Help me stock my tank.

[Pivitol]

Hi all, I am looking for advice, suggestions for a few fish for my 200gal tank. My tank is a unique acrylic tank with odd dimensions 44"w x 29"d x 36"h peninsula style. I am trying to be a responsible fish keeper by avoiding fish that won't do well in this size tank. I have always wanted 1 or 2 tangs and have been looking at requirements and ruled out several due to swim room of a 44" tank, but there some that I question will work such as a Yellow Eye Kole, Squaretail Bristletooth, Atlantic Blue, and a Lemonpeel Mimic. My system has been up a few months and it has a few sps,lps, and zoas along with some trochus snails a banded coral shrimp and 4 Bluegreen chromis. Let me know what you think about those Tangs and other fish that would work in this tank.

p.s. it is a bare bottom tank due to the height.
Thanks

 

[Maritimer]

That sounds like it'll be a pretty cool display - and a pain to reach the bottom of!

You should be alright with the kole or squaretail, and possibly the mimic - they're smaller and more laid-back for an Acanthurus - but I'd be more nervous about the blue. I know there are plenty of folks who keep yellow tangs in 75 gallons - you're only just shy of that in length, well above in volume. Might depend on how you're aquascaped.

Dartfish and some anthias might hang just below the surface, giving you some movement up there. Perhaps a pair of watanabe angelfish - they're a smaller Genicanthus, the females are sky blue with a deeper crown, males crisply striped in black & white with a yellow / orange accent. Fairy or flasher wrasses and a midas blenny would also help utilize some of that open space above the rocks.

~Bruce

 

[Pivitol]

That sounds like it'll be a pretty cool display - and a pain to reach the bottom of!

You should be alright with the kole or squaretail, and possibly the mimic - they're smaller and more laid-back for an Acanthurus - but I'd be more nervous about the blue. I know there are plenty of folks who keep yellow tangs in 75 gallons - you're only just shy of that in length, well above in volume. Might depend on how you're aquascaped.

Dartfish and some anthias might hang just below the surface, giving you some movement up there. Perhaps a pair of watanabe angelfish - they're a smaller Genicanthus, the females are sky blue with a deeper crown, males crisply striped in black & white with a yellow / orange accent. Fairy or flasher wrasses and a midas blenny would also help utilize some of that open space above the rocks.

~Bruce

Thank you for the response, I was hoping you would as you always seem to give excellent advice about fish. Do you think it would be too much to put 2 of the smaller tangs in this tank? Say a squaretail and a yellow? As far as anthias I was checking out the Fathead Sunburst and from what I've read they are a bottom dweller and prefer deeper tanks. I did read they like low to moderate light, I have a MH/T-5 light fixture (250w x 2 and 4 39w) and do not have a par meter yet do you think this would be an issue with them? Thanks again.

 

[Maritimer]

I like the sunburst anthias, and think that would be a pretty good fit for you. If you're worried about too much light for his comfort, create a network of shadowed caves he can use to traverse the tank while you're aquascaping. As the corals grow in, shadows will only increase.

Yellows often seem to do well in 75s, as do squaretails - I think you could probably pull this off. I'd add the Ctenochaetus first (among the tangs), followed up with the Zebrasoma. That having been said, my experience with tangs is rather limited compared with folks like @eatbreakfast and @4FordFamily.

~Bruce

 

[eatbreakfast]

A mimic tang will also get too big for a 44" tank.

 

[4FordFamily]

I like the sunburst anthias, and think that would be a pretty good fit for you. If you're worried about too much light for his comfort, create a network of shadowed caves he can use to traverse the tank while you're aquascaping. As the corals grow in, shadows will only increase.

Yellows often seem to do well in 75s, as do squaretails - I think you could probably pull this off. I'd add the Ctenochaetus first (among the tangs), followed up with the Zebrasoma. That having been said, my experience with tangs is rather limited compared with folks like @eatbreakfast and @4FordFamily.

~Bruce

This is good advice-- for even better results-- qt and add tangs together