restocking my 75gal

jrp1588

jrp1588

New member
I lost a bunch of fish a couple months ago in a power outage. I'm now equipped with a generator and ready for the worst! Anyway, my 75gal reef now only has 1 purple tang, 1 clarkii clown, and 1 yellow watchman. Needless to say, I need to get some life in there! We don't have any SW fish stores in town, so I'll be ordering from saltwaterfish.com.

Sitting in my cart right now, I have:
2 firefish
3 green chromis
2 pajama cardinal
1 royal gramma

What do you guys think? I'm also open to other fish if you have suggestions.
 
2 firefish and 3 green chromis will quickly become 1 fire fish and 1 green chromi so don't waste the money. ;) The firefish probably woudn't fare too well with the clown and tang unless the tang and clown were mellow specimens.
 
The clown is very docile to anything that isn't another clown. It used to be a male, but when his mate died in the power outage, he changed to female. I've tried introducing a new clown, but let's just say they had a difference of opinion. And yeah, I used to have a small group of chromis, and as you said, they whittled themselves down to a couple, I was only considering them because they cost $12 for 3 of them. The purple tang is actually a perfect gentleman. He even got along with a yellow tang I had before the outage. I also heard pajama cardinals won't get along unless they are a male-female pair.

So, alternate suggestions? I've got my showpiece fish, the purple tang, but I need some fillers.
 
im also looking to restock my 75g all i have is a yellow tang and a pair of clowns. it could use a few nice fish :) anyways, i wouldnt do the dwarf angel if you have alot of LPS. i had one in my 75 and within 10 minutes of the introduction of my first LPS piece, it was getting picked at. is the tank covered? i lost my firefish because i didnt have a cover. and also, What about a flasher wrasse?
 
I've had good luck with dwarf angels, personally, a rusty and a coral beauty in two different mixed reefs that never picked at anything. I really loved my old coral beauty, she was a wonderful fish. colorful, good eater, personalable, inexpensive. unfortunately I lost her to ich.

I think it might be banggai cardinals you're thinking of that cant live in groups- I'm pretty sure pajamas can be kept in groups/pairs.

personally, I'd change the group to:
trio pajama cardinals
coral beauty
royal gramma
firefish (it sounds as if the old fish are pretty calm, so I'd change it, personally)
 
See, I've been wanting a dwarf angel of some sort, but I'm a big scardey cat. I just know they'll destroy my tank. I might chance it though. Any dwarf angels that I less risky? I like flames, bicolors, and coral beauties.

Some of those flasher wrasses are extremely nice! I'd never seen those before. They are a lot more attractive than my old 6-line.

edit: oh yeah, my tank is uncovered, so I might avoid the firefish if they are notorious jumpers.
 
Alright, here's my wish list as of now.

1 royal gramma
1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
1 dwarf angel (cherub, bicolor, coral beauty, or flame, haven't made up my mind)

I'd like to add 1 more inexpensive fish, but can't make up my mind what.
 
IME as long as there is a decent amount of sand for them to bury under at night, yellow coris wrasses are pretty comfortable in the tank and shouldnt jump out. without sand, they will, without question.

of the angels you listed, bicolors are the most likely to nip (50/50 chance usually), flames and coral beauties are closer to an 60/40 chance, I think, and cherubs are aound the same. keep in mind most all will nip at clam mantles, and LPS are the most likely to be eaten.
 
jrp1588 said:
I read the wrasses are jumpers too, I might look into getting some egg crate.
Click to expand...

Instead of egg crate, look into making a screen top (BRS has the supplies at a good price). I lost 2 firefish - both jumped out of a tank covered with egg crate.

And I apologize about recommending the dwarf angel :hmm4: - I didn't realize this was going to be a reef tank. IMO it's a risk and if you have prized LPS I wouldn't do it.

Pajama cardinals do better in a group - it's the Kaudern's/Banggai that should only be one to a tank unless you have a mated pair.
 
Noted, I've never owned cardinals, so I assumed they all had similar dispositions. If I do get a wrasse, I've got my heart set on that McCosker's Flasher Wrasse. Such a neat looking fish. Most wrasses don't get along well with each other do they?

I think I may grow a pair and try a dwarf angel. Of course the bicolor, my favorite, is the most likely to nip. I think I may get the coral beauty, simply because on liveaquaria, it costs half as much as a flame angel.

edit: thanks for the tip about the screen. I think that'll block a lot less light than egg crate. I just noticed they sell a screen framing kit to go with the mesh that makes for a very professional looking install. I do have an overflow, return, and a bunch of pump cables going over the rim of my tank though, so it's not going to be as simple as BRS's video.
 
Last edited:
I think I've decided what I want. I also may be able to combine the order with a guy I work with to get some free shipping! Anyway, here's the list

1 royal gramma $15
1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse $40
1 coral beauty $20
3 pajama cardinals
1 Fromia milleporella sea star $17

I'm pretty pumped, can't wait to put in the order
 
Darn, I did some light research on them an didn't find any problems with them. Are there any reef safe stars around that size that will do ok in my tank?
 
You should wait about a year before introducing a starfish. In a 75g you could probably get a linckia multiflora - they tend to do okay.
 
Egg crate will not keep wrasses in. You need to build a top and use the 1/4" clear netting they sale at Bulk Reef Supply.

For more info Look Here
 
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