120 gallon reef setup?

[Chad]

That sounds awesome! Would the pistol shrimp be fine with emerald crabs?

Yes. They can be in the same tank.

Has anyone got any experience with blue hamlets? I was thinking of replacing the anthias with a blue hamlet

One issue with them is that they don't like bright lighting. So if you are keeping corals the lighting will be very bright. That just means you have to make sure the fish has lots of hiding places. They are pretty big and aggressive too. If you get one (just one) I wouldn't keep it with smaller fish like the clown goby. It might snack on it. It also can pick on your shrimp.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Yes. They can be in the same tank.

One issue with them is that they don't like bright lighting. So if you are keeping corals the lighting will be very bright. That just means you have to make sure the fish has lots of hiding places. They are pretty big and aggressive too. If you get one (just one) I wouldn't keep it with smaller fish like the clown goby. It might snack on it. It also can pick on your shrimp.

It's a really tough one then.. I really like the blue hamlet but I don't wanna sacrifice my cleanup crew.. is it possible to counter it's aggression like you can with freshwater species? I would only be keeping one as they do seem to get quite large. It's fine if they are a no go I could just find a more compatible stocklist with them maybe?

 

[Donya]

Also, it occurs to me @Chad and @Donya are reef experts

I'm more on the smaller reef side - never had a tank over 55gal and am more invert-oriented than fish-oriented so often can't help that much with stocking big tanks. Chad is definitely the better one for that.

Keep Bangaii cardinals in groups of at least 6 (preferably 10 or more).

As cardinals reach maturity they do not always stay in close groups and can get a lot less social. Watched this take place in Bangaiis in a couple of very large reefs at a public aquarium I've been visiting for a decade. Youngsters grouped up like the classic photos/videos of them schooling, but later they matured paired off and didn't group up. The tanks were big (500gal+) so this was fine since each pair has its own area but it's an issue with cardinals in smaller tanks. Same for PJ cardinals at the same aquarium - they all have separate corners these days and will chase off other cardinals that come near. Many other aquarists I've read of & talked to report the same thing - it's quite common that these fish don't school as adults.

but the lawnmower and starry blenny I had were mean and ate my corals

Wow! Never heard of those eating corals before but also kind of doesn't surprise me, particularly for lawnmowers. 2 out of 3 lawnmowers I've had over the many years turned into, well...jabba the blenny is the best way to describe the shape and attitude. Anything that even vaguely fit in the mouth went in it immediately. Perhaps I've never had issues with those two and corals because they were basically in with just anemones and leather corals which are usually pretty safe from getting nibbled due to sting/slime/etc.