Fish list for 4' 120g

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cdrewferd

New member
What do you guys think of the following fish list for my 120?

Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
Blue Caribean Tang - probably too big, what to replace with?
Melenarus wrasse
Leopard wrasse
3-5 cardinals - not sure which ones yet
3-5 chromis of some type
1-2 red mandarins - would be cool to have a male and female, would be eating frozen before going in so not competing with the wrasses
jawfish of some sort - not 100% sure on this yet
Golden Dwarf moray eel - my personal holy grail right now
shrimp - probably a couple, fire and something else

I'm going to have an ETSS 600XR skimmer running on the tank. Do I need to go bigger on the skimmer to make this work? I'll have a 40 breeder sump with a fuge section full of macros and stuff. Will be skimming heavy and doing weekly 15 gallon water changes. Will be running carbon and GFO. Not sure about Biopellets right now, though that would mean getting rid of the carbon and GFO and having 1 less reactor.

I really want to do a lot of fish. My wife likes the fish more than the corals, so this it to help make her happy.
 
You're right that the blue tang is too big. Not sure of a good substitute, but I wouldn't really put any other tang in that tank (except the bristle tooth).

The rest look ok, except to say that getting a mandarin that eats frozen won't mean it won't compete with your leopard wrasses. Mandarins graze constantly all day. Unless you're standing next to the tank feeding it mysis all day, it will still eat pods.
 
As far as a tang, that one is too big. You would want to go with a bristletooth, tomini, chevron or yellow tang.

All wrasses with cause competition for the dragonette, no matter if its eating prepared foods. Most people dont realize they eat all day. Next time you see one in an established tank, watch it for 10-30 minutes. Watch what it is doing the whole time. It's hunting for food. Prepared foods are as effective as they are advertised for dragonettes.
 
Thanks. the Whitetail Bristle should be fine as Live Aquaria says it'll work in a 70g tank. I think I'm going to go to just the Leopard Wrasse. Might do a few smaller flasher wrasses or something.

Yes, I have a small red mandarin in my tank now and she's always hunting for food. Only stopping long enough to go to the next spot.
 
How long has this tank been running? Have you dosed any pods into the tank?

Wrasses are going to create competition for food with the mandarin. If you are insistent on having wrasses, I would recommend adding pods to the tank weekly and no tiger pods but tisbe pods. Yes there is a difference. Mostly the water temperature.
 
Even if mandarins are eating prepared food that does not eliminate their need for amphipods and copepods. With the wrasses you have there is still going to be competition for pods in the tank. I would rethink the mandarins.
 
I have 5 wrasses in my tank including a leopard and some fairy's and they are always eating any pod or anything else small enough to eat. They do this all day from top to bottom of the tank.
 
Tank isn't running yet. Just trying to get my fish list down before I get everything running. I think I would rather have a pair of mandarins than the wrasses, so if something has to be eliminated it will be them. Also, the eel probably won't happen as I would be nervous that it might eat the smaller fish, like long spine cardinals.
 
cdrewferd said:
Tank isn't running yet. Just trying to get my fish list down before I get everything running. I think I would rather have a pair of mandarins than the wrasses, so if something has to be eliminated it will be them. Also, the eel probably won't happen as I would be nervous that it might eat the smaller fish, like long spine cardinals.
Click to expand...

If you are determined on getting mandarins, then dump the idea for any wrasses. Get a mated pair of mandarins. Or they may fight. I would also drop the eel.

But the mandarins shouldnt be added until the tank has been running for 8 months to a year.
 
cdrewferd said:
Tank isn't running yet. Just trying to get my fish list down before I get everything running. I think I would rather have a pair of mandarins than the wrasses, so if something has to be eliminated it will be them. Also, the eel probably won't happen as I would be nervous that it might eat the smaller fish, like long spine cardinals.
Click to expand...
If your tank isn't up and running I bet your stocklist will change over time. Sometimes you walk into a LFS and see something different and you want that fish now instead of an original one. If your mind is set on the Mandarins I would build my tank around them. Maybe some anthias instead of wrasses.
 
Yea, I really do want a pair of mandarins.

Wrasses - GONE
Eel - GONE

So the current list looks like this:

Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
3-5 cardinals - not sure which ones yet, probably long spine
3-5 Anthias - Male and some females
2 red mandarins - would be cool to have a male and female
jawfish of some sort - not 100% sure on this yet
shrimp - probably a couple, fire and something else

Anything else I should add? I feel like I should add another tang, or at least another bigger fish.
 
Hi, I have a 120 tank with 30 SPS and have three fish - Blue Tang, Yellow Shoulder Tang and large Juvi Emperor angelfish. These are the only fish the tank will have, no others, so yes a blue tang will be fine, but if you load it up with other smaller fish from your list, you will have to drop the largest one. Its bare bottom so that leaves out many wrasses and am not a fan of many gobies as some do bother SPS, leaves me with Anthias, but those do get fairly good size so they cannot be considered. Since I have no nesting type of anemone for clownfish, they are also out. I am happy with my selection, and have recently taken out two other large fish another blue tang (had 2) and a butterfly that grew very fast and was about 5 inches tall. I am very happy with my current 3 fish.
 
Ok, well here's an update on the fish I currently have in QT.

Whitetail Bristletooth tang - got lucky and Gonzo found it when he was hand picking corals earlier this week. It looks sweet.
Saddleback Butterfly - happened to get on Live Aquaria when they actually had one in stock. Beautiful colors.
Tibecan Dwarf Angel - he was a good pricewhen I ordered the butterfly. Figured if I was going to pay for shipping I should get at least 2 fish.

All of these guys are doing really good so far. Just added the tang last night. He's quite a bit bigger than the butterfly and dwarf, but they seem to be getting along just fine. Looking to add some anthias, cardinals, and some others. Not sure if I'm going to stick with the 2 big schools, or go for more variety of fish and colors. Gonzo has some insane leopard wrasses and a couple flashers that look great.

Just thought you guys might like an update.
 
Most cardinals, even longspines on occasion, will end up as a pair, even if started as a group. The saddleback will make sure this tank remains a FO :)
 
Yea, I'm going FOWLR until I decide I want to spend $1000 on lights. Might as well enjoy the fish I couldn't have in a reef.
 
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