Stocking for a waterbox 380.8 LX

[MaverickFalcon4]

Hey guys so I’m getting back into the hobby and I am going with a sps and clam reef. I ordered a waterbox 380.8 XL. My stocking list goes as:

2 Ocellaris Clownfish
5 yellow tangs
1 blue tang
1 naso tang
4 halicoeres wrasses ( of any species not picky here )
1 Tiger Watchman Goby
1 copperband butterfly
1 genicanthus angelfish of some kind
2-4 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 tuxedo urchin
1 sand sifting sea star
Assorted snails ( about 10 or so )

So any suggestion? Any non- competlible fish? Do let me know.

Also the display is 286 gallons.

 

[fishywishy]

Why so many yellow tangs? I think thats a bad idea.

Everything else looks fine to me though.

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

Why so many yellow tangs? I think thats a bad idea.

Everything else looks fine to me though.

Trying to disperse aggression? Unless I’m doing it wrong?

 

[fishguy777]

Trying to disperse aggression? Unless I’m doing it wrong?

I don’t think 5 is a good idea, maybe 3 max

U can add other tangs though, just wouldn’t do that many of same type

 

[fishguy777]

Trying to disperse aggression? Unless I’m doing it wrong?

I have 7 tangs in a 240, they all get along even though the majority of advice I got when adding them was that it would fail horribly

Achilles, powder blue, naso, Atlantic blue, Red Sea sailfin, Red Sea purple, hippo

As well as a ray, 2 dwarf angels, snapper, and a few others

The key to adding is a good QT system, and adding in the right order

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

I have 7 tangs in a 240, they all get along even though the majority of advice I got when adding them was that it would fail horribly

Achilles, powder blue, naso, Atlantic blue, Red Sea sailfin, Red Sea purple, hippo

As well as a ray, 2 dwarf angels, snapper, and a few others

The key to adding is a good QT system, and adding in the right order

Yup got it about the sourcing and QT..

But about the tangs, I was looking for the schooling effect as well…

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

I don’t think 5 is a good idea, maybe 3 max

U can add other tangs though, just wouldn’t do that many of same type

Ok got any suggestions for tangs?

 

[fishywishy]

Ok got any suggestions for tangs?

The ones he mentioned are good options.

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

The ones he mentioned are good options.

Ok got it thanks for the help guys

 

[fishguy777]

Yup got it about the sourcing and QT..

But about the tangs, I was looking for the schooling effect as well…

Convicts work well in a school, wait for them to be more available through captive breeding though. The wild caught ones often struggle in captivity

 

[fishguy777]

Ok got any suggestions for tangs?

I would recommend:
Convict
Achilles
Naso (minimum 7”, not blonde Naso)
Hippo
Kole tang
Yellow tang
Orange shoulder

These ones are usually fairly calm, and IMO the best looking nicely behaved tangs, a couple of my tangs are ***** hence I don’t recommend them

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

I would recommend:
Convict
Achilles
Naso (minimum 7”, not blonde Naso)
Hippo
Kole tang
Yellow tang
Orange shoulder

These ones are usually fairly calm, and IMO the best looking nicely behaved tangs, a couple of my tangs are ***** hence I don’t recommend them

the Issue that stared this is that they said they I’m adding too many yellow tangs.. so I was asking about what else can I put in assuming I cut down the yellow tangs to 3 instead of 5.

 

[fishguy777]

the Issue that stared this is that they said they I’m adding too many yellow tangs.. so I was asking about what else can I put in assuming I cut down the yellow tangs to 3 instead of 5.

Yeah? So 3 yellow tangs

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

Yeah? So 3 yellow tangs

Yup

 

[Zionas]

That many Yellow Tangs is rarely a good idea. They, and many (if not most) other fish in the wild school not out of willingness but as a survival mechanism, basically safety in numbers. With the limited space of captivity, even in Andrew Sandler’s 17k gallon tank, upon closer inspection you will see a lot of damage from infighting. I would assume it’s the same in the wild if you observe closely enough over a period of time.

Another example would be Cardinalfish which are often viewed as a schooling fish. Your common Bangaii and Pajamas are exclusively monogamous as adults and form breeding pairs, the rest are singled out and ignored if lucky, or killed if not. In the wild you see a lot of Bangaii Cardinals take shelter in the spines of urchins but that is only to ensure their survival as juveniles or young fish, as they get older they find partners and pair off.

Genicanthus are basically an obligatory “keep in pairs” fish, for me at least. The sexual dimorphism is just too neat to pass on. Even the relatively plain (but still subtly elegant) Lamarck’s look better when in a pair, IMO. A pair of Lamarck’s, Spotbreast, Bellus, or Watanabei, maybe even a trio, would be fine. You can also mix Genicanthus species, usually (or at least what I have heard) one turns into a dominant male and the others remain female.

I love Angels so no tank should be without them for me. I would say you can choose from quite a few of the medium to larger Angels in your tank. Depending on your budget, Majestic and Goldflake are now fairly regularly offered as captive bred. Poma Labs might also have stuff you’re interested in, if a Conspic is out of your budget, wait around for something like one of their captive bred Blue Line Angels, beautiful fish. Regal Angels are a possibility, get a captive bred if you can, although that doesn’t seem to remove the difficulty entirely. I would feel comfortable putting an Emperor in your 96” x 30” footprint, there’s captive bred ones nowadays but do keep in mind they are on the dominant side for large angels.

You have plenty of choices for a tank this size, it comes down to what you want and what difficulty of fish you are willing to consider. Also, you could do a pair or trio of a Centropyge species of your choice IMO. Pyramid Butterflies, you can mix the Yellow and Black ones.

If you want more Tangs, you have Zebrasoma (Yellow), Paracanthurus (Blue), and Naso. If you want to go down the Tang route, I would add a Bristletooth (Ctenochaetus) and a smaller or medium-sized Acanthurus species (not a Sohal or any of the ones that get huge). You could also consider the Siganus Rabbitfish, with the smallest of them being the Foxfaces (formerly their own genus Lo).

And then there’s Wrasses, and basically any smaller fish would be fine in your system. I am not a Wrasse expert so I’ll leave it to @i cant think @Tamberav @OrionN

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

That many Yellow Tangs is rarely a good idea. They, and many (if not most) other fish in the wild school not out of willingness but as a survival mechanism, basically safety in numbers. With the limited space of captivity, even in Andrew Sandler’s 17k gallon tank, upon closer inspection you will see a lot of damage from infighting. I would assume it’s the same in the wild if you observe closely enough over a period of time.

Another example would be Cardinalfish which are often viewed as a schooling fish. Your common Bangaii and Pajamas are exclusively monogamous as adults and form breeding pairs, the rest are singled out and ignored if lucky, or killed if not. In the wild you see a lot of Bangaii Cardinals take shelter in the spines of urchins but that is only to ensure their survival as juveniles or young fish, as they get older they find partners and pair off.

Genicanthus are basically an obligatory “keep in pairs” fish, for me at least. The sexual dimorphism is just too neat to pass on. Even the relatively plain (but still subtly elegant) Lamarck’s look better when in a pair, IMO. A pair of Lamarck’s, Spotbreast, Bellus, or Watanabei, maybe even a trio, would be fine. You can also mix Genicanthus species, usually (or at least what I have heard) one turns into a dominant male and the others remain female.

I love Angels so no tank should be without them for me. I would say you can choose from quite a few of the medium to larger Angels in your tank. Depending on your budget, Majestic and Goldflake are now fairly regularly offered as captive bred. Poma Labs might also have stuff you’re interested in, if a Conspic is out of your budget, wait around for something like one of their captive bred Blue Line Angels, beautiful fish. Regal Angels are a possibility, get a captive bred if you can, although that doesn’t seem to remove the difficulty entirely. I would feel comfortable putting an Emperor in your 96” x 30” footprint, there’s captive bred ones nowadays but do keep in mind they are on the dominant side for large angels.

You have plenty of choices for a tank this size, it comes down to what you want and what difficulty of fish you are willing to consider. Also, you could do a pair or trio of a Centropyge species of your choice IMO. Pyramid Butterflies, you can mix the Yellow and Black ones.

If you want more Tangs, you have Zebrasoma (Yellow), Paracanthurus (Blue), and Naso. If you want to go down the Tang route, I would add a Bristletooth (Ctenochaetus) and a smaller or medium-sized Acanthurus species (not a Sohal or any of the ones that get huge). You could also consider the Siganus Rabbitfish, with the smallest of them being the Foxfaces (formerly their own genus Lo).

And then there’s Wrasses, and basically any smaller fish would be fine in your system. I am not a Wrasse expert so I’ll leave it to @i cant think @Tamberav @OrionN

agreed but regarding the butterflyfish, I’m added the CBB to handle any pockets of aptasia.

 

[Zionas]

@MaverickFalcon4 There shouldn’t be any conflict between the CBB and other Butterflies if that’s what you’re looking for.

BTW do you have your tank in an HDB flat? If so that’s a pretty impressive tank size for a condo lol.

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

@MaverickFalcon4 There shouldn’t be any conflict between the CBB and other Butterflies if that’s what you’re looking for.

BTW do you have your tank in an HDB flat? If so that’s a pretty impressive tank size for a condo lol.

Actually thinking about it, adding a few zoster/pyramid butterflyfish sounds great.

Also I live in a landed house

 

[MaverickFalcon4]

2 Ocellaris Clownfish
3 yellow tangs
1 blue tang
1 naso tang
4 halicoeres wrasses ( of any species not picky here )
1 Tiger Watchman Goby
1 copperband butterfly
3 zoster butterflyfish
2 genicanthus angelfish of some kind ( M and F pair )
2-4 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 tuxedo urchin
1 sand sifting sea star
Assorted snails ( about 15 or so )

Ok guys thanks for the input on the list and the new list is above… special thanks to Zionas and fishguy777.

 

[Zionas]

@MaverickFalcon4 Sounds like you got it, with my only concern being the 3 Yellow Tangs and them getting along in the long term. You could pick 2 other fish, different fish, Tang or otherwise, in place of having 3 Yellow Tangs (so you will have 1 Yellow Tang). Otherwise, looks good.