How long do you wait before adding livestock
- Thread starter usmcr0811
- Start date
Check the water for 0 amm and 0 trite and try out a fish. I would judge the kind of fish I would add based on the kind of conditions the tank has (amount of rock, kind of natural look, how much flow). In other words I wouldn't place a fancy angelfish or tang in a sterile looking tank with zero live rock. A trigger/puffer/wrasse I would.
I am at zero amm and trite and supposedly have 50 lbs of live rock in my 75 gallon tank (29 sump) but it doesn't look like very much live rock. I don't know if the scale was off or if it is just the pieces aren't set up very well. I have 2 hydor koralia 850 gph pumps in the main along my return pump from the sump which is probably running around 350 gph. This is my list
1 Annularis Angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis)
1 Saddle Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini)
2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Tank-Bred (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 damsel black and white stripe
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
1 Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
this was the suggested order to add them
Blue tang
Clownfish
Damsel
Puffer
Angel
Trigger
1 Annularis Angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis)
1 Saddle Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini)
2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Tank-Bred (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 damsel black and white stripe
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
1 Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
this was the suggested order to add them
Blue tang
Clownfish
Damsel
Puffer
Angel
Trigger
I would be interested in how you approach this as well, that is a pretty hardy list for a 75 gallon, and Angels can be a little difficult in a new system, and the one you want can grow pretty large
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=351
Good luck and keep us posted please.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=351
Good luck and keep us posted please.
They aren't to big right now, I am going to upgrade my tank when I get to that point. On Drsfostersmith.com they advised that a 70 gallon would be minimum for that kind of angel. I am assuming maybe not with as many fish as I have listed but on its own? Maybe I will just get Imperator Angelfish (Pomacanthus) instead of the one I have listed. Those are my favorite anyways
AquaKnight
Active member
I would say as long as you'd be willing to part with the angel (probably for little to no $$) you could get one; if the planned upgrade doesn't happen. There would always be a market for nice angels, opposed to say a large eel that needs a species only tank. Someone will take him.
I would skip the hippo tang though.
I would skip the hippo tang though.
AquaKnight
Active member
Just for the above mentioned reasons. I can see the hippo getting pretty aggressive in the 75 and if you don't have the upgrade yet, finding a home might be pretty tough.
Are you sure your tank is cycled? (I suspect it probably is, and is fine.) Did you "feed" the tank, so nitrogen fixing bacteria would grow? Have you monitored changes in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I asked about the live rock, because several years ago I ordered live rock that came in dead (in the box, it had maggot casings attached). I thought it might still have some "live" bacteria on it, but it took me many months to get the tank cycled. Seemed like forever.
Even if your tank is cycled, add fish gradually. Keep up with water quality parameters, especially nitrites and ammonia. Be prepared to do large, partial water changes, if necessary. Invest in a QT and have it set up.
Some comments on your fish list: honestly, the trigger, angel and blue tang will pretty quickly outgrow the tank, and I predict aggression problems with that many fish, even when small. I would get fish that can live out their adult lives in a 4 foot tank.
Also, never believe anyone selling fish on what is the appropriate minimum tank size. It's a conflict of interest. Even F&S, my favorite online retailer for fish, gives tank sizes that are too small. I would check tank size information here. A good site to get adult size for many species, as well as other useful information is www.wetwebmedia.com. I'd check LFS claims for adult size there as well.
I added some ideas for substitutes to your list:
1 Annularis Angelfish
**substitute a dwarf angel - flame or coral beauty are good choices**
1 Saddle Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini) - okay to keep
2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Tank-Bred (Amphiprion ocellaris) - okay to keep
2 damsel black and white stripe
**I would replace or eliminate, these get too aggressive, and eventually, too big. If you must have one or more damsels, some of the blue damsels are less aggressive. You can also look into chromis**
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
**none of the triggers are small enough for this tank, especially with tankmates - perhaps replace with some active, bright colored, smaller fishes like orchid dottyback, six line wrasse**
1 Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
**pretty much any tang but a yellow tang is going to get too large for this tank. I'd consider a different fish. Royal gramma is a great, hardy, inexpensive fish with some nice yellow on it.**
If what you ultimately want is a tank that included a larger angel, tang, and smaller (12") trigger such as the picasso, I'd get at least a 125, more like a 180 or 210. The 75 can be good experience before you get a bigger tank.
A great book for selecting fish is "New Marine Aquarium" by Mike Paletta. He has a great list of hardy fish, as well as fish to avoid. Lots of useful tips for setting up, aquascaping, maintaining and troubleshooting your tank, too. This is a great beginner book, to get you the base of knowledge you need to get the most out of the online forums. You can get it for less than $20 on Amazon.
New Marine Aquarium link
Even if your tank is cycled, add fish gradually. Keep up with water quality parameters, especially nitrites and ammonia. Be prepared to do large, partial water changes, if necessary. Invest in a QT and have it set up.
Some comments on your fish list: honestly, the trigger, angel and blue tang will pretty quickly outgrow the tank, and I predict aggression problems with that many fish, even when small. I would get fish that can live out their adult lives in a 4 foot tank.
Also, never believe anyone selling fish on what is the appropriate minimum tank size. It's a conflict of interest. Even F&S, my favorite online retailer for fish, gives tank sizes that are too small. I would check tank size information here. A good site to get adult size for many species, as well as other useful information is www.wetwebmedia.com. I'd check LFS claims for adult size there as well.
I added some ideas for substitutes to your list:
1 Annularis Angelfish
**substitute a dwarf angel - flame or coral beauty are good choices**
1 Saddle Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini) - okay to keep
2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Tank-Bred (Amphiprion ocellaris) - okay to keep
2 damsel black and white stripe
**I would replace or eliminate, these get too aggressive, and eventually, too big. If you must have one or more damsels, some of the blue damsels are less aggressive. You can also look into chromis**
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
**none of the triggers are small enough for this tank, especially with tankmates - perhaps replace with some active, bright colored, smaller fishes like orchid dottyback, six line wrasse**
1 Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
**pretty much any tang but a yellow tang is going to get too large for this tank. I'd consider a different fish. Royal gramma is a great, hardy, inexpensive fish with some nice yellow on it.**
If what you ultimately want is a tank that included a larger angel, tang, and smaller (12") trigger such as the picasso, I'd get at least a 125, more like a 180 or 210. The 75 can be good experience before you get a bigger tank.
A great book for selecting fish is "New Marine Aquarium" by Mike Paletta. He has a great list of hardy fish, as well as fish to avoid. Lots of useful tips for setting up, aquascaping, maintaining and troubleshooting your tank, too. This is a great beginner book, to get you the base of knowledge you need to get the most out of the online forums. You can get it for less than $20 on Amazon.
New Marine Aquarium link
Last edited:
Wow, talk about a great post. Thanks LisaD for such a complete reply. That info is very helpful and you have a good point about being able to have fish I can keep in that size of a tank. I really think I should have started with a 125 gallon to begin with but had a buddy that needed some money that was trying to sell his 75, so I decided to go with the 75 for now and upgrade in a year or 2.
Question:
I have a turbofloter 1000 for my skimmer, about 15-20 gallon fuge (not real sure how big it is as I made it myself and is in a 29 gallon sump) with some cheato and live sand in it. For me to upgrade, all this stuff would have to be be big enough for a 125 gallon as I can't really afford to upgrade equipment and a tank. Is this equipment big enough to handle a 125 with all the fish on my list?
Question:
I have a turbofloter 1000 for my skimmer, about 15-20 gallon fuge (not real sure how big it is as I made it myself and is in a 29 gallon sump) with some cheato and live sand in it. For me to upgrade, all this stuff would have to be be big enough for a 125 gallon as I can't really afford to upgrade equipment and a tank. Is this equipment big enough to handle a 125 with all the fish on my list?
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