Need help with a stocking list for my 85 gallon!!!

[Herbie's Reef]

I would replace the Blue Spotted Jawfish with the Yellow Head Jawfish. The blue spots aren’t suitable for our reefs and need a temperate tank to thrive, in our warm water reefs they get impacted long term. In summer these guys are alright in 68-72°F but for the rest of the year you’ll want to keep them in 62°F.

I'll look into the yellow head jawfish. I have seen that blue spotted jawfish are a little more difficult but I didn't know they needed cooler water too. Probably gonna cross the blue spot off of my list and look into the yellow head now instead. Thank you!

 

[littlefoxx]

Hello everyone! I have recently started my first reef tank and am working on the stocking list. The tank is 85 gallons with the dimensions of 41" length x 24" width x 22" height. I plan on keeping a 1-2" sand bed for the various wrasses I want to keep and am currently building an NSA aquascape for my tank. My current plans for stocking list are down below:

for sure want to have:

• One spot foxface (willing to trade into lfs if gets too big)
• White tail bristle tooth tang
• pair of ocellaris clownfish
• earmuff wrasse
• melanurus wrasse
• mcCosker's flasher wrasse
• mystery wrasse
• mandarin dragonet (when I have a large enough pod population ofc)
• midas blenny
• longnose hawkfish
• pistol shrimp and wheeler goby pair (if the melanurus wrasse or hawkfish don't go after the shrimp?)

want to have if space allows/considering:

• biota yellow tang (will get small and trade in lfs when it gets too big)
• lawnmower blenny
• royal gramma
• blue dot jawfish
• trio of lyretail anthias (only if I decided to not go with other larger fish already on my list)
• leopard wrasse (would swap out for another wrasse)
• golden rhomboid wrasse(would swap out for another wrasse)
• excuisite wrasse(would swap out for another wrasse
• scooter blenny

This is the rough outline for all the fish I want to keep and I want to know your opinions and if you see any issues with overstocking/aggression.
I am also open to other fish suggestions too.
Thank You!!!

I would not get the fox face, they get big very fast. Long nose hawk fish go after shrimp and corals. Too many wrasse, more wrasse experts probably will jump in but they are picky about what wrasses they play nice with, and some of those are pretty big for your tank. Tangs grow very fast too. You should re consider getting fish too big for your tank, catching them usually means tearing down your aqua scape to get them out and they probably would outgrow this tank in under a year. One blenny in that size tank is probably best. Midas blenny es are awesome!

 

[Herbie's Reef]

I would not get the fox face, they get big very fast. Long nose hawk fish go after shrimp and corals. Too many wrasse, more wrasse experts probably will jump in but they are picky about what wrasses they play nice with, and some of those are pretty big for your tank. Tangs grow very fast too. You should re consider getting fish too big for your tank, catching them usually means tearing down your aqua scape to get them out and they probably would outgrow this tank in under a year. One blenny in that size tank is probably best. Midas blenny es are awesome!

I did end up with a final stocking list later in the thread. I do understand that fox face get big but I am getting a one spot, the smallest one of them all and plan to get it small and if need be, I will catch and replace him in a few years. I do know about the concerns with hawk fish and shrimp and currently have 2 very large cleaner shrimp that I don't think the hawk could ever eat. Also I don't believe I have ever heard that hawk fish go after coral only that some larger LPS and anemones can eat them, I will have to look into that. Thanks for the tip. The wrasses were also trimmed down in the final list to a single Halichores iridis and two fairy/flasher wrasses. The yellow tang was removed from the list and there is now only a white tail bristle tooth tang in the list which I think would be a suitable size, if not then once again in a few years time I am fine with attempting to catch and trade him in. Also I did decide to remove the flasher wrasse from the "final" list earlier in the thread and only add one if there is no aggression. I replaced it with another fairy wrasse because I could not choose between either the hooded flame or the golden rhomboid and wanted both. I suppose I could also post the stocking list again. Oh and yes Midas blennies are extremely cool. I have seen a few in person and they look amazing but always seem to hide. Thanks for the response!

Stocking list:

• One spot foxface
• white tail bristletooth tang
• iridis wrasse(recommended by LPS lover)
• Hooded flame fairy wrasse (less aggressive fairy)
• Golden Rhomboid fairy wrasse(less aggressive fairy and far away from the hooded flame on the fairy wrasse species diagram)
• one pair of wyoming white clownfish
• longnose hawkfish
• midas blenny
• royal gramma

I will introduce these fish in small batches with what I believe to be less aggressive and territorial fish first and the more aggressive ones last
the first batch will include the hawkfish, the pair of clowns, the midas blenny, and the royal gramma
the second batch will include all three wrasses
the last batch will have the tang and the foxface

This will be the initial stocking list
If everything goes to plan and there is minimal aggression I will then begin to add the following fish

• bells flasher wrasse

This will then complete the stocking list however I would still like to CONSIDER the following fish. I will only add these fish though if there are very few aggression problems and if I believe the tank can handle these fish after completing the stocking.

• mandarin dragonet (will only add if there are sufficient copepods in my system)
• yellow head jawfish
• goby and pistol shrimp pair
• pintail fairy wrasse\
• naoko wrasse(probably not because of its aggression but it is a very cool fish)

If any of these final fish were to be added it would most likely only be one of them and once again I would only add them after everything else had been added and if I do not see any substantial signs of aggression.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions and help with perfecting this list.

 

[littlefoxx]

I did end up with a final stocking list later in the thread. I do understand that fox face get big but I am getting a one spot, the smallest one of them all and plan to get it small and if need be, I will catch and replace him in a few years. I do know about the concerns with hawk fish and shrimp and currently have 2 very large cleaner shrimp that I don't think the hawk could ever eat. Also I don't believe I have ever heard that hawk fish go after coral only that some larger LPS and anemones can eat them, I will have to look into that. Thanks for the tip. The wrasses were also trimmed down in the final list to a single Halichores iridis and two fairy/flasher wrasses. The yellow tang was removed from the list and there is now only a white tail bristle tooth tang in the list which I think would be a suitable size, if not then once again in a few years time I am fine with attempting to catch and trade him in. Also I did decide to remove the flasher wrasse from the "final" list earlier in the thread and only add one if there is no aggression. I replaced it with another fairy wrasse because I could not choose between either the hooded flame or the golden rhomboid and wanted both. I suppose I could also post the stocking list again. Oh and yes Midas blennies are extremely cool. I have seen a few in person and they look amazing but always seem to hide. Thanks for the response!

Stocking list:

• One spot foxface
• white tail bristletooth tang
• iridis wrasse(recommended by LPS lover)
• Hooded flame fairy wrasse (less aggressive fairy)
• Golden Rhomboid fairy wrasse(less aggressive fairy and far away from the hooded flame on the fairy wrasse species diagram)
• one pair of wyoming white clownfish
• longnose hawkfish
• midas blenny
• royal gramma

I will introduce these fish in small batches with what I believe to be less aggressive and territorial fish first and the more aggressive ones last
the first batch will include the hawkfish, the pair of clowns, the midas blenny, and the royal gramma
the second batch will include all three wrasses
the last batch will have the tang and the foxface

This will be the initial stocking list
If everything goes to plan and there is minimal aggression I will then begin to add the following fish

• bells flasher wrasse

This will then complete the stocking list however I would still like to CONSIDER the following fish. I will only add these fish though if there are very few aggression problems and if I believe the tank can handle these fish after completing the stocking.

• mandarin dragonet (will only add if there are sufficient copepods in my system)
• yellow head jawfish
• goby and pistol shrimp pair
• pintail fairy wrasse\
• naoko wrasse(probably not because of its aggression but it is a very cool fish)

If any of these final fish were to be added it would most likely only be one of them and once again I would only add them after everything else had been added and if I do not see any substantial signs of aggression.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions and help with perfecting this list.

Seems like a good list to me! I have heard that all wrasses need to be added at the same time, so if you want the other one I would probably just add it at the same time as the others. My cousin added 3 wrasses and they were all fine and 2 months later added another and it all went to hell very fast, which Ive heard from a lot tends to happen. Its also why I havnt put any in my tanks, maybe someone with more wrasse experience will chime in on that.

I dont know if money is an issue but with the Hawaii thing going on white tail bristle tooth tangs are expensiveeee and hard to find. A blue eye kole or a tomini would also be good for your tank as well if you cant get your hands on a white tail.

Also midas blennies are shy at first but when comfortable are very bold fish and often swim in open waters. This is mine, Mo. unfortunately I had an angel bring velvet in the tank and he died, but I have to get another. He was one of my favorite fish

 

[Tcook]

Just something to think about. The clowns, hawkfish, and gramma can be quite territorial. I would pick 1 from that category if you plan on having a lot of fish. The yellow coris and hooded flame are quite peaceful and should do well. Your tank may be a bit short for flashers that shoot around like torpedoes. You don’t want a $1500 bell’s bouncing off the glass. I love anthias so i think the 3 lyretails would look great in the midfle of the water column. Avoid the sand sifters if you want to keep trachys, scolys, acanthos etc. Sandbed real estate is at a premium

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Just something to think about. The clowns, hawkfish, and gramma can be quite territorial. I would pick 1 from that category if you plan on having a lot of fish. The yellow coris and hooded flame are quite peaceful and should do well. Your tank may be a bit short for flashers that shoot around like torpedoes. You don’t want a $1500 bell’s bouncing off the glass. I love anthias so i think the 3 lyretails would look great in the midfle of the water column. Avoid the sand sifters if you want to keep trachys, scolys, acanthos etc. Sandbed real estate is at a premium

I was worried about having the hawkfish and royal gramma in the tank together as to my understanding they are more rock dwelling and with the aqua scape that I went with I actually don't have a ton of caves or hiding places. The only problem is that I really love royal grammas, hawkfish, and already have two clowns in QT. I just don't know what I would replace them with as the secondary fish for my list are all fairly large and not exactly an equal substitute. I really want the hawkfish, I would be okay without the royal gramma though. Any suggestions on fish that would be suitable for my stocking list if I removed the royal gramma and a hawkfish or just removed the royal gramma? And yes I do love anthias too but with the final stocking list I don't believe that there would be any room to add some. Even though I do enjoy trachys, scolys, and acanthos I actually don't plan on keeping any as the entire plan for my reef is SPS only with maybe a few higher light LPS such as torches and maybe a chalice. So sand sifters such as a yellow headed jawfish I don't think should be too much of an issue if I do get one. Lastly I'm surprised that a flasher may be too large for my reef as to my understanding they require even less room than most fairy wrasses. Idk but I'll look into it more and see if a flasher is suitable. Thanks for the response!!!

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Seems like a good list to me! I have heard that all wrasses need to be added at the same time, so if you want the other one I would probably just add it at the same time as the others. My cousin added 3 wrasses and they were all fine and 2 months later added another and it all went to hell very fast, which Ive heard from a lot tends to happen. Its also why I havnt put any in my tanks, maybe someone with more wrasse experience will chime in on that.

I dont know if money is an issue but with the Hawaii thing going on white tail bristle tooth tangs are expensiveeee and hard to find. A blue eye kole or a tomini would also be good for your tank as well if you cant get your hands on a white tail.

Also midas blennies are shy at first but when comfortable are very bold fish and often swim in open waters. This is mine, Mo. unfortunately I had an angel bring velvet in the tank and he died, but I have to get another. He was one of my favorite fish

Thanks for the response!
I do plan on adding all the wrasses at the same time unless I add another one later. So I should be fine in the beginning but will have to watch out for that a year or two down the road if I ever choose to add another.

I believe that white tails have gone down in price a bit since the ban, plus my LFS gets them in regularly with almost 1 or 2 coming in and being sold every week. I am more worried about the price on some of the wrasses that I have chosen.

Good to hear that midas blennies can be open swimmers. Wonder how active it will be with a few wrasses in the tank? It is a very beautiful fish and I would love to see it swim around a lot. Sorry to hear about Mo but he does look very pretty in the image. Hope you can get another midas blenny!

 

[littlefoxx]

Thanks for the response!
I do plan on adding all the wrasses at the same time unless I add another one later. So I should be fine in the beginning but will have to watch out for that a year or two down the road if I ever choose to add another.

I believe that white tails have gone down in price a bit since the ban, plus my LFS gets them in regularly with almost 1 or 2 coming in and being sold every week. I am more worried about the price on some of the wrasses that I have chosen.

Good to hear that midas blennies can be open swimmers. Wonder how active it will be with a few wrasses in the tank? It is a very beautiful fish and I would love to see it swim around a lot. Sorry to hear about Mo but he does look very pretty in the image. Hope you can get another midas blenny!

So I had him with a dwarf angel and baby mimic tang who were very active swimmers and would swim together, Mo sometimes got scared and would go in his hole but not for long. He was extremely active