New 275g build - Pairing Fish Question

[ekrunch]

I am in the process of building a new 275g reef (60x44x24). For those of you who hang around RC a lot, this was nbd13's old 275g envision acrylics tank.

I'm mostly interested in doing my new fish in pairs. I'm trying to stay with fish that won't get huge so no big tangs and such. I'm hoping to avoid having to tear down the reef later on to dig fish out! Here's the list of what i'm thinking...

2x Gold Rim Tangs - I have one already from my current 125g, fully grown. Great fish. If this is a horribly bad idea, how about a recommendation on a different tang to compliment him?

2x Fisher's Pymgy Angels - I have one already and would love to have a pair.

2x Multibarred Pygmy Angels - I really want a Bicolor pair but hear that they're all caught via cyanide and shouldn't be kept at all. The Multibarred is a neat Angel too though.

4x Black Cap Basslets - I may do Royal Grammas if I can't find Black Caps at a reasonable deal from someone who can identify to make sure I have one male and 3 females.

2x Yellow Target Mandarins - I may get the regular kind and it will probably be 6-8 months before I get this fish. I want to make sure pod population is solid enough

2x African Leopard Wrasses - I already have these... they kinda started this series of bad ideas.

2x Pyramid Butterfly - Undecided here but I think it would be neat if possible.

1x Redspotted (or Lawnmower) Blenny - Just have to have another one of these... love the one I have now.

1x Clown Fairy Wrasse - I already have this guy as well and am going to keep him. Too gorgeous to get rid of but probably too big to attempt a pair.

2x Only Clowns in a BTA - Already have these guys as well, picked them out myself at a breeder so i'm sort of attached to them. :lol:

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[ekrunch]

 

[Chibils]

The pyramids are a good choice. They're as reef-safe as butterflies get, and shoal in the wild.

 

[alprazo]

The multibarred angles IMO are always very shy and cannot compete for food in a crowded tank. They should have their own. Good bicolor can be found - bluezoo has hand caught ones now.

 

[Bax]

Black caps are cool, but how about 5-7 orchid dottybacks? They will spawn and be very cool!!!!

 

[ekrunch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13345800#post13345800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chibils
The pyramids are a good choice. They're as reef-safe as butterflies get, and shoal in the wild.

Fantastic. I'll go with those then! I like them as well and they just happen to be available to me.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13347364#post13347364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alprazo
The multibarred angles IMO are always very shy and cannot compete for food in a crowded tank. They should have their own. Good bicolor can be found - bluezoo has hand caught ones now.

Hmmmm... Okay. Thanks for the tip. I don't know that i'd consider my target population to be huge, but the water will be moving fast (2x 3600gph Reeflo Darts CL + 1x 3600gph Reeflo Dart Return) so they're going to have to hoof it to get food! Especially with Tangs and other fast swimmers in the mix, i'd rather get Bicolors if I can get hand caught ones. Thanks for the pointer, i'll most likely steer away from the Multi-barred. Definitely thanks for letting me know where to get some non-cyanide bicolors. I've wanted one of those for years but have never supported them because of how they were caught.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13347848#post13347848 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bax
Black caps are cool, but how about 5-7 orchid dottybacks? They will spawn and be very cool!!!!

Mostly because I have Orchird Dottybacks now and was just looking for something different. Dunno though, I love my Dottyback. Do you happen to know if you can get them in groups or how to tell the sex of them?

 

[zemuron114]

multibars are perfectly fine competing for food. They can get quite aggressive once established, but are still among the nicest/calmest pygmies.

its near impossible to pair goldrims (or many acanthurus sp.) i would refrain from trying to add a second.

black caps are awesome. Im not sure anyone can distinguish between male and female with basslets. It is rather difficult. You may be able to get away with 4 small ones and let them decide the rank.

pyramids are definitely a "must have" for me in the future. I get small ones from Marshalls sometimes and very occasionally a small one from Hawaii (which eat aptasia!!) I would highly suggest these guys, maybe even 3!

looks like a nice, simple tank

 

[barnett8]

I read an article on pairing tangs, just separate the tangs with eggcrate until the don't attack each other anymore, then remove the eggcrate. This has been done with A. blochii, A. nigricauda, A. nigrofuscus, A. olivaceus, A. tennenti, as well as several Naso, Paracanthurus, and Zebrasoma species.

The article was in August 2005's Tropical Fish Hobbyist.

Side note tangs must be of different sexes (they choose their sex at 3-5 years of age.) And the pair will breed in the tank.

Hope this is informational.