Compatibility verification from your experience.

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Hey guys I'm fairly new to this so I have a 140 gallon 6' tank. I would really like to learn from your experiences in terms of what is compatible in my tank. Note all my invertebrates are quarantined in a 10 gallon for now since my red coris was a threat. I just haven't put them back from the goby knight fear, but apparently my shrimp are big enough that it's not much of a concern. I would just like to know what your opinions are and what could be very peaceful next purchases.


My current stock is this:

Saltwater creatures


Invertebrates Quantity
Red hermit crabs 2
Black hermit crab 1
Blood red fire shrimp 1
Coral banded shrimp 1
Black spined sea urchin 1
Turban snail 1
Polyps 3

Fish
Clownfish 2
Three striped Damsel 1
Yellow tail blue damsel 1
Green Mandarin 1
Goby Knight 1
Blue/Green Chromis 1
Koran Angel 1
Sailfin Desjardini Tang 1
Spotted Yellow Foxface Rabbit 1
Sixline Wrasse 1

Been doing this since January. I am blown away by how sturdy these fish mostly are. My freshwater experience made me worry about the amount of dead fish I would be experiencing. So far I only lost a red coris wrasse (it was my fault entirely, I have crushed coral for substrate).
 
I'm assuming this tank has only been setup since January? When did it finish cycling?

I would chill on the fish for awhile and maybe focus on adding some corals. What kind of lighting do you have? Tell us more about your system (skimmer, sump, etc.)
 
+1 on the waiting. I would suggest letting everyone settle in a bit and see how things go. The tank is pretty stocked already so when some of those fish grow to full size (tang, angel, foxface) they are going to take up most of the tank. Also if the tank was set up in Jan it is very young and likely still establishing.

As to compatibility, the CBS can eat small fish. Many people report that the sixline gets very aggressive and will kill medium/small passive fish. I have also heard that the sailfin will get large and can preclude adding any additional tangs.
 
I'm actually trying to avoid the coral route. Are they really that necessary for biological balance? I have a dual 54W neon 4' and 1 blue led and 1 red led nightlight (10 small bulbs each).

I actually just want to focus on fish, that way I'm not worried about reef friendly or not.
 
Between the Tang, Foxface, Angel, clownfish and all the damsels I'd say you're pretty well stocked on "swimmers" that cruise the water column. If you're looking to add more, stick to small fish that hang around the substrate like gobies and blennies, maybe a small species of hawkfish.
 
You mentioned that you have a mandarin. Is it captive bred and eating frozen food? The reason I ask is your tank is a little young and might not yet have the pod population to sustain it. How long have you had the mandarin? Does it look healthy?
 
I was worried about that as well, but surprisingly he looks amazingly healthy and getting better since day 1. I have visible pods going around my rocks (bought them curing for 4-5 months). He's probably not captive bred. But now he's coming out and is very active. Mind you, he looks 100x more healthy than all the green mandarin I have since seen in shops. I feed them mysis shrimp/krill/flakes/pellets/Nori algae alternatively 2x a day. The mandarin never really actively goes for the food, he's really a bottom dweller and walks around the rocks to go higher but since I bought live rocks as opposed to dry rocks I'm guessing I got lucky with the pod population.
 
So what I'm hearing from you guys is

1) Give it time for the fish to get used to the young tank.
2) I can't get another Tang? Stick to bottom dwellers or smaller fish
3) Be Cautious with the Banded Shrimp

Any other helpful suggestion? Oh yeah I had a cyanobacteria bloom and took care of it by turning my lights off whenever no one's there to see the fish. Do you guys recommend chemical treatment for cyanobacteria or no? Also how useful is the Reef vitamin supplements?
 
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