My community tank fish selection but will it work?

[Reefdiver77]

Hi all

I am about to embark on my first community with tank all cycled and ready to go.

These are the fish I would love to keep and I believe they are compatible and reef safe, I would be grateful on your thoughts or experiences.

Regal Tang
Achilles Tang
Purple Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Yellow Tang
Percula Clown pair
Emperor Angel
Cherub Angel
Japanese Angel
Blackray Shrimp Goby
Firefish Goby
Butterfly Fish
Anthias
Royal Gramma
Bangai Cardinal
Black axel Chromis
Blue Chromis
Green Chromis
Orchid Dottytail
Sunrise Dottytail
Mandarin
Clown Wrasse

Thanks

 

[AquaAngel]

It would help if you could post the size of the tank. How many gallons and how long is the tank?

You have a few hard to keep tangs. Probably best left to the more experienced people. Too many tangs can also be a problem but that depends on the question above.

Also you have some not reef safe angels. Depends on what you plan to keep for corals and how the fish ends up being though.

Which type of butterfly fish? Most are not considered reef safe.

I have problems keeping track of small gobies or grammas in my tank if they choose caves not in direct view, but both are really cool. Just a comment.

Hopefully this is a helpful start.

 

[Reefdiver77]

Hi thanks for your help the tank is an aqua reef 300 with sump

Aquarium size 102 x 52 x 73cm high

Which a tangs would you not recommend?

 

[Reefdiver77]

Which Angels are not reef safe and as for butterfly fish I don't mind which I just love their appearance, is there any you would consider reef safe?

 

[jschultzbass]

For that size aquarium I would recommend no tangs. It is only 40 inches wide and those tangs get bigger and need a lot more swimming room. The tank is 300L or about 79 gallons. Same goes with the Emperor angel, way to big for that tank. Everything else would probably be fine.

 

[AquaAngel]

A lot of the information you might find useful can be found on liveaquaria.com. It can be a good starting point.

I agree with no tangs or large angels in that size tank. They simply get too big and need a lot of swimming room and territory.

Any dwarf angel can be hit or miss on whether it will nip corals.

One goby would work well. I really like a pistol shrimp with a shrimp goby.

Dottybacks can be very aggressive and a mandarin should only be added months after a tanks start so a good sustainable pod population is there.

 

[kes]

always helps if you can get those fish that's already been established in a reef tank. Some are very fragile, due to poor shipping techniques, but definitely use QT on these fish.

 

[kes]

orchid and springer dottybacks aren't that aggressive, compared to other ones. sunrise can get pretty decent size so be careful. beautiful fish though

 

[Eienna]

Don't keep mandarins with dottybacks. They may well kill your mandarin.

Even if all those angels were of suitable size, it's probably too many for that tank. Even dwarf angels generally need a very large tank if they are to share it with other angels.

 

[Eienna]

Also...
Achilles tangs are expert-only. They rarely survive over a year in home aquariums and are even less likely to thrive. Best to wait on them until their specific needs are better understood.

Butterfly fish, as a general rule, eat coral polyps as part of their natural diet. They are not usually a good choice for anything other than a large, established reef that can handle polyps going missing from time to time. They also tend to come in to stores pretty well emaciated and they (and the anthias, btw) can be very hard to get to feed.

I understand wanting to get what you like, and not just what's considered "beginner" or "easy." That's the way I am. A word to the wise about that: thoroughly research any and all fish and livestock you are considering purchasing, and think carefully about whether you can provide for that animal's needs. I love my mandarin dragonet, but even at a fourth of his adult size he costs me $30 a month in live pods to feed. Also, keep in mind that simply researching the type of fish (such as 'tang') will NOT give you sufficient information about the specific species. Some anthias (and pseudanthias) are fairly relaxed...while others can be real hellions. Know your fish to detail before even shopping for them, and never rely on store caresheets or advice.

Choose an order to stock in. The most aggressive fish should go last, while more peaceful or timid fish should be near the front UNLESS they have a requirement for a more established tank, etc. It's a balancing act.

And always, always, always quarantine new arrivals. Yes, it's a pain, but it's incredibly difficult to cure most diseases once they've entered your reef tank without killing everything else while you're at it.

Biggest thing? GO SLOW. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

Check out mrsaltwatertank's channel on YouTube for lots of solid reefkeeping info and tips.