FOWLR stocking list

[armison89]

im going to do a 240gallon tank next summer with these fish.

Saddleback Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ephippium)
Blood Red Hawkfish (Cirrhitops fasciatus)
Immaculatus Puffer (Arothron immaculatus)
Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
Banana Wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens)
Pinkface Wrasse (Thalassoma quinquevittatum)

im wondering how long these fish would be ok in a 120gallon tank? the tank is 4x2x2.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Are the fish adults or juvies? You might be okay if they're babies, but if they're adults, there isn't enough swimming space or water volume to handle the bioload.

I can't speak to compatibility between these species.

 

[armison89]

sorry they will all be as small as i can buy them. i nknow these fish will be good in the 240 i just would like to know if i can keep them all in a 120 and how long if i can.

 

[armison89]

anyone?

 

[IronMan72]

Why not only stock half of them in the 120 until you upgrade the tank then buy the rest? I know the temptation is hard to resist. More than once I've seen people trying to get rid of a fish that got too big for their tank after their plans to upgrade didn't happen as scheduled.

 

[armison89]

i not getting the puffer. im getting a Emperor Angelfish instead.

 

[Jacwil]

Ohhhh boy...be careful with that choice. Hopefully Gary will chime in

 

[jfl14609]

I would have to definitely advise against going this rout those are some very large and very aggressive fish putting them in a small tank will only stress them and make them want to fight not to mention keeping up with the bio load I definitely would wait till you have the big tank especially for the emperor. unless this is one of those post where people put something crazy to get reactions from people

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

phishing for a reaction?

phishing for a reaction?

maybe... but I don't think the original post was. Assuming it wasn't...........

im going to do a 240gallon tank next summer with these fish.

Saddleback Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ephippium)
Blood Red Hawkfish (Cirrhitops fasciatus)
Immaculatus Puffer (Arothron immaculatus)
Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
Banana Wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens)
Pinkface Wrasse (Thalassoma quinquevittatum)

im wondering how long these fish would be ok in a 120gallon tank? the tank is 4x2x2.

nobody knows the answer to your question.

The answer will depend on your skills as an aquarist.
Regardless, the above fish stocking list is way to much for a 120.
If you truly know what you're doing, an Emperor Angelfish (juvi) will easily outgrow a 4 x 2 x 2 120gallon within a year. It will also very likely be stunted.

 

[armison89]

he will out grow it even if i buy him when hes 2" he will be 1 of the last fish added to the tank so it will be atleast 6 months b4 i buy him then another month b4 he goes in the tank. this is a real ? thats y i asked.

 

[block head]

your betting on a long shot under less than ideal conditions. i'd spend some time in the FO and aggressive forum.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

imho some of the recommendations in the FO/aggressive forum make me cringe.

put it this way:
if it were easy to grow out a beautiful Emperor Angelfish in a small aquarium don't you think you'd see a lot of them around?

there's reasons that this isn't the case.

My recommendation in this thread would be to stick to fish choices that are appropriate for your 4 x 2 x2 120 gallon FOWLR.

More importantly (imo), I would recommend running a skimmer on the aquarium being discussed here.

 

[armison89]

ok will the other fish be ok?

 

[block head]

you have a list of animals that should live 10yrs plus ,given reasonable care. a 2 minute google search on each fish, should make abundantly clear the path your heading down.

 

[magdelan]

I have a nice skimmer :thumbsup:

 

[armison89]

i have done searches on these fish. im not going to do the angel or the puffer.

 

[GMaquarium]

I often see new hobbyists go about picking their "stock list" simply by looking at pictures. The main attribute is how appealing the fish looks. There is nothing wrong with getting an aquarium to house fish that you like but the other factors that come into play when picking out fish are sometimes ignored.

Armed with latin names on all of your fish and the never ending abundance of free info online, the question should not be how long one can keep them all alive in a 120 or 240. The real question should be what do these fish need to stay alive. Talking simply about size of the fish in comparison to volume of a tank is important but not all there is to it.

When looking up a fish try to first learn the profile of this fish. What it eats, where they live, how large they grow, how they interact with other fish of their own kind and different kinds. And so on. When you learn the basics of a specific fish begin looking for long term successful aquariums with them. Try to learn what you can.

My personal advise is to stay away from any difficult to keep, rare, expensive or large fish for now. Being new to the hobby, you may not be experienced to prevent problems (most big problems often show slight warning signs, have to know what to look for). It sounds like there are multiple tanks planned or already going, so keep it easy and keep it simple. Trust me you will not regret it.

Think of aquarium hobby at this stage of the game as playing guitar. You want to sound like Eric Clapton but first need to learn how to tune the strings and finger the chords.

Sorry if my suggestions seem to forward, just trying to help.

 

[armison89]

dont worry i will take any and all advise.