Wanting thoughts to this planned inhabitant list

Aheinz · Jun 26, 2019

so the list is in my planned build thread for an upgrade to a frag 60.3 by waterbox. I want opinions on the list and suggestiosn for fish I may not have thought about, as well as the number of fish, etc.

Fish (all with ? are possible, * indicates want)
Flame Angel(? researchign due to tendencies to nip at corals, clams etc)
Royal Gramma or black cap*
2 clowns* (1 will be a transfer from my 20g, the other will be added as a juvenile)
1-2 blue sapphire damsels* (1 from current tank
1 jawfish (blue dot, or pearly)*
1 shrimp goby*
bicolor blenny, or sailfin blenny
1-2 dragonets (once tank is established)
reef safe wrasse?
cardinal fish

while a Valentini puffer would be awesome, just worried about waste/ possible effects to corals inverts etc

nereefpat · Jun 26, 2019

One of the smaller dwarf angels like flameback or cherub would be a better fit for the tank. There is always a risk with corals, as you said.
You are right to worry about the puffer and inverts, in my opinion.

Everything else looks fine.

Reef safe wrasse suggestions would be:
Small fairy wrasse like lubbock's or pintail
or, if you have sand, one of the smaller Halichoeres wrasses like chrysus, biocellatus, luecoxanthus

Aheinz · Jun 26, 2019

nereefpat said:
One of the smaller dwarf angels like flameback or cherub would be a better fit for the tank. There is always a risk with corals, as you said.
You are right to worry about the puffer and inverts, in my opinion.

Everything else looks fine.

Reef safe wrasse suggestions would be:
Small fairy wrasse like lubbock's or pintail
or, if you have sand, one of the smaller Halichoeres wrasses like chrysus, biocellatus, luecoxanthus

I'm planning to have sand, I personally am not a fan of bare bottom, and angel fish wise I was looking at the dwarfs, no way would a shallow reef tank of that size be able to house a larger angel species, Flame angel, is prolyl my top pick, they are so bright. I'll need to look at the wrasses you have suggested. the six-line I'm not a fan of from what I've read about them

Jesterrace · Jun 27, 2019

The other thing to consider is that the Flame tends to be one of the more aggressive dwarf angels and that 3 foot length is going to make it feel cramped over time (ideally they should have a tank 4 feet long or longer). They are small fish but are very active and have big attitudes. The Cherubfish would be my number 1 pick for a tank of that size as they tend to have temperaments that are a bit better are less prone to nipping and are hardier to boot (the Flame Angel can be delicate). The Flameback is a cool looking pygmy but has lots of complaints for aggression. For Jawfish definitely go with the pearly as it's much cheaper to buy and is better suited for reef conditions. Blue Spot are spendy and are ideally suited to tanks that are a bit colder than reefs are kept at (they like about 74 degrees). The Blue Spot don't tend to last as long in reef temp tanks. Dragonets are a gamble in that size of a tank as they need to feed constantly. If you do get one ONLY GET ONE. They need to feed near constantly during the waking hours and a tank of that size is questionable for having a sustainable pod population and adapting them to frozen isn't much better as you will need to be there to feed them many times throughout the day. As for the Reef Safe Wrasse? The Lubbock's would be an excellent all around choice for that size of a tank as it's affordable, colorful and just an all around good fit. Here is an example of one:

Aheinz · Jun 27, 2019

Jesterrace said:
The other thing to consider is that the Flame tends to be one of the more aggressive dwarf angels and that 3 foot length is going to make it feel cramped over time (ideally they should have a tank 4 feet long or longer). They are small fish but are very active and have big attitudes. The Cherubfish would be my number 1 pick for a tank of that size as they tend to have temperaments that are a bit better are less prone to nipping and are hardier to boot (the Flame Angel can be delicate). The Flameback is a cool looking pygmy but has lots of complaints for aggression. For Jawfish definitely go with the pearly as it's much cheaper to buy and is better suited for reef conditions. Blue Spot are spendy and are ideally suited to tanks that are a bit colder than reefs are kept at (they like about 74 degrees). The Blue Spot don't tend to last as long in reef temp tanks. Dragonets are a gamble in that size of a tank as they need to feed constantly. If you do get one ONLY GET ONE. They need to feed near constantly during the waking hours and a tank of that size is questionable for having a sustainable pod population and adapting them to frozen isn't much better as you will need to be there to feed them many times throughout the day. As for the Reef Safe Wrasse? The Lubbock's would be an excellent all around choice for that size of a tank as it's affordable, colorful and just an all around good fit. Here is an example of one:

Thank you, for the dragonet I know I put 1-2 but inwas leaning more towards one, I'm planning to wait till the tank is established and possibly with me growing culturing phyto and pods to be able to help sustain the dragonet. As for the angel good to know about the cherub.