If It Was You Stocking My Tank...

[tmreynolds]

Ok, so you have 180 litres. 25kg LR, skimmer, powerheard etc all setup etc.

What fish would you choose?

I only want about 5 or 6 fish, and one has to be a clown fish (I'm not going to mention it ****, but the missus would only agree to the outlay, if we got one!)
Nice coulourful, hardy and fairly peaceful but interesting fish preferred.

Ideally a good mix, ie something that will help keep the tank clean, I like the idea of fish that clean the other fish etc. You get the drift, a good mix

I will be getting a TBC cleaner crew aswell.

Suggestions please, lets create my virtual tank before we put into production

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hmmmm that's a little bigger than ours but we're planning on stocking:

definates -
coral beauty
clown fish
purple firefish
royal gramma
mandarin goby (once the tank is mature and we've set up our refugium)

then maybe 1 more small fish like a goby/blenny but we've not decided exactly what, i like the blue cheeked gobies they have in our lfs

 

[MoonTang]

Here's my list. They are all very hardy fish.


A pair of Ocellaris Clownfish
Coral Beauty
Six-line Wrasse
Yellow watchman with a pistol shrimp
3 Blue Green Chromis


I like to see lots of different colors in my tank.



@Miss Wiggle
Yea i really like the Blue Cheek Gobies too but i wouldn't get it. I saw a full grown one at our warehouse and it was huge. Like the biggest goby i have ever seen in my life, maybe like 6-8 inches long.

 

[SkiFletch]

Thats like the size of my tank, so I'd get what I have

2 Clownfish
Solorensis fairy wrasse
8 Line fairy wrasse (parachilleneus octotanea)
Bar goby
Springers psuedochromis/dottyback (psuedochromis springeri)
Watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair (I dont have this yet, but I will )

The drawbacks to my setup are that you have to have a covered tank for the wrasses and bar goby (they jump) and the 8 line fairy wrasse is tough to find. A simlar wrasse is the filamented flasher wrasse, but I just prefer the 8 line, hes a stunning fish. The bonuses to my stocking are that the fish are gorgeous and they dont limit my ability to stock corals (which I love too )

 

[tmreynolds]

Guys thanks for your suggestions.

I have decided on the following, so far

2 clown fish
1 coral beauty
1 watchman goby/ with shrimp
1 wrasse of some kind, whether it be 6 line 8line or cleaner wrasse?

I will probably get 1 or 2 more as yet undecided fish, I'm open to suggestions.

Royal gramma looks nice?

 

[Brenden]

I would agree with your " Misses", a clown fish is a must in any size marine aquarium large enough to house one. I would look into the Valentini Puffer, there great looking fish and dont tend to get very big. You could go with a couple yellow tangs? Possible a blue hippo tang? There are many options. If you prefer a colourful tank, clown fish, and tangs are a great addition to any tank.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

@Miss Wiggle
Yea i really like the Blue Cheek Gobies too but i wouldn't get it. I saw a full grown one at our warehouse and it was huge. Like the biggest goby i have ever seen in my life, maybe like 6-8 inches long.

yeah?! didn't know they got that big, must admit I haven't investigated them properly (obviously would if I decided to get one) just assumed that they would be a similar size to other gobies and therefore alright.

 

[tmreynolds]

I would agree with your " Misses", a clown fish is a must in any size marine aquarium large enough to house one. I would look into the Valentini Puffer, there great looking fish and dont tend to get very big. You could go with a couple yellow tangs? Possible a blue hippo tang? There are many options. If you prefer a colourful tank, clown fish, and tangs are a great addition to any tank.

Loving the valentini puffer, but he would mess with any shrimps and small crabs I may get though I think? Possibly hermits too?

Hmmm, they look wicked though....

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i think that tanks the smallest you could have a tang in, personally i wouldn't, they live a lot of room.

 

[Brenden]

Well it depends how bad do you want those shrimp and crabs? You could always talk to your LFS and see there oppinion on it. Or you could buy the Valentini first, and gradually over time add the crabs and shrimp and if he begins picking on one of them, then you can simple return it back. Or seperate them. I personally would rather have a Valentini Puffer then some shrimp!

 

[MoonTang]

Guys thanks for your suggestions.

I have decided on the following, so far

2 clown fish
1 coral beauty
1 watchman goby/ with shrimp
1 wrasse of some kind, whether it be 6 line 8line or cleaner wrasse?

I will probably get 1 or 2 more as yet undecided fish, I'm open to suggestions.

Royal gramma looks nice?

List looks good but don't go with a cleaner wrasse. They don't survive very well in a contained aquarium. IMO the cleaner wrasse is one fish that needs to be left in the ocean.



And a tang should not be put in that tank nevermind two.

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, no cleaner wrasse, not in any small reef tanks. Those are for the big 200+ fish onlies IMO.

And just one last tip, show the missus all different types of clownfish so she can have the one she likes the most . Remember, theres the common Ocellaris/Percula, Maroons, Clarkiis, Skunks, and even "naked" clowns (look like ocellaris/percula without the stripes). I'm sure there's more but those are the most common

 

[tmreynolds]

Cheers for the advice on the cleaner wrasse.

I personally like the percula clowns, but I'll see what she says...

What about a butterfly fish of some kind, would that be OK?

I'm now thinking

2 clown fish
1 coral beauty or butterfly fish?
1 watchman goby/ with shrimp
1 wrasse of some kind, whether it be 6 line or 8line
1 Valentini puffer

Cleaner crew, if the puffer will tolerate them.

 

[SkiFletch]

Stay away from butterfly fish, they're really tough to get to feed as a genus (with some exceptions) and are not reef-safe at all. Most are also not suitable for tanks our size. Coral beauty angels can be good additions but beware, they may decide they like the taste of SPS corals should you decide to keep those in the future. Some individuals eat them, others dont.

 

[Lynden]

There's more to life than Coral Beauties

More suitable angels for a reef tank are those in the C. argi complex.

I personally wouldn't put any Tangs in a tank that small; I am actually not going to add any until I upgrade to the 240 gallon tank. Then I'll go nuts and have ten of them You might get away with a Yellow Tang, since they are small and slower than most Tangs.

There are actually many reef safe Butterflyfish, but like Ski said they are difficult to feed. Valentini Puffers, if I remember correctly, can be an absolute terror in a community tank, since they like to bite things.

If it's going to be a fish only tank, then Filefish would be a really cool addition. Docile, colourful, and intelligent.

-Lynden