Adding fish to tank ?

Mateo · May 28, 2016

Hello all , I currently have a 150 gallon tank with 5 very small fish (3 firefish gobys , a cardinal and a cleaner wrasse ) they are all doing well and it's been about a month since I added fish . There seems to be some debate at my LFS on how to approach my next add . The debate is should I add all the fish to my tank on my list at once ? Or little by little ? Here's my list
1) blue hippo tang
2) a pair of clowns
3) powder blue tang
4) about 6 Ignitus anthias
5) clown tang
6) long nose yellow butterfly
7) copper band buttery fly
8) purple tang
9) yellow tang
10) and maybe 1-3 small fish (dotty asks, gobies , etc)

Any thoughts on this subject ?
Also there is debates about the butterfly's in my reef tank , my LFS has 3 in their reef tank and no issues but some have told me they will eat my corals . Same with the debate about the purple and yellow tang in the same tank . However my LFS has many in the same tank .. Any thoughts on any of these debates will be welcomed . Thanks all

Cory · May 28, 2016

This will be very unpredictable!

I definitely wouldnt add that many at once simply because bacteria may not he able to keep up with toxic ammonia production from the fish.

Sweet list though!

Trembz · May 28, 2016

Add 3 simultaneously at most

Wait a month, repeat until list is complete

james983 · May 28, 2016

5 tangs in a 150 may become problematic. And I would not recommed a Dottyback in a community tank as most become very aggressive.

I would add the tangs last and not 5 at once as you may exceed your bio load ability as Cory suggested.

Good luck!

Slm222 · May 28, 2016

I would not do the majority of that list. You certainly would need a bigger tank for most of those tangs. They need room to swim and turn.

Mateo · May 28, 2016

Thanks all for the input.

Mateo · May 28, 2016

james983 said:
5 tangs in a 150 may become problematic. And I would not recommed a Dottyback in a community tank as most become very aggressive.

I would add the tangs last and not 5 at once as you may exceed your bio load ability as Cory suggested.

Good luck!

I was told to add the yellow and purple at the same time last because they are the most aggressive fish on my list and can become territorial. Any thoughts ?

james983 · May 28, 2016

The Clown and the Powder Blue are aggressive as well which is why 5 tangs in a 150 is not a good idea. I have a 180 and have only 2 tangs, a Purple and a Hippo. The Hippo believe it or not is a royal pain in the a#! Tangs need a lot of space to lessen their aggression.

On the plus side the Long Nosed Butterfly you listed is generally a good choice for a reef tank. I have 2 different butterfly fish in my tank.

Mateo · May 28, 2016

Ok thanks ! I think I will shorten my list of tangs in the tank and look at other fish instead

.

Pagerone · May 31, 2016

Now is this going to be a fish only aquarium or a mix of coral and fish if so wow that's a lot of fish for coral and fish tank watch you Nitrates

eatbreakfast · May 31, 2016

Clown and powder blues are closely related and are aggressive, added at small size, simultaneously, and last is a must.

Yellow tangs and purple tangs are also closely related to each other. I would add them simultaneously and either with the clown and powder blue, or as the second to last additions right before them.

Hippo tangs get big, and will eventually outgrow the tank, but if you have an 'exit strategy', they are usually pretty peaceful.

All tangs are susceptible to disease and parasites, qt is essential. Also, keeping more tangs seems to keep them less aggressive. @4FordFamily

Longnose and copperband butterflies are generally reefsafe, though feather duster and coco worms are certainly on the menu, and on occasion may nip at clams, and on rarer occasions nip fleshy LPS.

While most dottybacks are aggressive, there are peaceful ones, orchid and elongatus are quite peaceful, springeri and coccinicauda aren't bad either.

Adding slowly and testing water are essential to determine if your tank can handle that type of bioload. If nutrients are getting high, there are plenty of options to remedy that.

4FordFamily · May 31, 2016

eatbreakfast said:
Clown and powder blues are closely related and are aggressive, added at small size, simultaneously, and last is a must.

Yellow tangs and purple tangs are also closely related to each other. I would add them simultaneously and either with the clown and powder blue, or as the second to last additions right before them.

Hippo tangs get big, and will eventually outgrow the tank, but if you have an 'exit strategy', they are usually pretty peaceful.

All tangs are susceptible to disease and parasites, qt is essential. Also, keeping more tangs seems to keep them less aggressive. @4FordFamily

Longnose and copperband butterflies are generally reefsafe, though feather duster and coco worms are certainly on the menu, and on occasion may nip at clams, and on rarer occasions nip fleshy LPS.

While most dottybacks are aggressive, there are peaceful ones, orchid and elongatus are quite peaceful, springeri and coccinicauda aren't bad either.

Adding slowly and testing water are essential to determine if your tank can handle that type of bioload. If nutrients are getting high, there are plenty of options to remedy that.

Agree entirely, i could not add anything to this!

Desmond · May 31, 2016

Personally i would add no more than 3 fish per month as said above to make sure you dont crash your tank. Also i would make sure the fish have been through quarentine at your store before adding to your tank if you dont have a quarentine tank. Long nose butterfly is 50 /50 my store has one in there display and it does not touch the corals at all. As for the tangs as said i would add at the same time and make sure they are in good condition as they stress very easy.

eatbreakfast · May 31, 2016

As the bioload increases, so does the tanks ability to handle new bioload. Right now, with small fish in there I would only add a coupl small fish.

Maybe add the pr of clowns next, followed by the 1-3 small fish, then I would try to add the anthias all at once, then the butterflies together, then the tangs last.

4FordFamily · May 31, 2016

Desmond said:
Personally i would add no more than 3 fish per month as said above to make sure you dont crash your tank. Also i would make sure the fish have been through quarentine at your store before adding to your tank if you dont have a quarentine tank. Long nose butterfly is 50 /50 my store has one in there display and it does not touch the corals at all. As for the tangs as said i would add at the same time and make sure they are in good condition as they stress very easy.

Do not trust any LFS to properly qt and treat incoming fish. This is a recipe for disaster. Good advice otherwise!