Stocking help for my new 90G
 

-double posted in my build thread-

Would like opinions on my stocking list for my 90G (48lx18dx24t). It's my first reef tank. Wanting a mixed reef with mostly LPS and lots of fish which I know will be a large bioload. Currently have a Bubble Magnus 5 skimmer which I plan to upgrade as my bioload increases.

I put stars by the fish I'm least willing to give up on having (the anthias have stars because I know I want some, just not 100% sure which/how many). I've separated into chunks of additions I think will work best. PLEASE correct me if anything seems 'iffy'!

CUC will go first (obv)

*Yellow watchman goby
*Yellow clown goby
Purple Firefish

First corals, softies and lps.

*Clownfish (typical ocellaris)
*Banggai Cardinal (more than one?)

Bicolour Benny
*Chromis (want more than one but apparently that's not the best idea)

Yellowtail damsel
*Coral beauty dwarf angel

*Yellow tang

*Bartlett anthias x2
*Sunburst anthias


Thanks!!!!

I dont know much about mixing anthias but though its best to stick to 1 species... so hoping thats you just deciding what ones.
And you either should be getting just 1 or 4-5 so they have a school. If you have 2 is kind of like guppies and the male will harass the crap out of the single female vs spreading his turdyness amongst the group.

Ditch the clown goby if you think you might ever want to add sps, even montis. They make a yummy snack.

Angels have a 50/50 chance of snacking on your lps.

So you recommend one species of anthias with one male and at least 3 females. What species are likely to be least-turdy?

I know the angel is 50/50. I'm hoping the odds are in my favour lol

Angels are a bitch to catch when they decide to snack on lps. Fish traps dont work for all fish. I had to dismantel more then half my tank and use plexiglass barriers to catch mine. The risk may or may not be worth it.
My first angel from the lfs didnt survive the night. My second one from another reefer gave me entire tank velvet and died. My 3rd from the lfs was a model citizen and other then getting bullied by my anthias he was super healthy.... then he decided my corals looked delish.

All my anthias research had said that. Either stick with 1, or a school, with a 90 gal i would do at least 5 or 6.
Turdyness to other fish i think will depend when you add them and if youre doing a group or a single.
My lyretail started as a group until velvet wiped out the tank (except the male anthias and my blenny for some odd reason) so he was in a sense the first fish in the tank when i finally added new ones so hes incharge, even the damsel cant misbehave with him around.

I dont have much experience with different species, just lyretail and disbar. But an anthias is an anthias for the most part.

I glanced through your build quickly. Are you keeping the egg crate under the rock? How much sand are you using? I would look into getting some wrasses. Those are always fun.

I'm doing eggcrate just at the base of the rock, not under the entire tank. Will be doing aragonite sand small to med grain.

I do like the idea of some wrasses, but not sure if I would want to get rid of my other fish choices to make room for them

Instead of anthias or banggai cardinals you could try Yellowstriped Cardinalfish.

Just keep in mind that "schooling" fish do so for safety from predators and not because they want to, left alone in a place with no predators(ie a tank) they don't school as much.

Yellow Tail Damsels are the WORST. Mine (and many others) went totally crazy like a year in and started attacking all my other fish. They are IMPOSSIBLE to remove so I had to tear out all my rock and coral to get it.

Nightmere fish that should not be sold IMO!

I thought they were the tamest of the damsels :(

Those yellowstriped cardinals look cool- like little yellow zebras! I like how shiny they are, but I love the banggai too much to change them out.

Mine killed a tomato clown then an anthias and was trying to kill a foxface that was like 6 times it size...lol Crazyest fish I've ever had, my whole family still talks about the time Speeder (kids named it) went loco on our fish.

That's crazy! I wonder what set him off lol

fish
 

Don't get damsels... they are very aggressive and will attack anything and everything. I used to have 25 blue/green chromis in my tank, now I have five. Guess what happened?

Yellowtail Damsels are tame. I have them in lots of tanks. Some are tamer than others, but maybe these guys had Yellow belly Damsels???

Evil

http://www.aquariumcreationsonline.n...taildamsel.jpg

My yellow tail damsel is a model citizen. No aggresive behaviour and ive had him/her for 3 years now. Previous damsels were never mean either.

I think Myka maintains tanks for other people so her opinion on them counts for more then a single person/tank.

Chromis, clowns, and what we refer to damsels are all apart of the same family "Pomacentridae". Their all a type of damsel and they can all be territorial and agressive.

Im not sure what youre after here, you want input on your stocking list but youre also not willing to alter it?

No I'm willing to alter it. Just the ones I have stars beside I would be more sad taking off the list. The Anthias I have starred because I know I want some, but not sure on species/ numbers

Most of the commonly available Chrysiptera species are pretty tame compared to other damsels (barring Fiji Blue Devils, of course). That said, mixing them is like mixing cats. Some get along with other fish and each other. Some don't. There's also a few other considerations:

• Are they the dominant fish in the aquarium?
• When were they added in relation to the other fish?
• What is the total stocking density of the aquarium?
• How often do you feed the tank?
• Have they previously killed off other fish?

These are all variables that are going to greatly influence the behaviour of any given fish. If you want the best chance at it, here's what you do (IME):

1. Make sure they will never be the most dominant fish. This should be easy if you have a tang or a big anthias male.
2. Add them last or, at the very earliest, after the biggest, most intimidating fish has become comfortable in your aquarium. This doesn't necessarily have to be an aggressive fish (Naso Tangs come to mind).
3. Keep the stocking density medium - high for normal compositions, low if you have only bigger, more intimidating fish outside of the damsel.
4. Don't 'inherit' problematic fish from other people.

HTH

Thanks!

Yellow Tang
 

A Kole Tang would be better in a 90 gal but if you really love Yellow Tangs, put one in last as it might not allow any other tangs (and maybe other fish) in your tank - my experience. My yellow tang killed my Kole and my Hippo.

I have read that yellow tangs need a MINIMUM of 100 gal. which is maybe why they are so aggressive in smaller tanks.

AquaAddict

That's ridiculous. By that logic, my dog needs 15 acres. Sorry, I don't mean for this to sound like an attack against you personally. I'm just calling out the tang police for being ridiculously overbearing.

100 gallons for a yellow tang... *shakes head*

Anyway, as far as aggression goes, fish are like cats. They're cats and then there's @sshole cats.

At the risk of getting banned, you most regrettably did make a personal attack. So please, in your expert opinion, tell us what is the appropriate minimum tank for a yellow tang? I would also appreciate the reasons for your recommendation.

I would like to extend your "aggression" analysis to include dogs, humans, and most likely any other mammal. Every one has a unique personality from absolute submission to extreme aggression, so your cat example is moot. Put too many of anything in a closed environment and even the most passive will get aggressive.

Finally, if your dog is the size of a mature elephant, then maybe you need 15 acres. I have 3 dogs, two that weigh 25 lbs and one that weighs 11 lbs. I have a 2400 sq foot yard that is more than adequate for them (yes, they are also taken for walks).

Your hyperbole does nothing to your credibility. I am not an animal rights activist, and I do not treat my pets as human. However, I do wish to provide the best environment for them that I can. I have two tangs (tomini and purple) in a 220g and I feel that is sufficient for my tank. Others will see room for more and others for less. I do research the recommended tank minimum as well as the compatibility for any livestock that I add to my tank. I can learn from the experience of others, but that is just me.

Whoa, exactly how I wanted to start my afternoon :D

No, I was attacking the advice. Previous poster mentioned that they"read up" the 100 gallon rule. I'm criticizing their source, not them. And here you go: buy a small one, 50 gallons. Done. Got a big one? Get a bigger tank. Adjust your future livestock purchases in accordance with the personality of your fish. Take care of water changes and enjoy your fish for the next 20 years.

... Are you attacking my point or just attacking me? Because you've discounted my analogy using some pretty flimsy mental gymnastics.

I'm not sure what your angle is here. Seems like it lends credibility to my argument.

Okay! Glad you've preemptively disqualified anyone with anything less than a 6' tank from ever being able to properly care for their fish in a humane fashion. And sadly, that's not just you.

♥

Guess I shouldn't mention I have a Yellow Tang in a 65.

Oh, and also :pop2:

Might have been worse. You may have read it in the morning.

You criticized the poster for providing his findings. Where are yours?

Here are a few sites with their suggestion of a minimum tank:

http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-spec...ow-tang-2.aspx "Keeping a yellow tang requires a very large tank (125 gallons or more)"

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...92&pcatid=392: " Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons"

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-YellowTang.htm "Aquarium Size : 55 gallon minimum but will do much better in larger tanks - think 90 gallons plus to allow for lots of swimming room. "

http://freefishfacts.com/the-yellow-tang/ "As such it is not recommendable to keep the Yellow Tang in an aquarium tank with a capacity below 60 gallons / 225 litres of water."

In support of a 50g:

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/tangs/yellow.php " A minimum 50 gallon (189 liters)."

http://reefcorner.com/reef-database-...ma-flavescens/ "Yellow tangs are very good reef tank inhabitants for larger tanks of about 50 gallons and larger."

and finally from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow..._the_aquarium: "A 75-gallon tank or larger is better for a single specimen, while an aquarium of 100 gallons or 60" or more in length is ideal." (I do not consider wiki as an exhaustive source. Just wanted to show another opinion.)

My point is that you have criticized someone because they "read" about a tank size. I have no doubt that the individual did read it. However, you provided no position other than to attack a recommendation.

Your reply to me includes a recommendation. I suggest that it should have been included in your original post with respect to the recommendation. The tank sizes on the aforementioned sites would hopefully allow for comfort as the fish grows. I may not put a tang in a 50, but I have not had a tank of that size. Even a 55 comes in a 4 foot length which may be sufficient, in my opinion.

I don't see the purpose of your point and I am criticizing it. A cat is not a fish. A fish is not a dog, etc. So what is the purpose of your original analogy? Every fish is different? It does not add anything to your original comments, just like mine adds nothing.

If hyperbole provides credibility, then yes, you have a credible argument. You provide an analogy of dog vs real estate requirement. Your numbers are ridiculous. It just makes your opinion look a little foolish. I provided an example of a more realistic argument.

Please show me where I said that a 6' tank is necessary. You cannot. I said that I am happy with my stocking level. Others will do different. I have had a yellow tang in a 90 and have no problems with this. In my opinion most 4 foot tanks are adequate.

In conclusion, your original reply to the minimum 100g tank was nothing more than a rant. People who rant, instead of providing reasoned arguments, are tiresome. I will rant about all things that are wrong, unless I agree that they are right.

I hear nothing. :) I wouldn't, but we all make different choices.

Lol... Will be back on my computer soon. You'll have a blast, promise ;)

I probably wont. I have said my piece. I have nothing more to add.

Keep it civil please guys. :)

Fwiw, I have seen lots of the smaller Tang species do very well in 90-gallon tangs...Yellows, Tominis, Koles, Convicts. I find the Tominis and Convicts to be the most docile of Tangs. Yellows and he occasional Kole can be real a-holes. One of my clients had an evil Kole Tang that dominated a 240 - gallon tank with much bigger tankmates. I prefer Yellow Coris Wrasse (C. chrysus) for the bright yellow coloration in smaller tanks.

My first tank was a 90. I had a yellow and a kole tang in it. They seemed to do very well. I am afraid that I am now developing an obsession for wrasses. I started with the yellow coris in my tank. Colourful and active. Since then, I have added a yellow tail tamarin, a lubbocks and a red head solar. Two weeks ago the solar took a jump behind my tank and I could not get to him. He is being replaced with a red velvet that is curently in QT. I have the tank covered with 1/4" mesh but I had one of the panels off. He startled when I approached the tank and went for a flight. I considered the pencil wrasse at JLA but read they dont always ship well so will keep looking.