new 180 gal, help select fish

[kgnept]

I'm finally getting to upgrade to a 180 gal (72x24x24). I currently have a 90 gal that i,ve had for about 10 years.
I will be moving all my corals to the new tank ( sps, lps, mushrooms, and soft corals) the only fish i have right now is a lemon peel damsel.

In the new tank i would like a Naso tang and a pair of Blue jaw Triggers.

So my question here is what would you suggest to go along with these fish in this size tank?

Thanks :bum:

 

[jmadison]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1644770 That's a link to me posing the same question for my 180 I'm setting up. I settled on a tang from each family(although I may end up getting only three tangs). I don't know much about triggers but you may have issues with your coral and them not cohabitating.

 

[kgnept]

thanks for the link, I have a couple more weeks before the tank is ready for fish.
The blue jaw trigger is suppose to be reef safe, just have to be careful with small fish.
but that make me wonder "what is small" to a trigger fish?
are blue/Green Chromis too small..

 

[kgnept]

Pic of the male blue jaw.

 

[jmadison]

Like I said I am unfamiliar with the trigger sorry. I would assume that shortly after the trigger begins growing, most fish will be considered "small". I think most people tend to keep triggers in aggressive/preditor tanks.

 

[waterworld2]

If I were in your shoes I would have a Sohal Tang!

 

[jmadison]

Sohal's can be quite mean.

 

[firereef]

Just get a bunch of tangs.

 

[finfans]

put in a wrasse, and alot of tangs, no triggers!

 

[Lightsluvr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15297937#post15297937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by finfans
put in a wrasse, and alot of tangs, no triggers!

Agree above - a yellow, blue hippo, desjardins sailfin and a yellow-eyed kole tang. I like the yellow coris wrasse over the 6 line, which can get mean as a rattlesnake.

Maybe add 5-7 anthias for the beautiful schooling effect... don't put the cheaper Chromis in there - most times they will kill each other off until there's only one left...

JMHO

LL

 

[strout]

Skip the fish, buy more corals.

 

[kgnept]

some pics

some pics

here are some pics of the tank and my big cave project.

plan to put sps on top of cave, that will get them high light levels.

 

[Jflip2002]

Fish for a 180:
5-6 Anthias, I personally like Lyretails, though theyre the most common.
1 Powder Brown Tang (Just as pretty as the powder blue, but better survival rates)
1 Purple Tang
2 (1 pair) of your favorite clownfish (I like the picassos)
1 Mystery Wrasse
5-6 Chromis
A couple additional gobies or blennies.

Id prefer a bunch of smaller fish, with a couple select larger fish. Just my opinion. That cave looks like it'll be a cool addition when it gets live and covered in coraline. Id maybe add more cement (Im assuming you used cement) to the top of the cave, so its not just a flat piece. It'll make it look less natural that way. JMO, again.

 

[kgnept]

My plan is to put live rock and sps corals on top and as it grows will fill-in the top to a more natural look.

thanks for all the fish advice,

started filling the tank, wil post more pics soon.

 

[Western_reefer]

Here is my 180 gallon stock list:

1 Yellow Tang
1 Brown-Eared Surgeonfish (Acanthurus gahhm) or (Acanthurus nigricauda)
1 Niger Trigger
1 Maroon clownfish
1 Yellow Coris Wrasse
1 UNKNOWN Wrasse
1 Neon Goby (Gobiosoma oceanops)
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Diamond Goby
1 Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura Wrasse
1 PJ Cardinal
1 Spotted Mandarin fish
1 Fridmani Pseudochromis
2 Fire Fish (pair)
4 Zebra Gobies (2 pairs, 2 males and 2 females)
5 Blue-Green Chromis

Total is 24 fish, but most of them stay small. The only large fish I have is the Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, and Brown-Eared Surgeonfish.

 

[kgnept]

thanks Moses. cool list of fish

i was wondering about the trigger and small fish like the gobies and fire fish. have you had any problem with the trigger trying to eat the small fish.

 

[Western_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15333424#post15333424 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kgnept
thanks Moses. cool list of fish

i was wondering about the trigger and small fish like the gobies and fire fish. have you had any problem with the trigger trying to eat the small fish.

Np. Thanks!


The Trigger is 3-3.5 inches so far and isn't aggressive to anyone whats so ever. I also feed 4 times a day, so that might be a reason why he isn't aggressive.

 

[ReefWreak]

The triggers that you're looking for (bluemouth, maybe crosshatch) are in the family of plantivorous triggers, so they don't eat smaller fishes (unless they're planktonic small). I just got a 3" niger trigger for my 120g as my 13th fish. I love him, except that he brought disease with him and I lost a fish to it, but the rest of the fish are healthy and being fed well.

I would put in a 180g a harem of flasher wrasses, a yellow corris wrasse, my dejardini sailfin, maybe a small harem of angels or something, and then random assorted active small fishes (firefish, etc).

Groups of same species fish tend to be healthier and happier than individuals mixed with other assorted fishes.

 

[crsandoval]

I had a pair of Blue Jaws... then I got a very bad infection that wiped out my tank. They will do fine. As for the chromis, I have had 7 of them for almost 5 years. They are the best and they school to this day. They are all very big, somewhere around 4 inches long.

 

[kgnept]

thanks for the info. this makes me feel much better about getting the trigger and having some smaller fish in the tank also.

I have been very busy the last two days, moving from the 90gl into the 180. ( my back is aching)