Help a rusty reefer plan stock.

WDLV

Skunk Hybrid Freak
I'm in the process of a Philippine reef build and I'm looking at a master plan of the species I'd like to stock. I've been reefing for about 15 years but I haven't messed with fish (other than clowns) in about 3 years. So, I'm a little rusty on compatability and behavior.

1. Are blue/green chromis and yellow chromis OK to be in the same tank? I've seen them occupying the same table corals in the wild but realize that aquariums can be different....

2. I'm looking at keeping several tangs together. One to three Pacific Blue, one to three Powder Brown and 3-5 Scopas. My thoughts and objective behind this are to keep one of each three body plans to keep the different algaes at bay while keeping thenumber high enough to diffuse aggression.

3. I haven't researched pigmy angels from the region but possibly one or a pair of these.

4. A. thiellei clown pair. These are the centerpiece of the reef and are not negotiable... which leads me to questions of compatability with the next species.

5. Pyramid butterflies; I'm thinking three.

6. Engineer Gobies. I've kept these in a BB tank before with good success and realize they need lots of caves and crevaces. I like them because they are as close as I can get to an eel without the danger of predation. They're one of those things you don't see often but it's a treat when you do.

7. Yellow watchman goby. Are these hard to sex and pair?

8. Harem of shrimps (I think scarlet are native to Philippines?)

9. Mini brittle stars. Some may see them as a neusance. I think they make an awsome clean up crew.

10. Mudskippers. I will have a platform in the tank. I believe they can live in salt water but I've generally seen them in rivers dumping into the ocean.

That's a pretty hefty list for now.
 
4. A. thiellei clown pair. These are the centerpiece of the reef and are not negotiable... which leads me to questions of compatability with the next species.

5. Pyramid butterflies; I'm thinking three.

I have a pair of lueks with 3 pyramids and there are no issues. Pyramids are great fish, you will enjoy them.
 
Thanks for chiming in with that. Leucs are pretty aggressive IME. Being a deeper water butterfly, the leucs must not see them as a threat. Good to know!
 
I'm looking at getting some Chromis analis (yellow chromis) but I'm not having any luck online. I looked at several major online retailers and I'm getting nothing. Bluezoo had a listing but no pricing or availability. The rest didn't even list them.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me?


Also, I have a revised preliminary stock list:



1 Regal tang

1 Powder Brown Tang

4 Scopas Tangs

1 Pyramid Butterflies

10 Yellow Chromis

10 Blue/Green Chromis

2 Engineer Gobies

2 BiColor Angelfish

2 Thielle's Anemonefish

2 Yellow Watchman Gobies

5 Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp

3 Mudskippers

Mini Brittle Stars (to supportable capacity)



I'd love some more input.
 
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I've come up with what I think will be the final list for the 180 Philippine reef build. Some small later additions will likely be made over time but they would be small fishes like fairy wrasses or crustaceans like shrimps or porcelain crabs. I will split the primary list in three additions spaced at least 90 days apart to reduce the impact of quarantine, ammonia, aggression and cost.

First Addition:
10 black bar Chromis
10 Blue/Green Chromis
Pair*Engineer Gobies
Pair*Thielle's Anemonefish - I already have these.

Second Addition:
Pair*Yellow Watchman Gobies
5*Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
Pair*Mudskippers (possibly)
Pair*BiColor Angelfish

Third Addition:
1 Regal (Blue Hippo) tang
1 Powder Brown Tang
3*Scopas Tangs
1 Pyramid Butterfly
 
Its getting close to the point where I'm gonna have to start collecting. I've acquired a couple items that are now in quarrantine. The list hasn't changed much. I swapped a scopas tang for a sailfin. Not much else except that I won't have more than one type of each body plan with the tangs.
 
any dwarf angels that you're interested in? How about basslets? A group of royal grammas could be really pretty.
 
Actually, I just bought a coral beauty this evening. I'm trying to stick with smaller species. Was gonna do a bi color angel. This was the replacement for that. Basslets... I don't know. I would do anthias if it were a deeper tank.
 
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