Stocking Options

[karaim]

I currently have a 120 gallon tank (60 inches x 18 inches x 25 inches).

My current inhabitants are: (1) 2" Rectangular Trigger, (2) 4" Emperor Angel, (3) 3" Maroon Clown, and (4) 2.5" Purple Dottyback (Psuedochromis).

I plan on adding the following: (5) 5" Hippo Tang, (6) 3" Dogface Puffer, and (7) 4-5" Yellow Goatfish.

I realize that all of the above fish, when fully grown, are too big for my current tank. HOWEVER, I am planning on getting a larger aquarium (within the next couple of month). The new tank will be either 84" x 24" x 24" (210 gallons) or 84" x 24" x 30" (262.5 gallons).

I have several questions:

1) I don't think the height really makes a difference for my stocking options, but I think getting a taller tank will increase my overall water quantity and therefore quality. Any cons in getting the taller tank in a FOWLR setup?

2) All the fish are currently small and the tank looks empty. The bigger tank will look even emptier. Of course when all of the fish are fully grown, they will look great, but what do I do in the meantime? Should I buy some large damsels to make the tank look more full? Or would the damsels cause problems (all my fish are pretty aggressive, so I don't think the damsels would pick on them)? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[ILuvTropicalFish]

Do you have anything else?...like live rock maybe? I would fill the tank with live rock and watch what grows from it too. I personally would not get in a hurry. You know the fish will get bigger. I would keep with the plan and don't worry about how empty it looks.

 

[karaim]

Do you have anything else?...like live rock maybe? I would fill the tank with live rock and watch what grows from it too. I personally would not get in a hurry. You know the fish will get bigger. I would keep with the plan and don't worry about how empty it looks.

I have about 120 pounds of live rock in the display. The problem is the little 2" trigger has eaten EVERYTHING that pops out of the live rock.

 

[ILuvTropicalFish]

I do understand. I have more than 125 pounds of live rock and have never seen anything "live". The problem I would have with getting more fish until the other ones get bigger is twofold. Other fish that you don't really want to keep could present problems with aggression and therefore stress on the fish you do want to keep. Or you would have to find homes for them later. When I set up my tank I got a bunch of damsels for the cycling process. I was told I could take them back to the LFS afte the cycle. I did not want to do that because I liked the fish. Two of them had to go back because they were horrible bullies, but I did not get much credit for them because they were not saleable. I hope this info helps. Good luck with your decision and your bigger tank!

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd add something faster swimming to take your eye off things like a wrasse of some sort . Since you're going FOWLR, you might want to go with a non-reef safe one

 

[ILuvTropicalFish]

SkiFetch's idea is a great one. I highly recommend a birdnose wrasse. They get big, are very fast and quite entertaining. They need lots of room to swim and you tank would be ideal!

 

[karaim]

SkiFetch's idea is a great one. I highly recommend a birdnose wrasse. They get big, are very fast and quite entertaining. They need lots of room to swim and you tank would be ideal!

But the problem is that I would probably want to keep the wrasse. The damsels I wouldn't really care about. Also, wouldn't a wrasse (that grows to about 1 foot in size) overstock my tank when all my fish are fully grown? I was considering a wrasse, rather than say a puffer, but ultimately decided to go with the puffer. Considering the size of my future tank (84 x 24 x 30) and all my fish (when fully grown), wouldn't another Wrasse be too much? My fish list is as follows:

Hippo Tang (just bought a 4 inch yesterday)
Emperor Angel
Rectangular Trigger
Dogface Puffer (will get this fish in a few months)
Tomato Clownfish (unless it gets eaten when the Trigger or Puffer get bigger)
Purple Dottyback (unless it gets eaten when the Trigger or Puffer get bigger)
Yellow Goatfish (I actually read that these fish are quite fast and would fare nicely with aggressive tank mates. Also, they would only take up room at the bottom of the aquarium and would not get in the way of the other, larger fish).

Wrasse? Won't this be too much. I would love to get a wrasse, though.

 

[karaim]

How would a Harlequin Tusk fare in my tank? I am thinking of getting that instead of the Puffer. Also, it's a relatively peaceful fish (compared to my other fish, that is), and if I were to add it, I would be adding it last. Any potential aggression problems?

 

[SkiFletch]

good idea on the harlequin, nice fish for a FO