp ( I got him for Bristleworm issue)
3 Turbo Snails
2 Nassarius Snails
2 Blue legged hermit crabs (small)
Lots of bristleworms (I didn't buy them. :-) )
1 GSP
1 Mushroom
1 Anenome ( trying to figure out what it is, looks like RTBA)

I had a Three Striped damsel that I returned to the store before the clowns added.

Wish list:
Small Blue Tang (requested by wife) Needs a MUCH larger tank
Chocolate Chip Starfish (maybe) not reef safe
Cow fish (maybe) Needs a MUCH larger tank
Humu Humu (maybe) Needs a MUCH larger tank
Hardy Corals

What do you think?

Sorry, but you are going to have to match your fish population to your tank capabilities.

[fltekdiver]

Wow, glad I found this thread!

I read about 30 pages then saw it was over 300 ! Lol

My tank is 2 months old, and is a 180 gallon reef tank. 72"x24"x25"

I have about 140lbs of live rock , use REd Sea Pro salt

Sump is 60 gallons total, in which 20 gallons is the fuge

Skimmer is rated to 500 gallons

Lighting is LED

I went with easy coral, all LPS , hammerhead. Frogspawn, dunkin, etc. And 1 PC of SPS

Livestock is :

One pair of Ocellaris clowns paired
1- one spot fox face
1- powder blue tang
1- yellow tang

Both the powder blue and yellow tang were introduced at the same time

Medium CUC , one cleaner shrimp

I was looking into Copper banded butterfly , not sure
Sailfin tang?

I'd like to get a paired pistol shrimp and goby

Was thinking of a flame angle, but heard they could be coral nippers

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your expert help and sharing your experience with us !

[OceanWolf]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Sorry, but you are going to have to match your fish population to your tank capabilities.

Any suggestions?

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by fltekdiver

Wow, glad I found this thread!

I read about 30 pages then saw it was over 300 ! Lol

Yeah, well, and that is only part of it. The thread has been split multiple times.

My tank is 2 months old, and is a 180 gallon reef tank. 72"x24"x25"

I have about 140lbs of live rock , use REd Sea Pro salt

Sump is 60 gallons total, in which 20 gallons is the fuge

Skimmer is rated to 500 gallons

Lighting is LED

I went with easy coral, all LPS , hammerhead. Frogspawn, dunkin, etc. And 1 PC of SPS

Livestock is :

One pair of Ocellaris clowns paired
1- one spot fox face
1- powder blue tang
1- yellow tang

Well in a six foot tank, with two established tangs and another grazer, you are limited drastically going forward. I would always suggest adding tangs last.

Both the powder blue and yellow tang were introduced at the same time

Medium CUC , one cleaner shrimp

I was looking into Copper banded butterfly , not sure
Sailfin tang?

Copper banded butterfly fish, in the best case, require peaceful tank mates. You do NOT have peaceful tank mates so the odds of success are minimal at best. Especially since the odds of a copper banded butterfly succeeding are not good to start. A sailfin tang requires a larger tank, and with established tangs, would be a problem in any case.

I'd like to get a paired pistol shrimp and goby

Was thinking of a flame angle, but heard they could be coral nippers dwarf angels are not reef safe (coral safe) but your noxious ones (frogspawn family) would be safe, your meaty LPS corals not so much.

Any other suggestions? As those who follow this thread know, I do not provide suggestions for a variety of reasons. I am happy to reanalyze any stocking list however, provided you reprovide inhabitants and tank size. I have a short memory and have done thousands of these.

Thanks for your expert help and sharing your experience with us !

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by OceanWolf

Any suggestions?

Absolutely. Read, read, read. Then read some more before you purchase any animals, fish or inverts. Nothing good happens quickly in this hobby. As those who follow this thread know, I do not provide suggestions about which animals to consider for a variety of reasons. I am happy to reanalyze any stocking list however, provided you reprovide inhabitants and tank size. I have a short memory and have done thousands of these.

[Dakarta]

Change in fish list based on your and others previous comments

I tried to keep the fish on the smaller size. I don't really want anything too big in there. I also tried to keep most of the fish on the peaceful side. Not sure how they will interact with each other. I know it is said damsels can be aggressive but the two sites I looked at said the one I picked was peaceful. I also know that the wrasses and the firefish, maybe even the gobies might be jumpers. I know egg crate won't work but I will have a canopy and fine mesh screening on any exposed gaps

Clown: pair of Black Ocellaris
Cardinal: pair of Bangai
Basslet: one Royal Gramma
Damsel: one Blue Sapphire
Tang: one Bristle tooth Tomini
Dartfish: one firefish
Blenny: one Harp tail
Wrasse: pair of Carpenter’s Flasher
Gobies: One Green clown, one Neon Blue, and one Yasha White ray w/tiger or skunk pistol
Dragonette: Green Mandarin later on down the road 9 months to a year