I just got a new 80 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump that I’ll be setting up soon. I’m upgrading from my 40gallon and was wondering what fish could work. I have a mixed reef setup with a clown pair and leopard wrasse. I also have a skunk cleaner shrimp. What would be good fish to add?
Stocking ideas for 80gal mixed reef
- Thread starter aj77757
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Tomini tang would be a good choice. I have one that was in my 120 and now is happy in my 45 frag system. I do need to move it to the 80 soon.
+1 to a Tomini Tang but also get a few other wrasses in there!
Go for species from different genera, these genera are the main ones kept in captivity and good for large tanks.
Anampses
Cirrhilabrus
Halichoeres
Paracheilinus
Pseudojuloides
Xenojulis
So what I recommend is you make a list of wrasses you love and then we can help narrow them down to what should work well with your current Leopard Wrasse
I really love the carpenter or McCosker flasher wrasse and the solar fairy. Would those two work? How many total fish would work in the tank?+1 to a Tomini Tang but also get a few other wrasses in there!
Go for species from different genera, these genera are the main ones kept in captivity and good for large tanks.
Anampses
Cirrhilabrus
Halichoeres
Paracheilinus
Pseudojuloides
Xenojulis
So what I recommend is you make a list of wrasses you love and then we can help narrow them down to what should work well with your current Leopard Wrasse
Assuming the tank is 4’x2’ floor space, you could have 2 flashers (different species and looks - Avoid Both a carpenters and mccoskers) however I’d avoid the solar as they can get rather aggressive.
lots of little fish like small gobies and maybe a fairy wrasse or 2 if compatible. A tail spot blenny. A goby shrimp pair. A couple medium sized fish, wrasse and/or dwarf angle maybe...and that tang would be awesome.
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In my epcerince my newly transitioned male leopard went after my flasher wrasse once its transition finished, so keep that in mind if you're set on keeping the leopard. They're amazing fish, though- miss it!
What size tank did you have him in?
And what species of Leopard was it?
I’ve found Macropharyngodon marisrubri to be nasty compared to their relatives. If the OP wants a leopard wrasse they will want to go for a Macropharyngodon meleagris, Macropharyngodon negrosensis or Macropharyngodon bipartitus as these are best for beginners but also most peaceful.
M. bipartitus and M. marisrubri do look very similar as females though so I recommend avoiding that until you learn the differences.
I had a 40 gallon with lots of live rock and about three inches deep of a sand bed. I have a Kuiters leopard wrasse. And two ocellaris clowns. I’ve have them both for a year and a half. I feed a mix of frozen and flakes about once to twice a day. I also put in tiger pods every now and then.
That’s definitely good to know. I think my wrasse is a male since their coloration is supposed to be very different as a female. He doesn’t seem to be bully to the clowns or the shrimp thankfully but it could be because he’s young. He’s quite the scaredy-cat as he darts either into the sand bed or behind the rock work whenever I do water changes. I’m unsure of his actual age but I got him in February of 2022 from my lfs.
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