290 Gallon Stocking Advise

[ponokareefer]

The angels you have listed can start eating corals at any time. The regal is the least likely.

Copperband butterflyfish do not do well long term in captivity. If you are wanting a butterflyfish, consider a pyramid. They do well and don't eat corals.

Anthias have much different requirements than other fish. You need to feed them multiple times/day. Due to this, they add quite a bit to the bioload. I have multiple anthias in my system and have 2 automatic feeders feeding 8 times/day plus once a day frozen food.

If you have a covered tank, there are some wrasse's that would go well. If no cover, don't go with wrasse's.

If you are looking for diversity, have you considered a zebra eel? They don't eat other fish.

[spit.fire]

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

The angels you have listed can start eating corals at any time. The regal is the least likely.

Copperband butterflyfish do not do well long term in captivity. If you are wanting a butterflyfish, consider a pyramid. They do well and don't eat corals.

Anthias have much different requirements than other fish. You need to feed them multiple times/day. Due to this, they add quite a bit to the bioload. I have multiple anthias in my system and have 2 automatic feeders feeding 8 times/day plus once a day frozen food.

If you have a covered tank, there are some wrasse's that would go well. If no cover, don't go with wrasse's.

If you are looking for diversity, have you considered a zebra eel? They don't eat other fish.

some species of anthias are fine with once or twice a day feeding

[dusty16]

Originally Posted by spit.fire

some species of anthias are fine with once or twice a day feeding

Do you know which ones?

[rsisvixen]

Zebra dartfish school together nicely, they also won't bother any other fish and don't pick each other off like some anthias can. While not the flashiest of fish they do hang out mid tank and have interesting social interactions.
Like all dartfish they are jumpers so you would need a cover, also burrow under rocks.

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by dusty16

Do you know which ones?

I can answer this Most of the larger "easier" species. But it's important that they are eating pellets before you attempt this. You'll have hard time if they're only eating frozen.

Some examples are:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...12&pcatid=1512

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...28&pcatid=1128

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...30&pcatid=2830 (the photo is misleading -- Full color males of this species are show stoppers, here's an example: http://www.oceanwideimages.com/image...4M1046-17D.jpg)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...0+90&pcatid=90

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...0+52&pcatid=52

Of course, your mileage may vary based on the health of the animal at collection. You'll also want to make sure the fish are thoroughly dewormed.

[dusty16]

Is it ok to have different types of anthias? Like 3 of barletts and 3 lyretale?

[George]

Originally Posted by dusty16

Is it ok to have different types of anthias? Like 3 of barletts and 3 lyretale?

Normally it's not ok to mix lyretail and bartlett because they are somewhat aggressive for anthias. But you should be ok given your tank size.

[Piscez]

There's also an order and timing of adding fish you'll need to abide by to increase your odds of success, best to check back when you have your list narrowed down. Have you considered a Majestic Angel my fav, I have a 220 gal with a purple, yellow, white cheek, hippo and Naso tangs along with coral beauty, Emporer and Majestic angel ( soon to be adding a Flame angel). A malarenus wrasse, fox face , copperband, purple dotty back, air of clowns and a pair of scooter blenny's. Most of my issues have been with the tangs bullying each other especially the purple but throwing him in the sump for a couple of weeks adjusts his attitude and brings him down a couple of notches in turn allowing the other tangs to settle in. It's a real juggling act.

[dusty16]

I love your tank Piscez. It looks great. I thought that the Majestic Angel wasnt reef safe though.

Here is what I know I want for sure.
I have 2 clowns and a foxface already
Blue Hippo
Yellow Tang
Purple Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Regal Angel
Flame Angel
Copperband butterfly
And now possibly a zebra moray eel.
Debated a naso tang for a while but they seem too big.

That takes care of the bigger fish more or less. Now I just need something smaller. Anthias seem like the best option. I wanted something cheap like damsels/chromis but Ive read that they just kill themselves off.

[albert_dao]

Originally Posted by dusty16

Is it ok to have different types of anthias? Like 3 of barletts and 3 lyretale?

The answer is: sometimes? Fish are like cats. Sometimes it works and you get a really mellow group, sometimes it doesn't because one dude wants to fight at the party. Hell, sometimes you mix the same species and that one dude kills off everyone else because he doesn't like their elbows. It's not common, but I've seen it enough times to say it's not a isolated. My advice, buy the more boisterous species (lyretail) after the Bartletts and try to get them smaller than said Bartletts.