Livestock time?

[BongoSolo3]

Been up running for over 3 months now. 75 with over 100 lbs LR that is covered in growth... coraline algae is starting to grow like mad on my glass - everything seems very stable.

Currently I have some xenia, frogspawn and two zoo colonies. A hitchhiking unidentified shrimp is still in my tank somewhere that I've been unable to catch. (I used to think it was a blue lobster, but it has changed color as it grows - now I have no clue what it is. Out of my cleanup crew, the only thing that has gone missing is the emerald crab).

So, given my tank stablility, I think I'm ready to start stocking. But not sure what I should start with given this shrimp situation.... The fish my wife definitely wants are two false perc's and a yellow tang.

I'd be fine if that is all we had given our tank size, but I don't know which to start with - any recommendation??

Any other fish I should consider in this tank that would be easier to start with?

[Lightsluvr]

Originally Posted by BongoSolo3

Been up running for over 3 months now. 75 with over 100 lbs LR that is covered in growth... coraline algae is starting to grow like mad on my glass - everything seems very stable.

Currently I have some xenia, frogspawn and two zoo colonies. A hitchhiking unidentified shrimp is still in my tank somewhere that I've been unable to catch. (I used to think it was a blue lobster, but it has changed color as it grows - now I have no clue what it is. Out of my cleanup crew, the only thing that has gone missing is the emerald crab).

So, given my tank stablility, I think I'm ready to start stocking. But not sure what I should start with given this shrimp situation.... The fish my wife definitely wants are two false perc's and a yellow tang.

I'd be fine if that is all we had given our tank size, but I don't know which to start with - any recommendation??

Any other fish I should consider in this tank that would be easier to start with?

Royal gramma for color.



Yellow Watchman Goby for sand sifting and bottom interest.



Avoid Damsels of any type.

Consider a Toadstool Mushroom for your Ocellaris clowns (aka false percs) to host. Very fun to watch.



...and perhaps 3 Bangai Cardinalfish. They will pair up - after which you should take the "odd" one back to your LFS before the pair gets aggressive toward it. They are mouth-breeders - fascinating.



Just a few suggestions.

LL

[thegrun]

The 75 is on the borderline of being too small for a Tang. Yellow Tangs require the least amount of space so you will probably be okay assuming you have the 48" wide tank. If it is only 36" you should pass on any Tang. If you have a QT tank, I would start with the clowns because they are heartier fish as long as they are small to medium in size. They get a little territorial as they get bigger, so it is better to stock your tank while they are young. Tangs are susceptible to Ich, so it is always best to keep them in a QT tank for a month before you put them in the DT. If you can't QT the Tang, I would put it in first and wait a month before adding any other fish to be sure it does not come down with Ich and infect the other fish.

[BongoSolo3]

It's the 4 foot wide.

[Chiefsurfer]

I also like the cardinals. I think the bengai move around a bit more than the spotted/pj cardinals, but I have heard, and could be wrong, the bengai can get more territorial/aggressive than the spotted. Although, with all the suggestions lightsluvr made, any cardinal should be fine i think.

The oscellaris are VERY hardy fish, HOWEVER, they can ship fairly lousy. If you are buying from your LFS, talk to the owner, or manager one on one, and express that you want 2 of them, and you would like them to have them in for a while(say 2 weeks or so) and make sure they look healthy, and are eating. He may be able to set them aside for you, so that you can be assured of your purchase. My LFS has said that if/when they get any B&W oscelarris(or percs, can't remember which) in he would set 2 aside for me, and hold them up to 4 weeks for me to make sure they are healthy looking, and eating. He also does not treat with copper in his holding tanks, but does do a formalin dip, and QT for q week.

[BongoSolo3]

Also, I currently do not have a QT tank. I dig the recommendation to start with the tang for ich purposes - This is the advice I'm looking for.

I like the other fish recommendations as well....


My LFS guy was advising green star polyps as something the clowns would be interested in hosting. Will I be better off with the toadstool mushroom?

I thought way down the road I'd eventually go with a RBTA, but not any time soon.

[thegrun]

The down side to toadstools is that they make it difficult to keep SPS corals (chemical warfare) if that is a long term goal for your tank. I haven't seen clowns host in GSP before, but they will host in almost anything, so why not GSP? GSP does tend to spread quickly, it is best to isolate it to a rock surrounded by sand or it will cover all your rockwork. It is best to wait 6 months for your tank to stabilize before adding anemones or SPS corals.

[BongoSolo3]

Hmm... I don't have any rock that is covered by sand - that could be a concern. I already have enough problems keeping this xenia from spreading like crazy.

I don't have any plans of SPS, but always like to keep options open.

[Lightsluvr]

Originally Posted by thegrun

The down side to toadstools is that they make it difficult to keep SPS corals (chemical warfare) if that is a long term goal for your tank. I haven't seen clowns host in GSP before, but they will host in almost anything, so why not GSP? GSP does tend to spread quickly, it is best to isolate it to a rock surrounded by sand or it will cover all your rockwork. It is best to wait 6 months for your tank to stabilize before adding anemones or SPS corals.

Never had a clown host in GSP... had a pair try a huge Kenya tree coral, but they literally wore it down to a nub. The Toadstools I have for my (two) pairs of ocellaris seem to flourish with all the contact...

I keep SPS on the same rock island as a 12" toadie, maybe they just "get along"

LL

[cindre2000]

Get captive bred clowns if you can. Shipping mortality goes from 40% to 2%. In fact I had 4 lg tomato clowns come in with practically no water (punctured bag) and they recovered by the next day. Wild caughts would have come in dead.

Forget the recommendation about the month for the yellow tang. If you are putting a non-quarantined fish in your system you are playing Russian Roulette. Quarantine all fish, using parasite treatment and medicated food (if you can). If the tang has ick and is in your display, you cannot treat for ick; you can only tear the tank apart to remove the tang and go fishless for 3 months (actually I forget the time frame).

Then again, I have never had a 'healthy' fish die from ick. Its the weak fish that kick the bucket. Healthy tangs do get it, and then get over it.

[Fretfreak13]

First off, look up mantis shrimp and make sure that's NOT your unidentified shrimp. It could kill your crustiations and fish. There are many, many different kinds and they come in pretty much all colors.

Also, I'm pretty sure that a Kole Tang would be fine in a 75 if you really want a tang. IMO, they stay the smallest of all tangs.

What about a dwarf angel? They are known to nibble corals so you'll have to keep an eye on them, but there are many people who have had succuss keeping them in their reefs. IMO, nothing adds color to the scene like a flame angel.

Also check out the reef-safe wrasses. Also a TON of color in those and lots of personality.

[Springmo]

+1 on mantis shrimp. They are known to change colors. A mantis will eventually take out your cleanup crew (explains the missing emerald crab) and can pose a threat to your fishes.

[BongoSolo3]

I'm fairly confident it's not a mantis, based on all the photos and videos I saw online. I was thinking that it's probably a Pistol - it looks very similar to a lot of the ones I saw in body shape, but not color. I can't get a picture of this thing for the life of me, but I can describe him. Vertical red and brownish striping on his back, red claws - one significantly bigger than the other. Blue legs, black antennae. Has a pretty intricate little home underneath the LR and dug into the sand, and only pokes his head out when the lights are off.

I read that it's possible for a pistol to get an emerald crab. I never found a green shell left behind, so I guess it's also possible that the crab is hiding deep within the LR, but that is just a guess

On day I decided to try and catch the shrimp to toss him into the sump. Removed all the LR and couldn't find him anywhere. So I guess when he gets spooked he just crawls way up into the LR.

[BongoSolo3]

So is QT'ing fish what most people do when they get one? If so, I should probably look into setting up a QT system.

I need to look into the archives and see if there are some threads/articles on it.

[thile123]

I have gotten by without QT my fish before adding them into the tank, maybe i'm lucky so far. I do try to buy only healthy looking fish with no sign of ich or anything else. I do think it's a good idea to QT new fish, once you have an establish population of fishes in the display tank later on.

[cozzar]

My personal opinion would be to add any Tang last; although I do think the tank might be a bit small for a tang to be honest.

I love angelfish and will be adding a coral beauty to mine, but the flame angel and yellow peel angel are also fantastic!!

[Springmo]

I agree with the above, an angelfish would be cool.

That definitely does sound like a pistol shrimp btw.

[Lightsluvr]

Maybe a Coral Beauty in lieu of the tang...

LL

[BongoSolo3]

I had always heard that angels aren't safe for reef because they nip at coral... are these species of angels more reef friendly?

[jenjen]

Flame angels, coral beauty, potters - all dwarf angels which are considered more reef safe. Angels are nice in that they're 'out and about' quite a bit and don't require the same swimming space as a tang.

You might also want to consider a wrasse. Almost all the wrasses are active swimmers and fish you'll see a lot of, and they have some amazing colour variations. Blennies are also a nice choice for a tank that size, and have fantastic fun personalities.