90+ gallon stocking ideas!

[squidleydidleydoo]

Hello! I'm new to the hobby and deciding to really take the plunge with a big reef tank! I'm going to be getting a Red Sea Reefer MAX, either the 91 gallon or the 109 gallon peninsula (leaning toward the latter) and I'd love some help with stocking it!
Here are my dream fish for the tank:
- Clownfish pair
- Mandarin Dragonet (I know they're tricky, but they're my favorites! I intend to help the tank get well established with a nice big copepod colony before introducing one)
- Royal Gramma
- 5+ Pajama Cardinalfish
- Firefish Goby
- Diamond Goby

I'd also really love to have at least one somewhat larger fish, most likely a wrasse (open to suggestions - bright colors are best!) and maybe some chromis? I also plan on keeping beginner friendly lps and soft corals. What do you all think? Does this sound like a good list? What else would you recommend? Thank you!

 

[blaxsun]

Mandarins are fine - but you'll want to get your tank established first, supplement with pods and wait a month or so for everything to really populate before introducing any mandarins. Mandarins are a 6 month+ fish addition due to their unique nutritional requirements.

Yes, the captive bred ones can eat frozen - but it's sometimes hit and miss (more often miss from what people have told me).

 

[NotReefsafe]

cardinals will probably kill each other, chromis as well. check out the I can't think article on sand sifting gobies under the "articles" tab.

 

[blaxsun]

cardinals will probably kill each other, chromis as well. check out the I can't think article on sand sifting gobies under the "articles" tab.

Chromis are fine if they get fed often. Every now and then one of them will "up and disappear", though (with no explanation). It's a chromis thing. OP would probably be fine with two PJ cardinals.

 

[Tnops]

Ay maybe not brightest for ya but Blue Throat Triggers are something that are relatively easy to find but you don't see that many people with them so it is a pretty personable fish! Shouldn't go after corals and mine is not aggressive to anything in the tank, it can just stand its ground. I have cardinals and basslets added after it and they never even notice each other. Probably one of the easiest fish you can keep too, eats like a dang hog

 

[Lavey29]

You have a nice size tank to work with. Try to use your space with top swimmers, mid tank swimmers and bottom level fish. This way you avoid aggression issues hopefully.

 

[i cant think]

Hello! I'm new to the hobby and deciding to really take the plunge with a big reef tank! I'm going to be getting a Red Sea Reefer MAX, either the 91 gallon or the 109 gallon peninsula (leaning toward the latter) and I'd love some help with stocking it!
Here are my dream fish for the tank:
- Clownfish pair
- Mandarin Dragonet (I know they're tricky, but they're my favorites! I intend to help the tank get well established with a nice big copepod colony before introducing one)
- Royal Gramma
- 5+ Pajama Cardinalfish
- Firefish Goby
- Diamond Goby

I'd also really love to have at least one somewhat larger fish, most likely a wrasse (open to suggestions - bright colors are best!) and maybe some chromis? I also plan on keeping beginner friendly lps and soft corals. What do you all think? Does this sound like a good list? What else would you recommend? Thank you!

This list is IMO small for a 90G tank. I have a 4’x2’x18” tall tank and it has 15-16 fish (albeit I am planning an upgrade as some of those fish would love a 5’ tank).

I’d personally have an Angel species. I have my 3 in with LPS and Softies (most of my LPS were ransacked by asterina stars though). I’d personally go for a Regal or a Coral Beauty however if you don’t mind rehoming in the future then a Majestic may also make a good inhabitant.

Another fish I’d consider is one from the Hoplolatilus genus, although you’d need a good fitting lid that isn’t easily pushed up. I personally went for a Marcosi Tilefish however there’s some other equally as beautiful species out there such as H. luteus which is a good replacement for a yellow tang in terms of the yellow colour.

 

[squidleydidleydoo]

Thank you all for the advice! After reading your replies and doing some more research on my own, here's an updated list:
- 2 Clownfish
- 2 Pajama cardinalfish
- 3 Green chromis
- Firefish goby
- Royal gramma
- Azure damselfish
- Squaretail bristletooth tang
- Diamond goby
- Exquisite fairy wrasse
- Mandarin dragonet

Any compatibility issues? Is this a good amount of fish or too much? What about stocking order?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

The problem I'm seeing with the new list is the chromis. As nice as they look in a group, they will eventually end up picking each other off until there's just one. Instead, I'd try to add another royal gramma. As long as you get them small at the same time, they should be fine together.

Some will inevitably say that the tank is too small for the tang, but I disagree. It should be fine, just as long as you stick to just one of the smaller species. You could go with a yellow/scopas tang instead of the bristletooth, but I probably wouldn't, just because they're not as disease-resistant. No matter how big the tank is, somebody will always say that the tank's too small. I've seen people admonishing others for putting a sailfin/naso in a 300 gallon, SMH.