My Fish list! Which will work, which wont?

[spencerC]

Okay so these are some fish and other creatures I'm wanting to put in my 75 gal tank (with some live rock.)
I'm just wondering what a good combination would be, and what ones wouldn't work with others.

THANKS BIG TIME!

• Purple Tang
• Humbug Damsel
• high-finned red-banded Goby
• midas/convict Blenny
• Banggai Cardinal
• Percula Clownfish (Pair)
• Flame Hawkfish
• Yellow Tang
• Porcupine puffer
• Cleaner Shrimp
• Red Sea Star
• Pink Hawaiian Sea Cucumber
• Dotty Back/ Sunrise/ indigo
• Flame Angel
• blackcap Basslet
• Coral beauty angelfish
• Griffis Angelfish
• Strawberry Pseudochromis
• Volitan Lionfish
• Porcelain Crab
• fire cleaner shrimp
• Hawaiian Feather Duster

Pm'ing me works too

[phillybean]

Take this from someone with a unsetup 75 who has spent too much time reading about fish...none of this is first hand experience

* Purple Tang - Only one tang in a 75.
* Humbug Damsel Not sure, Damsels are usually bad news though
* high-finned red-banded Goby Should be ok
* midas/convict BlennyShould be ok
* Banggai Cardinal Should be ok
* Percula Clownfish (Pair)Should be ok
* Flame HawkfishWill eat your Shrimp
* Yellow TangSee purple tang
* Porcupine pufferwill eat shrimp/snails/crabs
* Cleaner ShrimpMay become lunch
* Red Sea StarNot sure
* Pink Hawaiian Sea Cucumbershould be ok
* Dotty Back/ Sunrise/ indigo should be ok
* Flame Angelnice angel
* blackcap Basslet Nice fish
* Coral beauty angelfishI would only go with one angel in a 75
* Griffis Angelfishsee above
* Strawberry PseudochromisHarder fish, need a school
* Volitan Lionfishwill eat the smaller fish/gobies, chromis
* Porcelain Crabshould be ok, anything other then hermits may cause problems
* fire cleaner shrimpMight be lunch
* Hawaiian Feather Dustershould be ok

That said, even with the ones I "think" would be ok, you still have a lot of fish in what is really a small tank. Make sure you have a large skimmer for the bio load. Also remember some of the more aggressive fish will eat the smaller ones and your shrimp. Decide now if you want an aggressive or community tank. Here is the stocking list for my 75:

Hippo Tang
Copper Band Butterfly
Pair of clowns
Mandarin Dragonet
Lawn Mower Blenny
Yellow head goby
2 cleaner shrimp
25 blue leg hermit crabs
Assorted snails

That said, I am going for a reef, not FOWLR. This puts me at 2 large fish, 2 small and one medium sized. I'm hoping the Mandarin, Blenny and Goby will be ok together with a large fuge but even then might not be able to have all three.

[mr_alberta]

Purple Tang <--- gets pretty big and mean, needs lots of swimming room
Yellow Tang <--- better choice of tang

Banggai Cardinal <---- there's a thread saying that these are endangered species? I'd skip these if that's the case.

Porcupine puffer <----best left for a large, predator tank as they will eat all your shrimp, snails and smaller fish

Dotty Back/ Sunrise/ indigo
blackcap Basslet
Strawberry Pseudochromis
(These 3 fish are pretty similar. I'd suggest picking one of the 3 as they most likely won't get along with each other. Also Dottybacks are quite aggressive little fish).

Flame Angel
Coral beauty angelfish
Griffis Angelfish <--- $600 each
(This is a lot of angelfish for a 75G tank. Pick one of the 3 as they most likely won't "play nice" with each other)

Volitan Lionfish <--- will eat the clowns, dottybacks, basslets and basically everything it can fit in its mouth

[scsi]

Originally Posted by spencerC

Okay so these are some fish and other creatures I'm wanting to put in my 75 gal tank (with some live rock.)
I'm just wondering what a good combination would be, and what ones wouldn't work with others.

THANKS BIG TIME!

• Purple Tang
• Humbug Damsel
• high-finned red-banded Goby
• midas/convict Blenny
• Banggai Cardinal
• Percula Clownfish (Pair)
• Flame Hawkfish
• Yellow Tang
• Porcupine puffer
• Cleaner Shrimp
• Red Sea Star
• Pink Hawaiian Sea Cucumber
• Dotty Back/ Sunrise/ indigo
• Flame Angel
• blackcap Basslet
• Coral beauty angelfish
• Griffis Angelfish
• Strawberry Pseudochromis
• Volitan Lionfish
• Porcelain Crab
• fire cleaner shrimp
• Hawaiian Feather Duster

Pm'ing me works too

What? No Clams???

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I agree with mr_alberta. Some of the fish you have on the list will not get along. Multiple tangs is risky, though many do it successfully. Blenny's and goby's can also be aggressive toward each other.

Puffers and lionfish will, as mentioned, may eat smaller fish, invertebrates, etc. Flame Hawkfish can also prey on invertebrates.

I'd pick 4-6 fish that you are fairly certain will co-habitate peacefully. But be sure not to dump them all in at once, either! Add one at a time (with the exception, perhaps, of a clownfish pair).

I'm generally not a fan of keeping most starfish in aquariums. With the exception of brittle/serpent starfish (and perhaps sandsifting starfish), they have a pretty dismal survival rate. In general. I know there are exceptions.

[DanG]

as for the cardinals, at least here, almost all the ones we get are captive bread.

[spencerC]

Whoa, Thanks for all the helpful info guys...

I definitely knew that some of those would for sure not work,
and i know i should not have more than one kind of fish (angels, tangs) together.

Okay so here are my remaining questions...

1. with what phillybean said about the strawberry pseudochromis being a harder fish and needing a school, what does this mean? Should i get 2 or 3? Cause these guys are probably one of my favorites.

2. What kind of angel should i get? I'm thinking coral beauty over flame right now.

3. I'm wondering if i should go with a convict or a midas blenny, because i like them both lots.

4. Would a strawberry pseudochromis and a dottyback pseudochromis work together? Would i need to introduce them at the same time or something? Male and a female? Would the blackcap Basslet work with them too?

This is my now narrowed-down list.

Humbug Damsel
high-finned Goby / Scissortail Goby?
midas/convict Blenny
Percula Clownfish (x2)
Flame Hawkfish
Yellow Tang
Cleaner Shrimp
Red Sea Star
Pink Hawaiian Sea Cucumber
Dotty Back Pseudochromis
blackcap Basslet
Coral beauty angel
Strawberry Pseudochromis
Porcelain Crab
fire cleaner shrimp
Hawaiian Feather Duster

I'm guessing I'll still have to narrow it down, as all those fish couldn't work together in a 75 gal
I'm planning on getting a ton of live rock and stuff so there'll be tons of territory and hiding spots...

[Der_Iron_Chef]

In regards to the starfish you wish to keep:

"Individuals of Linckia species, particularly Linckia laevigata, are profoundly and seriously harmed by rapid changes in salinity; additionally, they appear to suffer "shipping" stress. As a result these animals need to be treated VERY carefully during acclimation to the home aquarium. This acclimation should be done slowly, and; acclimations of more than six to eight hours are often required. Once established in aquaria, Linckia generally appear to do well and may persist for a year or more. However, they often seem to slowly die, probably due to a lack of some specific dietary item." (taken from reefkeeping.com)

[mr_alberta]

Your flamehawk will eat your porcelain crab since those crabs are tiny. Also, your Pseudochromis & Basslet will most likely tear each other up quite a bit.

[spencerC]

Okay, i can live without the crab if i can have the hawkfish.
So with the pseudochromis, could i do a dottyback and a strawberry as long as they were male and female?