Another stocking list....request advice

[Cameroon]

Hello Everyone, I have been lurking here for a while and now that my new tank has nearly completed the cycle, I need to start thinking about fish...(well OK, I've been thinking about fish and the list has changed about a zillion times). Anyway, I have a 120 gal. RR tank with 200 lbs. of live rock and 2-3 in. of live aragonite sand. I have some bright MH lights and hope to build a reef of mixed soft/LPS/SPS corals. I'd like to give you a list of some fish that I like and see what you think about them and which order I should add them.

One more note: I'm excited about building a reef and learning about corals...I definately don't want any fish that are completely incompatible with a reef setup, but I might be willing to put up with some potential coral nippers in order to have the fish I want....I can then move/remove any corals that seem to be picked on too much.

Here's the list: (* = really want)
Coral Beauty
Flame Angel*
Sailfin Blenny*
Some small schooling fish (chromis or anthias)*
Flame Hawkfish
Neon Gobi
Ocellaris Clownfish*
Yellow Tang
Purple Tang
Snowflake Eel
Wrasse (leopard or lunar or fairy)

If you have any other great fish I might consider, I'd love to hear about some of your favorites as well.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[bradreef]

The leopard wrasse needs good amount of sand but a great fish and the eel probably isn't a good choice because of all of the small fish you want. The If it fits in it's mouth it will eat it rule and the snowflakes are small but can get big enough. The coral beauty and flame angel might not co-exist but not sure of that. flame hawk means no shrimp which can be fun to watch.

 

[Cameroon]

The leopard wrasse needs good amount of sand but a great fish and the eel probably isn't a good choice because of all of the small fish you want. The If it fits in it's mouth it will eat it rule and the snowflakes are small but can get big enough. The coral beauty and flame angel might not co-exist but not sure of that. flame hawk means no shrimp which can be fun to watch.

Thanks Bradreef,
That is exactly the kind of info I needed. I would like to have some shrimp, so we'll put the flame hawk on hold and perhaps the eel too. The kids really want an eel though, so we may just have to flip that one around. Well take our pick between the flame angel and coral beauty.

I'd really like to have a few schooling fish. I was thinking that because I have very bright lights, that the anthias might not be good...are the chromis then my best choice?

thanks.

 

[NaH2O]

I would also choose between the Yellow and Purple Tang. If you want 2 Tangs, try and pick from different genus. Both of those belong to the same genus and will likely fight in a 120 gallon tank. Hooked/Katrina on this board has a Flame Hawkfish in her 90 gallon and it has (so far) been a good citizen.

 

[wrightme43]

I agree with Nikki and Brad, A yellow and a purple tang would be a bad idea. If you want two tangs think about a purple and a naso. On that note I had a Yellow and a Blonde naso in my 75. They did not fight because they were put in the tank the same time. I removed the yellow as part of my ongoing fish density removal plan. LOL Angels I have had no problems with mutitples as long as it is not two. They seem to get along best if they are all added at the same time. I have a Blueface, pygmy, bicolor, and coral beauty in my tank. No problems except the pygmy hates the figi damsel. The bicolor bites at fleshy brain corals but leaves favia alone. I had a barred moray for a long time. He was in with 3 shrimp, and many hermits. He left the shrimp alone and even allowed them to clean him. He did however flip of hermits and eat them. I fed him frezee dried krill. Around here, but not neccesarly where you, are the lepeord wrasse is also known as the rock mover wrasse. It gets very large and has a tendency to flip over large pieces of rock/coral looking for food. I have 5 small chromis in my tank and I am very happy with them. 4 school and one is the designated pickee. They all take turns chasing him around. Hope this helped. Steve

 

[Cameroon]

Thanks Nikki and Steve, you have both provided me with some helpful info.

Steve, I really would like a Naso Tang, but I was under the impression that my 120 would be too small for one once fully grown. Thoughts?

Thanks again.

 

[AW2EOD]

Sorry to jump into this so late...

My personal opinion is that a Naso is too small for a 120gal. We're talking about a fish that will reach legths of 18", in the home aquarium. Plus...they're swimmers...just doesnt seem like enough room to me.

If you're going to go with a Yellow, I'd suggest one of the following Tangs:

Convict Tang (Acanthurus triostegus): max. length is around 8", they're moderatly easy to care for, they're a herbivore, just like your Yellow, and they're reef safe. I've kept one of these (3" and grew to 6"). I kept it with a Scopas Tang (Zebrasoma scopas), which is in the same genus as your Yellow, and they were perfect together.

Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles): max. length is also around 8", also a herbivore. I've kept one and it was a fantastic fish and very peaceful. But then, I've had a few people tell me they were moderatly aggressive towards any other tank mate.

Mimic Lemon Peel Tang (Acanthurus pyroferus): 8" max. herbivore, reef safe, but can sometimes be semi-aggressive. Never kept one of these, like the other 2, but they're gorgeous fish and seem to be pretty compatible with your setup.

Hope that's helped.

 

[NaH2O]

My brother had a Naso in his 120 gallon, and it did fine (up until the hurricanes struck FL), but they do grow fast. I tossed around having one in my 120, but decided against it....I think they get too big too fast. If my tank was 6 feet long, maybe, but only 4 feet....I don't think that's enough swimming space.

Other genus of tangs like the Ctenochatus (spelling?)....tangs like the Kole, Chevron, or Tomini are nice additions, too.

 

[Cameroon]

Boy, that naso tang sure is a pretty fish. But I think that 18 (or even anything over 12 inches) is just too big for my 120. Thanks Nikki and AW2EOD for the other suggestions. I will definately consider them.

On another note, my tank now has it's first inhabitants. I picked up a "bag-o-chromis" last night. My LFS had just recieved some. I got 7 and they seem to be doing fine. They were eating in the store (so I was told) and they ate shortly after being released into my tank. Crossing fingers.