Idea for an additional fish

[moonyrat]

Hi,

I would love to add one or two more fishes to my 65 gal mix reef. I'm running hob skimmer and hydor external filter rate up to 90gal. Current inhabitants:

2 Shannon's clown
1 melanrus wrasse
1 orange back wrasse
1 Scopas tang
1 midas blenny
1 orange spot goby
1 pistol shrimp, peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, 3 emerald crab, 1 anemone crab, 1 tux urchin, 1 pincushion urchin, 1 fromia starfish, 1 strawberry conch
2 crocea clam
2 gbta
various snails and hermits

Is it possible to add another fish or two? Perfer wrasse. Thx

 

[farfromsea]

I think if you take out the tang which is too small for that tank anyways IMO then you could replace it with another wrasse. Seems like the Scopa would be aggressive towards any new addition due to limited space. I think in a 65 a trio of wrasses, pair of clowns, and goby-shrimp pair is an appropriate limit.

Are your current wrasses Male or Female? I would attempt to turn one of those wrasses into a mated pair (although since they are sexually dimorphic no guarantees I guess)

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Depending on what you have for filtration and nutrient export you can have several more fish in your tank. I do agree with getting rid of the tang, they need much more space than a 65 can provide.

I have 9 fish in my 40b with a 20 gal sump and don't have any nitrate problems. This is due to good filtration and nutrient export.

Here is my list of fish in my 40b

Pair Mocha Ocellaris Clowns
Midas Blenny
Cherub Angel
Royal Gramma
Yellow Candy Hogfish
McCosker's wrasse
Matted Filefish
Scooter Blenny

I also have 3 BTA's and several corals of different types. Leathers, torch, frog spawn hammer, Duncan's etc.

It all depends on how your tank is setup and what fish you want to add. You can have many as long as they're compatible.

I would say yes you can add two more wrasses as long as you stay with flasher wrasses IMO some fairy wrasses might work too. What kinds are you thinking of adding?

 

[scooter31707]

Well, remove the Tang(requires a 125) and might could dadd 2 more fish.

 

[ThRoewer]

A pair or harem of pygmy angels could work to replace the tang as algae eater.
I would also add another orange spot goby as they prefer to live in pairs. Sex is not critical as they change as needed.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[moonyrat]

A pair or harem of pygmy angels could work to replace the tang as algae eater.
I would also add another orange spot goby as they prefer to live in pairs. Sex is not critical as they change as needed.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

The tang in the tank will be very hard to take out and it grades all day....will the angels nip clams and corals?

 

[moonyrat]

Depending on what you have for filtration and nutrient export you can have several more fish in your tank. I do agree with getting rid of the tang, they need much more space than a 65 can provide.

I have 9 fish in my 40b with a 20 gal sump and don't have any nitrate problems. This is due to good filtration and nutrient export.

Here is my list of fish in my 40b

Pair Mocha Ocellaris Clowns
Midas Blenny
Cherub Angel
Royal Gramma
Yellow Candy Hogfish
McCosker's wrasse
Matted Filefish
Scooter Blenny

I also have 3 BTA's and several corals of different types. Leathers, torch, frog spawn hammer, Duncan's etc.

It all depends on how your tank is setup and what fish you want to add. You can have many as long as they're compatible.

I would say yes you can add two more wrasses as long as you stay with flasher wrasses IMO some fairy wrasses might work too. What kinds are you thinking of adding?

I'm thinking of adding a flasher or another fairy wrasse maybe an exquisite or pylei wrasse

 

[moonyrat]

I think if you take out the tang which is too small for that tank anyways IMO then you could replace it with another wrasse. Seems like the Scopa would be aggressive towards any new addition due to limited space. I think in a 65 a trio of wrasses, pair of clowns, and goby-shrimp pair is an appropriate limit.

Are your current wrasses Male or Female? I would attempt to turn one of those wrasses into a mated pair (although since they are sexually dimorphic no guarantees I guess)

Both wrasses are male. The tang had been in the tank for almost a yr, got it when it was relatively small. Will an acclimation box help ease the new fish in.

 

[farfromsea]

Both wrasses are male. The tang had been in the tank for almost a yr, got it when it was relatively small. Will an acclimation box help ease the new fish in.

I would add 2 females to one of your existing wrasse species because the others you are considering (pylei, exquisite) are of the same genus as the orange back (Cirrhilabrus) and I think you need a larger tank for them to cohabit...granted you could always chance it like anything else but I lean towards cautious. Perhaps adding female pylei or exquisite as well would work but I would be paranoid they would switch to male in the presence of the orange back.

If necessary the tang can be taken out, where there is a will there is a way! When you're ready you can read up on trapping fish and whatnot and many will be happy to give you advice on that as well. I expected you got it when it was small

Acclimation box for a couple days is a good idea!

 

[moonyrat]

I would add 2 females to one of your existing wrasse species because the others you are considering (pylei, exquisite) are of the same genus as the orange back (Cirrhilabrus) and I think you need a larger tank for them to cohabit...granted you could always chance it like anything else but I lean towards cautious. Perhaps adding female pylei or exquisite as well would work but I would be paranoid they would switch to male in the presence of the orange back.

If necessary the tang can be taken out, where there is a will there is a way! When you're ready you can read up on trapping fish and whatnot and many will be happy to give you advice on that as well. I expected you got it when it was small

Acclimation box for a couple days is a good idea!

Thanks for the feedback. I tried to trap the tang tonight and removed half of the live rocks both failed. The tang is happily roaming around atm:sad2:

 

[farfromsea]

Try some of these starting with the method that seems like the least work (light trick) http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/sp/

 

[brett559]

What's worked best for me is to try after several hours of total darkness. Flip on the lights and the fish are dazed for several minutes. Assuming your tang isn't holed up in a rock somewhere, you should just be able to scoop him out. I've removed anthias, butterflies, and tangs this way.

 

[brett559]

Maybe the greatest thing ever written in this hobby. From that article above:

"I have one last word of advice. Remember that we are just talking about removing a fish from an aquarium. These are animals with a brain anywhere from the size of a BB to a pea. Allowing one to outsmart you is a disgrace to the human species. When making the first removal attempt, it is sometimes helpful to play Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" in the background, a la Robert Duvall's Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore's character from Apocalypse Now. It lets the fish know who the boss is. I love the smell of fish water in the morning. Da dadada da, da dadada da, da dadada da, da dada daaa…"