Need help on my 75 stock list

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sheepdog43

New member
Need some recommendations on stock for a 75 gallon (tank info below for the curious).

So far I have:
3 stripe Damsel (VERY active) and a Fiji Blue Devil Damsel (really shy still, but real nice color on him see below, mean as hell looking though). They have been together for a long time in a small tank before I got them so they should be tolerant of each other. In fact they are rarely more than 6 inches apart.

Eventually I want to get a Volitan Lion (probably last). This is the centerpiece. I am letting the Damsels grow before I get it, and it will be small so with a little luck they will survive.

What else will survive with the lion?
Kole Yellow Eye Tang, everyone has blue or yellow... (should be fine)
Goby maybe? A Dracula would be cool. Not sure if this would make it.
Possibly a Clown or 2 (Cinnamon maybe?). Again, not sure about this.
Wrasse maybe? If so, what kind?

Anything else or will I be maxed out? Recommend me some cool fish instead of these. Like I said, I am willing to wait on the lion for the fish to grow.

Coral plans are lots of Shrooms, Xenia, Anthelia and Gorgonias.

What about clean up crews? With the lion, I am limited I know.

I am happy this thing is finally running. I have been doing fresh for so long and wanted salt for so long I am just excited to finally have fish swimming in this tank. It is a bit daunting due to the massive increase in complexity and cost. This place has helped a ton, only a few questions due to heavy use of the search though.
 
Here is what I have (go easy on me for it):
It went through a small cycle a while back, thought it was done, a bad pump triggered this one (new lights, plus a rusted shaft on a used pump :furious: ). Water tests are good though and the fish seem happy. And yeah, the aquascaping sucks.

Display:
75 gal. Perfecto
80 pounds live sand (sugar size) (almost 3in)
Aquatraders PC lights (T5 eventually most likely)
2 Hydor Koralia 2's for flow
1 Toms overflow (needed one in a hurry and this was available, Hurricane on the way).
Custom stand (Poplar and Birch) 43inches tall, puts the tank at eye level.

Sump
20 gal long
2 Quiet One 1200's for return pumps
Aquatraders ps160 skimmer (mesh mod coming eventually)
Eventually a RDSB as well.

Rock (total):
5 pounds Fiji rock
16 pounds seeded diy rock (thanks Ebe the 3 striper absolutely loves the hollow stuff, in and out all day long).
60 pounds diy dry rock
The DIY should all look better down the road. So do not laugh too hard at some of it. Besides the fish love it. Probably half of my rock is in my sump, leaving lots of swim room for fish.

Extras:
AquaClear 110 (for carbon when needed)

I run 2 return pumps for redundancy. If I lose one, the tank can survive a few days on one. Seen too many pumps fail while doing computer water cooling.

PC's, yes, I know, but for $100 they were good to get started and I have seen a lot grow under PC's in a tank this size). There is some algae but it is clearing. If it is not Eheim or better, I run 2.

IMG_5373.jpg

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IMG_5378.jpg
 
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Both the damsels will be food w/in a year no matter how small the lion is. It will get to about 12" in a year, 1.5 years top. The lion will eat anything up to about 1/2 it's size. For the same reason I'd skip the clowns etc. Tang's might be alright although I never tried it with my lion. You see a lot of puffers etc. with lion's but then lose the ability to have snails. Here are some good lionfish links:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lions&rels.htm

Also, there is a forum here on reef central for fish only and preditor tanks that has a ton of info.
 
The only Volitan I have seen in a 75 never got more than about 7-9in in the 2 years I have watched it. It also has damsels and a Yellow Tang in it. It never bothers them, which is why I expected them to live. If the Damsels do become food though, so be it, it won't be the first time or the last in this tank I am sure.

I have read those articles, both good, but very little in the way of compatible tank mates.
 
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Just a warning, I put a dwarf lion in with some damsels with the hopes that they would become food when the lion got big enough. All went well for 6 months or so then all of a sudden the Damsel tore the lion to shreds. Unfortunetly he never recovered from that.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10507921#post10507921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
Here's some more too I had saved:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137591

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lioncompfaqs.htm

Mine was in a 55 and went from about 4" to about 14" in just one year. I had a couple damsels I put in the tank and he/she ate one right away but it was a sgt major which has a taller profile. The other hung out for about 4 or 5 months until it disappeared one day and the lion had a lump in it's belly.
Click to expand...

Forgot about that first link, I am sure I can find some good tank mates in there thanks.




<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10509382#post10509382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by superfirefly
Just a warning, I put a dwarf lion in with some damsels with the hopes that they would become food when the lion got big enough. All went well for 6 months or so then all of a sudden the Damsel tore the lion to shreds. Unfortunetly he never recovered from that.
Click to expand...
Yikes, not what I expected to hear.



Thanks guys, looks like I may not wait for the Damsels to grow before getting the lion after all. I would prefer he eat the damsels than the other way round.
 
I would say skip the lionfish all together. Yes, they are cool but it limits what you will be able to keep. I would think that once it become full grown it will be a nitrate producer because of the size and the amount of food you will feed. I don't think the corals will like that. I'm sure if can be done but thought I would throw in my 2 pennies
 
I had my Volitan Lion for at least two to three years in a 55g FO and it got to about 10". It may have been a little longer but my Clown Trigger kept nipping at it's tail. The Lion would eat just about anything it could fit in it's mouth and sometimes with it's victims tails still hanging out.

I am starting up a reef tank and considered another Lion until reading about them eating some of the cleaning crew as well as the fish. I have decided to skip the lion this time around.

P.S. I came home one day and found the Trigger floating in the tank. He was all swollen and red. I guess the Lion got his revenge.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10518849#post10518849 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Indermark
I would say skip the lionfish all together. Yes, they are cool but it limits what you will be able to keep. I would think that once it become full grown it will be a nitrate producer because of the size and the amount of food you will feed. I don't think the corals will like that. I'm sure if can be done but thought I would throw in my 2 pennies
Click to expand...

I have thought about that a few times, but , I would rather go with fewer corals than ditch the lion. I may go with a Dwarf Zebra instead of a Voltans though.

One thing I was checking was to make sure the other fish would leave the rest of the clean up crew alone. I do not want a lion that eats shrimp and another fish eat the snails or crabs.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10520098#post10520098 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dano999
I had my Volitan Lion for at least two to three years in a 55g FO and it got to about 10". It may have been a little longer but my Clown Trigger kept nipping at it's tail. The Lion would eat just about anything it could fit in it's mouth and sometimes with it's victims tails still hanging out.

I am starting up a reef tank and considered another Lion until reading about them eating some of the cleaning crew as well as the fish. I have decided to skip the lion this time around.

P.S. I came home one day and found the Trigger floating in the tank. He was all swollen and red. I guess the Lion got his revenge.
Click to expand...

One thing I have read over and over... Triggers and Lions do not mix.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10520098#post10520098 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dano999
I had my Volitan Lion for at least two to three years in a 55g FO and it got to about 10". It may have been a little longer but my Clown Trigger kept nipping at it's tail. The Lion would eat just about anything it could fit in it's mouth and sometimes with it's victims tails still hanging out.

I am starting up a reef tank and considered another Lion until reading about them eating some of the cleaning crew as well as the fish. I have decided to skip the lion this time around.

P.S. I came home one day and found the Trigger floating in the tank. He was all swollen and red. I guess the Lion got his revenge.
Click to expand...

In a 55???
 
Yep in a 55. The Lion pretty much had no tail left. I actually had two triggers. A Picasso and a Clown. This was 1983 and I was young and did not know better. The were OK for a few years.
 
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