Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Sorry, I forgot to mention tank size. It's a 360 gallon, 96" long by 36" width by 24" tall.

First off, wow! Amazing reef!

You maybe will be able to pull it off. For me its not a risk I'd take. But because of the large tank with plenty of rockwork, it's a maybe. If you really want to try, I'd introduce the lemonpeel slowly, by keeping it in an in-tank acclimation box, that way all the fish have a chance to meet eachother. If you see aggression with that then I wouldn't put it in the tank, but if it seems alright you can try to add it to the DT. Setup a camera and walk away. Watch the footage. If you see aggression I'd take it out. But that's why I wouldn't do it, because it's going to be impossible to catch the lemon peel.

 

[RWReefer]

Looking to get feedback here regarding selection and quantity as I start to stock and build a mixed reef setup. Anything that stands out as a red flag? TIA

Tank (47.2" × 19.7" × 21.7")

Stock list:

2x Clownfish

Pink spotted watchman goby

Tiger Pistol Shrimp

McKoskers Flasher Wrasse

Royal Gramma

Helfrich firefish

Purple firefish

Blue neon goby

Clown goby

Long nose hawkfish

Bicolor blenny

Mandarin dragonet

Tomini Tang (maybe, but not until well down the road. Don’t want to have too small a tank)

 

[Slocke]

Looking to get feedback here regarding selection and quantity as I start to stock and build a mixed reef setup. Anything that stands out as a red flag? TIA

Tank (47.2" × 19.7" × 21.7")

Stock list:

2x Clownfish

Pink spotted watchman goby

Tiger Pistol Shrimp

McKoskers Flasher Wrasse

To get the best out of flasher wrasse get at least two species if you want to see displaying. Blue is my favorite common/cheap.

Royal Gramma

Helfrich firefish

Purple firefish

Firefish may fight if you get two males even if different species

Blue neon goby

Clown goby

Long nose hawkfish

Can be aggressive to gobies

Bicolor blenny

Mandarin dragonet

Tomini Tang (maybe, but not until well down the road. Don’t want to have too small a tank)

Nothing here Is a problem though personally I’d go with a Foxface rather than a tang. Preferably a one spot.

 

[RWReefer]

To get the best out of flasher wrasse get at least two species if you want to see displaying. Blue is my favorite common/cheap.

Firefish may fight if you get two males even if different species

Can be aggressive to gobies

Nothing here Is a problem though personally I’d go with a Foxface rather than a tang. Preferably a one spot.

Will the fox face be mixed reef compatible?

 

[Slocke]

Will the fox face be mixed Reed compatible?

They are about as reef safe as tangs, maybe a bit less, both are mainly algae eaters but may nibble some fleshy corals. Mine have only ever nibbled gorgonian minorly

 

[RWReefer]

They are about as reef safe as tangs maybe a bit less both are mainly algae eaters but may nibble some fleshy corals. Mine have only ever nibbled gorgonian minorly

Thanks for sharing. This one wasn’t on my radar.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Looking to get feedback here regarding selection and quantity as I start to stock and build a mixed reef setup. Anything that stands out as a red flag? TIA

Tank (47.2" × 19.7" × 21.7")

Stock list:

2x Clownfish

Pink spotted watchman goby

Tiger Pistol Shrimp

McKoskers Flasher Wrasse

Royal Gramma

Helfrich firefish

Purple firefish

Blue neon goby

Clown goby

Long nose hawkfish

Bicolor blenny

Mandarin dragonet

Tomini Tang (maybe, but not until well down the road. Don’t want to have too small a tank)

Yeah, skip the 2 firefish unless you buy a mated pair. Pink watchman and tiger pistol will pair with eachother so you're good there. They're very cool to watch. Wait a bit on the dragonet as the pod population needs to build up. Two great companies to get pods and phyto from are Reef By Steele and/or Dinkins Aquatic Gardens. Both have been excellent IME. Clown gobys can be a bit tricky, at least IME. I got two, the first one died the night I put it in (I believe of cyanide poisoning, which is not uncommon; especially in clown gobys), and the other one somehow got a pectoral fin ripped off and died due to an infection. I'd try to get a captive bread one so you don't have to worry about cyanide poisoning.

I agree, get a one spot fox face! Great fish that are 99% reef safe. It's very rare to get one that'll nip at all your corals

 

[RWReefer]

Yeah, skip the 2 firefish unless you buy a mated pair. Pink watchman and tiger pistol will pair with eachother so you're good there. They're very cool to watch. Wait a bit on the dragonet as the pod population needs to build up. Two great companies to get pods and phyto from are Reef By Steele and/or Dinkins Aquatic Gardens. Both have been excellent IME. Clown gobys can be a bit tricky, at least IME. I got two, the first one died the night I put it in (I believe of cyanide poisoning, which is not uncommon; especially in clown gobys), and the other one somehow got a pectoral fin ripped off and died due to an infection. I'd try to get a captive bread one so you don't have to worry about cyanide poisoning.

I agree, get a one spot fox face! Great fish that are 99% reef safe. It's very rare to get one that'll nip at all your corals

Appreciate the feedback. Back to the drawing board lol. Mandarin wouldn’t be for a couple years specifically to get a more mature tank, including established pods.

 

[RWReefer]

They are about as reef safe as tangs, maybe a bit less, both are mainly algae eaters but may nibble some fleshy corals. Mine have only ever nibbled gorgonian minorly

Quick question. Is your recommendation for a bluehead wrasse?

 

[RWReefer]

Yeah, skip the 2 firefish unless you buy a mated pair. Pink watchman and tiger pistol will pair with eachother so you're good there. They're very cool to watch. Wait a bit on the dragonet as the pod population needs to build up. Two great companies to get pods and phyto from are Reef By Steele and/or Dinkins Aquatic Gardens. Both have been excellent IME. Clown gobys can be a bit tricky, at least IME. I got two, the first one died the night I put it in (I believe of cyanide poisoning, which is not uncommon; especially in clown gobys), and the other one somehow got a pectoral fin ripped off and died due to an infection. I'd try to get a captive bread one so you don't have to worry about cyanide poisoning.

I agree, get a one spot fox face! Great fish that are 99% reef safe. It's very rare to get one that'll nip at all your corals

Would I be able to get away with a single fire fish?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Would I be able to get away with a single fire fish?

Of course!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm really tempted to try a Queen angel (my favorite fish of all!) as well, but I did recently see a YouTube video of a medium size queen eating LTA's.

They get quite large, develop a temper and susceptible to flukes and velvet - Just some precautions to consider

 

[Slocke]

Quick question. Is your recommendation for a bluehead wrasse?

Blue flasher wrasse sorry. Really any 2-3 flasher wrasse of different species

 

[mch1984]

I am putting together a 40-gallon cube and just looking for some ideas. The tank isn't wet yet, so I'm nowhere close to buying, but I want to start considering options. I know we will have a pair of clowns and my wife favorite is a lawnmower blenny (except a fox face which is not an option). I thought about doing a watchman and pistol shrimp, but I'm just looking for some other ideas, something maybe I haven't thought of. It will be a softy tank with perhaps a few LPS. Thanks!

 

[Slocke]

I am putting together a 40-gallon cube and just looking for some ideas. The tank isn't wet yet, so I'm nowhere close to buying, but I want to start considering options. I know we will have a pair of clowns and my wife favorite is a lawnmower blenny (except a fox face which is not an option). I thought about doing a watchman and pistol shrimp, but I'm just looking for some other ideas, something maybe I haven't thought of. It will be a softy tank with perhaps a few LPS. Thanks!

I’m going to quote my response from earlier as these are all fish that work great for that size tank

It you add the firefish first you may be able to get it settled. You definitely need a lid though.

Watchman goby is fun especially with a pistol shrimp. Just research to make sure you have a shrimp goby.

First idea if you are up for a challenge is a leopard wrasse. Difficult to get settled but awesome once happy. A basslet like a royal gramma is always a solid pick. Crazy idea is a Pygmy wasp fish. May need to train it to normal food.

 

[mch1984]

I’m going to quote my response from earlier as these are all fish that work great for that size tank

Never heard of the Pygmy wasp, that’s an interesting option. I’ll have to do more research on them.

 

[mch1984]

My wife and I are debating which clowns to get. Is a 40 too small for a pair of maroons? I’ve heard all the downsides to them but think the lightning maroon are just beautiful.

 

[Slocke]

My wife and I are debating which clowns to get. Is a 40 too small for a pair of maroons? I’ve heard all the downsides to them but think the lightning maroon are just beautiful.

No but they are very aggressive. I wouldn’t add anything else.

 

[mch1984]

No but they are very aggressive. I wouldn’t add anything else.

So a pair of ocellaris and we can expand to other fish. A pair of maroons and they are the only ones. Got it! I’ll stick to the ocellaris. Maybe we can get a pair of black storms, the wife would be excited

 

[i cant think]

Considering a Biota cb lemon peel angel for my anemone reef. I know in general they are nippers and can become somewhat aggressive. I'm not too worried about nipping on any of my softies or zoas, they are just filler corals in between my anemone collection.
However, I can't find any info on whether or not they will munch on anemones?
Will my Magnfica, LTA's, BTA's, sebae be safe? Do you think a tiny lemon peel will cause problems with a larger cb regal angel that is already well established in the tank?

Ive not had issues with Angels and anemones (most fish know their sting is to be kept away from).
Dwarf Angels and “Large” Angels generally get along, its mixing Regals with other large angels or Lemonpeels with other dwarf angels that you sometimes get a clash.