Fish suggestions

mckriesch · 04/05/2016, 01:46 PM

Hello all,

My father and I set up a 275 gallon tank with a 75 gallon sump about 7 months ago. I am looking for fish suggestions as we are relatively new to the hobby (I got my first saltwater tank about 3 years ago and this is his first saltwater). To begin, I will just give a little bit of background about the tank. It has 300 pounds of sand and about 350 pounds of live rock. The tank parameters have been consistent since the middle of last November in respect to nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, ph, and salinity.

We began stocking the tank at the beginning of the year and so far the inhabitants include:

5 damsels (2 yellow tail, 1 fiji blue devil, and 2 three stripe)
1 Sailfin tang
1 yellow tang
1 dragon goby
1 royal gramma basslet
2 clownfish
1 purple pseudochromis
1 blue spotted watchman goby
1 sea robin (soon to be relocated)
1 banded coral shrimp

assorted hermit crabs, snails, 2 urchins, 2 starfish, and 2 fighting conchs
- we are also continuing to add to the clean up crew
a few different types of polyps

Fish to be added:
1 radiatta lionfish
1 mandarin goby
1 red spotted hawkfish
1 wrasse (to be determined which kind)

Can anyone tell me any potential problems with the new additions? (yes we know the dangers of the lionfish). Also, I would like some suggestions on fish that would add color and personality. I know that there are countless fish that we have not thought of or don't even know about.

Thanks for all your help.

GimpyFin · 04/05/2016, 02:01 PM

Just my 2 cents, but I personally would not keep a lionfish in any tank with small reef fish, especially with that being the majority of your tank. Anything a lionfish can fit in it's mouth, is potential lunch. Even with a slightly smaller radiata.

Aside from that, mandarins like to scour the rocks for pods, so you'd want to make sure your system has an adequate ongoing supply. They can be tricky to get eating prepared foods.

Fairy wrasses can provide some good color and are generally peaceful fish. Midas blennies are also cool for their golden yellow color and blue eyes. Hope that helps.

mckriesch · 04/05/2016, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GimpyFin

Just my 2 cents, but I personally would not keep a lionfish in any tank with small reef fish, especially with that being the majority of your tank. Anything a lionfish can fit in it's mouth, is potential lunch. Even with a slightly smaller radiata.

Aside from that, mandarins like to scour the rocks for pods, so you'd want to make sure your system has an adequate ongoing supply. They can be tricky to get eating prepared foods.

Fairy wrasses can provide some good color and are generally peaceful fish. Midas blennies are also cool for their golden yellow color and blue eyes. Hope that helps.

Yeah, I know that the lionfish may start eating some of the small fish but if it becomes a problem then it will be put into a separate tank. We also plan on getting as small of one as possible to try and give the other fish a chance to grow but of course it will end up being bigger in the end so it may not matter.

As far as the mandarin goes, we are growing pods in a separate tank so that we can hopefully meet the mandarin goby's needs.

Hadnt thought of a midas blenny but I do like the idea. Fairy wrasses are on the list of wrasses we are considering but haven't decided yet haha

Bono · 04/05/2016, 02:26 PM

20 years ago I added a lionfish to my tank with a nice pair of clownfish. In the morning all I had was a fat lionfish. My favorite fish is a Vlamigni Tang, tons of personality and it will eat right out of your hand.

mckriesch · 04/05/2016, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bono

20 years ago I added a lionfish to my tank with a nice pair of clownfish. In the morning all I had was a fat lionfish. My favorite fish is a Vlamigni Tang, tons of personality and it will eat right out of your hand.

Yeah I had a lionfish as one of my first fish that I kept. It ate a few of my others but the large tank is my dads and he fell in love with the radiatta and said he would sacrifice a few of the smaller fish for it. I hadn't seen the vlamigni tang before but it is really cool. We would like to add 2 or 3 more tangs including a naso.

04/05/2016, 01:46 PM	#1
mckriesch Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 52	Fish suggestions Hello all, My father and I set up a 275 gallon tank with a 75 gallon sump about 7 months ago. I am looking for fish suggestions as we are relatively new to the hobby (I got my first saltwater tank about 3 years ago and this is his first saltwater). To begin, I will just give a little bit of background about the tank. It has 300 pounds of sand and about 350 pounds of live rock. The tank parameters have been consistent since the middle of last November in respect to nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, ph, and salinity. We began stocking the tank at the beginning of the year and so far the inhabitants include: 5 damsels (2 yellow tail, 1 fiji blue devil, and 2 three stripe) 1 Sailfin tang 1 yellow tang 1 dragon goby 1 royal gramma basslet 2 clownfish 1 purple pseudochromis 1 blue spotted watchman goby 1 sea robin (soon to be relocated) 1 banded coral shrimp assorted hermit crabs, snails, 2 urchins, 2 starfish, and 2 fighting conchs - we are also continuing to add to the clean up crew a few different types of polyps Fish to be added: 1 radiatta lionfish 1 mandarin goby 1 red spotted hawkfish 1 wrasse (to be determined which kind) Can anyone tell me any potential problems with the new additions? (yes we know the dangers of the lionfish). Also, I would like some suggestions on fish that would add color and personality. I know that there are countless fish that we have not thought of or don't even know about. Thanks for all your help.

04/05/2016, 02:26 PM	#4
Bono Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Lakewood Ranch Fl. Posts: 872	20 years ago I added a lionfish to my tank with a nice pair of clownfish. In the morning all I had was a fat lionfish. My favorite fish is a Vlamigni Tang, tons of personality and it will eat right out of your hand. __________________ Living it up in Florida Current Tank Info: 210 gal, 300lbs LR, Aquamaxx Skimmer, 3x Reefbreeders LED's & T5's.

04/05/2016, 02:01 PM	#2
GimpyFin Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,032	Just my 2 cents, but I personally would not keep a lionfish in any tank with small reef fish, especially with that being the majority of your tank. Anything a lionfish can fit in it's mouth, is potential lunch. Even with a slightly smaller radiata. Aside from that, mandarins like to scour the rocks for pods, so you'd want to make sure your system has an adequate ongoing supply. They can be tricky to get eating prepared foods. Fairy wrasses can provide some good color and are generally peaceful fish. Midas blennies are also cool for their golden yellow color and blue eyes. Hope that helps.