Finish stocking my tank

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Okay... let me start with my current inhabitants.

1 Powder brown tang
2 black ice clown fish
1 Sailfin tang
1 yellow tang
1 purple dottyback
1 cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
3 emerald crabs
40-50 random hermits and snails

I'm running a Red Sea XL 525, bare bottom.

Fish i'm hoping to add:

Leopard wrasse - do these work with bare bottom? how long after setup before adding one?
Some type of small school - chromis or ??? (see next line)
I'd love some anthias, but 1) I need to do more research and 2) are there any that won't require several feedings per day? I'm not home nearly enough(sometimes for an entire 24-36 hours) and have had bad experiences with auto feeders.

What else is a good fish to add to a mix reef? Some middle to top swimmers that are active.

 

[Big G]

Leopard wrasse - do these work with bare bottom? how long after setup before adding one?

Let's get the Leopard Wrasse guys to help you: @HotRocks, @4FordFamily
I'd avoid Chromis. Too much Uronema in the supply chain these days.

Big fan of the Dispar Anthias. Feed mine twice a day and they do fine.

 

[nereefpat]

Leopard wrasses need sand. Wrasses that don't need sand are fairies and flashers, so you could look into those, but that dottyback might cause you problems with new wrasses.

 

[HotRocks]

Let's get the Leopard Wrasse guys to help you: @HotRocks, @4FordFamily
I'd avoid Chromis. Too much Uronema in the supply chain these days.

Big fan of the Dispar Anthias. Feed mine twice a day and they do fine.

Personally I would avoid the macropharyngodon genus of of wrasses entirely with a bare bottom tank. They are a rather difficult wrasse to keep, and acclimate to aquaria in general. They sleep in the sand at night as well as when they need to "take cover". Long term success with them is probably not likely without mimicking their natural habitat as closely as possible.

I even use a Pyrex dish with sand for them in QT just due to their difficult nature.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Personally I would avoid the macropharyngodon genus of of wrasses entirely with a bare bottom tank. They are a rather difficult wrasse to keep, and acclimate to aquaria in general. They sleep in the sand at night as well as when they need to "take cover". Long term success with them is probably not likely without mimicking their natural habitat as closely as possible.

I even use a Pyrex dish with sand for them in QT just due to their difficult nature.

Understood, they are just some of the most active swimmers it would've been nice to have one. After getting a top too of course. Always enjoyed my six line's. Thank you for the input.

 

[Big G]

Some middle to top swimmers that are active

Take a look at Saphire Damsels for mid level active swimmers. Striking blue color, always on the move, and peaceful. A group of 6 or more would be a wonderful addition to any tank.

 

[4FordFamily]

I second the notion to avoid leopard wrasse without sand, I would add anampses and most halichoeres to that list to avoid as well. If you want a "wrasse-shaped" fish, I'd suggest an Orchid dottyback. You can also do a flasher or fairy wrasse as they do not need sand beds.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Damsels? I've always heard bad things about territorial and what not.

Take a look at Saphire Damsels for mid level active swimmers. Striking blue color, always on the move, and peaceful. A group of 6 or more would be a wonderful addition to any tank.

Oh great, I must've misread thinking Wrasse's were completely out. Fairy and Flasher are good looking fish as well so I will study up. Thank you kindly.

I second the notion to avoid leopard wrasse without sand, I would add anampses and most halichoeres to that list to avoid as well. If you want a "wrasse-shaped" fish, I'd suggest an Orchid dottyback. You can also do a flasher or fairy wrasse as they do not need sand beds.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Fairy and flasher wrasses are better bets than any of the sand sleeping types of wrasses, but be sure to use a cover for the tank, as they are notorious jumpers. But fairy and flashers benefit from a few feedings a day.

Skip chromis, they aren't a great schooler. The smaller Chrysiptera damsels, such as roland, talbot, azure, and springeri are much better behaved than other damsels , and if a group added, will mostly ignore other fish.

Most social anthias benefit from multiple feedings a day. Zebra and scissortail dartfish are social, but also jumpers.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

At this point it is probably too late to add a couple more yellow tangs?

 

[eatbreakfast]

At this point it is probably too late to add a couple more yellow tangs?

The tank isn't big enough for multiple yellow tangs long term.

 

[Big G]

Damsels? I've always heard bad things about territorial and what not.

Yeah, these Saphires are very cool. I have a peaceful tank but wanted some mid to upper level swimmers to add some interest. Had been looking at Chromis but too many problems with Uronema these days, plus they are known for picking each other off until only one remains. These Saphires get along with each other and the other fish. Going to add some more. I'm thinking about 8-10 of them in my tank would be perfect.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Ok so I've decided on a flasher wrasse and possibly a midas blenny for additions thus far. Live Aquaria has a 40% sale, but everything coral wise is out of stock. Was hoping to start getting some bottom dwellers and had a nice blue brain coral in the cart, but couldn't hit that $100 mark for the free shipping. Nothing else, that was in stock and there isn't much, caught my eye. Any other good sites for fish and corals? I've had good luck with Live Aquaria fish. I'm going to stay away from the Damsels... in all my experience as they mature they become more aggressive and I'm not near as full on fish as i'd like to be.

 

[Jesterrace]

They are spendy but you get good products:

www.tsmcorals.com

 

[JJKK]

Maybe a dwarf angel(Coral Beauty, Flame, others). How many total fish do you think the tank support? I have the same tank and currently have:

5 Carberryi Anthias
1 Red Saddled Back Anthias
Midas Blenny
Yellow Watchman Goby
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma
Copperband Butterfly
Bluestar Leopard Wrasse
Melanarus Wrasse
Pintail Wrasse
Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
Purple Tang
Desjardini Sailfin Tang
Potter's Angel

I am probably done till my pod population stabilizes(if ever), I can add a Mandarin then.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Maybe a dwarf angel(Coral Beauty, Flame, others). How many total fish do you think the tank support? I have the same tank and currently have:

5 Carberryi Anthias
1 Red Saddled Back Anthias
Midas Blenny
Yellow Watchman Goby
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma
Copperband Butterfly
Bluestar Leopard Wrasse
Melanarus Wrasse
Pintail Wrasse
Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
Purple Tang
Desjardini Sailfin Tang
Potter's Angel

I am probably done till my pod population stabilizes(if ever), I can add a Mandarin then.

Do you have any issues with the angel or copperband nipping at corals? I am barebottom so a few of your fish wouldn't work. I need to get more fish to get my nutrients up a bit. I'd rather not dose nutrients I can add naturally.

 

[JJKK]

I don't have alot of SPS yet. As I was overfeeding to make sure that the copperband would make it. So far, no issues of nipping with the LPS and some SPS. There is a school of thought that thinks that some nipping by angels are good for SPS dominate tanks as it promotes new growth. My LFS told me that, he may just wanted to sell me the Potter's Angel. Do your own research.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

I do plenty of research, but inquiring on others experience adds to that.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

At this point I have eliminated Damsels and Anthias. I'm just not home enough to feed the Anthias and Damsels have too many red flags. I will be getting a flasher wrasse, but need to add movement and increase nutrients. What would you add?

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Dwarf angels.
They fit most any price tag and any coloration you want. If you are extremely worried about nipping I would stick with potters angels, coral beauties, flame angels, Pygmy angels, and the other ones that have a less chance of nipping are it the $500 up range.