New Mixed Reef Fish List

[djdenv]

I am in the process of starting up a new 90G mixed reef tank. The following is a list of fish I intend to put in and I would welcome any comments/concerns regarding compatibilty or care. There will also be a 30G refugium installed as well.

Swallowtail Angel (female)
Coral Beauty
Lemonpeel Angel
Kole Tang (and maybe 2 more which may be any of the bristletooth or traditional yellow)
Royal Gramma
Various Gobies (2-3)
Striped Squirrelfish
Cardinal Fish (2-3)
Highfin Perchlet
6line wrasse or flame fairy wrasse
yellow candy hogfish
dwarf fuzzy lion

I have a few concerns already with the lion, in that it could eat the royal gramma, any of the gobies if too small, or even the carninals. I'm interested in opinions... I had always wanted a clown trigger or lion but also a reef tank. At only 90G, I don't think the clown trigger would do well, so I'm going with the Dwarf Lion, supposedly fairly reef-safe.

I had also considered a pair of Mandarins (since I have the fuge), and clowns. Mandarins were quickly crossed off as I don't think they'd survive the lion. I'm still interested in clowns, but not sure what species would be best... I think something larger than the percula/oscellaris would be ideal. Along the same lines, I've considered a pair of clowns with a hosted anemone... Am I asking for trouble with an invert and the above fish though? Also have to deal with the anemone moving around...

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[SecretiveFish]

My two cents....

Swallowtail Angel (female) - No, your tank is not big enough. Live Aquaria suggests a minimum tank size of 125gallons (you are only supposed to count the size of your display tank and not the size of your display tank + refugium)
Coral Beauty - Nice pretty fish. Generally hardy.
Lemonpeel Angel - Tend to be extremely aggressive and there is a good chance that this will kill other tank occupants. I had one in a 65g with just a pink spotted goby and he killed the goby). I would not get one and would not suggest multiple dwarf angels in your tank as things may work out OK, but often not. IMO, it is not worth potentially killing fish just to hope you are one of the lucky ones where things work out.
Kole Tang (and maybe 2 more which may be any of the bristletooth or traditional yellow) - You really should only have one bristletooth per system as they WILL fight with and potentially kill each other. With a tank your size, I would pick my favorite bristle tooth OR yellow tang and call it a day.
Royal Gramma - Good choice if you don't get the lion.
Various Gobies (2-3) - Good choice if you don't get the lion.
Striped Squirrelfish - Seems OK except they eat crustaceans and serpent stars if you did not know.
Cardinal Fish (2-3) - Seems OK if you don't get the lion.
Highfin Perchlet - Seems OK if you don't get the lion.
6line wrasse or flame fairy wrasse - Many people have problems with their 6 line wrasse beating up or harassing other tank occupants as they get older but others don't (food for thought). The Flame fairy wrasse is quite attractive, but WOW, expensive! If I had the money, I would get the flame fairy wrasse.
yellow candy hogfish - Lionfish chow.... otherwise good choice.
dwarf fuzzy lion - With most of the fish you have selected, I would not get one. Most of the fish you selected would be eaten by the lion eventually. That would get very expensive, very fast

I would suggest that you decide if the lion is a 'Must have' and if that is the case you will really need to revise your stocking list to only fish that will not fit in the lions mouth and fish that will not harass the lion and take into consideration that lion fish are a heavy bioload on the tank. Otherwise, if you go with my other suggestions I think you stocking list would be OK with lots of pretty active fish.

 

[DustyReefer]

My two cents....

Swallowtail Angel (female) - No, your tank is not big enough. Live Aquaria suggests a minimum tank size of 125gallons (you are only supposed to count the size of your display tank and not the size of your display tank + refugium)
Coral Beauty - Nice pretty fish. Generally hardy.
Lemonpeel Angel - Tend to be extremely aggressive and there is a good chance that this will kill other tank occupants. I had one in a 65g with just a pink spotted goby and he killed the goby). I would not get one and would not suggest multiple dwarf angels in your tank as things may work out OK, but often not. IMO, it is not worth potentially killing fish just to hope you are one of the lucky ones where things work out.
Kole Tang (and maybe 2 more which may be any of the bristletooth or traditional yellow) - You really should only have one bristletooth per system as they WILL fight with and potentially kill each other. With a tank your size, I would pick my favorite bristle tooth OR yellow tang and call it a day.
Royal Gramma - Good choice if you don't get the lion.
Various Gobies (2-3) - Good choice if you don't get the lion.
Striped Squirrelfish - Seems OK except they eat crustaceans and serpent stars if you did not know.
Cardinal Fish (2-3) - Seems OK if you don't get the lion.
Highfin Perchlet - Seems OK if you don't get the lion.
6line wrasse or flame fairy wrasse - Many people have problems with their 6 line wrasse beating up or harassing other tank occupants as they get older but others don't (food for thought). The Flame fairy wrasse is quite attractive, but WOW, expensive! If I had the money, I would get the flame fairy wrasse.
yellow candy hogfish - Lionfish chow.... otherwise good choice.
dwarf fuzzy lion - With most of the fish you have selected, I would not get one. Most of the fish you selected would be eaten by the lion eventually. That would get very expensive, very fast

I would suggest that you decide if the lion is a 'Must have' and if that is the case you will really need to revise your stocking list to only fish that will not fit in the lions mouth and fish that will not harass the lion and take into consideration that lion fish are a heavy bioload on the tank. Otherwise, if you go with my other suggestions I think you stocking list would be OK with lots of pretty active fish.

I agree with pretty much everything, although I don't like the hog, and Iv'e heard they can get a little aggressive and maybe eat your cuc etc. Now the lion.... It seems that everyone at some point wants a lionfish, and they are cool, but IMO I'd rather have a reef tank. And I just can't really justify putting a lion in your average reef tank. You'd be surprised with how big a fish they can fit in their mouth.

 

[Ambition]

I am in the process of starting up a new 90G mixed reef tank. The following is a list of fish I intend to put in and I would welcome any comments/concerns regarding compatibilty or care. There will also be a 30G refugium installed as well.

Swallowtail Angel (female) Female will eventually turn into a male as the only specimen. Also needs a tank that is at least 6' long.
Coral Beauty Good choice, stays small, hardy in most cases, and colorful.
Lemonpeel Angel Mixing dwarf angels is risky. The general rule (rule being used loosely) is not to mix dwarf angel species. These are also one of the larger dwarf angel species.
Kole Tang (and maybe 2 more which may be any of the bristletooth or traditional yellow) One tang in a tank of your size. Stick with a bristletooth tang if you are going to get one. Kole tangs are full of personality and would a choice of mine.
Royal Gramma A great fish for a tank that doesn't have fish that can eat it
Various Gobies (2-3) What do you mean by various? I'd suggest this meaning a watchman/sand dwelling goby, cleaner goby of some sort, and maybe another kind of small goby.
Striped Squirrelfish I'd personally stick with one fish that gets larger than 4" in a tank that is only 4' long. IMO, it will make the tank look small as the fish grow.
Cardinal Fish (2-3) Okay for three as long as they aren't Bangaii cardinalfish. If they are Bangaii's, get a bonded pair. Also need a tank that doesn't have fish that will eat it.
Highfin Perchlet Stay small, so the lionfish couldn't be kept with one.
6line wrasse or flame fairy wrasse Flame wrasse before a sixline. Sixlines are known to get more aggressive as they age. Something to consider when deciding.
yellow candy hogfish Good choice as long as you don't have fish that will eat it in the tank.
dwarf fuzzy lion Will eat most of the smaller species on your list at some point.

I have a few concerns already with the lion, in that it could eat the royal gramma, any of the gobies if too small, or even the carninals. I'm interested in opinions... I had always wanted a clown trigger or lion but also a reef tank. At only 90G, I don't think the clown trigger would do well, so I'm going with the Dwarf Lion, supposedly fairly reef-safe.

I had also considered a pair of Mandarins (since I have the fuge), and clowns. Mandarins were quickly crossed off as I don't think they'd survive the lion. I'm still interested in clowns, but not sure what species would be best... I think something larger than the percula/oscellaris would be ideal. Along the same lines, I've considered a pair of clowns with a hosted anemone... Am I asking for trouble with an invert and the above fish though? Also have to deal with the anemone moving around...

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

Lionfish are reefsafe, they are however predators and as such will eat the small reef fish in a tank. I'd suggest deciding on whether you want the lionfish or smaller fish. A dwarf lionfish is by far a better choice for a 90g than a clown trigger is.

I'd skip the mandarins and clowns as the list you have is pretty heavily stocked IMO. A pair should ideally have a larger tank just to ensure there are enough pods to sustain them. Clownfish can be good, and can be bad depending on how much you want/need them. If you love them, they are great fish. However, if you are like me and can live without a pair in your tank, you give yourself some more opportunities in stocking. A mated pair of clowns will defend their area of the tank from other fish and your hand. It gets annoying at times, IMO. I'd keep your list minus the lionfish and squirrelfish.

 

[djdenv]

Thanks for the responses thus far! I was afraid I'd get these kind of responses regarding the lion. I'm going to pull the lion off my list and add it to a separate FOWLER "Aggressive" list instead. Keeping to the original intent of my post (compatible fish in mixed reef) my new list is as follows:

SwallowTail: I've seen mixed opinoins on tank size. If I keep my # fish down, maybe it won't matter...
coral beauty beautiful & hardy
Kole Tang
BristleTooth OR Yellow Tang (my original intent)
Royal Gramma
1-2 gobies
mated clowns w/anemone (yeah, still want this)
highfin perchlet
wrasse (many choice of sp.)
mandarin (I guess I'll stick with one)


removed: lion, lemonpeel angel, squirrels, cardinals (might keep afterall), hogfish

I actually popped this config into http://www.marinecompatibilityguide.com/cfg/bd7c70da with pretty good feedback. On a side-note, anyone else use this tool?

 

[djdenv]

Thanks for the responses thus far! I was afraid I'd get these kind of responses regarding the lion. I'm going to pull the lion off my list and add it to a separate FOWLER "Aggressive" list instead. Keeping to the original intent of my post (compatible fish in mixed reef) my new list is as follows:

SwallowTail: I've seen mixed opinoins on tank size. If I keep my # fish down, maybe it won't matter...
coral beauty beautiful & hardy
Kole Tang
BristleTooth OR Yellow Tang (my original intent)
Royal Gramma
1-2 gobies
mated clowns w/anemone (yeah, still want this)
highfin perchlet
wrasse (many choice of sp.)
mandarin (I guess I'll stick with one)


removed: lion, lemonpeel angel, squirrels, cardinals (might keep afterall), hogfish

I actually popped this config into http://www.marinecompatibilityguide.com/cfg/bd7c70da with pretty good feedback. On a side-note, anyone else use this tool?