I'm starting a saltwater aquarium and wondering about compatibility

[RedOtterCoral]

I am upgrading to a 125g soon and all the fish will be relatively small and when they get too big I will send them to a friend

"Relatively." You're still stuffing two dominant large tangs in a 55, no matter how small they are you've already surpassed capacity at that point. Plus you have an eel and puffer and a gaggle of others.

I commend you for upgrading but since this sounds like you're just starting out I'd encourage you to do much more research before you pull the trigger on livestock.

It's not just the size we are talking about but the relative difficulty of these fish on their own, let alone in a joint ecosystem.

 

[William Chiavetta]

"Relatively." You're still stuffing two dominant large tangs in a 55, no matter how small they are you've already surpassed capacity at that point. Plus you have an eel and puffer and a gaggle of others.

I commend you for upgrading but since this sounds like you're just starting out I'd encourage you to do much more research before you pull the trigger on livestock.

It's not just the size we are talking about but the relative difficulty of these fish on their own, let alone in a joint ecosystem.

The 2 tangs are both under 2 inches and they're in 2 different tang families so they are fine together. The specific eel and puffer are the only types that can live in a community reef tank

 

[RedOtterCoral]

The 2 tangs are both under 2 inches and they're in 2 different tang families so they are fine together. The specific eel and puffer are the only types that can live in a community reef tank

Yeah but you're tossing them in a small tank with a TON of other fish, many of them aggressive as well. Hell even clownfish are bullies sometimes.

You have to look past just what's 'compatible' with a reef and each other on paper. You have to look at what your tank can realistically can support, and what you as a hobbyist have the skillset for.

Based on this thread and your others I think you jumped into the deep end here and would genuinely encourage you to try and cancel some of your shipments until you have that larger tank and are more familiar with reef husbandry. Otherwise I'm pretty confident you're going to loose fish and inverts.

 

[William Chiavetta]

Yeah but you're tossing them in a small tank with a TON of other fish, many of them aggressive as well. Hell even clownfish are bullies sometimes.

You have to look past just what's 'compatible' with a reef and each other on paper. You have to look at what your tank can realistically can support, and what you as a hobbyist have the skillset for.

Based on this thread and your others I think you jumped into the deep end here and would genuinely encourage you to try and cancel some of your shipments until you have that larger tank and are more familiar with reef husbandry. Otherwise I'm pretty confident you're going to loose fish and inverts.

I am getting my 125 this week and have gear that can support it

 

[PharmrJohn]

I wouldn't try a linckia myself. They are just not compatible to smaller or even medium sized tanks IMO. I had a sandsifter once. It cleaned the sand in no time flat then died some time later. Didn't do my research. As stated, tangs tend to be aggressive towards each other and to other fish. I wouldn't have more than one as a centerpiece (but i am conservative). And mandarins require a very stable tank. I wouldn't put one in for a year, at least. And as stated, when you gave a population on pods to feed it.

 

[William Chiavetta]

I wouldn't try a linckia myself. They are just not compatible to smaller or even medium sized tanks IMO. I had a sandsifter once. It cleaned the sand in no time flat then died some time later. Didn't do my research. As stated, tangs tend to be aggressive towards each other and to other fish. I wouldn't have more than one as a centerpiece (but i am conservative). And mandarins require a very stable tank. I wouldn't put one in for a year, at least. And as stated, when you gave a population on pods to feed it.

Thanks for the advice!