Stocking Recommendations - Established Tank

[RockyProndoa]

Hello everyone!

I have a 135g mixed reef (6') - (200g total system volume with sump) that is about 7 years old. Through a series of life circumstances, time got away from me which led to neglect and a subsequent decline in most of my fauna. I now have 'righted the ship' and am looking to build my stock levels back up.

Current inhabitants:

Yellow Tang - 5"
Two-Barred Rabbitfish - 6"
Breeding Pair of Ocellaris Clownfish
Urchin
A few hermits

As stated above, I'm looking for new fish ideas, AND, how to go about adding them as I can assure you the yellow tang will not give a warm welcome to new tank mates and I would prefer to not re-home him. Some ideas that I am considering:

Coral Beauty
Singapore Angelfish
Red Stripe Angelfish
Flame Angelfish
Potters Angelfish
Kole/Powder Brown or Blue/Naso/Desjardini Sailfin Tang(s)
Pyramid Butterflyfish
Anthias sp. (suggestions?)
Fairy and/or Flasher Wrasses? (Suggestions, combinations, etc)
Yellow Watchmen Goby
Blennies?

My initial thought is to rearrange the rockwork and then add selections from the above list all at once. However, I am looking for additional opinions/thoughts/comments or alternate options that I perhaps haven't thought of. I'd like to not break the bank on any one particular fish, either, if that helps.\

I should also note that the current coral selection includes a very large purple stylophora, a large green hammer coral, a large frogspawn, and a ton of ricordia mushrooms. Moving forward, I want to move AWAY from the lps into a majority of SPS corals (acro, milli, etc.).

Thanks again for any input you can provide. Happy Reefing!

 

[cdemoss01]

Hello everyone!

I have a 135g mixed reef (6') - (200g total system volume with sump) that is about 7 years old. Through a series of life circumstances, time got away from me which led to neglect and a subsequent decline in most of my fauna. I now have 'righted the ship' and am looking to build my stock levels back up.

Current inhabitants:

Yellow Tang - 5"
Two-Barred Rabbitfish - 6"
Breeding Pair of Ocellaris Clownfish
Urchin
A few hermits

As stated above, I'm looking for new fish ideas, AND, how to go about adding them as I can assure you the yellow tang will not give a warm welcome to new tank mates and I would prefer to not re-home him. Some ideas that I am considering:

Coral Beauty
Singapore Angelfish
Red Stripe Angelfish
Flame Angelfish
Potters Angelfish
Kole/Powder Brown or Blue/Naso/Desjardini Sailfin Tang(s)
Pyramid Butterflyfish
Anthias sp. (suggestions?)
Fairy and/or Flasher Wrasses? (Suggestions, combinations, etc)
Yellow Watchmen Goby
Blennies?

My initial thought is to rearrange the rockwork and then add selections from the above list all at once. However, I am looking for additional opinions/thoughts/comments or alternate options that I perhaps haven't thought of. I'd like to not break the bank on any one particular fish, either, if that helps.\

I should also note that the current coral selection includes a very large purple stylophora, a large green hammer coral, a large frogspawn, and a ton of ricordia mushrooms. Moving forward, I want to move AWAY from the lps into a majority of SPS corals (acro, milli, etc.).

Thanks again for any input you can provide. Happy Reefing!

Coral beauty's are awesome I have one myself. Would also recommend marble wrasses, sailfin tangs, and white tail bristletooth or two spot bristle tooth tangs.

 

[Zionas]

I don’t like most Anthias except for the more solitary (usually deepwater) species. Even if you get a bunch of females and one turns into a male it doesn’t seem to guarantee that none of the others won’t change at some point which likely leads to the death or severe injury of one of the males.

No Naso or any of the Sailfin Tangs, they’ll all outgrow your tank. None of the big Acanthurus either. If you really want an Acanthurus I can only suggest the Lemonpeel Mimic (Pyrofeus), Lavender (Nigrofuscus), Gold-Rim (Japonicus), Convict (Trigostus) and the rarer one from Mauritius that’s basically a more expensive Convict.

Any of the Bristletooths maybe with the exception of the Chevron can be kept for their whole life in a 6’. Pick the one you like the most that’s in your price range.

Dwarf Angels are great. Again pick the one you like the most. Potter’s your only route will be a Biota CB one if you can afford it, or get one second hand. Biota does Coral Beauties, Flames (slightly more expensive), African Flamebacks (bred by a French facility and sold through Biota), Eibli (bred by the same French facility and Biota sells them), so you can get all of these and the Potter’s Captive Bred.

There’s also Multi-Bars and Purple-Masked (Venusta) CB that Biota sells. Occasionally Golden Angels (CB). Those are bred by Wen-Ping Su of Bali Aquarich in Indonesia. However unlike many of the other Centropyge I don’t feel as though these are a good choice for many active community tanks due to their more secretive and cave-dwelling habits. A lower stocked system with one of these as the focal fish would be a better environment for them IMO. The wild ones can be especially difficult and they really need a tank built around them rather than having them compete heavily for room and food.

If this were my tank I’d definitely want a medium-sized Angel or two. The Singapore you listed stays relatively small, so should totally be fine. Some of my personal favorites are the Gold Flake, Majestic, Regal, Blue Line, and the Xanthotis (Red Sea Cream, Poma Labs should have some available relatively soon) is growing on me. The Genicanthus Angels don’t get too big and can be kept in pairs. Avoid any of the large Holacanthus and Pomacanthus (Majestic is usually known to be a smaller Pomacanthus- it belongs to its own subgenus called Euxiphipops). That means no Emperors and some of the others.

You have many options for Wrasses. Halichoeres, Fairies, Flashers, Leopard Wrasses. I’m not a Wrasse expert by any means so I’ll leave it to @i cant think.

Shrimp / Goby combo and Blennies would all be choices for smaller fish.

Pyramid Butterflies would be a good choice. People have kept them in multiples but I’m not sure if they can coexist for multiple years in the long-term without one beating up on the others or group warfare. A more difficult choice would be a Copperband or Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish but not everyone’s prepared to meet their needs and even in the best case scenarios many fail to thrive so personally I would kind of recommend against them unless you’re very experienced.

Depending on how much you love your shrimp, I’m personally a pretty big fan of Hawks.

How heavily do you intend to stock your system? Are you into fewer but larger fish, or a few larger fish and many smaller fish?

How much maintenance are you willing to do?

 

[RockyProndoa]

I don’t like most Anthias except for the more solitary (usually deepwater) species. Even if you get a bunch of females and one turns into a male it doesn’t seem to guarantee that none of the others won’t change at some point which likely leads to the death or severe injury of one of the males.

No Naso or any of the Sailfin Tangs, they’ll all outgrow your tank. None of the big Acanthurus either. If you really want an Acanthurus I can only suggest the Lemonpeel Mimic (Pyrofeus), Lavender (Nigrofuscus), Gold-Rim (Japonicus), Convict (Trigostus) and the rarer one from Mauritius that’s basically a more expensive Convict.

Any of the Bristletooths maybe with the exception of the Chevron can be kept for their whole life in a 6’. Pick the one you like the most that’s in your price range.

Dwarf Angels are great. Again pick the one you like the most. Potter’s your only route will be a Biota CB one if you can afford it, or get one second hand. Biota does Coral Beauties, Flames (slightly more expensive), African Flamebacks (bred by a French facility and sold through Biota), Eibli (bred by the same French facility and Biota sells them), so you can get all of these and the Potter’s Captive Bred.

There’s also Multi-Bars and Purple-Masked (Venusta) CB that Biota sells. Occasionally Golden Angels (CB). Those are bred by Wen-Ping Su of Bali Aquarich in Indonesia. However unlike many of the other Centropyge I don’t feel as though these are a good choice for many active community tanks due to their more secretive and cave-dwelling habits. A lower stocked system with one of these as the focal fish would be a better environment for them IMO. The wild ones can be especially difficult and they really need a tank built around them rather than having them compete heavily for room and food.

If this were my tank I’d definitely want a medium-sized Angel or two. The Singapore you listed stays relatively small, so should totally be fine. Some of my personal favorites are the Gold Flake, Majestic, Regal, Blue Line, and the Xanthotis (Red Sea Cream, Poma Labs should have some available relatively soon) is growing on me. The Genicanthus Angels don’t get too big and can be kept in pairs. Avoid any of the large Holacanthus and Pomacanthus (Majestic is usually known to be a smaller Pomacanthus- it belongs to its own subgenus called Euxiphipops). That means no Emperors and some of the others.

You have many options for Wrasses. Halichoeres, Fairies, Flashers, Leopard Wrasses. I’m not a Wrasse expert by any means so I’ll leave it to @i cant think.

Shrimp / Goby combo and Blennies would all be choices for smaller fish.

Pyramid Butterflies would be a good choice. People have kept them in multiples but I’m not sure if they can coexist for multiple years in the long-term without one beating up on the others or group warfare. A more difficult choice would be a Copperband or Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish but not everyone’s prepared to meet their needs and even in the best case scenarios many fail to thrive so personally I would kind of recommend against them unless you’re very experienced.

Depending on how much you love your shrimp, I’m personally a pretty big fan of Hawks.

How heavily do you intend to stock your system? Are you into fewer but larger fish, or a few larger fish and many smaller fish?

How much maintenance are you willing to do?

Thanks for the great feedback.

Regarding the tangs, I'll go with a Convict and a Gold-Rim.

For Angels, I'll go with a Singapore and perhaps a Gold Flake.

I'd love to have a combination of 4-5 different wrasse species, am I ok to combine fairy and flashers?

Regarding your last questions, I'm looking for a heavily stocked tank - I run a 100g rubbermaid sump with tons of live rock, so I should be able to handle a pretty big bioload. I also run a 40w UV and the ReefMat 1200. Regarding maintenance - I run ~10% water change weekly via Apex and then I also do a static 25% water change monthly with a sandbed cleaning. All dosing is basic BRS 2-part controlled via Apex.

Do you see any issues with the above selections? Can i add them all at once or should I add them over time? My biggest concern would be the existing yellow tang. I thought if i overwhelm him the aggression would be spread out over many individuals as opposed to just one or two?

Thanks again!

 

[i cant think]

I'd love to have a combination of 4-5 different wrasse species, am I ok to combine fairy and flashers?

Yes you can mix Fairies and Flashers however if it’s your first time with wrasses, don’t go into the traps of pairing.

Okay, maybe they’re not a trap but don’t go for pairs until you’ve had some experience with wrasses. I’d look at these genera;
Macropharyngodon
Halichoeres
Cirrhilabrus
Paracheilinus
Xenojulis
Anampses
Pseudojuloides (although this is a genus that may not do well unless in a tank specifically for wrasses as they can be outcompeted).

 

[RockyProndoa]

Yes you can mix Fairies and Flashers however if it’s your first time with wrasses, don’t go into the traps of pairing.

Okay, maybe they’re not a trap but don’t go for pairs until you’ve had some experience with wrasses. I’d look at these genera;
Macropharyngodon
Halichoeres
Cirrhilabrus
Paracheilinus
Xenojulis
Anampses
Pseudojuloides (although this is a genus that may not do well unless in a tank specifically for wrasses as they can be outcompeted).

Thanks for the input. Is there a 'good' number to have in a tank my size? 3? 5? Limited to one of each species correct?

Additionally, will I need to supplement their diet with pods or am I good with just frozen brine/mysis?

Thanks!

 

[i cant think]

Thanks for the input. Is there a 'good' number to have in a tank my size? 3? 5? Limited to one of each species correct?

Additionally, will I need to supplement their diet with pods or am I good with just frozen brine/mysis?

Thanks!

If I’m honest, the only things that can limit how many you can have is your other fish - I’ve got a 5’x16”x1’ tank with 20 fish total and 13-14 of them are wrasses.
Here’s my list of fish in my tank;

I personally always make sure my tank has pods in by adding them every week (sometimes I have had to leave it for a few months). But overall, I don’t just view pods as food I also view them as CUC (they’re often helpful with Cyanobacteria and other algae/bacteria).

Definitely don’t just consider flashers or fairies if you have a sand bed though, I’ve found they’re gorgeous but the characters in my other wrasses are interesting to watch. One of my personal must haves for Flasher Wrasses is the Diamond Tail Flasher and one of my must haves for other wrasses is a Radiant Wrasse.

 

[Zionas]

Ouch what happened to your Regal?

 

[i cant think]

Ouch what happened to your Regal?

I unfortunately lost her during the upgrade to a lack of oxygen. I do however plan to get another at some point in the future.

 

[RockyProndoa]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to go about adding my list of fish in? Move the rock around and put them in all at once? A few at a time with an isolation box if I can find one big enough?

 

[RockyProndoa]

If I’m honest, the only things that can limit how many you can have is your other fish - I’ve got a 5’x16”x1’ tank with 20 fish total and 13-14 of them are wrasses.
Here’s my list of fish in my tank;

I personally always make sure my tank has pods in by adding them every week (sometimes I have had to leave it for a few months). But overall, I don’t just view pods as food I also view them as CUC (they’re often helpful with Cyanobacteria and other algae/bacteria).

Definitely don’t just consider flashers or fairies if you have a sand bed though, I’ve found they’re gorgeous but the characters in my other wrasses are interesting to watch. One of my personal must haves for Flasher Wrasses is the Diamond Tail Flasher and one of my must haves for other wrasses is a Radiant Wrasse.

Wow...that's an awesome list and good to know. I guess I don't have to worry about having too many wrasses!

 

[Uncle99]

You have any concern that the angelfish may nip at corals?

 

[RockyProndoa]

You have any concern that the angelfish may nip at corals?

Yes...I removed the Singapore from the list and am now going with a Japanese Swallowtail Angel.

 

[Uncle99]

Yes...I removed the Singapore from the list and am now going with a Japanese Swallowtail Angel.

Excellent choice!
Enjoy!

 

[i cant think]

Yes...I removed the Singapore from the list and am now going with a Japanese Swallowtail Angel.

If it helps, here’s an FTS of my tank and I’ve had 3 different angels with most of those coral but 4 different species with coral very similar.

 

[RockyProndoa]

If it helps, here’s an FTS of my tank and I’ve had 3 different angels with most of those coral but 4 different species with coral very similar.

Good to know!

I just love the swallowtail angel, so for me it's just one of those 'must have' fish!

 

[i cant think]

Good to know!

I just love the swallowtail angel, so for me it's just one of those 'must have' fish!

Which species would you go for?

I believe in the hobby there’s only really 6 species available;
Semifasciatus (good luck trying to find one of these)
Melanospilos
Caudovittatus
Watanabei
Bellus
Lamarck

 

[RockyProndoa]

Which species would you go for?

I believe in the hobby there’s only really 6 species available;
Semifasciatus (good luck trying to find one of these)
Melanospilos
Caudovittatus
Watanabei
Bellus
Lamarck

Melanospilos male all the way. Was considering a pair, but...not sure my 135g with all of the other inhabitants won't be a bit 'crowded'.

 

[i cant think]

Melanospilos male all the way. Was considering a pair, but...not sure my 135g with all of the other inhabitants won't be a bit 'crowded'.

A male will revert if kept alone, if you go for a male then it’s best to have a pair or a male with a female of another species.

 

[RockyProndoa]

A male will revert if kept alone, if you go for a male then it’s best to have a pair or a male with a female of another species.

That is very good to know, thank you!