Another help with my stock list thread!

[Linkblaze]

Ok after much agonizing I still just can't make any cuts to my fish list! Here's what's on my long list, help me whittle it down. My tank: 150g 5X2X2. Going to be a mixed reef.

To make it easier(?) let's assume only these two fish are on the "must have." list:

Green Mandarin
Pair of True Perc Clowns

Rest of list:

Radiant Wrasse
Blue Tang
Convict Tang
Tomni Tang
One Spot Foxface
Fridmani Pseuochromi
Neon Goby X 2
Hi Fin Red Banded Goby (Paired w/ pistol shrimp)
Firefish X 2
Royal Gramma Basslet
Lyretail Anthias X 3
Bangaii Cardinal X 2
Yellow Pyramid Butterfly OR Yellow Longnose Butterfly
Potter's Angel
Yellowhead Jawfish
Yellow Clown Goby X 2

I don't think I should have too many conflicts here, but clearly my biomass is too large! I've got a fairly beefy skimmer so I can overstock a bit but I don't want to cram too much in there. How much and where do I need to cut to get this bioload down to a reasonable size? Thanks for any help.

 

[michael_cb_125]

For a 150 gallon tank I think that three tangs is over doing it.
The other fish should be fine, most are small and will get along fine.
~Michael

 

[Linkblaze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12988019#post12988019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michael_cb_125
For a 150 gallon tank I think that three tangs is over doing it.
The other fish should be fine, most are small and will get along fine.
~Michael

Thanks for the input. I was hoping that if I stuck with 3 of the smaller more peaceful tangs I could get by with 3 OK. But figuring I have a fair amount of fish already I'll cut out the Tomni.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

IMO I would cut the blue tang, not the Tomni, the Tomni is more suited to a tank of this size.

 

[Linkblaze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12988257#post12988257 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cheekymonkey
IMO I would cut the blue tang, not the Tomni, the Tomni is more suited to a tank of this size.

Is a 150g really too small for a Blue tang? It's definetly one of my favorites but if it's really not suitable...

 

[flashyleopard]

My stocking questions can be found here as well and I have some past experience, but I like to bounce my ideas off of the folks here to be sure.
The way I narrowed my list down was easy. I stuck with my must haves, then started to fill niches. I knew I wanted a surface schooler, I knew I wanted a large and maybe one medium wander, like a tang or angel, then I needed to occupy the bottom, and I wanted some more mid water fish. I also like to keep all of my fish from the Indo Pacific.

For you, I would avoid a pair of clowns and stick to one. When they breed, they will become territorial and every fish will be a target. If the mandarin is a must, do away with other pod eaters or he will starve. Also consider that lots of herbivores will need lots of feeding, when they algae is gone. More food, means more fish waste, and more waste leads to detoriation of water quality. Although a suggested list may look small, if your entire tank is occupied, it will look busy and full, without all of the fish you
thought you wanted.

My suggestion for you is:
1 clown
1 tang
1 mandarin
2 fire fish
2 banggaiis
3 anthias consider fairy or flasher wrasses here, the require less feeding and are hardier
1 fox face or pygmy angel
1 royal gramma

that occupies all levels of your tank, is quite full, and is right about maximum, it also eliminates most potential for compertition, squabbles, or over feeding.

Some drawbacks of your other fish choices that I left out are:
pistol shrimp will kill other ornamental shrimps, the burrow and can destabilize rock work, and they need a deep sand bed. Jaw fish can spit sand on corals and are jumpers, they also need a dsb and can cause stress to the mandarin. Too mnay dotty backs, pseudochromis and the like are very aggressive, the royal gramma is peaceful, hardy and colorful. Yellow clowns can perch on corals and cause them stress, there are other drawbacks I am drawing a blank on. Neon gobies may eat the pods your mandarin needs. I am not sure that those butterflys are reef safe and if they are, you still have plenty of larger fish with a pygmy angel or fox face and the tang....it will be quite busy...trust me. If you still feel you are lacking in fish, try a twinspot or orange spotted goby on the bottom and a tail spot blenny to dart in and out of the rockwork, but that is really all I would do. Good luck and hope I helped.

 

[nikon187]

yep.. a blue tang should be in no less than a 6 foot tank. It isn't about how many gallons it is, its the avalible swimming room. Regal tangs get going pretty fast

 

[Linkblaze]

Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone, and to Flashylepoard for breaking it down for me. Ok, here's what I'm thinking after some editing.

Radiant Wrasse

Blue Tang (thanks for the heads up all, but think I'm going to buck the suggestions on this one and put it in the must have column; much of my research showed this to be an acceptable sized tank for this fish - assuming any size tank is acceptable for a fish)

Perc Clown Pair (going to have to do it to make the S.O. happy...if they become a problem I'll work it out at that time)

Green Mandarin

Neon Goby X 1 (Have a good sized fuge, hopefully one of these guys won't outcompete the Mandarin)

Hi Fin Red Banded Goby w/pistol shrimp (rock is placed directly on the bottom of tank and well secured; sand bed is around 2 to 3 inches with a lot of porous rock along the bottom for them to dig around in. Definetly want to see these two in action and built my rockwork with that in mind.)

2 Bangaii Cardinals

3 Lyretail Anthias (will consider the 3 wrasses...I thought most wrasses will compete with Mandarin for food, Lyretail supposed to be the easiest of the Anthias)

Firefish X 1

Royal Gramma

Potter's Angel

Pyramid Butterfly (Reef Safe)

So, in all, pretty close to what you recommended, Flashy. Will be 3 of the larger fish as opposed to two, however.

 

[Linkblaze]

Ok, upon further reflection what if I ditched the Blue Tang and switched to a Powder Brown Tang? I know they can be more aggressive but it would be the last fish in. I'm really looking for a nice show piece fish so I'm open for suggestions in the Tang department.

 

[flashyleopard]

I think you can get away with your neon goby. I am not sure about the pistol shrimp in a reef setting, you will have to ask someone more experienced, but I thought they were not thought of as a good addition. I like the idea of the shrimp and goby also, but was swayed away from the idea.
Flasher or fairy warsses are not pod hunters, they will occupy the upper and mid water levels and eat food from the water colum, so competition isn't an issue. I like anthias also, I just know thay were expensive and prefer several small feedings daily, which does not fit well with my schedule, so I picked the wrasses. I cutioned you on the clown pairing and I won't scold you. You are at least making an informed decision and know the risk. As fare as tang suggestions, look at www.liveaquaria.com or www.marinecenter.com and look at the species that are 10'' and under. I would try my hardest to stay within a 10'' species. I like powder blues, purples, and even the yellow tangs, as well as the hippo tang. I have been given the advice that yellow tangs are more peaceful than many of the other, similarly shaped tangs.If you have your heart set on the blue hippo, do it. I wanted one also, but decided my 125 was a bit small, though my 125 is longer than your 150. I have seen them in smaller tanks. I highly caution you to quarentine your new fish and add them slowly. You for certain want to quarentine those tangs, since stress brings out ick in them easily, pbt being really touchy during acclimation. I would also take not of the aggressive fish and add them last. I would put your bigger guys, like the butterfly and dangel in before the tangs, so that they are already established, when the tang comes in for the take over. I have been given the advice that yellow tangs are more peaceful than many of the other, similarly shaped tangs. You're stocking levels are on the higher end, but not too bad and can be done. You're stocking list is on the right track. Oh, please take a look at the swallow tailed angels. they are larger, moble, reef safe, and can be kept as a pair. I went those over pygmy angels or a tang, but I am still revisiting the tang idea, so just a consideration. Glad I could help.

 

[Quaos]

As far as tangs go, I would certainly pick one that can live in your set-up for its whole life. I know I grow attached and would never want to take out a fish because it has grown too large.

I have a 110 that is only 4' long. I found a small Tomini Tang and she is gorgeous. She has become very good friends with my female clown and they hang out when the lights are on.
(I don't have a pair of clowns in this tank. I have a pair of clowns in a tank specifically for them.)

This is my planned stock list: (It has changed a few times)
I have: Tomini Tang, Fem. Occi Clown, Yellow Watchman Goby.
I want: Midas Blenny, Royal Gramma, Yellow Tang.

I'm hoping those six fish will cover all areas of the tank.

A goby and pistol pair is something I advise against in a reef tank. I have a pair in a biocube with no corals.
I used to have corals with them and they were constantly taken for building blocks in their cave.
If the shrimp ever really wanted to change the house up, sand was everywhere, in the water column and on the corals for quite a while.

Quarantining is a 100% great idea. My Tomini Tang was my first fish in months (maybe a year) and before I didn't have the resources to QT. Well I decided not to with her and 6 days in she got a bacterial infection. Well she is in the display, no way to catch her so I was really worried.
I fed her pellets with garlic and I mixed a capsule of katamycin in with a tsp of water and let a tablespoon of pellets soak up the medicine and garlic and then let dry.

This was my only way to treat her and it seems to have worked great but if I had QTed her I wouldn't have had that panic attack about what I could do for her.

Hope I helped,

Good luck!

 

[kodyboy]

I think that your original list minus the convict tang would be fine. The only change that I would make would be to add some more lyretail anthias, six instead of three (1m, 5f).