Fish im looking at.

[hagar101]

Hey! I have a 75 gallon FO tank (might turn into a reef later on). I was looking at a few fish. Im trying to narrow it down. Here is my basic list right now

1 PBT
1 yellow tang
1 augria butterfly
1 double saddle butterfly
1 longnose butterfly
1 foxface rabbitfish lo
1 porcupine puffer
2 true perlucas
2 red mandarin dragonettes
1 moorish idol

Any tips would be great thanks!

[pmrossetti1]

keep the percs. nix the rest. too big/difficult.

[hagar101]

Not even the dragonets or butterflies?

[shifty51008]

the morish idol is very hard to keep and most won't survive in our tanks.

the puffer get's huge.

the rest you should be fine on just not all of them. if your thinking about going reef later on I would then skip the butterflies also.

[hagar101]

well thats what i was looking at. This is my legit list. The thing is my friend just quit reefing because he just moved and a babys on the way. So i might get his tank and make it a reef. This is just gonna be an FO/ FOWLR. This is what im truly looking at

1 yellow tang or koles
1 augria buttefly
1 yellow longnose butterfly
1 double saddle butterfly
2 dragonets
(maybe) 1 PBT (will get rid of when too big for tank)
pair of clowns
and foxface. i can still narrow down if need be.

[papagimp]

that's a nice "i like these fish" list, but do some more research on each of those species, and dont' just accept the first website that says "minimum tank 70g", for em. I agree with pmrossett, clowns are okay, the rest are highly questionable. Foxface and longnose "might" be alright, but I wouldn't put a fish that can get 7"-9" in a 75g. At least not long term. Nor would I add any tangs. Butterfly's are generally not reef safe if you went that route later. I'm not overly familiar with the augria or double saddle. Porcupine can get 12", way to big. 2 dragonettes and a moorish idol, seems a death sentence waiting to happen.

honestly, I'd say back to the drawing board. Decide if you are or are not going to go reef later on. Makes a difference on fish selection now.

[shifty51008]

for a FO I would still narrow it down at least 1 more of the bigger fish 2 would be better and I would still skip on the PBT. not a good idea to get a fish that won't be able to live it's full life in the tank you have. it stresses out the fish alot when you keep moving them.

I would also wait a while on the dragonets until you have a good pod population maybe 8 monthes or so and also have a fuge to keep the pods comming.

there are plenty of smaller fish that can fit much better in a 75 gal. tank cardinals, anthisis, gobies, ect.

[hagar101]

Im not doing the reef in THIS tank. Im getting a totally new 75 bow front. honestly the foxface can go. Im also getting tank bred dragonets. so they eat frozen.

[papagimp]

not sure if you checked out this forum yet but it's the FO and Aggressive forum here on RC, may read through their and see if it yields some ideas as well.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=139

[disc1]

If you're really into having a bunch of big colorful fish in a small aquarium, might I suggest looking into African cichlids. With peacock cichlids, it's common practice to overstock the big males to cut down aggression. They come in an amazing array of colors and easily rival the beauty of saltwater fish.

[Lynnmw1208]

you have big dreams my friend. I'd suggest upgrading now since you'll probably want to in the future 2 mandarins in a 75 is a definite no-no; they need pods to survive and unless you have a refugium that is covered in pods, they will starve.

[papagimp]

Originally Posted by disc1

If you're really into having a bunch of big colorful fish in a small aquarium, might I suggest looking into African cichlids. With peacock cichlids, it's common practice to overstock the big males to cut down aggression. They come in an amazing array of colors and easily rival the beauty of saltwater fish.

+1 I miss my malawi cichlid tank for this reason alone. More specifically my fuellebourni, they have little faces like fraggles

[hagar101]

Ok ok. Hmm... could i do.. 2 of the butterflys. one mandarin. 1 tang, the clowns and the pbt?

[Angel*Fish]

Originally Posted by hagar101

Im not doing the reef in THIS tank. Im getting a totally new 75 bow front. honestly the foxface can go. Im also getting tank bred dragonets. so they eat frozen.

Beware of depending on mandarins to eat frozen food. At least unless you are prepared to train them to spot feed in an area where the other fish won't gobble it up first about 3-4 times a day.

I'm all for tank bred fish, but in my opinion you should still provide a tank with a sustainable pod population.

If you are a beginner, I recommend avoiding butterfly fish and PBT's for now.

[hagar101]

I have done research on butterflyfish for almost 6 months now. I fully understand their diets, habits, aswell as habitats. And yes, i am prepared for that. The reason i got my dad to let me get the bigger tank was for my butterflies. I might not even get the PBT and rather get another butterfly and a foxface. that would be great to do

[Angel*Fish]

That's definitely admirable!

To double check, I assume you discovered that you wouldn't put them in a new tank for 6+ months? You mentioned FO/FOWLR. FO would not be a good option.

I'm not saying it's not possible or anything like that and the last thing I would want to discourage it a ton of research. But if you're a new hobbyist, you still might be doing these guys a favor to get some husbandry under your belt.

[hagar101]

Yes i have read with the "well aged water". I might do live rock a bit later on if i get this second tank (which is going to be a frag tank, with a yellow tang in it). So i could make that quarintine. Corals can take copper based medicines correct? I know there are some that cannot, so ill stay away from those. And thanks . I absoutly LOVE butterflies as you may tell

[Angel*Fish]

Originally Posted by hagar101

Yes i have read with the "well aged water". I might do live rock a bit later on if i get this second tank (which is going to be a frag tank, with a yellow tang in it). So i could make that quarintine. Corals can take copper based medicines correct? I know there are some that cannot, so ill stay away from those. And thanks . I absoutly LOVE butterflies as you may tell

For the sake of clarity, the age of the water is not important. It's your rocks and sand. This is a very good thread that explains what tank maturity really means, especially post number nine. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=249112

As far as I know, there are no corals or LR that can tolerate cupramine.

[hagar101]

I read the first page and a half. it just all dosent make sense to me o.O You are obviously MUCH more expierenced than i am. This was my idea though. My DT would have no LR but my coral tank will. Im thinking of getting a tank committed to coral. Could i do this? all this fish im looking at (except the double saddle, which i could get a true faluca which is reef safe) i could switch them around the tanks. Is that an option to do later down the road?

[Drew485]

You don't want to put copper in a reef tank or a tank with lr. If you need to use the copper get a QT tank to do it in.

75 gallon is not a big tank in the world of saltwater aquariums. Yet, it can be a very awesome tank. Stick to small fish and hardy inverts. My 75 gallon was awesome and it didn't have any big fish. I would feed and the tank would come alive. Snails coming out of sand, hermits coming out of the cracks of the reef, and fish streaking all over the tank.

The thing that made it so awesome was everything was small and could live a very healthy life in a 75 gal. In my opinion alot of the fish on your list will not be healthy.

[Angel*Fish]

Originally Posted by hagar101

I read the first page and a half. it just all dosent make sense to me o.O You are obviously MUCH more expierenced than i am. This was my idea though. My DT would have no LR but my coral tank will. Im thinking of getting a tank committed to coral. Could i do this? all this fish im looking at (except the double saddle, which i could get a true faluca which is reef safe) i could switch them around the tanks. Is that an option to do later down the road?

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying/asking. I would say that if you have trouble following that thread, then you may want to start out with something less ambitious than butterflies. But believe me at some point, it will sound like reefkeeping 101 to you.

There's a saying: "butterfly" rhymes with "die" for a reason.

Originally Posted by Drew485

You don't want to put copper in a reef tank or a tank with lr. If you need to use the copper get a QT tank to do it in.

75 gallon is not a big tank in the world of saltwater aquariums. Yet, it can be a very awesome tank. Stick to small fish and hardy inverts. My 75 gallon was awesome and it didn't have any big fish. I would feed and the tank would come alive. Snails coming out of sand, hermits coming out of the cracks of the reef, and fish streaking all over the tank.

The thing that made it so awesome was everything was small and could live a very healthy life in a 75 gal.

I totally agree.

[papagimp]

Originally Posted by Angel*Fish

I would say that if you have trouble following that thread, then you may want to start out with something less ambitious than butterflies. But believe me at some point, it will sound like reefkeeping 101 to you.

couldn't agree more. I know it's alot of information for anyone new to the hobby to take in, especially here on RC where so much information can get thrown at you at once, but believe me, after awhile, it all just sortof starts to make sense. I'm hardly the most experienced reefer out their and by all accounts still consider myself a noobie. But I do so much reading and searching the net for information (i'm a like a sponge that way) and after awhile, you do notice certain patterns emerging as far as types of livestock, feeding habits, things like that. Don't be worried about starting with the smaller/simplier fish, such as a pair of clownfish, and working your way up to the more advanced species. Everyone wants a fully stocked mature tank but theirs no need to accomplish this overnight. Nor is it advisable. Even if all you had were a pair of clowns for the next year, that would only benefit you as far as gaining experience and knowledge. You'd also have a much better understanding by then as to wether or not you wanted to keep some of the other species you listed. I know my 'favortie fish' and desires for my tanks have changed drastically over the years. I started out wanting the typical SPS dominated reef tank but since experimenting with different corals, I know now that I prefer LPS over anything. Both for the ease of care in comparison but also the overall look of my tanks. I still keep my dream of a shark tank one day, but as I learn more and more, I've had to put that dream way way back until I can ensure a large enough system to support my dream species. Small sacrifice to make to the overall good of what I intend to accomplish.

[hagar101]

Im sorry i said that incorrectly. I would have a 75 gallon reef w/lr and a 75 FO (quarantine) So i would get all of the inverts and stuff aswell as the fish in the reef, but then still have a few fish in the quarantine to keep it going if you know what im trying to say. I am really trying to learn as much as i can with this, because i truly love this hobby. Any tips. advice, anything will help, am i at least starting to know what im doing a bit?

[Bama Man]

I don't understand why you would want a 75 gallon QT tank??? Most get a small tank such as a 10 gallon to use for that purpose and they do not leave it set up and running. They only set it up before purchasing new livestock. The whole purpose of the QT is to make sure no diseased livestock or other undesirables make it into our main display tanks until the fish or coral can be treated and cured. If you have fish that you leave in the QT then you are putting them at risk by adding new purchases to the QT as well. Not only that, but a fish is much easier to get out of a 10 gallon than a 75 gallon. All you need for a QT is a small tank, bare bottom, filtration of some sort, a heater, a light and some short pieces of PVC pipe for the fish to hide in. I wish you the best of luck but I'm afraid you need to do a lot more reading. Just as we all have and continue to do.

[pmrossetti1]

Please don't do anything yet. Keep reading RC and learning.

That should be half the fun anyway and will prevent many problems.

You'll kinda know inside when you're really ready to care for these wonderful animals.