Stocking 300 Display (600 gal total system)

[nivenethan]

I am getting ready to start stocking my 8' long 300 gallon tank. I have another 300 gallons of water (600 total) in my mechanical room with BK SM300 RDII skimmer. It is a fairly new and recently finished cycling. 350 lbs DRY rock (no live at all) so it has taken me a while to cycle. Eventually will be full reef and fish setup, but want to take it slow and do it up right. I don't have lights yet (waiting on the new aquaillumination LED's), but want to start adding fish. Okay...

So eventually I want to have some cool tangs, but wondering what you guys would recommend for starting fish. I don't want to put in "throw away" fish, but am not ready for $200 tangs yet. I'm looking for recommendations for reef tank fish and a general schedule or scheme of addition.

Any good pics of a reef tank this size fully stocked with fish?

Thanks,

[kvosstra]

Well, If it were my tank, I would carefully plan out "all" fish that I would want in the tank.

Beginning with Gobies, small wrasses, anthias, cardinals, up to the larger fish, angels, tangs, rabbits, etc. Finally add the damselfish (clowns) of your choice, if any.

Then I would accordingly order the fish based on their proper acclimation and space in my QT tank. Since I use a 40 or a 90 gallon QT, I would then order my first set of gobies and anthias - QT each and then introduce 4-6 weeks later.

At 4-6 weeks I would then order the next set, probably for me, more gobies and Cardinals.

Following 4-6 weeks - add the wrasses (harem of flames, or other pretty fish). I'm also partial to pseudo's so stock accordingly - no flame wrasses and muculloci pseudos together, etc.

Again 4-6 weeks and purchase the larger fish and introduce.

Let us know some of the fish YOU want, then we can make suggestions based on that. The fish I and You want may be very different!

Congrats on the new tank - take it slow (sounds like you are doing that), and prevent headaches down the road.

-Kyle

[RealReef7]

I would not QT lrg angels, expensive tangs, or any large fish... it just puts on more stress... I know they can introduce ich and what not but even after you QT a fish they are not 100% its just reducing the chances.

[JamesJR]

Originally posted by RealReef7
I would not QT lrg angels, expensive tangs, or any large fish... it just puts on more stress... I know they can introduce ich and what not but even after you QT a fish they are not 100% its just reducing the chances.

QT should be standard practice. The whole idea behind quarantine is to give the fish time to rest and rebuild their strength and to simplify the treatment of infectious diseases before they go through the rigors of being introduced to a display tank. If you think quarantine is too stressful than you probably aren't doing it correctly.

[nivenethan]

Originally posted by kvosstra
Well, If it were my tank, I would carefully plan out "all" fish that I would want in the tank.

Beginning with Gobies, small wrasses, anthias, cardinals, up to the larger fish, angels, tangs, rabbits, etc. Finally add the damselfish (clowns) of your choice, if any.

Then I would accordingly order the fish based on their proper acclimation and space in my QT tank. Since I use a 40 or a 90 gallon QT, I would then order my first set of gobies and anthias - QT each and then introduce 4-6 weeks later.

At 4-6 weeks I would then order the next set, probably for me, more gobies and Cardinals.

Following 4-6 weeks - add the wrasses (harem of flames, or other pretty fish). I'm also partial to pseudo's so stock accordingly - no flame wrasses and muculloci pseudos together, etc.

Again 4-6 weeks and purchase the larger fish and introduce.

Let us know some of the fish YOU want, then we can make suggestions based on that. The fish I and You want may be very different!

Congrats on the new tank - take it slow (sounds like you are doing that), and prevent headaches down the road.

-Kyle

Thank you for the reply. I have a 75 gallon QT setup and ready. I really want some large tangs, but understand that most are aggressive and are incompatible of the same species or if they too closely resemble one another. I really appreciate how you laid out a schedule with general classes of fish.....really what I needed to know. Which types, how many at a time, and what is the "best" order.

If anyone has other opinions I am all ears. I have invested a S___load of money so far to do things right and want to keep that methodology consistent throughout. This is a long term investment (ha!...investment...that's funny; I mean hobby) and want to be educated. Equipment selection is simple, but the what and how of compatible life is a more complex topic.

As far as what I really want...eventually...achillies or blonde naso, or powder blue/brown, etc...

Thanks,

[alovely]

I agree with no QT generally I QT but I have had some horrible luck with tangs so don't have any at all. One word of caution even if you suspect a little hint of ich start treating immediately and QT. I treated a little late total death tole: 1 yellow tang, 1 flame angel, 2 black ocellaris.

[kvosstra]

Nivenethan,

Let me say that the 75 gallon is a great start for QT. As you probably know, and others have pointed out, Tangs are a magnet for ICH, and since we dont yet have the ability to have captive raised these fish yet, they must be wild fish - and so are likely to have parasites on them when you receive them.

Large Angels and a number of other fish are also likely to have flukes and other internal parasites (I'm not an expert on this, just my own experiences and from reading from trusted sources on this and other sites), and must be QT'd to ensure they are parasite free in our home displays. No reason to buy a beautiful $300 fish and to not QT it, only to have it die from a simple parasite.

Anyway - lets get back to your fish list.

My fish list for a tank like this would be something like the following
Gobies - 2-3 shrimp gobies and pistol shrimp, I love neon gobies, so I would always get them, probably another few such as Elacatinus puncticulatus (red head goby) and Elacatinus multifasciatum (green striped goby), which are also Captive bred!

I also love anthias - so I would get a group of 7-10 female anthias squamipinnis. These are messy fish (need to feed them meaty foods on a regular basis), but its nice to get them eating and comfortable in the tank, before the bigger aggressive fish appear.

For wrasses, I would do a harem of flame wrasses and then either something simple like Pseudochromis fridmani, or Gramma Loreto. These both do well in groups, and I think its fun to watch them interact and to get fish breeding in the home aquarium!

If you want to add leopard wrasses, they are delicate, so this would also be a good time to consider them - I have a single leopard and find it to be a fascinating fish - Sadly I had 3 in my tank, but lost 2 when they snuck through my cover on a holding tank while I upgraded my tank last year.

Now it may be getting to be time for larger fish - If you really want to do the achilles, Naso, and or powder blue - I think that you can do all 3 together in this tank. I have kept the achilles and PB together in a 6 ft 180, but it was too small for them after a few months - they need a lot of room! I would be hesitant to add too many other large, fish to the tank though (just my opinion).

Each of these fish must be QT'd properly for ICH and internal parasites. They will be much better off if they each have time to get healthy and to eat and fatten up in QT while not being harassed by any other fish. I would do the Achilles or Naso first (smaller of the two), and the PB last.

We do invest a ton of money in these tanks, so its not worth it in my mind to rush through the process and then have it ultimately result in failure.

Let us know some of your other fish, or shoot me a PM and we can discuss more details and a good schedule. Obviously some of these fish are expensive too, so, since I dont know your budget, its hard to make all the decisions. No need to discuss that publicly though.

Good luck!
-Kyle

[Brandon M]

Originally posted by RealReef7
I would not QT lrg angels, expensive tangs, or any large fish... it just puts on more stress... I know they can introduce ich and what not but even after you QT a fish they are not 100% its just reducing the chances.

I disagree with this statement. I believe QT should be used 100% of the time. It is important the QT tank is large enough for bigger fish, but QT not only allows you to watch the fish and treat any parasites or ich, but it gives the fish a completely stress free environment where it can start eating well and have the strength to compete for food with the other fish in the tank.

If you set up a QT system the right way, you should not have any problems with water quality. My QT tank has been up for almost a year now and I still do small daily/bi-daily water changes on it when I'm QT'ing a fish.

[lombard0]

If it's going to be my tank, it will be angelfishes all the way.

One pomacanthus
A pair of pygolites
One or two paracentropyge
Maybe two harem of the genicanthus species
Some interesting chaetodontoplus species
... And at least 5 different kind of centropyge (harem, pair, and solo)

[nivenethan]

Originally posted by lombard0
If it's going to be my tank, it will be angelfishes all the way.

One pomacanthus
A pair of pygolites
One or two paracentropyge
Maybe two harem of the genicanthus species
Some interesting chaetodontoplus species
... And at least 5 different kind of centropyge (harem, pair, and solo)

Can Tangs be kept with Angels in a reef tank? If so are there any limitations?

Thanks,

[WuHT]

Originally posted by nivenethan
Can Tangs be kept with Angels in a reef tank? If so are there any limitations?

Thanks,

not a problem.. just keep an eye on the bioload/aggression, which means you either have too many or too little fish (odd way to curb aggression).

[lombard0]

Originally posted by nivenethan
Can Tangs be kept with Angels in a reef tank? If so are there any limitations?

Thanks,

Oh yeah! But then again, there are tang species that are aggressive and should be the "only boss of the tank". What tang species do you have in mind if I may ask?

[nivenethan]

Originally posted by lombard0
Oh yeah! But then again, there are tang species that are aggressive and should be the "only boss of the tank". What tang species do you have in mind if I may ask?

blonde naso, powder brown or blue, and maaayyyybeee...an achilles at some point.

[sundancer]

think those are all aggressive. I have a 7" Fowleri tang and he is a baby. He so gentle he sways when he swims.

[InsaneClownFish]

Truly gorgeous fish sundancer!

[anbosu]

Originally posted by nivenethan
blonde naso, powder brown or blue, and maaayyyybeee...an achilles at some point.

Nasos aren't too aggressive, and if your tank is big enough shouldn't cause you any problems. I would not mix two acantharus species, especially one as fragile as an achilles. You will probably need to choose between the powder blue, powder brown, and the achilles.

I would do something like this:

Naso tang
Lavendar tang or purple tang
Powder Brown/Hippo tang

They all have fairly distinct body types and coloration so you shouldn't have too much fighting. Additionally, all of those fish can be found for a reasonable price if you look around.

[nivenethan]

Originally posted by anbosu
Nasos aren't too aggressive, and if your tank is big enough shouldn't cause you any problems. I would not mix two acantharus species, especially one as fragile as an achilles. You will probably need to choose between the powder blue, powder brown, and the achilles.

I would do something like this:

Naso tang
Lavendar tang or purple tang
Powder Brown/Hippo tang

They all have fairly distinct body types and coloration so you shouldn't have too much fighting. Additionally, all of those fish can be found for a reasonable price if you look around.

Excellent...those tangs are on my list of acceptable as well. Are there any Angels that you would recommend with a powder brown, purple and naso tang?