Yes, a comment on my tank inhabitants selection thread... please comment :)

[benj2112]

Hi all,

I am looking at what I would like for my 120 gallon reef tank. Here is my first list. Anyone see any issues? Is the Royal Gramma a danger to a Firefish and Mandarin? Would a Pistol Shrimp be dangerous to a Peppermint or Cleaner Shrimp? Would a Yellow Prawn Goby be happy in a tank with a 1" sandbed?

Thanks for any help.

 

[billdogg]

Here's my take.

The cardinal, gramma and the yellow (watchman) prawn goby will be just fine together. Six line wrasses will go rogue. It's just a matter of when IME. Your inverts will be the first casualties, many of the fish will follow. A much better choice in the wrasse family would be any of the flasher or fairy wrasses or my favorite (by far) leopard wrasses. I have a pair of Blue Star Leopard wrasses and they are not only model citizens, they are absolutely gorgeous. As an added bonus, they will happily rid your tank of many little pests (flatworms) that can otherwise be a problem.

Firefish will be fine.

The clown will depend on what species and should probably be introduced late in the game due to their propensity for claiming territory and defending it.

A mandarin will depend on your ability to supply it with ample pods (thousands/day) Without a well established refugium it is nearly impossible to do so. Although many can be trained to eat prepared foods, because they don't have actual stomachs, they must graze all day, every day regardless.

The shrimp will all be fine, although you can expect the pepermints to be difficult to see in the tank.

With the correct lighting there is no reason you can't be successful with a RBT anemone. Just make sure your powerheads are protected. Having your prize anemone become chopped up mush is not only quite the bummer, it will pollute your tank badly.

If you develop a bubble algae problem an emerald crab or two can help, but IMO/IME manual removal and nutrient control does a much better job.

As for the hermits - never in my tank. They become destructive quickly. If you really want hermits, Scarlet reef hermits stay small and won't bother a thing.

The pods will come on their own with time and are a normal part of any healthy system.

You might also think about a Tang in the Bristletooth family. They stay small enough to be happy in a 120. I have a Tomini that fits in very well with everybody else and spends it's days cruising the reef picking at algae.

Another to look at would be a Dwarf Angel. There are a number of very nice looking members of that family as well.

What are your plans for lighting/filtration, etc? those choices will also help narrow the possibilities for you.

hth

 

[benj2112]

Thanks for the comments! I can spend more time looking at fish instead of building a salt water mixing station in my basement .

Right now I have a 40g sump under my empty tank. I actually just picked up the glass cut for the baffles yesterday. I purchased a Reef Octopus Regal 200INT 8" Internal Protein Skimmer during some online sales. I figure to use filter socks as long as I keep myself diligent with switching them out with clean ones. I am also considering a Zeovit reactor after watching the 52 weeks video by by BRS with their 160 gallon (also where I got the numbers for the inverts). I have no must have desire for hermit crabs. I was just following the BRS suggestions. Maybe i will just add another snail to each kind I listed.

For lighting I plan a LED/T5 hybrid, but have not purchased anything yet.

Right this minute I am having a hard time figuring out where a refugium can go under my tank. My skimmer seems to always keep me from shifting things around enough to fit one. I was really hoping for a Mandarin, but understand that might not be a viable option. I see have seen them starving in fish stores before.