Starting FOWLR from scratch - stocking ?

[Shaummy]

Hi All,

I have a 90gal tank that I had set up for 10years running with Live Rock and a Trickle filter. Recently, something got into the tank that killed off my 3 fish one by one. I do not know if it was a contaminant or some weird disease.

So I decided it was the time for a fresh start on this tank, I removed the old sand substrate, cleaned out the tank, replaced the substrate with about an inch of coral. All new water and the LR was scrubbed lightly as there wasn't really any growth on them.

Now it's time to start a restock. I have to go back to the new tank mode and introduce slowly again and cycle I'd guess.

So how do you all go about putting together a stocking plan? Do you just find the fish you'd like to stock, and decide on the compatibility and order of introduction?

Its been a long time since I started a tank from nothing, and can't remember how I decided.

 

[JustinReef]

I always pick one or two of the fish I really want to keep as kind of center pieces and then figure out if they are suited to the size tank. Then I buy fish based on compatibility with them. That way Im not disappointed if I can't get the fish I really wanted because I already bought something they can't be kept with. If Im not sure about a fish, I always just ask here.

 

[spamin76]

Yeah figure out if there are any fish you really want - like...
say I want a trigger fish - I would figure out the trigger and then come up with 2 other medium size fish that would work out with him...

Or say I want a long nosed hawk - I would put maybe a larger pieceful fish like a tang, and then find some smaller fish that would be ok - maybe a large goby or blenny, a dwarf angel, etc.

But like justin said, find 1-2 fish you really want, and then go from there.

Usually order isn't a problem unless you have one problem aggressor or some of the same species who will fight if not added together.

 

[Shaummy]

Great,

So I'm trying to go with a mostly peaceful tank so that I can still have a decent cleanup crew.

So here are my must haves:

1-Purple Tang
1- Dwarf angel (Flame, coral beauty, flameback)

And the rest I'm thinking about:
1- psudechromis/dottyback/basslet(orchid, black cap, fridmani)
1- Flame Hawk
2 - Ocellaris or Percula clowns
1- Marine Betta

That would likely do a decent job of stocking while still giving plenty of room to swim in my 90 gal tank.

I had thought about Dommino Damsels, but hear they can get aggressive when they get bigger.

Thoughts?

 

[flameangel88]

Little difficult to give a list not knowing what you like so just for starter--this is what my 75g looked like in 2006.

July 2006

Dec 2006

 

[Shaummy]

flameangel88

I see you have a mix of dwarf and large angels in your tank, are they aggressive with each other?

I had thought about something like a blue girdled large angel as well but figure they might fight in a 90 gallon (4 ft) tank.

I guess I should share some info about my tank. Its a 90gal tank with a Amiracle hang on overflow box that is connected to ta CPR 900 trickle filter.

I have an AquaC EV-120 skimmer as well.

All in all a basic setup. I had not found Nitrates to be an issue with the trickle filter due to frequent water changes and good maintenance.

 

[td1415]

I had a Domino damsel that grew quite aggressive over time. He chased more delicate fish, ate most of the food, and generally terrorized everything. Putting him in the tank was one of the biggest aquarium mistakes I've made--I ultimately had to remove all the rock to get him and his partner in crime, a blue devil damsel, out. So I would definitely advise against a domino damsel.

 

[flameangel88]

Shaummy:

Nothing out of the ordinary and pretty much the normal chain of hierarchy of the angels:
Emperor/Blueface (both juv behide the rocks and not in the pictures)
Majestic
Flagfin
Goldflake is very mild manner
Pygmy picks on the smallest of the 3 FAs but get pick on by the large FA
Flame angels

click on the red house and you'll see a video clip of the angels in my current 180g.

 

[Shaummy]

Anyone want to take a crack at an introduction order of that list?

I was thinking :
Ocellaris or Percula clowns
Marine Betta
Dwarf angel
psudechromis/dottyback/basslet(orchid, black cap, fridmani)
Flame Hawk
Possible Large Angel?
Purple Tang

would that work?

 

[spamin76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12529369#post12529369 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flameangel88
Little difficult to give a list not knowing what you like so just for starter--this is what my 75g looked like in 2006.

July 2006

Dude the coke bottle is awesome!

Sad, but true, it makes it really look like something you might find in the real world.

It really reminds you of the human impact on reefs around the world.

 

[flameangel88]

Thanks. It looked even better after it was covered with algae. I bought that bottle back all the way from Key West so there was other good memory to boot.