Stocking questions for a 180 reef

[rgulrich]

Folks,

I'm getting ready to bring my three ocellaris, fridmani pseudochromis, six-line wrasse, citrinis goby, and a rainfordi goby out of quarantine. They are headed into a 180 gallon reef with 200 lbs of Tonga rock (lots of nooks, crannies, and an arch or two), a few acropora, a handful a pavona frags, three (moderately bored) skunk cleaner shrimp, and two tridacnids. And lots of hermits and snails backed up by a few serpent stars (I'm hoping won't eat the fish). The future corals are going to be primarily frags.

I'm planning out my next order, and was wondering if I could fit another couple of goby in such as the yellow and Hector's, as well as another Pseudochromis such as the springeri without causing too many problems. I think I have plenty of rock work and space for territorial stakes without too many issues.

For one of my final finned purchases, I would really like a Red Sea Purple Tang, but I'm trying to balance their moderately gruff reputation against the Yellow Tang's more "happy-go-lucky I'll mow the reef" reputation. Any suggestions, or should I seek counseling?

Any other suggestions for a few free swimmers or possibly a good blenny for this setup?

Again, thanks for the great freshwater and marine livestock all these years-you folks do a super job!

Thanks for your time and patience!

Cheers,
Ray

 

[dfs/la2]

Rgulrich,

Thank you for your post. To help prevent possible ammonia spikes, we highly recommend gradually adding a few fish at a time to give the biological filtration a chance to adjust to the new changes.

The Gobies you plan to add to your aquarium should not cause problems with the other aquarium inhabitants. However, adding an additional Pseudochromis would not normally be recommended due to possible aggression. It is possible to add multiple fish of this type to the same aquarium, however they would all need to be acclimated at the same time. Caution is also advised in adding the Red Sea Purple Tang, as they can be rather territorial in an aquarium setting. If you intend to have this Tang in your aquarium, we suggest it be the last fish added. Additionally, this fish will require plenty of swimming room and hiding places.

To help assist in determining what types of fish are best for an aquarium, our LiveAquaria website has a Species Compatibility Chart at the following link: http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

Sincerely,
Mike S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[rgulrich]

Thanks again for your time.

Cheers,
Ray