Stocking Options for 75 Gallon Setup

[boogie1986]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to saltwater aquariums. I've had my tank set up for about 2 months now, and the parameters are pretty stable:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: .10ppm
pH: 8.2

Anyways, I have about 130+ lbs of live rock and a cleanup crew as well as some mushroom corals and a Leather Toadstool.

I've been reading "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta and it gives a sample fish choices for a 55-75 gallon mixed community tank and here they are:

1 to 2 Yellowtail (Blue) Hippo Tangs
5 to 7 Green Chromis
1 Coral Beauty Angelfish
1 Longnose Hawkfish
2 to 3 Bangaii Cardinalfish

it also states that The blue tangs will "coexist in this system, but most other..tang species should be kept single to avoid fighting.

Here is what I would like to possible keep:

5 Green Chromis (I've heard they are fascinating to watch)
2 Ocellaris (False Percula) Clownfish
2 Cardinalfish
1 Blue Tang
1 Yellow Tang.

I can't think of anymore because the above lists seems like plenty
I know that i can't add them all at the same time because it would kill the tank with all the wastes being produced.

Anyways, any opinions on keeping both the blue tang and the yellow tang, or should I just choose 1 of the tangs to keep.

Anyother suggestions on stocking levels and beginner fish choices are more than welcome

THANKS

 

[thor32766]

i am not tang police but i wouldnt put more then one of those tangs in there. so you go to UNC pembroke?

 

[boogie1986]

Yeah I go to UNCP. I wasn't sure if I should put 2 different kinds of Tang in there, but now i'll just think I'll stick to the Blue Tang.

Thanks

 

[stykthyn]

In a tank that size, if you want tangs I would skip the ones you have mentioned and go with a Kole tang. the blue and the yellow can reach up to a foot in length and would not appreciate the dimensions of your tank, especially with all the live rock that you have. Chromis are cool, but they tend to kill each other. A school of 5 will eventually whittle itself down to 2 then finally the biggest one will kill off the other. If you want schooling fish get some more cardinals, say around 6. they hang together and dont fight. Perhaps there may be some anthias out there that will school in your tank. A little pricey, but they truly are the best schoolers I have seen

 

[boogie1986]

stykthyn,

I just read a couple of posts from way back in the forum, and I was mad to hear that the Chromis will kill each other off. Since I've started, all I've heard was how well the Chromis do in the aquarium. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't know about the anthias, but the cardinals are something to think about. Would it be possible to mix 2 different species of Cardinalfish--say 3 Bangaii Cardinalfish and 3 Spotted "Pajama" Cardinalfish.

Any starter fish, or fish in general that would do well in a 75 gallon. I thought for sure that either the Blue or Yellow tangs would be very happy with the rock structure that I have, since I have heard that they love plenty places to swim in and out of:

But I guess you are right about the live rock taking up a good chunk of space.....

 

[boogie1986]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7488938#post7488938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boogie1986
stykthyn,

Any starter fish, or fish in general that would do well in a 75 gallon.

What I meant to say was : Are there any other starter fish or fish in general that would do well in a 75 gallon setup? :rollface:

 

[stykthyn]

clownfish, dwarf angels, blennies, gobies, basslets, firefish, damsels(keep only one or find a mted pair),cleaner shrimps. there are a lot of fish that you can keep. make the biggest list you possibly can and the research all of them. by the time you are done you should be fairly sick of reading about fish and will have a good idea on what fish can go together. if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

A Hawkfish would be nice...I agree with the above opinions, The only Tang I would suggest is a Kole and even a Kole would outgrow a 75. Some fish for that size.....these are suggestions for size, many of these fish cannot be kept together such as Sixline Wrasse and Dottybacks

Hawkfish
Clownfish
Dwarf Angel
Gobies
Blennies
Basslet
Dottyback
Small Wrasse such as Sixline
Firefish



I just got a used 75...I plan on transferring my 46 reef. If I didn't have 2 Ocellarus Clowns now I would stock a Marroon Clown, Arc eye Hawkfish, Flame Angel [or another Dwarf], Neon Dottyback and I think even a couple of Damsels....course I would have to forget about any kind of shrimp

 

[boogie1986]

I've seen pics of the Flame Angel and it seems like a wonderful, colorful addition to the aquarium, but I've also heard that they are partial to eating corals sometimes.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll look into everything, and whittle down a list that is suitable for my aquarium

Thanks

 

[bskiba]

man I like the idea of what fish you are going after. the two clowns are classic. I would get a blue tang and drop the idea of the yellow. just know the blue will get really big. the yellow stays smaller but they can be punks. I like fish that swim so the cardinals are borring to me. chromis are ok but. The coolest school I have seen was a school of 10-15 blue tangs that were the size of pennies to a quarter. they would be great in a 200 plus with 5-7 of them. as far as bigginer fish I like my sixline wrasse, if you have sand the leopards are cool. some dwarf angels. but always the risk of eating coral. fish with personality. tomini tang can be a good tang. koles work great. maybe arabbit or two but they would hide and be harder.

 

[boogie1986]

bskiba


I know what you mean about the cardinals. I've seen some at my LFS and they don't seem to want to swim around and explore too much, but then again I've heard that they are nocturnal and will swim actively at night. Maybe some Pajama Cardinals because I've seen them and they have very interesting coloration.

I'm still trying to decide what to get.