Order of addition and stocking list help

[Lindsay1126]

So I have come up with a new list and would love some idea of which to add first to last. I know the common rule of most aggressive Last usually tangs, but there are ones that are in between I'm wondering about. I have a 29 gallon quarantine completely cycled. My 120 is going to start cycling this weekend. I was hoping to add them in groups of about 3(except for chromis). Here's what I was thinking.

1. Scissortail dartfish
2. 7 green chromis
3. Royal gramma
4. Sleeper gold head goby
5. Maybe a midas blenny or lawnmower
6. Long nose hawkfish
7. Fairy wrasse of some kind
8. Flasher wrasse of some kind
9. Pair of ocellarious clowns
10. Cardinal fish of some kind
11. Splendid or neon dotty back
12. Yello eye kole tang

Is this too many? Does it look OK? My display tank is a 4x2x2 120 gallon. I am finishing up aquascape and will start cycle this weekend. I have an eshopps x220 skimmer, a 40 gallon sump with most of that being a refugium as I will be running Triton (hopefully I will be able to find it[emoji6]). Let me know your thoughts, experiences and or tips. Thanks.

 

[nereefpat]

That list looks pretty good to me, and it's similar to what I eventually want for my 125.

A couple comments:
Chromis - This might not work out like you hope. Some folks have reported successfully keeping them in groups. But a lot of the time chromis whittle themselves down to a couple... or even one.
Tang/lawnmower blenny - They may not tolerate each other, since they have the same food source. Aquarists report this pretty frequently. I would choose the midas blenny.

 

[Lindsay1126]

Oh good to know about the blenny. I had read that about the chromis. I really wanted anthias instead but they are so darn expensive to get a group. I may have to rethink those. My LFS said they need to be in large groups of 11+ to do well, but I don't want to dedicate that much tank space to chromis.

 

[eatbreakfast]

The dottyback is not a good fit with the gramma and the wrasses.

Flasher wrasses should go in before fairy wrasses. The hawkfish should go in before the blenny.

 

[Lindsay1126]

The dottyback is not a good fit with the gramma and the wrasses.

Flasher wrasses should go in before fairy wrasses. The hawkfish should go in before the blenny.

I was wondering about the dottyback/basslets bc they look so similar. Thank you. I will correct my order!

 

[nereefpat]

The dottyback is not a good fit with the gramma and the wrasses.

Good catch. I was going to say something about that and forgot.

I love orchid dottys (and always recommend them). Would this be ok instead?

Another option would be to skip a dotty and have a group of gramma.

 

[Lindsay1126]

Good catch. I was going to say something about that and forgot.

I love orchid dottys (and always recommend them). Would this be ok instead?

Another option would be to skip a dotty and have a group of gramma.

It says on liveaquaria that grammas need to be kept alone. Can a group of dottybacks be kept together? I really like the way some of those look, but was worried about if they'd be to aggressive. Are they like damsels, or less so?

 

[nereefpat]

It says on liveaquaria that grammas need to be kept alone. Can a group of dottybacks be kept together? I really like the way some of those look, but was worried about if they'd be to aggressive. Are they like damsels, or less so?

Grammas can be kept as a pair or a small group. Get them when small and they will sort out the sex and heirarchy.

At least certain dottybacks can be kept in a pair. I would guess that any outside the pair would not be tolerated. Also mixing dottyback species would require a lot of space.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Good catch. I was going to say something about that and forgot.

I love orchid dottys (and always recommend them). Would this be ok instead?

Another option would be to skip a dotty and have a group of gramma.

An orchid or elongatus dottyback would work.

It says on liveaquaria that grammas need to be kept alone. Can a group of dottybacks be kept together? I really like the way some of those look, but was worried about if they'd be to aggressive. Are they like damsels, or less so?

As nereefpat mentioned, grammas can be kept in a group if acquired small and added simultaneously.

Dottybacks can be kept as a pr, but they can be pretty aggressive to each other, so wouldn't recommend it for a community tank.

 

[Lindsay1126]

An orchid or elongatus dottyback would work.

As nereefpat mentioned, grammas can be kept in a group if acquired small and added simultaneously.

Dottybacks can be kept as a pr, but they can be pretty aggressive to each other, so wouldn't recommend it for a community tank.

So when you say groups do you mean just royal grammas or a group of basslets?

 

[eatbreakfast]

So when you say groups do you mean just royal grammas or a group of basslets?

A group of royal grammas.

 

[nereefpat]

Royal grammas have a famous and pretty cousin, the black cap basslett.
There are a few other relatives that we don't see in the trade.
There is also the popular chalk bass.

A pair or small group can be accomplished with these three.