New FOWLR tank-stocking?

[pangaea6]

I am doing a little research on stocking a FOWLR tank, either 125 or 150. My preliminary list is:

Volitans Lion
Humahuma
Eel (any rec?)
Regal or Bluering Angel
Tang (any rec?)
Niger Trigger (How do these do in a reef also?)

Any input is appreciated as to how these guys would get along and also any other neat fish (not SUPER expensive) that could go in there? Also if there were any type of invert. or coral that would survive such a grouping, just something to add to the rock you know. Thanks.

 

[capt. insano]

mixing lions and triggers can be hit or miss. Some triggers like to nip at the lion's spines.

Regal angels are pretty sensitive. I think this has more to do with the fact that they are harder to get as juveniles......so they come into the trade as near adults, and have a harder time acclimating. I would urge you to choose something in the pomacanthus family (french, Queen, Passer)

Hepatus tang would be my reccomendation.

All said, that is a lot of fish, full grown, for a 150 gallon tank. A few grown volitan lion and blue ring angel are huge!!

 

[rpoint16]

Don't forget your Q tank..

Good Luck!!

 

[KJMiller]

My Favriot thing about the FOWLR tank is how it isent a reef all the fish in your ideas are really cool. The lion fish is good with anything that will not fit in his mouth. The Humahuma is agressive to triggers so if you decide to get a niger to add at the same time to prevent killing but save them to lastr because they are aggressive. The regal is a hard to keep angle with many needs I would never buy one because of the sensitivity. Every tank that dosent have small fish or shrimp needs an eel the snowflake is a good one it stays small and is just really fun to watch. The tang my favriot is the clown tang it is a little more pricy but it is really cool and kinda agressive. And finally the fish of choice for me is allways the Lunar wrass it is mean but cool and swimms allthe time. Be carful with the snowflake he will try to jump out thats how mine died. Every one allways asks about the niger in reefs and it a risky fish to add but if it is a docile one it should be fin as long as there are not any tiny inverts.

 

[Emo]

The blue ring is much easier to feed and hardier than the regal, and the lion may have its filaments chewed on by angels and triggers.
I would agree that it would be a heavily stocked tank with everything grown. The niger seems to me to be the odd man out.
As for a tang I would suggest a yellow or purple or even a scopas...all of the genus zebramosa. From personal experience aand word of mouth these guys do great with bullys and are hard as nails if fed right.

Good luck

 

[majestic sea life]

i was thinking about just like a 125lionfish tank how many can i put or im going to do a 150 stingray and tang tank what u think

 

[pangaea6]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll use this as a reference for later after my reef is going strong. Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks

 

[pangaea6]

180g now

180g now

Almost a year later and I have a 180g tank. Have a new list of possible fish for FOWLR

Volitans Lion
Emperor Angel
Snowflake or Banana Eel
Picasso trigger
Niger trigger
Maroon clown
Lunar wrasse
Achilles Tang
Damsels (just to have something zipping about)

I know its a lot of fish so who are the odd fish out on this list?Also how much LR would anyone rec.?

 

[zemuron114]

i would pick one trigger (the niger would be my choice.. as he is less aggressive) the huma will most likely kill the lion eventually. The emperor angel will nip the lion almost certainly.

So you have a few choices. Ex the lion and get both triggers. Or keep the lion and Ex the huma and angel and replace the emperor angel with another angel.. maybe a flame?

I have heard the lunar wrasses are very very mean as they grow.

and the achilles tang is very hard to acclimate and keep alive as they are EXTREMEMLY sensitive. Again i would go with maybe a yellow/purple/scopas.. or you could get a clown or even a powder brown...

my fish list would be..

eel(either or)
volitan lion.. (i looove lions)
pink tail or buethroat trigger
powder brown tang
damsels (blue would be nice)
and maybe a majestic angel

That would max you out. Keep into consideration the lion is a target for many fish that nip.. good luck!

 

[pangaea6]

After reading up some more I think I'm gonna have to lose the lion b/c then I can get more of the other fish I want. Think I'll go with

Picasso
Niger
Emperor
Tang of some description
Snowflake eel
5 damsels


Any thoughts on Maroon clown, Flame angel, Butterfly fish, small banded shark or any smaller fish (now that the lion is gone from the mix)

Any ideas on substrate now that Southdown is hard to come by.
And still no ideas about LR amounts

 

[stef82]

Damsels would probably look like lunch to everyone else on that list, if you add them... I wouldn't get attached!

Personally Im a huge fan of the Sail-fin Tang!!

 

[pangaea6]

"Damsels would probably look like lunch to everyone else on that list, if you add them... I wouldn't get attached "

I was reading on here that some big aggressive type fish like small targets so they won't bother the other big expensive fish. One person suggested school of chromis and the like for distractions.

 

[zemuron114]

if you want the damsels to live a while then get blue devil damsels. They get a pretty good size and are aggressive as heck! Green chromis would get eaten definitely, they are to passive! the rest looks good though..

 

[pangaea6]

Thanks for the info on blue devil damsels. I also heard that some damsels could possibly pester some bigger fish to death. These guys wouldn't do that would they?
Also thanks for the confirmation of the fish list.

 

[Triggerfish]

Think I'll go with
Picasso
Niger
Emperor
Tang of some description
Snowflake eel
5 damsels
Any thoughts on Maroon clown, Flame angel, Butterfly fish, small banded shark or any smaller fish
Any ideas on substrate now that Southdown is hard to come by.
And still no ideas about LR amounts

decent size tank to start off with here.. i suggest stock slowly for the 1st 6 months at least.

i like the list you have there, with the exception of the damsels.i have lost them all on every attempt to my Picasso. if the picasso is very small and you add them together then it may work..but keep in mind that damsels can grow pretty large and can be some of the most aggressive fish you can keep.

i do not particulary care for the marroon clown species.mine has just sat around for 4 years..that's what they do..they hover in one spot and defend it at all costs.
dwarf angel would be cool with lots of LR.
i avoid BF altogether, just become too finicky after time.

substrate will be expensive now that cheaper alternatives are very hard to come by. check to see if you have a local reef club and see if anyone has some stocked away.

regarding LR, i would add as much as you can afford up to probably 200 lbs,,you want a decent amount of swimming room.

in addition to what you have listed, i would also add the following over the years.
Pinktail trigger
blue throat trigger
asfur angel

 

[pangaea6]

Triggerfish, thanks for all the advice.:thumbsup:
I will definately keep it all in mind. It' a shame about BF though. Oh well can't put everything together, that's why Lionfish got scrapped.

 

[capt. insano]

Damsels are hit and miss, as well as other small fish.

I have a mean a$$ blue damsel, a LMB, and a arc-eye hawk (as well as 2 cleaner shrimp!) in with my triggers. No probs whatsoever! I keep them well fed (3 times per day, with a very varied diet), and lots of hidey holes for the smaller guys

 

[pangaea6]

Been awhile but now the tank is ready for fish, I was wondering if I can get some more excellant advice on the stocking order of these fish

Picasso
Emperor Angel
Powder Brown Tang or Naso
Snowflake or Goldentail Eel
5 damsels
Flame Angel
Maroon Clown

Thanks for the help.

 

[spamin76]

Re: New FOWLR tank-stocking?

I am doing a little research on stocking a FOWLR tank, either 125 or 150. My preliminary list is:

Humahuma
Niger Trigger (How do these do in a reef also?)

Any input is appreciated as to how these guys would get along and also any other neat fish (not SUPER expensive) that could go in there? Also if there were any type of invert. or coral that would survive such a grouping, just something to add to the rock you know. Thanks.

Humuhumus are not overly aggressive but they do get more aggressive with age. I don't think there are any incompatibility issues though - they may pick on small unaggressive fish - mine ate a chromis once but that is the only thing he ever did, and it was only one out of about 6 chromes.

Nigers are also relatively unaggressive though sometimes some specimen will be extremely aggressive. Again no incompatibility issues.

Sometimes nigers work perfectly in reefs, sometimes they do not - they tend to go after inverts like shrimp and snails but not so much coral - really it is more of a question will they eat inverts than will they eat coral. It's about a 50/50(actually they tend to work with just coral but may eat other inverts)

I think this list would be ok in a150 - though I would recommend losing one of the bigger fish because it will get cramped.

 

[pangaea6]

Thanks Spamin but my last post had the final list of fish I was considering and I needed some rec. on the order of introduction into the 180. I think I've decided to nix the Niger so I can comfortably have the angel, tang and humahuma.