Miniatus Grouper and Clown Triggerfish?

[bix]

OK so I don't think I'm going to go with a trigger at all unless I get a much larger tank...

Since that is out of the picture now I want to have a few sweet fish and eventually add some hardy coral to the mix.

So I'm thinking maybe the miniatus grouper and a lionfish? Would this be a good mix to eventually put some coral in with?

Is there any other fish you can think of that would mix with these 2 and not mess with the coral?

I'm glad I started this discussion before I have the tank setup... I've changed my mind about 10 times!!

 

[Adam S]

are you sure about going with coral? it seemed like you were set on the trigger and grouper from the get go and i dont think ull be happy if u dont. Personally i think you should go with a trigger. Im now considering going with a niger and humu because they both dont get to big and 2 the humu grows slow and i feel that if you dont crowd the tank so much with rock it will give them enough room for at least 3 or 4 years.

 

[bix]

I do want the trigger more than coral still, just don't like all of the horror stories that I'm starting to read about triggers just all of the sudden snapping and killing its tankmates..

 

[Adam S]

imo dont settle on anything u dont want. I think if you try a niger instead of a humu it would work out better but u can still do the humu if you would like. Just keep a watch on everything.

 

[Stuart60611]

OK so I don't think I'm going to go with a trigger at all unless I get a much larger tank...

Since that is out of the picture now I want to have a few sweet fish and eventually add some hardy coral to the mix.

So I'm thinking maybe the miniatus grouper and a lionfish? Would this be a good mix to eventually put some coral in with?

Is there any other fish you can think of that would mix with these 2 and not mess with the coral?

I'm glad I started this discussion before I have the tank setup... I've changed my mind about 10 times!!

Boy, you sure do not want to make things easy.:spin2: Your choices in going with this grouper and a lionfish make things tough. This species of grouper grows to a maximum of 18 inches and is sure to reach at least 12 inches in your system. Groupers, unlike the huma you were considering, are on the complete opposite end of the growth rate spectrum and are among the fastest growing fish in the hobby. The grouper will reach this size in a hurry. As such, you have to get a lionfish of sufficient size to stay ahead of the grouper and not get attacked or eaten which would likely be fatal to one or both of these fish. The problem is that the only choices of suitable lionfish reach an adult size in tanks of 12-15 inches which is a lot bigger fish than you think when considering the gerth that they have with their long spines. Volitans, for example, have a hude wide footprint that can take up 1/2 your tank.

I could definitely see this combination as a being fatal to both fish in two ways. First, one could try to eat the other if not properly sized killing one or both of them. Second, the grouper is an ambush predator that likes to hide in the rocks and dart out with blinding speed to attack its prey. I could definitely see a situation in such tight confines where the grouper accidently plows into the lionfish's spines chasing food. As far as another fish, you really cannot have one because you would need to choose a fish large enough to avoid being eaten by either the grouper or the lion, and your system cannot handle another fish of sufficent size.

I have a well intended observation that I think you should think about. The reason that you are having such difficulty making stocking choices is that you just do not want to limit your coniderations to fish that are appropriately sized for your system and instead keep choosing fish that grow too large. If you would stay with fish that max out at 8-10 inches which are the size of fish appropriately sized for your system this process would be so much easier.

Let me pass on some wisdom that will save you a lot of grief down the road that many, including me, have had to learn the hard way. If you do not stock appropriately sized fish, you will have severe problems with your system which will make you hate the hobby. These problems include, without limitation, algae problems caused from too high a bioload and aggression problems causing fish to die, become injured, and/or have to be removed. One way or another you will have to come to accept your system's limitations. It is up to you whether you do so before or after suffering a lot grief and headaches.

 

[bix]

Yeah I know.... I'm going by what liveaquaria and other sites say I can fit so I'm not trying to be harmful to the fish or to my wallet... That's why I started this thread instead of overstocking like so many of the tanks I've seen on youtube..

I just want a few really cool fish that will be happy in my tank so I did some research and these are the fish I came up with. If all of these sites are wrong I can accept that... like I said earlier in the thread I would rather have 1 happy fish then 4 fish that are miserable and fighting..

What would you say my choices are for my tank? I want fish with personality (trigger/puffer) or really super cool looking/moving fish (grouper.)

 

[AngelAddict]

The only thing that's coral safe That I think would be best with a lion and grouper is tangs or eels. Why not just get a little nano reef like an aquapod and have your big tank be the aggressive setup. That's my outlook on it, reefs can be any size but most aggressive tanks have to be large (of keeping triggers,puffers etc).

 

[bix]

That was actually my original thought, to get this aggressive tank up and running, get used to it, and then bring up a separate (smaller) reef once I recover from the financial hit and I'm sure I got it all down.

Thing is as soon as I thought about giving up on the trigger I started thinking about what else I could do and coral came to mind.

There are just so many conflicting (and convincing) opinions on this stuff. It's hard to find a setup that I can accept and everyone agrees on :hmm4:

 

[Stuart60611]

That was actually my original thought, to get this aggressive tank up and running, get used to it, and then bring up a separate (smaller) reef once I recover from the financial hit and I'm sure I got it all down.

Thing is as soon as I thought about giving up on the trigger I started thinking about what else I could do and coral came to mind.

There are just so many conflicting (and convincing) opinions on this stuff. It's hard to find a setup that I can accept and everyone agrees on :hmm4:

Fair enough. You seem to have a real good perspective and attitude. And your right, live aquaria and other websites are absolutely misleading in terms of the tank size's that they recommend for the fish that they sell. But remember, they want to sell as many fish as they can.

Anyway, here are some suggestions that fit your bill. As a centerpiece fish, I think you will be beyond happy with a dogface puffer. This fish has one the absolute best personalities of all of the fish in the hobby. They are the closest thing to a dog in a fish. They are very friendly, active, and get to know their owners. Also, they come in a wide variety of color variants, including the normal brown, brown yellow belly, black, and dalmation.

A very colorful and perfect choice in terms of disposition and size would be a tusk. They come in two varieties, Aussie and Indian Ocean. The Aussie is much hardier and more colorful but also a very expensive fish which may be more than you want to spend. Plus, they are hard to acclimate wbich may not be good choice for someone inexperienced. There a bunch of other appropriate wrasses, but stay away from the thassoloma (sp?) genus, unless you go with one of the smaller ones like a bluehead or pinkface.

Saragassum trigger fish is also a perfect choice if you want a trigger, but also a bit pricey. Blue throat is a good and much cheaper alternative.

A kole tang, one spot foxface, tomi tang, convict tang are another good choice to round things out and add an algae eater.

You could also throw in a couple of "filler" fish for added interest, like a flame hawk (which has tons of personality), flame angel, a toby puffer (which are very colorful puffers and stay real small) or a mellow damsel, basslet or chromis.

Now, that sounds just like a tank I would appreciate. :celeb2:

 

[Adam S]

Fair enough. You seem to have a real good perspective and attitude. And your right, live aquaria and other websites are absolutely misleading in terms of the tank size's that they recommend for the fish that they sell. But remember, they want to sell as many fish as they can.

Anyway, here are some suggestions that fit your bill. As a centerpiece fish, I think you will be beyond happy with a dogface puffer. This fish has one the absolute best personalities of all of the fish in the hobby. They are the closest thing to a dog in a fish. They are very friendly, active, and get to know their owners. Also, they come in a wide variety of color variants, including the normal brown, brown yellow belly, black, and dalmation.

A very colorful and perfect choice in terms of disposition and size would be a tusk. They come in two varieties, Aussie and Indian Ocean. The Aussie is much hardier and more colorful but also a very expensive fish which may be more than you want to spend. Plus, they are hard to acclimate wbich may not be good choice for someone inexperienced. There a bunch of other appropriate wrasses, but stay away from the thassoloma (sp?) genus, unless you go with one the smaller ones like a blue head or pinkface.

Saragassum trigger fish is also a perfect choice if you want a trigger, but also a bit pricey. Blue throat is a good and much cheaper alternative.

A kole tang, one spot foxface, tomi tang, convict tang are another good choice to round things out and add an algae eater.

You could also throw in a couple of "filler" fish for added interest, like a flame hawk (which has tons of personality), flame angel, a toby puffer (which are very colorful puffers and stay real small) or a mellow damsel, basslet or chromis.

Now, that sounds just like a tank I would appreciate. :celeb2:

That sounds pretty good to me also but instead of a sargassum trigger could i do a niger trigger?

 

[Stuart60611]

That sounds pretty good to me also but instead of a sargassum trigger could i do a niger trigger?

Not, if I remember correctly, in your 90. Nigers get too big.

 

[Adam S]

its a 120 not a 90. I think it will be possible from what ive read.

 

[Stuart60611]

its a 120 not a 90. I think it will be possible from what ive read.

Possible, yes. Adviseable, no. I think you will find yourself down the road having to remove the niger or other fish being picked on by the niger. Plus, the niger will for sure get too large eventually for your 120.

 

[Adam S]

ya it will eventually but i think i am going to take the risk and see what happens i mean you never know if you dont try i guess. Better than going with the clown trigger tho

 

[AngelAddict]

I've heard of some horror stories about nigers, especially when They get older and larger. In a 120g, it will probably happen sooner then later.

 

[bix]

Fair enough. You seem to have a real good perspective and attitude. And your right, live aquaria and other websites are absolutely misleading in terms of the tank size's that they recommend for the fish that they sell. But remember, they want to sell as many fish as they can.

Anyway, here are some suggestions that fit your bill. As a centerpiece fish, I think you will be beyond happy with a dogface puffer. This fish has one the absolute best personalities of all of the fish in the hobby. They are the closest thing to a dog in a fish. They are very friendly, active, and get to know their owners. Also, they come in a wide variety of color variants, including the normal brown, brown yellow belly, black, and dalmation.

A very colorful and perfect choice in terms of disposition and size would be a tusk. They come in two varieties, Aussie and Indian Ocean. The Aussie is much hardier and more colorful but also a very expensive fish which may be more than you want to spend. Plus, they are hard to acclimate wbich may not be good choice for someone inexperienced. There a bunch of other appropriate wrasses, but stay away from the thassoloma (sp?) genus, unless you go with one of the smaller ones like a bluehead or pinkface.

Saragassum trigger fish is also a perfect choice if you want a trigger, but also a bit pricey. Blue throat is a good and much cheaper alternative.

A kole tang, one spot foxface, tomi tang, convict tang are another good choice to round things out and add an algae eater.

You could also throw in a couple of "filler" fish for added interest, like a flame hawk (which has tons of personality), flame angel, a toby puffer (which are very colorful puffers and stay real small) or a mellow damsel, basslet or chromis.

Now, that sounds just like a tank I would appreciate. :celeb2:

Hey Stuart thanks for the input!

What would go better in a tank like this, a snowflake eel or a smaller grouper (if they exist?) If there is a grouper that could fit/get along in this tank what is it??

 

[Stuart60611]

Hey Stuart thanks for the input!

What would go better in a tank like this, a snowflake eel or a smaller grouper (if they exist?) If there is a grouper that could fit/get along in this tank what is it??

I definitely think a snowflake is a better choice generally than a grouper for a tank the size of yours of 135 gallons. You will need to choose your tankmates carefully with the eel both in terms of not a selecting a tankmate too aggressive who will pick on the eel while at the same time selecting a tankmate not too small so as to be eaten by the eel.

As to groupers, really all are two large for a 135 with a minaturas and a polleni among the smallest. You will also have to pick tankmates for a grouper that are suitably large so as not to be eaten by the grouper which is tough in a 135 b/c groupers get so large.