Overall I think this whole conversation is a bit ridiculous, not as much because of the topic, but because of the way people are handling it. You can clearly see reading through these 4 pages that there is a solid mix of 1.) people who treat there fish like part of the family and treat their fish like they would a pet dog, 2.) people who treat their tank like an art piece/decoration and care more about the colors and movement than the health of an individual fish, and 3.) people who are so unsure of what they are doing that they treat what people say in forums as fish bible and should probably have done a bit more research before asking questions. All that being said, and to repeat what a few have pointed out already, there is never going to be a true and final decision so as much as this list is a fun way to get a topic started....it reeeaalllly doesn't mean jack.
In my OPINION, and nothing more, an aquarium, any aquarium, needs to be a solid mixture of both pet and art from beginning to end. Your rock should be set up where you have sight lines through it, the overall form is appealing and it is secure, BUT one then needs to consider is it shelter enough, have I left enough swimming room. JUST as choosing marine life should start with am I going to enjoy this fish/invert/coral is it appealing to me, is it going to keep my interest and make me want to look after its health, BUT after coming to these conclusions one must take that step back and say hey, will this fish thrive? What do I have established already? What would I like to introduce later?
When I first began my adventures in saltwater I treated it as I did a freshwater aquarium as a kid (once it was cycled and all of course) and started with the gimme that, and that, and THAT! Now I take a minimum of a week to buy anything in which I will research, put together a "cart" on a website, look at cost, go back and do more research on fish and compatibility, look at how many fish I am adding vs inverts and corals, make sure my "cleaning crew" is up to par, make adjustments to my "cart", double check everything again, and so on.
Now that I've rambled, I just added a 1.5" Sailfin Tang to my newly established 55gal. This comes after almost two years of reefing; starting at 29gal, then 46gal, and now finally a 4ft tank. Two years of desperately wanting a Sailfin, because though less rare I guess I find them to be one of the more beautiful saltwater fish I've encountered, but knowing I had not the space. Finally after setting up my new 55gal, rearranging live rock to allow for maximum hiding space while also maximizing open swimming room (NEED to find time to start a new thread BTW cause I'm pretty pumped about it), looking at what I had for marine life already, knowing I have and wouldn't have anything comparable in size, that I would be introducing both old and new marine life together, before territories were established and also that my desire to have a Sailfin and its beauty as part of the art that is my aquarium hadn't changed, I made the decision that it was right and that I could support him. Though its only been a couple weeks he looks to be happy, healthy, eating well, pulling up to the "cleaning station" established by my Skunk Cleaner shrimp quite regularly for a cleaning and even schooling with my two Clownfish, two Yellowtail Damsels and Royal Gramma (pretty cool to watch when they're all together in the current BTW).
To wrap up, again ranting (stuck at work will do that to ya), there are ideas and research and opinion, but it all comes down to what you think you can support, afford, enjoy and feel you can keep and keep healthy. Would I put a tang in less than a 4' tank? No, I waited even though I REALLY wanted one. Do I think my new little guy is doing just fine and will for quite a while? Yes I do. Do I think he will stay happy and healthy? Sure, at least for quite awhile. Do I think there may be problems down the road? Possibly, but you'd run into problems with ANYTHING, fish, dog, cat, car, life...I'm happy, my fish is happy...I'll cross other bridges when the time comes.
