65 Gallon Hex Stocking

[captaincaiti]

hey everyone! so i got bit with the saltwater bug and now apparently my 29g biocube isn't enough. i'm planning on buying my friend's 65g hex tank to have as a fowlr and keep my corals in my biocube. but now i'm stuck on stocking! in my cube i have: two snowflake clowns, a lubbock's fairy wrasse, and a yellow watchman goby. and a mantis shrimp hitchhiker that i have yet to see and am trying to catch (the joys of live rock).

the wrasse seems pretty happy but i may move him over just to give him more space anyway. other than that everything else would be staying in the cube. so i have a potential stocking list, knowing that not everything can go in the 65g. it's basically just a "these are some of the fish me and my family like, would any combination of a few of them work?" so without further ado, here's the list with a lot of questions attached.

one spot foxface (almost 100% want it unless anyone things it would be unhappy in a hex. i haven't read anything about that yet in my research).
coral beauty (my mom's favorite, i only haven't gotten it because of my corals)
some kind of puffer (leopard? saddle?) my sister is practically begging me but if i can't find one that'll work then it's a no go.
midas blenny
diamond watchman goby (i've heard they can be a pain but mostly with spitting sand on corals. i love the sandsifting though.)
maybe a pair of clownfish? i love my two but i'm not sure if i want the same thing in another tank.
a pair of ruby red dragonets or a single mandarin (down the road if i would even get one, making sure pod population is fine. would a 65g be enough for the mandarin as far as pods?)
some kind of starfish, i haven't done enough research to see about one yet but again my sister is practically begging me. any suggestions?

thanks for any help! the biocube seems easy to stock in comparison.

 

[farfromsea]

Most stereotypical starfish starve to death in the tank; particularly the typical ones I've seen at the store who all seem to be Fromias. Some have reported success keeping this so-called common starfish from this supplier for longer periods of time. http://www.kpaquatics.com/product/common-starfish/

Others happily report success keeping brittle stars in tank. Just be cautious with the large green brittle stars who like to eat fish. I believe besides that common one above, the harelquin brittle stars have more of that typical starfish-look your sister may be looking for and they are smaller, less able to eat the fish.

If I didn't have shrimp I would definitely get the Mimic Saddle Puffer (Paraluterus prionurus). It is a filefish but looks virtually identical to the Valentini Puffer without the (IMO) pesky puffing situation.

If you're doing a FOWLR why would the sand-spitting behavior of the goby be a problem?

Can't comment on the pod population exactly but I have a 60 cube so I've done research for my own tank and had understood my tank is too small to maintain enough pods for a mandarin. Yours is a little bigger than mine, but I'm sure others will chime in with better knowledge. But with my understanding, I wouldn't do a mandarin or a pair.

I would consider a midas blenny or golden (or blue) assessor (Assessor flavissimus or Assessor macneilli) instead of the pair of clowns.