What would you add?

[fishfreak2009]

What would you add to this tank, that is reasonably priced (i.e. under $75 per fish)?

Tank is a 187 gallon (60"x24"x30") FOWLR with a 55 refugium/sump combo. Inhabitants are:
1 Blue Devil Damsel (added for color)
3 Yellow Tail Blue Damsels (added for color, breeding pair and an odd man out)
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Breeding pair)
2 Yellow Tangs (Both around 4 inches, get along great)
1 Melanurus Wrasse (A Big Male)
1 Bluehead Wrasse (The Thalassoma sp.)

I'd like to add:
2 Heniochus Butterflyfish (Heniochus acuminatus)
1 Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula)
1 Coral Beauty Angel (Centropyge bispinosa)
1 Pearlscale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Coral Hogfish (Bodianus mesothorax)
1 Marine Betta (Calloplesiops altivelis)

So what would you add? Or do you think it would be fully stocked with the fish I'd like to add?

 

[frankyrivera]

If your going for color I'd do a the flame and the coral beauty

 

[El Dude]

Queen angel. I know its over your budget, but I think you need a center piece fish.

 

[nanoreefer1000]

60 inch tank + queen angelfish + time = ticked off queen angelfish
... IMO

 

[Reefing Newbie]

60 inch tank + queen angelfish + time = ticked off queen angelfish
... IMO

Agreed. There is no way I would put any large angel in such a short tank.

 

[gweston]

From your list specifically, I'd prefer these (in order)

-Heniochus Butterflyfish (Heniochus acuminatus)
-Pearlscale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)
-Coral Hogfish (Bodianus mesothorax)

Why not these?

1 Marine Betta (Calloplesiops altivelis) *supposedly aren't very active/interactive and they hide.
1 Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula) *common, see lots of these in tanks, though pretty.
1 Coral Beauty Angel (Centropyge bispinosa) *I have one named Knucklehead, he's a bastard, that's why LOL.
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris) *super common

 

[Jim.mer]

****** Trigger, great fish with a bit of an attitude

 

[fishfreak2009]

From your list specifically, I'd prefer these (in order)

-Heniochus Butterflyfish (Heniochus acuminatus)
-Pearlscale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)
-Coral Hogfish (Bodianus mesothorax)

Why not these?

1 Marine Betta (Calloplesiops altivelis) *supposedly aren't very active/interactive and they hide.
1 Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula) *common, see lots of these in tanks, though pretty.
1 Coral Beauty Angel (Centropyge bispinosa) *I have one named Knucklehead, he's a bastard, that's why LOL.
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris) *super common

Ya, I decided the marine betta wasn't the best option for my tank anyways. I love the coral beauty and the flame though, and want purple and red in my tank. As for the Goby, I had one when I first started saltwater 6 years ago, and I have wanted one since.

How's this for a stocklist?

1 Blue Devil Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea)
3 Yellow Tail Blue Damsels (Chrysiptera parasema)
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma flavescens)
1 Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus)
1 Bluehead Wrasse (Thalassoma bisfaciatum)
2 Heniochus Butterflyfish (Heniochus acuminatus)
1 Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula)
1 Coral Beauty Angel (Centropyge bispinosa)
1 Pearlscale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Coral Hogfish (Bodianus mesothorax)

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

You may have trouble with the yellow tangs or the damsels beating on and killing the butterflies you propose to add. The flame angel and probably the coral beauty should do ok.

 

[fishfreak2009]

If the tangs or damsels get too aggressive during introduction, I can always separate them temporarily. As for the damsels they currently just bother each other, and all of them are terrified of the 2 tangs, but if they really do become unholy little terrors then they will move into the sump. Currently, however, the damsels are all under an inch long. I will also turn off the lights when I introduce the butterfly, as well as rearranging all the rock and feeding heavily.

Honestly though, I'm more worried about adding the coral hogfish with the bluehead wrasse and the supermale melanurus than I am about the tangs with the butterfly.

 

[flfireman1]

Dont mean to get off topic, but I love your tank measurements, thats what Im hoping to upgrade to. Did you have it custom built?? Mind posting a full tank shot to see what it looks like.

 

[Texas]

I have tried having multiple heniochus and in the end one becomes the bully and beats on the others until I have to take them out. I have had both the schooling bannerfish and the acuminatus over the years and now just have one bannerfish in my 600. I took his friend who had become the bully to my local store and they put him in the reef tank they have. The remaining is friends with the moorish idol and they swim together a lot of the time.
Good luck with your new additions,
p

 

[fishfreak2009]

Dont mean to get off topic, but I love your tank measurements, thats what Im hoping to upgrade to. Did you have it custom built?? Mind posting a full tank shot to see what it looks like.

I'll put up some pics tomorrow, since I don't have my camera right now. Yes it was custom built. Honestly though, if I could go back I'd switch the width and the height dimensions. At 30 inches tall, it is pretty difficult to keep the coraline off the bottom of the acrylic, and it also makes it more difficult to light. If I could go back, 30 inches wide would look better in my opinion.

 

[fishfreak2009]

I picked up some new fish today! Two weren't on the list, but they are eating greedily, and I have kept them before, so I picked them up. I ended up bringing home a pearlscale butterfly (who is getting along great with the tangs as long as he doesn't go in the one cave), a Matted Filefish (I absolutely love his chameleon-like abilities), and an African Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) which is eating nori, brine, mysid, and gel food greedily, as well as cleaning my two tangs. He wasn't even noticed by any of the fish when he was introduced.

As a side note, I am not adding the coral hogfish. I'm really worried about how it will act later on as it grows, and I don't want to put my smaller fish at risk. That puts the stocklist as:


1 Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosus)
1 Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)
1 Blue Devil Damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea)*
3 Yellow Tail Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)***
2 Heniochus Butterflyfish (Heniochus acuminatus)
1 Pearlscale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)*
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)**
1 Diamond Watchman Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus sp.) (probably Lubbock's or Longfin)
1 Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus)*
1 Bluehead Wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)*
1 Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus)*
2 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)**
1 Matted Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)*