Fish list for 4' 120g

[cdrewferd]

What do you guys think of the following fish list for my 120?

Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
Blue Caribean Tang
Melenarus wrasse
Leopard wrasse
3-5 cardinals - not sure which ones yet
3-5 chromis of some type
1-2 red mandarins - would be cool to have a male and female
jawfish of some sort - not 100% sure on this yet
Golden Dwarf moray eel - my personal holy grail right now
shrimp - probably a couple, fire and something else

I'm going to have an ETSS 600XR skimmer running on the tank. Do I need to go bigger on the skimmer to make this work? I'll have a 40 breeder sump with a fuge section full of macros and stuff. Will be skimming heavy and doing weekly 15 gallon water changes. Will be running carbon and GFO. Not sure about Biopellets right now, though that would mean getting rid of the carbon and GFO and having 1 less reactor.

I really want to do a lot of fish. My wife likes the fish more than the corals, so this it to help make her happy.

 

[rajkovich207]

IMO more than likely your eel will get the better of most of your fish :'(

 

[cdrewferd]

Actually, the Golden dwarf only reaches about 12". They also don't have a large enough mouth to go after fish that are bigger than a few inches. The shrimp on the other hand may be at risk.

 

[Loki]

Agreed. If you want the eel you need to nix almost all of those fish and shrimp. Also the mandarin you will have to have a male and female for both to live in the tank.

I think you need to really rethink your fish list for the tank.


I'm on my phone....

 

[Loki]

Oh I didn't see the dwarf part. Less of a risk then. I think the shrimp will be goners for sure. If you forget to feed for a bit the eel will find food .


I'm on my phone....

 

[cdrewferd]

Only way I'll have 2 mandarins is if they are a male/female pair. The eel is a long shot. I've seen 1 available in the last year on Divers Den. Even then it was almost $300 and it would be very hard for me to spend that kind of money on a fish. So it might never happen, but you never know.

 

[Loki]

I hope you are able to find/get the eel.


I'm on my phone....

 

[Trex]

The Atlantic blue tang will get way too big for your tank.

 

[Smnparish]

Seems like there are competitors for the mandarins, you would wan't to make sure they are eating frozen and pellets before putting two of them in a tank with two wrasses. Also, they are slow, so the eel may be able to eat them, especially since the ORA ones are usually not full grown and pretty small.

 

[cdrewferd]

Good catch with the Blue tang. Didn't remember it's tank requirements right.

Good point about the mandarins and wrasses competing for food. I would for sure make sure that the mandarins are eating frozen first. On the eel, it'll be several years down the road probably, so I would hope the mandarins would be almost full grown by then.

Also, what would you replace the blue tang with? I would like 2 tangs, but can stick with just the one if needed.

Any other fish that you guys think I should consider? I like more oddball fish, though don't want to go expensive either.

Would a pair of Dragonface pipefish work ok with this list?

 

[Smnparish]

I personally would do a yellow or purple tang, though I am sure plenty of people will say one tang is enough. Pipefish will be another competitor for food, and I am pretty sure they have very special requirements beyond food related ones. Maybe a you would like a hawkfish? I think they are pretty odd and they have a great personality!

 

[cdrewferd]

I might just stick with the whitetail bristletooth for a while. That is if I can find one.

Good idea on the hawkfish. I'll look into those as well.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I wouldn't do the pipefish. They won't be seen much in the 120 and will compete for pods. You could do a dwarf angel.

 

[cdrewferd]

What type of dwarf angel would I have the best shot at not eating corals? A potters or flame would be sweet. Even both maybe.

 

[bct15]

All dwarfs pose the risk of nipping coral, buyer beware, except for the family that are strictly planktivors

 

[wysiwyg]

get a cowfish, the eel will be fine with most fish as long as there bigger than 2 inchs. so just make your selections carefully. as far as tangs get a yellow tang

 

[cdrewferd]

Don't the cow fish get huge? Like way to big for a 4' tank? Guess I could just keep him until be gets bigger. They sure are cool looking.


Drew

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Smnparish]

Yes, so do tangs, but that doesn't stop people from keeping them 'till they get too big. That would really be a cool addition for sure.

 

[cdrewferd]

So the current list looks like this:

Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
3-5 cardinals - not sure which ones yet, probably long spine
3-5 Anthias - Male and some females
2 red mandarins - would be cool to have a male and female
jawfish of some sort - not 100% sure on this yet
shrimp - probably a couple, fire and something else

Anything else I should add? I feel like I should add another tang, or at least another bigger fish. Maybe a Hawkfish or a dwarf angel.

 

[bct15]

If you get Bangaii cardinals you need to get a bonded pair or fighting will occur, more than two and fighting will occur. Pajama cardinals you can have a bunch but they do not move much.

If you get two mandarins you MUST have a male and a female. Two males and the fighting will not stop until one is dead (I have heard two females is worse). Even a four foot tank will not stop the fighting, my tank is bigger then that and I had to give one away to save its life when live aquaria sent me two males instead of a male and female.