Need advice on stocking up my 220g reef

[blackstallion]

My reef tank has been up and running for 1 year with LPS and soft coral but minimal fish. Right now I have a healthy and fairly large 4"+ Sailfin Tang and one very small 1" black oscellaris clown. I am trying to figure out what fish I can add and in what quantities to help reduce fighting when I introduce them. I want to add some more Tang's and am considering a Yellow Tang and a Hippo Tang. I also want to add some Anthias, maybe 3 or 4. Question is, would it be best to introduce ALL of these at once to help distribute any aggression between the current inhabitants and whatever I add?

 

[Chef Mateo]

My reef tank has been up and running for 1 year with LPS and soft coral but minimal fish. Right now I have a healthy and fairly large 4"+ Sailfin Tang and one very small 1" black oscellaris clown. I am trying to figure out what fish I can add and in what quantities to help reduce fighting when I introduce them. I want to add some more Tang's and am considering a Yellow Tang and a Hippo Tang. I also want to add some Anthias, maybe 3 or 4. Question is, would it be best to introduce ALL of these at once to help distribute any aggression between the current inhabitants and whatever I add?

Nice looking tank!

It would be better to add the anthias together and the tangs together (not the anthias with the tangs)

You may want to use an acclimation box to make sure the Sailfin isn't aggressive to the new tangs.

You should add the tangs last as the tangs may be a bit aggressive to newcomers.

 

[DSEKULA]

If you can I'd add the anthias. Pull the sailfin and keep in the sump or something similar then re add with the new tangs (if possible). Obviously if your planning on qt which I'd recommend espically with the tangs you'd have to time out the addition etc.
Btw, nice looking tank

 

[blackstallion]

Nice looking tank!

It would be better to add the anthias together and the tangs together (not the anthias with the tangs)

You may want to use an acclimation box to make sure the Sailfin isn't aggressive to the new tangs.

You should add the tangs last as the tangs may be a bit aggressive to newcomers.

Adding the Anthias first is probably a good idea. Just dreading adding the Tang's and there being all out war.

Thanks for the compliment on the tank, I just posted my first build thread here:

Large Build - 220g Dream Reef next door

I wanted to introduce myself and my story of becoming the owner of a reef tank overnight. About a year ago, my neighbor purchased a complete 220g reef tank setup from an LFS. I remember seeing it delivered to his house and WISHING it was me, even my wife was impressed with the tank! About 8...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Apropor]

Long nosed hawk fish along with a screen cover!

 

[blackstallion]

If you can I'd add the anthias. Pull the sailfin and keep in the sump or something similar then re add with the new tangs (if possible). Obviously if your planning on qt which I'd recommend espically with the tangs you'd have to time out the addition etc.
Btw, nice looking tank

Keeping fish in the sump? I didn't realize that was possible. How would one go about this? And I assume it would only be for a limited time.

BTW Thanks for the compliment on the tank, just posted my build thread here:

Large Build - 220g Dream Reef next door

I wanted to introduce myself and my story of becoming the owner of a reef tank overnight. About a year ago, my neighbor purchased a complete 220g reef tank setup from an LFS. I remember seeing it delivered to his house and WISHING it was me, even my wife was impressed with the tank! About 8...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Ocelaris]

Do all the tangs at once in quarantine. That's what I did and it's been great. I have a yellow, Naso, vlamingi, bristle tooth, pacific blue (Dori), a magnificent fox face, a chocolate and a sailfin and they've all been fine for the past 18 months. They went through quarantine in a 110 and transitioned nicely. My best advice that I was given was to get as many different tangs for algae cleanup and they absolutely do their job. Maybe I should not have gotten the vlamingi, as she's getting too big now in my 250, but I love her anyways. There's some algae where they can't reach, but those days of algae worries are over. I wish I had gotten a copper band at the same time, but that's a lot of tangs, so I'm happy they're civil.

 

[TaiN]

Nice tank, I would try to pair up your clown and maybe add a wrasse or wrasses dependent on the specie.

 

[Zionas]

Is it a 7 foot or 8 foot tank?

If you want to add the Yellow maybe put it in an acclimation box and see how the Sailfin treats it as they’re both Zebrasoma.

Definitely add the Anthias together, make sure there is only one male. You could even mix species of Anthias, if they’re smaller. For example, you could totally do a larger number of a small species like Red Belt or Barlett’s Anthias, maybe the Dispar too, and 3-4 of a slightly larger species like the Lyretails (Indian Ocean or Pacific).

For another schooling fish, if you want speed and activity, a group of Azure, Talbot’s, Springer’s, Rolland’s Damsels would be an option. Chromis I’m not so sure they’re more hit or miss and can be prone to uronema. If you like fish that hover in the water column, a group of Pajama, Yellow Striped, or some other Cardinalfish species work well.

If you want a Dottyback, most people say the Orchid is the most peaceful.

Definitely pair the Clown.


As for wrasses the vast majority of wrasses will be open to you for a 220g. I would suggest not adding the Rockmover / Dragon Wrasse or any of those in the same genus as they get large and are predatory and love to move rocks. Not really reef safe. Not sure about the Razorfish but I wouldn’t assume they’re reef safe either. Depending on how many wrasses you want to add..... you can do a couple of large ones like the Harlequin Tusk or a number of smaller ones.

You can keep more than few Halichoeres wrasses, Fairy Wrasses, Flasher Wrasses, Maori Wrasses etc. in a 220. If you want to go for an aggressive or semi-aggressive tank you can also consider Thalassoma Wrasses and the Lined Wrasses or Bodianus spp. AKA Hogfish.

If you’re up for a challenge and don’t want an overly aggressive tank you can add some Leopard Wrasses just make sure they’re feeding at the LFS. If not you may need to initiate a feeding response with live foods for a finicky one.

Genicanthus spp. angelfish, Yellow Pyramid / Zoster Butterflyfish look great in pairs, trios, for your tank if it’s 7’ or 8’ maybe even 4 but I’m not sure. For Genicanthus spp. if you want to keep more than one, stick to the Spotbreast, Watanabei’s, Bellus or Red Sea Lyretails. Maybe the Masked Swallowtail too. Lamarck’s are the largest out of these following species.

If you can find them, a pair of Schooling Bannerfish (Heniochus diphreutes) also make a great choice. I say a pair because they get larger than the Yellow Pyramid / Zoster Butterflyfish.

Rabbitfish, especially the Foxface species (Lo, One Spot, Majestic, Fiji Bicolor) and maybe a couple of the non-Foxface species would also be great additions. Since they have poisonous spines they may stand a better chance against your established Sailfin just in case it decides to get confrontational.

Blue Throat Triggerfish are the smallest and among the most peaceful and reef-safe triggerfish. The Crosshatch are beautiful but they get larger, are rarer (deepwater species), and much more expensive. Sargassum Triggerfish also get larger than the Blue Throat, I think. A pair of Blue Throats would do well in your 220, if you want to keep a single one that’s also fine.

As for smaller fish pretty much anything will work for a 220. Hawkfish (Flame and Long Nose the most peaceful), Shrimp Gobies (all gobies really), Blennies, lots of options here. I don’t know if adding any Firefish would be a good idea considering the presence of an established Sailfin Tang, they can be overly skittish. Basslets would be great. If you can culture a good population of pods, Mandarins and other Dragonet species will be an option.

Marine Bettas are really awesome. Best to find one that’s taking at least frozen foods at your LFS or even better an ORA Captive Bred one, once established they’re about the most bulletproof fish you can find.

Bristletooth Tangs would be yet another option. Yellow Eye Kole, Indian Ocean Bristletooth, Tomini, White Tail etc. all don’t get too large.

If you feel confident in your disease prevention skills, Acanthurus Tangs can work too. If assuming you have an 8’ tank, then maybe a Blue Hippo. If you want easy fish though, not sure if any Acanthurus or the Blue Hippo would be good choices for Tangs.

Hope this helps!


If you want something really unique, don’t want smaller bottom dwelling fish, are able to feed it and have really good filtration, maybe even a Snowflake Moray but Eels are really straining on your biological filtration so it basically comes down to 1 of two paths:

1. Have only a couple of larger fish with the rest being smaller to small-medium fish.


2. Have less fish overall and have a greater number of larger fish.

 

[blackstallion]

Is it a 7 foot or 8 foot tank?

If you want to add the Yellow maybe put it in an acclimation box and see how the Sailfin treats it as they’re both Zebrasoma.

Definitely add the Anthias together, make sure there is only one male.

Definitely pair the Clown.


As for wrasses the vast majority of wrasses will be open to you for a 220g. I would suggest not adding the Rockmover / Dragon Wrasse or any of those in the same genus as they get large and are predatory and love to move rocks. Not really reef safe. Not sure about the Razorfish but I wouldn’t assume they’re reef safe either. Depending on how many wrasses you want to add..... you can do a couple of large ones like the Harlequin Tusk or a number of smaller ones.

You can keep more than few Halichoeres wrasses, Fairy Wrasses, Flasher Wrasses, Maori Wrasses etc. in a 220. If you want to go for an aggressive or semi-aggressive tank you can also consider Thalassoma Wrasses and the Lined Wrasses or Bodianus spp. AKA Hogfish.

If you’re up for a challenge and don’t want an overly aggressive tank you can add some Leopard Wrasses just make sure they’re feeding at the LFS. If not you may need to initiate a feeding response with live foods for a finicky one.

Genicanthus spp. angelfish, Yellow Pyramid / Zoster Butterflyfish look great in pairs, trios, for your tank if it’s 7’ or 8’ maybe even 4 but I’m not sure. For Genicanthus spp. if you want to keep more than one, stick to the Spotbreast, Watanabei’s, Bellus or Red Sea Lyretails. Maybe the Masked Swallowtail too. Lamarck’s are the largest out of these following species.

If you can find them, a pair of Schooling Bannerfish (Heniochus diphreutes) also make a great choice. I say a pair because they get larger than the Yellow Pyramid / Zoster Butterflyfish.

Rabbitfish, especially the Foxface species (Lo, One Spot, Majestic, Fiji Bicolor) and maybe a couple of the non-Foxface species would also be great additions. Since they have poisonous spines they may stand a better chance against your established Sailfin just in case it decides to get confrontational.

Blue Throat Triggerfish are the smallest and among the most peaceful and reef-safe triggerfish. The Crosshatch are beautiful but they get larger, are rarer (deepwater species), and much more expensive. Sargassum Triggerfish also get larger than the Blue Throat, I think. A pair of Blue Throats would do well in your 220, if you want to keep a single one that’s also fine.

As for smaller fish pretty much anything will work for a 220. Hawkfish (Flame and Long Nose the most peaceful), Shrimp Gobies (all gobies really), Blennies, lots of options here. I don’t know if adding any Firefish would be a good idea considering the presence of an established Sailfin Tang, they can be overly skittish. Basslets would be great. If you can culture a good population of pods, Mandarins and other Dragonet species will be an option.

Marine Bettas are really awesome. Best to find one that’s taking at least frozen foods at your LFS or even better an ORA Captive Bred one, once established they’re about the most bulletproof fish you can find.

Bristletooth Tangs would be yet another option. Yellow Eye Kole, Indian Ocean Bristletooth, Tomini, White Tail etc. all don’t get too large.

If you feel confident in your disease prevention skills, Acanthurus Tangs can work too. If assuming you have an 8’ tank, then maybe a Blue Hippo. If you want easy fish though, not sure if any Acanthurus or the Blue Hippo would be good choices for Tangs.

Hope this helps!


If you want something really unique, don’t want smaller bottom dwelling fish, are able to feed it and have really good filtration, maybe even a Snowflake Moray but Eels are really straining on your biological filtration so it basically comes down to 1 of two paths:

1. Have only a couple of larger fish with the rest being smaller to small-medium fish.


2. Have less fish overall and have a greater number of larger fish.

This is a Marineland 220g with dimensions L72" x W24" x H30"...so 6'.

 

[Zionas]

That’s a bit short for a 220 gal with most of the extra water volume going to height. A bit awkward to work with if you ask me but I guess it is what it is. Usually I’d expect a tank of your size to be 7’ or 8’ in length.

Most of the options I’ve listed still work though, but for a 6’ tank with dimensions not too far off from a standard 180 (72x24x24) I would personally cap it at no more than 5 large fish with the rest being smaller fish 5” and below.

 

[blackstallion]

So I opted to get 3 Lyretail Anthias from an LFS, 1 male and 2 female. Long story short, they ALL died from brook AND took 2 of my clowns with them. The lone surviving tank inhabitant is my Sailfin Tang, which also got brook, BUT I put together a QT/hospital tank and am treating him. He's looking good and I'm crossing my fingers he survives! TOUGH lesson learned, ALWAYS QT and treat your fish before going into the DT.

Soooo, a little change in plans now as I have an opportunity to introduce multiple Tangs back into the tank at the same time. I'm thinking another 3 over and beyond my Sailfin (which is about 4")...although I'm thinking at first I would only add another 2 since I won't have the QT/Hospital real estate to house them prior to going into the DT.

As far as others, I'm thinking Yellow, Hippo or Powder Blue, Naso, Maybe Purple....basically a good mix between the "round" bodied and "oval" bodied.

What do you think my plan should be?

 

[Ocelaris]

One of each of the genus, i.e. one or two zebrasoma (, yellow, purple or sailfin ), one Acanthurus (although very prone to disease and difficult, might try a mimic tang which is calm and easier), one Ctenochaetus (kole tang etc...) , and a Paracanthurus (Pacific Blue). Always add least aggressive first to most aggressive last if releasing at different times. The Sailfin will count as aggressive. You'll need to add all the tangs at once, i'd suggest taking all the tangs through quarantine and releasing together.

If I was a betting man, a yellow or purple, a kole (or other Ctenochaetus), pacific blue (Dori) and then pick yourself a fun Acanthurus. powder Blue are notoriously ich magnets, and similarly Achilles are pretty aggressive. In fact most Acanthurus are pretty agressive, hence the suggestion for a mimic tang which is really pretty docile. Or a Naso would be fun, mine is really peaceful. Just don't get a Vlamingi, even though it's an awesome peaceful fish, they get too big too fast.

I have a Yellow, Yellow eye kole, sailfin, pacific blue, mimic, blonde naso and vlaminigi. The Sailfin is starting to get big and becoming a bully, so my two Nasos (Vlaminigi is also a Naso) keep him in line a little bit.

 

[Brew12]

So I opted to get 3 Lyretail Anthias from an LFS, 1 male and 2 female. Long story short, they ALL died from brook AND took 2 of my clowns with them. The lone surviving tank inhabitant is my Sailfin Tang, which also got brook, BUT I put together a QT/hospital tank and am treating him. He's looking good and I'm crossing my fingers he survives! TOUGH lesson learned, ALWAYS QT and treat your fish before going into the DT.

Soooo, a little change in plans now as I have an opportunity to introduce multiple Tangs back into the tank at the same time. I'm thinking another 3 over and beyond my Sailfin (which is about 4")...although I'm thinking at first I would only add another 2 since I won't have the QT/Hospital real estate to house them prior to going into the DT.

As far as others, I'm thinking Yellow, Hippo or Powder Blue, Naso, Maybe Purple....basically a good mix between the "round" bodied and "oval" bodied.

What do you think my plan should be?

In a 6' tank I wouldn't put more than 1 larger tang. I think you could do a Hippo, Powder Blue, or Naso but not 2 or more from this selection. You could do multiple yellows or a mixture of yellows and purples if you add them at the same time. You could do Yellow/Purple tangs, a Hippo tang, and Convict tang. And it's almost always safe to add a Bristletooth. Sailfin's are hit or miss on how they react to Yellow and Purple tangs so if you are going to go that route, I would add them at the same time you reintroduce your sailfin to the DT.
As for Anthias... you can try Lyretails again if you want, but for most other Anthias I would wait for the tank to mature. They are a fish I love and still struggle to keep.

 

[blackstallion]

One of each of the genus, i.e. one or two zebrasoma (, yellow, purple or sailfin ), one Acanthurus (although very prone to disease and difficult, might try a mimic tang which is calm and easier), one Ctenochaetus (kole tang etc...) , and a Paracanthurus (Pacific Blue). Always add least aggressive first to most aggressive last if releasing at different times. The Sailfin will count as aggressive. You'll need to add all the tangs at once, i'd suggest taking all the tangs through quarantine and releasing together.

If I was a betting man, a yellow or purple, a kole (or other Ctenochaetus), pacific blue (Dori) and then pick yourself a fun Acanthurus. powder Blue are notoriously ich magnets, and similarly Achilles are pretty aggressive. In fact most Acanthurus are pretty agressive, hence the suggestion for a mimic tang which is really pretty docile. Or a Naso would be fun, mine is really peaceful. Just don't get a Vlamingi, even though it's an awesome peaceful fish, they get too big too fast.

I have a Yellow, Yellow eye kole, sailfin, pacific blue, mimic, blonde naso and vlaminigi. The Sailfin is starting to get big and becoming a bully, so my two Nasos (Vlaminigi is also a Naso) keep him in line a little bit.

Hum, I like your advice, but I will only have one 20g long and one 10g tank to treat and QT at the same time.

Seems like the overall advice is introduce least aggressive to most aggressive. Is there a list anywhere that ranks aggression?

So, I will need to decide which two additional Tang's to introduce initially with the Sailfin, keeping in mind I may consider adding additional at a later time. I'm thinking Yellow and maybe Pacific blue? I really would love to have the Powder blue eventually and I like the blonde naso.

 

[blackstallion]

In a 6' tank I wouldn't put more than 1 larger tang. I think you could do a Hippo, Powder Blue, or Naso but not 2 or more from this selection. You could do multiple yellows or a mixture of yellows and purples if you add them at the same time. You could do Yellow/Purple tangs, a Hippo tang, and Convict tang. And it's almost always safe to add a Bristletooth. Sailfin's are hit or miss on how they react to Yellow and Purple tangs so if you are going to go that route, I would add them at the same time you reintroduce your sailfin to the DT.
As for Anthias... you can try Lyretails again if you want, but for most other Anthias I would wait for the tank to mature. They are a fish I love and still struggle to keep.

Hum, so no Powder blue if I do a Hippo. Thinking a Yellow along with a Powder Blue (or Hippo) initially when I reintroduce the Sailfin?

What about sizes? My Sailfin is about 4", is there a way I can play around with which sizes of Tang I get to ease the introduction?

 

[Ocelaris]

It's not powder blue or pacific I think that brew was saying, just that acanthrus in general need a lot of space. I love the powder blue and Achilles, but they can get mean (never had either, but I avoided them for this reason). The powder blue and Achilles also are tremendous swimmers, so might be small. Personally, I think you would be fine with both, but I hesitate on the powder blue due to their susceptibility to ich.

Yes, timid to aggressive is the way to go. So probably yellow or purple and a kole at the same time through quarantine and then into the display at the same time. Getting the sailfin not to bully the yellow through quarantine may be tough though. If you get a larger tang than the sailfin, it shouldn't be an issue. My sailfin harasses the smaller tangs, but there are enough that it doesn't bother them.

There isaa good thread on tang aggression, just search for tang aggression and it should pop up.

 

[Zionas]

Among the Tangs: Acanthurus and Naso are more open water swimmers than Zebrasoma and Cthenochaetus I think. So yes I’d give them more space. Is your 220g a 7 foot tank?

 

[Brew12]

Hum, so no Powder blue if I do a Hippo. Thinking a Yellow along with a Powder Blue (or Hippo) initially when I reintroduce the Sailfin?

What about sizes? My Sailfin is about 4", is there a way I can play around with which sizes of Tang I get to ease the introduction?

The Powder Blue and Brown tangs are known to be very aggressive. I'm not sure I would try either of them in a 6' tank with any other tangs. I have a 5', 187g tank with a Hippo, 2 yellow, and a yellow eyed kole tang. They get along fine. I had a Convict also, but I was gone for a few days and my autofeeder failed. The Hippo killed the Convict. Before that, there was absolutely no aggression.
The lesson I learned is that with a larger tang in a 5' or 6' tank you can mix quite a few tangs as long as you keep everyone well fed and are careful with stocking. Just be aware that you are living on a fairly fine edge. Even if they don't attack each other, they can induce stress on each other making them more susceptible to disease.
I highly recommend the combination of Hippo, Yellow, Convict and Kole tangs because they are among the most peaceful of each type. If you want a tank full of tangs that is. In a tank your size you might be able to get away with a few yellows and convicts if you add each type at the same time.

 

[blackstallion]

Among the Tangs: Acanthurus and Naso are more open water swimmers than Zebrasoma and Cthenochaetus I think. So yes I’d give them more space. Is your 220g a 7 foot tank?

6 foot