First marine tank - planned stock suggestions please :)

[dvlpr]

I'm still waiting for the tank to arrive, but have more-or-less settled on the aquascape (different thread on this forum) and now I'm moving on to my stocking list.

I have a long list from my LFS of what he thinks I can choose from and I've further narrowed it down, but would like to ask your opinion as well, especially on my "initial" and "later" stages - do they look ok, including how many of each I plan to get. The tank is RedSea 525XL.

1. Initial (as soon as the tank is ready for livestock):

Clown Ocellaris x2
Rabbitfish x1
Lawnmower Blenny x1
Cleaner Shrimp x2
Peppermint Shrimp x2
Ceriph Snail x2
Nassarius Snail x2
Stromb Snail x2

2. Later (after a few weeks/months after "initial" in no particular order):

Starfish x1
Tangs (blue/lipstick/yellow/powder blue/chevron - one or two of these, not sure if they can be mixed) x1
Harlequin Tuskfish x1
Flame Angel x1

3. Other potential candidates (which means I haven't really made up mind about neither of them and will consider any, depending on what's already in the tank at the time and availability/price at my LFS):

Coral beauty, Flame angel, Bicolour angel, Sunburst anthias, Possum wrasse, Purple line fairy wrasse, Royal gramma, Royal dotty back, Yellow belly damsels, Bangaii cardinal

4. Other fish I considered, but ruled out at this stage for one reason or another (just to provide an overview of what I looked at):

Orange shoulder tang, Pyramid butterfly, Bluetail wrasse, Canary wrasse, Herald angelfish, Flame hawks, Square block anthias, Pictulis Anthias, Dispar anthias, Lyretail anthias, Mystery wrasse, Scott's wrasse, Green chromis, Dispar anthias, Bicolour anthias, Square block anthias, Five stripe cardinals, Blue eye cardinal, Pyjamas cardinal, Yellow stripe cardinals, Bicolour blennies, Sixline wrasse

Thanks!

 

[Magellan]

More snails (way more snails!) a tuxedo urchin or 2, swap out the peppermints for fire shrimps, get a conch (tiger or fighting), consider some blue legged hermits, and unless this is a FOWLR I would be cautious with getting a flame angel.

 

[dvlpr]

More snails (way more snails!) a tuxedo urchin or 2, swap out the peppermints for fire shrimps, get a conch (tiger or fighting), consider some blue legged hermits, and unless this is a FOWLR I would be cautious with getting a flame angel.

Thank you! Way more snails is how many? 5-10-20? Will add your suggestions to my research list and see if my LFS has any of those (or I can ask him to source them for me, so he can QT them).

No, not a FOWLR - will research into angels some more.

 

[Magellan]

There is a website called Reefcleaners that will actually make you a custom order specifically for your tank!

but maybe 10/10/10? Astrea, ceriph, and nassarius. 5-10 hermits as well. (But this is a personal choice, not everyone likes hermits) You have a fairly large tank, it will support a correspondingly large CUC. Long term you may need more as your bio load increases. I would add the fish first, then the CUC as algae starts to grow.

 

[dvlpr]

Thanks! I'm in Australia, so Reefcleaners won't work...

I do like hermits, so definitely will consider those!

 

[Magellan]

Thanks! I'm in Australia, so Reefcleaners won't work...

I do like hermits, so definitely will consider those!

They can be kinda annoying sometimes (one of my hermits will sometimes lay inside my scoly like it’s a dog bed!) but really help keep things clean imo. And no problem! Can’t wait to see some pics

 

[dvlpr]

They can be kinda annoying sometimes (one of my hermits will sometimes lay inside my scoly like it’s a dog bed!) but really help keep things clean imo. And no problem! Can’t wait to see some pics

My tank should be here either next Friday or early following week and I'll start updating my build thread ASAP - can't wait myself, lol

 

[Magellan]

My tank should be here either next Friday or early following week and I'll start updating my build thread ASAP - can't wait myself, lol

The first few weeks are the worst! When I got my tank set up, I took water to my LFS every week asking “is it ready?!” And the old guy would say “no, not yet”...when he finally said “ok it looks good!” I wanted to buy everything in the store!

Is this your first saltwater tank?

 

[dvlpr]

The first few weeks are the worst! When I got my tank set up, I took water to my LFS every week asking “is it ready?!” And the old guy would say “no, not yet”...when he finally said “ok it looks good!” I wanted to buy everything in the store!

Is this your first saltwater tank?

Yep, first saltwater tank - just got into the hobby end of 2018 with a freshwater one, but I was never a good gardener and prefer purple to green any day

I know - I did the same, got all the tests, was testing water every second day and went to my LFS every 4-5 days in the beginning He wouldn't sell me anything (he's really good!), but I would come on the days he's not there and get the guys to sell me something that would die later... A few months on, I learned what "patience" means, and a few months after that I actually had a successful running FW tank with minimal maintenance.

 

[nereefpat]

Congrats on the first marine tank! You'll love it. For those helping out, 525XL looks to be 59x22x22 (about 125 gallons).

Fish Stock:
1:
Clown Ocellaris x2
Rabbitfish x1
Lawnmower Blenny x1 - These don't always eat prepared foods the best. My current went went a couple months before eating anything besides algae. It might be best to add this later.
Those are all fine.

2:
Tangs (blue/lipstick/yellow/powder blue/chevron) - Blue and lipstick get too large. Powder is borderline. I'd probably stick with yellow or purple and one of the Ctenochaetus (kole, chevron, white tail, tomini). In case you didn't realize, chevron drastically changes color.
Harlequin Tuskfish x1 - snail, shrimp, crab eater, but fine.
Flame Angel x1 - fine. Potentially a coral nipper. Lots of folks have those in reefs...It depends on how freaked out you get by some picking.

3:
Most of those are fine. Skip the royal dotty. Pretty, but very aggressive.

 

[dvlpr]

Congrats on the first marine tank! You'll love it. For those helping out, 525XL looks to be 59x22x22 (about 125 gallons).

Thank you!

Fish Stock:
1:
Clown Ocellaris x2
Rabbitfish x1
Lawnmower Blenny x1 - These don't always eat prepared foods the best. My current went went a couple months before eating anything besides algae. It might be best to add this later.
Those are all fine.

Great! I just love the look on Blenny's faces (there are a few at my LFS) - they are seriously dedicated to something...

2:
Tangs (blue/lipstick/yellow/powder blue/chevron) - Blue and lipstick get too large. Powder is borderline. I'd probably stick with yellow or purple and one of the Ctenochaetus (kole, chevron, white tail, tomini). In case you didn't realize, chevron drastically changes color.
Harlequin Tuskfish x1 - snail, shrimp, crab eater, but fine.
Flame Angel x1 - fine. Potentially a coral nipper. Lots of folks have those in reefs...It depends on how freaked out you get by some picking.

Great point on the size - I'll definitely have to consider that. No, no idea that chevron changes colors - I thought I was looking at different colored fish in images I like the way Tuskfish looks, but wouldn't want him to eat my inverts - I'll need to think hard on this one. Don't know yet if coral picking will freak me out, to be honest Maybe I can ask my LFS to source me one that tends to ignore corals, if that makes sense? No idea yet, but lots to take in...

3:
Most of those are fine. Skip the royal dotty. Pretty, but very aggressive.

Noted!