critique the stocking for my 90 gallon mixed reef

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

critique the stocking for my 93 gallon mixed reef. Its 4 feet long. I already have the clowns and the mandarin. I will have a 15 gallon sump with a skimmer rated for 120 gallons as well as a 30 gallon refugium with a black angler. 10 gallon water changes bi weekly, maybe week if its too dirty

2 clowns

1 mandarin dragonet

1-2 aiptasia eating filefish

1 starry blenny

1 flametail blenny

1 yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair

1 Carpenters flasher wrasse

1 Hoeven's wrasse

1 mccosker's wrasse

1 Yellow tang

1 Hippo tang - I know this might be too much in the long run, but after he is too big, I will rehome to my LFS. They said they have had a hippo tang in their 93 for 5 years and he is fine. What would be a size that I would have to rehome him at? How long would he take to grow that big?

Trio of lyretail anthias

Thanks for all your help, please address any concern, so i can figure them out, thanks.

ccombs · Apr 7, 2019

Let's get @evolved here to look at the wrasse compatibility. There might be a certain order you need to add them in, he is the #wrassechamp here so I will defer to him.

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

ccombs · Apr 7, 2019

I think @Hemmdog has a similar sized tank and a few of the same fish, maybe he has some insight.

People normally jump all over a thread like this.

Hemmdog · Apr 7, 2019

Wait for the anthias and dragonette. The others are fine but plan to upgrade in 2 years. I always recommend geometric Pygmy hawkfish as well, super cool little guys. They don’t bother anything.

Doctorgori · Apr 7, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Wait for the anthias and dragonette. The others are fine but plan to upgrade in 2 years. I always recommend geometric Pygmy hawkfish as well, super cool little guys. They don’t bother anything.

glad I read the whole thread before posting the exact same thing ....I dunno, just to add to the statistics; my anthias seem to self destruct when purchased in 3's ...there is info around but IME I'd say the more and younger the better .... I think that sump will help the dragonnette....somehow bethnic pods make it through pumps to the MT

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Wait for the anthias and dragonette. The others are fine but plan to upgrade in 2 years. I always recommend geometric Pygmy hawkfish as well, super cool little guys. They don’t bother anything.

thanks! Why wait on the anthias? How long? Also, I already have the mandarin, but he eats frozen, so were good

Hemmdog · Apr 7, 2019

Wolf89 said:
thanks! Why wait on the anthias? How long? Also, I already have the mandarin, but he eats frozen, so were good

Anthias need fed all the time, if your home all day and can feed 3-5 smallish meals a day then that’s all good. If your not, wait longer until there’s a large diverse pod population in your system that they can graze on between feedings.

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Anthias need fed all the time, if your home all day and can feed 3-5 smallish meals a day then that’s all good. If your not, wait longer until there’s a large diverse pod population in your system that they can graze on between feedings.

I already feed the mandarin I have 3-7 times a day, so I think I'm good on that

Hemmdog · Apr 7, 2019

Wolf89 said:
I already feed the mandarin I have 3-7 times a day, so I think I'm good on that

Cool. Sounds like a cool tank.

Pbh-reef · Apr 7, 2019

I too have heard that Anthias do better in groups of 5 over 3. But @eatbreakfast or @ca1ore will have better insight there.

I would just think through the hippo
Tang some more. Hippos grow fast and are fragile when small. Their behavior is in some ways more like a Naso genius tang- they swim in open water more than most tangs. They’re also prone to disease. If you’re thinking of replacing the hippo with a smaller one later your yellow tang may have other ideas in a tank that size. Do you really want to quarantine a fish or risk it introducing disease into the tank only to have to give it up? A kole tang or relative in the same bristletooth (just not the chevron) would be better suited for the tank and do a better job grazing on algae than the hippo. Just some things to consider as you decide on the hippo.

Wolf89 · Apr 7, 2019

Yeah, obviously 5 would be best, but dont you think that would be pushing it?

Pbh-reef · Apr 7, 2019

Wolf89 said:
Yeah, obviously 5 would be best, but dont you think that would be pushing it?

I don’t know - i would defer to @eatbreakfast and others with more expertise

eatbreakfast · Apr 8, 2019

Even if a mandarin is eating prepared foods it is still best to wait until the tank has had a few months to mature, because mandarins NEED to eat almost constantly. They have a very short digestive tract, so hunt for copepods almost nonstop. By waiting a few months it allows the pod population to stabilize where it can support a major pod predator.

Lyretail anthias are one of the hardiest anthias available.5 would be better, but 3 will suffice. Get all females and let them figure out the social dynamics if which will transition into male.

The wrasses are fine. But try and add the flashers simultaneously.

A hippo tang WILL outgrow that size tank.

evolved · Apr 8, 2019

eatbreakfast said:
The wrasses are fine. But try and add the flashers simultaneously.

+1

Wolf89 · Apr 18, 2019

@eatbreakfast @evolved
what order should I add everything?

Also, would a yellow wrasse be okay with everything else? What about a dragon wrasse? I think the dragon wrasse gets too big but I'm not sure

Pbh-reef · Apr 18, 2019

Have seen those two wrasses (yellow and Melanurus) be ok together.

The dragon wrasse gets too big and aggressive and messy for tanks under 200 gallons. In the wild they spend all their time literally picking up rocks and checking for food, so I don’t think they’re good for most aquariums.

evolved · Apr 18, 2019

Wolf89 said:
@eatbreakfast @evolved
what order should I add everything?

I'm just a wrasse guy - I don't really buy anything else. So I can only speak to them.
I'd add the flashers together and first, then the Halichoeres together after that.