120 gallon mixed reef stocking - critique me?

[cowfootball]

My tank is done cycling and I'm starting to think about fish stocking. I'm planning to run a mixed reef that is LPS dominant with the goal to add some SPS in maybe 6-12 months.

The tank is a Cade 1200: 144 gal total, 120 display, 4ft.

There's about 80-90 pounds of rock with a 1.5" special grade sand bed.

Stocking I am pretty set on:

2 Ocellaris Clownfish
3 Royal Gramma
1 Kole Tang
1 Starry Goby
1 Purple firefish

Things I am considering:

1-2 Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse.
~3-5 anthias, probably purple queen or bartletts
1 Blenny of some kind
1 Coral Beauty Angel or butterfly (maybe a Longnose or Copperband).

How much of this can I get away with?

 

[doubleshot00]

I like the rock work Hope the rock is on the bottom and not the sand.

You can have all of that if you want just depends on stocking order. IMO i would skip on 3 royal gramas.

 

[cowfootball]

I like the rock work Hope the rock is on the bottom and not the sand.

You can have all of that if you want just depends on stocking order. IMO i would skip on 3 royal gramas.

Definitely straight on the glass. So much so I was a little worried about how unevenly it was placed on the glass.

I thought so re: stocking. Why skip on the Grammas? Oh, aggression, drop to 1?

 

[nereefpat]

2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Fine, of course
3 Royal Gramma - I haven't tried a group of them, but have wanted to. I would get very small specimens.
1 Kole Tang - Would be fine. Koles are from Hawaii, so you can't find them. They do have cousins.
1 Starry Goby - I don't know what this is.
1 Purple firefish - Yes.

Things I am considering:

1-2 Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse. - Sure, even one of each. Yellow "coris" is such a great fish. I wouldn't buy a leopard unless I saw it doing well in person.
~3-5 anthias, probably purple queen or bartletts - Are you an anthias expert? If not, don't try purple queens. Barletts actually don't do well in groups, as they get mean.
1 Blenny of some kind - So many blennies. Some will work well, and some won't. My favorites lately are the Meiacanthus genus.
1 Coral Beauty Angel or butterfly (maybe a Longnose or Copperband). - That would be worth trying if you really want one. Definitely add before the tang.

 

[cowfootball]

2 Ocellaris Clownfish - Fine, of course
3 Royal Gramma - I haven't tried a group of them, but have wanted to. I would get very small specimens.
1 Kole Tang - Would be fine. Koles are from Hawaii, so you can't find them. They do have cousins.
1 Starry Goby - I don't know what this is.
1 Purple firefish - Yes.

Things I am considering:

1-2 Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse. - Sure, even one of each. Yellow "coris" is such a great fish. I wouldn't buy a leopard unless I saw it doing well in person.
~3-5 anthias, probably purple queen or bartletts - Are you an anthias expert? If not, don't try purple queens. Barletts actually don't do well in groups, as they get mean.
1 Blenny of some kind - So many blennies. Some will work well, and some won't. My favorites lately are the Meiacanthus genus.
1 Coral Beauty Angel or butterfly (maybe a Longnose or Copperband). - That would be worth trying if you really want one. Definitely add before the tang.

Thanks! The Starry is an interesting one: called a blenny by some, Goby by others.

BIOTA Starry Goby

Starry goby The starry goby (Asterropteryx semipunctatus) is a small, hardy, peaceful, undemanding reef fish for any marine aquarium. These captive bred specimens are extra easy to care for! May be kept singly or (in large tanks) as small groups. Purchase Size: ~1" (length) Max Size: 2.5″...

www.algaebarn.com

Wikipedia says Goby, I guess.

And no, not an Anthias expert, maybe some Lyretails?

 

[nereefpat]

Thanks! The Starry is an interesting one: called a blenny by some, Goby by others.

BIOTA Starry Goby

Starry goby The starry goby (Asterropteryx semipunctatus) is a small, hardy, peaceful, undemanding reef fish for any marine aquarium. These captive bred specimens are extra easy to care for! May be kept singly or (in large tanks) as small groups. Purchase Size: ~1" (length) Max Size: 2.5″...

www.algaebarn.com

Wikipedia says Goby, I guess.

Nice. That's a new one to me.

And no, not an Anthias expert, maybe some Lyretails?

Lyretail would be a better choice. Males eventually get pretty big. I would get small females, and let them sort out the hierarchy. Dispar, Carberryi, and ignitus would be a little smaller. Lyretails are probably the most hardy.

 

[doubleshot00]

Thanks! The Starry is an interesting one: called a blenny by some, Goby by others.

BIOTA Starry Goby

Starry goby The starry goby (Asterropteryx semipunctatus) is a small, hardy, peaceful, undemanding reef fish for any marine aquarium. These captive bred specimens are extra easy to care for! May be kept singly or (in large tanks) as small groups. Purchase Size: ~1" (length) Max Size: 2.5″...

www.algaebarn.com

Wikipedia says Goby, I guess.

And no, not an Anthias expert, maybe some Lyretails?

I would wait till your tank is mature before you add anthias.

I would also add the tang and coral beauty at the same time towards the end.

 

[Biokabe]

2 Ocellaris Clownfish: This is fine, also consider Percula. Basically the same fish, choose whichever variety you like best. These are fine for first fish, as they are hardy and peaceful to tankmates. Stay away from cinnamon or maroon clowns, they can get very aggressive.

3 Royal Gramma: As others have said, I'd stick with a single here. I don't think basslets really like each other.

1 Kole Tang: Any kind of Ctenochaetus tang is a good fit. Other options include Tomini, Blue-eyed/Two-spot, Squaretail, Blue-lip, Striate or Whitetail.

1 Starry Goby: Not familiar with this one, but gobies are basically bulletproof.

1 Purple firefish: No problems here. Don't sleep on the other dartfish, there are some real beauties in this group. Zebra Bars and Scissortails are also schooling fish, so if you want a school of fish you can look at getting 3-5 of those. I know that regular firefish are not known to school (a group will eventually become 1), not sure how the purples stack up there.

And onto your maybes:

1-2 Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse: Leopards are notoriously difficult. If you like the coris wrasse, also consider some of the other halichoerus wrasses (melanurus, Christmas, earmuff, radiant). The Halichoerus family is always kind of hit-or-miss when it comes to reef tanks, largely because they have a tendency to eat your CUC.

3-5 anthias, probably purple queen or bartletts: Purple queens are absolutely gorgeous, but notoriously fragile. My LFS once had a school of them, and even knowing the risk with them I almost couldn't resist - thankfully someone else bought the school before I could, I think their tank was better suited than mine. Bartlett's tend to prefer a solitary existence. If you want a group of anthias, you could go lyretail, carberryi, ignitus or dispar. I think the coloration is more potentially interesting for the carberryi. Huchtii or Cooper's would be a somewhat unusual choice and a departure from the normal anthias color patterns.

1 Blenny of some kind: No tank is complete without a blenny. Midas blennies are my current favorite, but starry blennies and flametail (not bicolor, flametail - two different fish) are both excellent choices. Tons of choices here, virtually none of them bad.

1 Coral Beauty Angel or butterfly (maybe a Longnose or Copperband): Any of these fish will be a potential risk in a mixed reef. I personally would go with a butterfly - either pyramid, copperband or blue-headed Kleini. I think Coral Beauties mostly turn out fine, I've had good luck with a Pygmy Cherub in the past, but any Centropyge is going to be a bit of a risk with puffy LFS corals.