75 gallon stocking list. Thoughts?

[TeeJay87]

Any red flags on stock list plan below (listed in rough order of adding them)? Enough hiding spots? Too many fish? If so, after the 4 anthias, the only fish I’m really attached to is the white tail bristletooth tang.

75gal Stock List:
5 firefish (already in tank)
2 purple firefish (already in tank)
1 blenny - tailspot or bicolor
4 anthias - group of peaceful & small (perhaps princess, purple queen, evansi, dispar, Bartlett’s)
1 blue reef chromis - to add a splash of blue from a peaceful fish
1 pufferfish - Valentini/Toby as small at 4 inch max and better chance at being reef safe
1 wrasse - something peaceful and reef safe
1 dwarf angel - probably not the flame
1 white tail bristletooth tang
1 yellow tang
2 Green Mandarin pair
1 biota captive bred marine betta - not sure whether I want to add and not sure in which order

I realize now that the school of firefish doesn’t work out so well after a week as two red firefish have paired up and the female in the pair goes after the other red firefish. Thankfully I can spook her into leaving them alone and everyone is out and eating 80%+ of the day, but not a long term solution. I’m hopeful that really dialing in on making sure there is a surplus of food for the firefish & adding other fish to the tank will eliminate the aggressive behavior.

Picture of tank this morning Jan 24, 2022:

Tank Specs:
75 gallon tank
Fluval 407 Canister Filter
HOB refugium (to be added for phytoplankton)
HOB refugium 2 (to be added for copepods)
HOB skimmer (will add if needed)

Current Fish:
5 firefish
2 purple firefish

Current Other:
100 lbs wet live rock from the gulf
75 lbs wet live sand from the gulf
Serpent Starfish
Sea Cucumber
Peppermint Shrimp
Pistol Shrimp
~5 Blue Porcelain Crabs
~30 Astrea Snails
~35 Hermit Crabs
Many feather dusters, brittle starfish, sponges, a few corals

 

[Jekyl]

I feel like that's double the amount of fish that should be in a 75. 2 tangs or even 1 may not be happy in that tank size. 2 mandarins will require adding pods every now and then

 

[CanuckReefer]

Any red flags on stock list plan below (listed in rough order of adding them)? Enough hiding spots? Too many fish? If so, after the 4 anthias, the only fish I’m really attached to is the white tail bristletooth tang.

75gal Stock List:
5 firefish (already in tank)
2 purple firefish (already in tank)
1 blenny - tailspot or bicolor
4 anthias - group of peaceful & small (perhaps princess, purple queen, evansi, dispar, Bartlett’s)
1 blue reef chromis - to add a splash of blue from a peaceful fish
1 pufferfish - Valentini/Toby as small at 4 inch max and better chance at being reef safe
1 wrasse - something peaceful and reef safe
1 dwarf angel - probably not the flame
1 white tail bristletooth tang
1 yellow tang
2 Green Mandarin pair
1 biota captive bred marine betta - not sure whether I want to add and not sure in which order

I realize now that the school of firefish doesn’t work out so well after a week as two red firefish have paired up and the female in the pair goes after the other red firefish. Thankfully I can spook her into leaving them alone and everyone is out and eating 80%+ of the day, but not a long term solution. I’m hopeful that really dialing in on making sure there is a surplus of food for the firefish & adding other fish to the tank will eliminate the aggressive behavior.

Picture of tank this morning Jan 24, 2022:

Tank Specs:
75 gallon tank
Fluval 407 Canister Filter
HOB refugium (to be added for phytoplankton)
HOB refugium 2 (to be added for copepods)
HOB skimmer (will add if needed)

Current Fish:
5 firefish
2 purple firefish

Current Other:
100 lbs wet live rock from the gulf
75 lbs wet live sand from the gulf
Serpent Starfish
Sea Cucumber
Peppermint Shrimp
Pistol Shrimp
~5 Blue Porcelain Crabs
~30 Astrea Snails
~35 Hermit Crabs
Many feather dusters, brittle starfish, sponges, a few corals

I like it...especially the Sea Cucumber and Serpent Star for sand bed. Not trying to be Tang police, but I would dump one of them , I have a Yellow Tang in a 90 for many years, and I think part of the reason it's done so well is the swim space. Like the rockwork, lots of hiding places, especially for the dwarf angel. Best of luck with the new stock down the road.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I feel like that's double the amount of fish that should be in a 75. 2 tangs or even 1 may not be happy in that tank size. 2 mandarins will require adding pods every now and then

Ya, its definitely heavy stock on fish....with just one Tang doable? Might want to dump one or two more. I've got comparable much lighter stock in my 90, because I'm always nervous of tipping the balance lol....

 

[Jekyl]

Ya, its definitely heavy stock on fish....with just one Tang doable? Might want to dump one or two more. I've got comparable much lighter stock in my 90, because I'm always nervous of tipping the balance lol....

I'm also and understocked is better than over guy. I have 8 fish in a 90g with a yellow tang. Ever with just 8 there are small aggression issues I see. I don't want to add more and it end up being a stressed life for them.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I'm also and understocked is better than over guy. I have 8 fish in a 90g with a yellow tang. Ever with just 8 there are small aggression issues I see. I don't want to add more and it end up being a stressed life for them.

Ya I'm just 5 in a 90 with my YT currently. Have done 6 with success years back, any time I go 7 all heck breaks loose lol....so I am better safe than sorry guy.

 

[TeeJay87]

Thanks for the feedback! So it sounds like aggression is the biggest concern. Almost my entire list is peaceful fish (most are very peaceful except for the yellow tang). So I wonder if aggression will be much of a concern if I get rid of the yellow tang?

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks for the feedback! So it sounds like aggression is the biggest concern. Almost my entire list is peaceful fish (most are very peaceful except for the yellow tang). So I wonder if aggression will be much of a concern if I get rid of the yellow tang?

You don't have enough personal spaces for the fish listed. Each needs their own personal area to be safe while sleeping. Once you don't have that, there will be issues.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Thanks for the feedback! So it sounds like aggression is the biggest concern. Almost my entire list is peaceful fish (most are very peaceful except for the yellow tang). So I wonder if aggression will be much of a concern if I get rid of the yellow tang?

Aggression, hiding space as Jekyl mentions , also be prepped for pretty constant feeding with the Anthias, they'll want to eat at least several times a day. I'd just start slow with your 'must haves ' and see where you are at over time with levels, potential aggression. As for the Dwarf I love my 2, so not going to steer you away there, but it is a roll of the dice at times. Potential issues with nipping at the dusters, sponge and LPS, although I've been lucky over the years with my similar stock untouched...I always have my radar up and tuned in though lol.

 

[Lavey29]

Way to many fish for a 75g. I have basically the same size tank and currently have 9 fish which range in size from 2" to 4.5". I tried to add a 10th (yellow watchman goby) thinking a bottom dweller would be fin with all the rocks but it did not work out and I had to return him. So 9 is my max and that is with an oversize skimmer and fuge filtration.

 

[i cant think]

I have a 4’x2’x2’ 100g and think 13 is pushing it, yes I have rather large fish (3-4” being a common size with a couple that will get 7-8 inch eventually)

 

[TeeJay87]

I hear everyone saying this is way to many fish and some will lean that way, but BRStv Beginners is recommending 13 fish (5 are green chromis) for a 40 gallon tank. So 19 fish (7 of which are firefish and taking out the yellow tang and one or two of the marine betta / wrasse / Toby puffer / dwarf angel) in a 75 gallon doesn’t seem that off to me.

I will add slowly and monitor aggressiveness/stress, feed correctly, add more engineered hiding spots with Marco rock, etc., but I’m a little surprised at the initial response that this is so far off.

Not saying this is the be all end all of information, but go to 8 minute mark for the 40 gallon stock list recommendation from BRStv Beginners:

 

[i cant think]

I have just remembered I have 7 fish in a Red Sea Max Nano quite easily and nothings gone TOO badly yet (I still need to check nitrates but my test kit is out of date so a new one is coming Wednesday). Yes if you do it correctly it will work quite well.

 

[Grumblez]

Its impossible to ahead of time say exactly how many fish you can or can't have in said tank. It comes down to 2 things, space for each fish/ aggression and nutrient export. Start with the fish you really want and go from there, just make sure to quarantine. My reefer

I've seen that video; I don't know why so many people ignore the fact that chromis murder the **** out of each other. Seriously search chromis on this site lol. In a bigger tank yeah they'll probably work things out and maybe only lose one or two of the smallest and big enough maybe even actually school, but in a 40 breeder I would be surprised to have more than 2 after a few months.

 

[Grumblez]

Oh also I would double check the species your buying but I've always read anthias do better in odd numbers so I would do 3.

 

[Jekyl]

I have just remembered I have 7 fish in a Red Sea Max Nano quite easily and nothings gone TOO badly yet (I still need to check nitrates but my test kit is out of date so a new one is coming Wednesday). Yes if you do it correctly it will work quite well.

To your standards. Not the fish. You can keep a dog chained up for years and they won't die.... doesn't mean it's the best thing to do for all parties.

 

[TeeJay87]

Its impossible to ahead of time say exactly how many fish you can or can't have in said tank. It comes down to 2 things, space for each fish/ aggression and nutrient export. Start with the fish you really want and go from there, just make sure to quarantine. My reefer

I've seen that video; I don't know why so many people ignore the fact that chromis murder the **** out of each other. Seriously search chromis on this site lol. In a bigger tank yeah they'll probably work things out and maybe only lose one or two of the smallest and big enough maybe even actually school, but in a 40 breeder I would be surprised to have more than 2 after a few months.

Agreed it’s impossible to tell in advance exact #, and that’s something that I hope becomes obvious to me as I go slowly. Nutrient export is a solvable issue and something I can easily monitor with tests. Assuming I add enough hiding/sleeping spots, fish aggression for reasons beyond that seems more difficult to solve; which is why I’m trying to plan ahead and ask for red flags in my list.

People are saying “way too many fish”, but since it depends on size/aggressiveness/etc, I was hoping for more specific advice like “this fish wont get along with this fish” or “too many active swimmers, take out x” or ”too many bottom dwellers, take out x”.

 

[ApoIsland]

I hear everyone saying this is way to many fish and some will lean that way, but BRStv Beginners is recommending 13 fish (5 are green chromis) for a 40 gallon tank. So 19 fish (7 of which are firefish and taking out the yellow tang and one or two of the marine betta / wrasse / Toby puffer / dwarf angel) in a 75 gallon doesn’t seem that off to me.

I will add slowly and monitor aggressiveness/stress, feed correctly, add more engineered hiding spots with Marco rock, etc., but I’m a little surprised at the initial response that this is so far off.

Not saying this is the be all end all of information, but go to 8 minute mark for the 40 gallon stock list recommendation from BRStv Beginners:

The two tangs are fine in that size tank. I have a buddy with 3 in a 75 and they have gotten along fine for years. I have 3 in a 90 and that is the same footprint as your 75, just a couple inches taller.

I would scratch the puffer. I tried 3 different times with a couple varieties of toby early on and they all ate coral.

Other than that your fish list is doable from a compatibility perspective. My issue would be the water quality though. You are planning 10 fish that really really like to eat. If it were my tank I would reduce that number to 6 or 7 heavy eaters somehow. I would leave off the puffer and two of those anthias at the very least. Those anthias will eat you out of house and home no matter how small they are.

Of course, just because I would not be able to keep that water clean, does not mean you won't be able to. The tank looks nice so far so cheers to that!

 

[Jekyl]

The two tangs are fine in that size tank. I have a buddy with 3 in a 75 and they have gotten along fine for years. I have 3 in a 90 and that is the same footprint as your 75, just a couple inches taller.

I would scratch the puffer. I tried 3 different times with a couple varieties of toby early on and they all ate coral.

Other than that your fish list is doable from a compatibility perspective. My issue would be the water quality though. You are planning 10 fish that really really like to eat. If it were my tank I would reduce that number to 6 or 7 heavy eaters somehow. I would leave off the puffer and two of those anthias at the very least. Those anthias will eat you out of house and home no matter how small they are.

Of course, just because I would not be able to keep that water clean, does not mean you won't be able to. The tank looks nice so far so cheers to that!

Sigh

 

[TeeJay87]

I've seen that video; I don't know why so many people ignore the fact that chromis murder the **** out of each other. Seriously search chromis on this site lol. In a bigger tank yeah they'll probably work things out and maybe only lose one or two of the smallest and big enough maybe even actually school, but in a 40 breeder I would be surprised to have more than 2 after a few months.

As I was researching Chromis I heard that they really want to eat like 5-8 times a day like an anthias to keep the group happy; no clue if that has merit to being successful with them but it would be odd if they are impossible to keep in groups yet every description of them says “does well in groups”. I doubt many chromis owners are feeding that often.

The Blue Reef Chromis I included in my list was the only good looking chromis (subjective) that was listed as peaceful and also swims at the top of the column and liveaquaria description says they help encourage timid fish to come out (maybe the timid fish, such as my firefish, peek out and see them swimming and somehow know it is safe to come out). I was tempted to get a few of these, but at $40 bucks a pop and their murdering each other reputation, I figured 1 was the best option.