Looking to add some variety to my tank

Rea17

New member
I've had my new 520 mixed reef set up for about 8 months now, and I'm realizing that I need more variety fish-wise :hmm4: I'm looking at rehoming some of the larger fish, and hopefully finding fun/colorful fish that fill a different niche and add diversity to the tank.

My current stocking:
-Achilles Tang 8"
-Lieutenant Tang 8"
-Fowleri Tang 10"
-Yellow Tang x3 5-6" (and 3 more coming out of QT)
-Purple Tang x2 6"
-Black Tang 2.5"
-Powder Blue Tang 6"
-Powder Blue Hybrid 4.5"
-Orange Shoulder Tang 5"
-Blonde Naso male 8"
-Kole Tang 4.5"
-Whitetail Bristletooth 3" (coming out of QT)
-Bicolor Foxface 9"
-Quoyi Parrot 7"
-Regal Angel 4"
-Cleaner Wrasse
-Bipartitus Leopard Wrasse (initial phase male)
-Radiant Wrasse
-Maldives Lyretail Anthias x4 (harem)
-Darwin Clowns x2
-Blue Chromis x2 (paired)

I'll start off by saying that I'm looking at finding the foxface and orange shoulder tang new homes. Both were rescues originally and not really part of my ideal stocking plan, and they are getting big. The same goes for some of the yellow tangs, although a group would be cool. I'm planning on moving the kole tang to my refugium as a resident to graze on film algae. I'm having a tough time with the achilles, who recently decided he doesn't like the fowleri at all, so I'm considering giving up the fowleri as well.

Looking at adding:
-Geni angels (Watanabei or Swallowtail)
-Dwarf angels (Venusta is at the top of the list)
-Butterfly of sorts (Copperband or Marginalis maybe?)
-Wrasses (flashers, fairies, Halichoeres)
-Navarchus angel (and maybe some other large angels)
-Anthias
-Moorish Idol?
-Blennies, gobies, basslets?

Any and all suggestions are welcome! I realize it's kind of an open ended post, but I'm looking for your personal experience on temperment, species, overall compatibility, or just sharing your favorite fish. I'm not afraid to try "reef safe with caution," I would just really like to stick with species that don't get huge! TIA
 
In a large tank like yours I always enjoy seeing swarms of smaller fish moving around in the bottom 1/3 of the tank, swimming in and out of the LR. It provides a different kind of action & diversity than a tank with just the large "showpiece" fish. To me, it also replicates what you see on a reef in nature.

There are lots of colorful active choices. Basslets, blennies, gobies, a long nosed hawkfish, dragonettes, dartfish, etc.
 
In a large tank like yours I always enjoy seeing swarms of smaller fish moving around in the bottom 1/3 of the tank, swimming in and out of the LR. It provides a different kind of action & diversity than a tank with just the large "showpiece" fish. To me, it also replicates what you see on a reef in nature.

There are lots of colorful active choices. Basslets, blennies, gobies, a long nosed hawkfish, dragonettes, dartfish, etc.

That's part of what I'm going for, I want it to look more natural. Anthias are great, but they generally hang out higher in the water column. Maybe a group of fire fish and a group of grammas?
 
In smaller tanks groups of fire fish are reported to turn on one another eventually, but with a huge tank like yours I imagine it might be a different story provided you have plenty of hiding places within the LR. The same may be true with some basslets. I'd check in the large tank forum.

At the least, you could shoot for bonded pairs as they tend to be more bold together. Some vasefs like chalk bass & yellow assessors will do well in groups from my experience.
 
More Wrasses!!!!

Leopards, flashers, and fairies should be fine in a tank your size...

Yes, but what kinds? There are so many, I hate making these decisions!

I should add that with the wrasses, I want decent life spans. I've read a lot about terminal male fairies (flames in particular) only living about 2 years. Is it best to purchase females or initial phase when possible? Does this apply to flashers?
 
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Here are a list of my favorites...
Get some females for your Bipartitus
Blue Sided Fairy Wrasse
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
<--My all-time favorite, but hard to get acclimated
Tricolor Fairy Wrasse
Yellowfin Flasher Wrasse
Yellow Fin Fairy Wrasse (<- more attractive in person than they show on-line)
If you can get a yellow and/or red tail tamarin
Small-tail pencil wrasse...

Edit: On a separate note, I haven't had good luck with gobies in large tanks with larger fish and aggressive feeders. The gobies tend to hide with all of the commotion at feeding time, and don't do too well long term...
 
I also recommend more wrasses, I am more partial to the Halichoeres Genus myself so species I would suggest are:
H. richmondi
H. leucurus,
H. chrysus,
H. rubricephalus(a more delicate sp)
H. biocellatus
H. argus
H. timorensis
and H. cosmetus
 
I also recommend more wrasses, I am more partial to the Halichoeres Genus myself so species I would suggest are:
H. richmondi
H. leucurus,
H. chrysus,
H. rubricephalus(a more delicate sp)
H. biocellatus
H. argus
H. timorensis
and H. cosmetus

Thanks! I love this genus also, I've been actively searching for a richmondi for a while. H. rubricephalus is also beautiful, I've done research on them in the past but again, haven't seen one come up. I also didn't really see "why" exactly they are difficult, if it is known.
 
I also recommend wrasses and more anthias, dispar, etc. fill that water column, and make it look more naturaul of a reef.

Thanks! For anthias I was thinking a mixture of dispar, ignitus, and carberryi would do ok with my lyretails, probably 4-5 of each.
 
I really enjoy the various Chrysiptera species of damsels I have in my tank. I'm also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy the golden headed sleepers, now that they all get along. They roam the tank constantly.... I thought they'd be more reclusive in a busy FO.
 
Large shrimpgoby and a tiger pistol shrimp. Put the pistol in an area near the glass so he'll burrow in sight. A tank that big could probably hold several shrimp/goby pairs, in fact, and that would give you a chance at getting mated pairs.
 
I really enjoy the various Chrysiptera species of damsels I have in my tank. I'm also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy the golden headed sleepers, now that they all get along. They roam the tank constantly.... I thought they'd be more reclusive in a busy FO.

I've been thinking about sleepers, just not sure how much sand they'd kick up. I have caribsea special grade, and it's heavy enough not to get dispersed in the water column too badly, but it could fill up my pukani.
 
Large shrimpgoby and a tiger pistol shrimp. Put the pistol in an area near the glass so he'll burrow in sight. A tank that big could probably hold several shrimp/goby pairs, in fact, and that would give you a chance at getting mated pairs.

I love the shrimp gobies. My concern with this is that my tank is 8'x4' peninsula with central rock work, they could get lost easily!
 
I would add anthias! but you need a great way to deal with the added bioload. Anthias require quite a bit of feeding to be healthy. I personally like resplendent anthias as they are of the smallish kind and you can have tons of them.
 
I have a big skimmer, a big fuge, and do big weekly water changes. I already feed several times a day so that isn't really a concern. Resplendents look nice online, but I've never seen them in person.
 
Get some wrasse and a angel or two. Anthias are the goldfish of the saltwater world IMO and don't offer much in the way of personality. My vote is for a Bandit angel!
 
Get some wrasse and a angel or two. Anthias are the goldfish of the saltwater world IMO and don't offer much in the way of personality. My vote is for a Bandit angel!

Funny you should mention that, I've been trying hard to resist bandits. They are awesome...

I love the added dimension that anthias add to a tank. Sure, lyretails can be lame (I like my Maldives variety though), but large groups of other species are really neat. Definitely going with some wrasses though. So far I'm thinking:

-Halichoeres richmondi
-Anampses chrysocephalus
-Halichoeres rubricephalus
-Macropharyngodon geoffroy
-Cirrhilabrus jordani
-Cirrhilabrus linneatus
-Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus
-Paracheilinus mccoskeri
-Paracheilinus flavianalis
-Paracheilinus lineopunctatus
-Paracheilinus carpenteri
-Paracheilinus attenuatus

It would obviously take some time to stock this list, what with quarantine and availability/budget. I don't want to overdo it... anyone think I'd have a problem with these wrasses in this size tank? Btw, it's fully covered with a canopy. I will be adding screens over the lip of the tank anyway to prevent wrasses from making it into the overflow or hurting themselves on lights/etc.
 
I'm not knowledgable enough with the wrasses to tell you if the list will work or not, but you
Should definitely get a Bandit! Humaguy posted a picture on another thread about Bandits of a baby Bandit that was a real gem, I have no clue where he found one that small but it is truly stunning
 
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