New tank, what fish and in what order??

[Guest Ocean Arcade]

I have the "practice" water flowing now, I need to hook up the systems get everything set, then drain it and put in the RODI.

 

That got me thinking, after the live sand and live rock, what is the best fish and in what order should I add them?

 

Concerns:

 

630 gallon, room divider with 2 large rock piles connected by a center ridgeline (alot of negative swimming space and nooks and crannies to hide in)

 

Reef safe, as I intend to add corals.

 

Friendly tank mates with each other.

 

At least one school. I would prefer 25 green chromis (I know Josh said they might be considered boring, but I feel like they are the plain color that shows off how colorful the others are) and perhaps one other school of 12 or so.

 

Not super high difficulty, no exotic feeding, or ultra sensative water needs.

 

As many different colors and shapes of fish possible.

 

Price is not a huge concern overall.

 

What would your "ultimate" fish list be??

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

I am always in the arcade on Sundays during football if you want to stop by and check out the progress

 

Jeff

703 407 8663

[dschflier]

Where do you live? I would love to see how things are coming along.

[davelin315]

Get a school of fancy tangs... if price is not a concern, think of the possibilities. Also, in a tank the size of yours, I don't think you'll have too many fish that you would have a problem with. There's plenty of space for them to establish territories.

 

My bias is towards a school of yellow tangs (maybe 10?) and then add in other tangs that you like (I'm partial to Dussumieri tangs myself) along with a full sized angel that you can consider reef safe (hit or miss). I would also add in some anthias and some "character" fish, ones that will zip around and dart in and out. Maybe a couple of blennies, some royal grammas, assessors... man, what I would do with a tank your size!

[treesprite]

Get a school of fancy tangs... if price is not a concern, think of the possibilities. Also, in a tank the size of yours, I don't think you'll have too many fish that you would have a problem with. There's plenty of space for them to establish territories.

 

My bias is towards a school of yellow tangs (maybe 10?) and then add in other tangs that you like (I'm partial to Dussumieri tangs myself) along with a full sized angel that you can consider reef safe (hit or miss). I would also add in some anthias and some "character" fish, ones that will zip around and dart in and out. Maybe a couple of blennies, some royal grammas, assessors... man, what I would do with a tank your size!

 

 

I would definately agree with these suggestions, especially the school of yellow tangs, as that is my favorite kind of fish. You will have a tank full of sunshine with a tang school

[txaggies07]

Yellow Tang school would be the most amazing thing ever.

[dhoch]

Wow... 680 gallons....

 

Personally I like fish pairs or small harems...not large schools...

 

If I had to do a school I would consider convict tangs... not bright yellow, but very cool schooling fish... these would be more expensive than yellows, but you said price was not a concern.

 

I would put in a pair of green mandarins... they would have lots of mating room in a tank that size.

 

I would consider a pair of crosshatch triggers....

 

After that I would splash in a couple of other fish to fill it out (I like wrasses, but that's just me).

 

Dave

[lanman]

Have to agree with Dhoch to some degree. I would prefer to see two smaller schools; maybe one of chromis, and another of glassfish. Although a school of yellow tangs would be unique, and very very flashy.

 

bob

[Carl]

Jeff - Sounds like you have the water and pumps humming along - great to hear!

 

When do you start making RO/DI water?

 

Have you figured out where you'll get the rock yet?

 

-carl

[zotzer]

I love the idea of a HUGE school of glass cardinals, then maybe a smaller school of the tangs. Then consider where fish hang out in the water column and their different behaviors. Blennies, mandarins, oh...and you'd have to have a pair of clownfish and an anemone in there somewhere too, for good measure.

Tracy

[Guest Ocean Arcade]

3246 Brandy Court in Falls Church VA 22042

for those interested in seeing the tank.

 

I got into a discussion with Adam, my tank guy, about could a tank this size hold every fish Marine Depot had in the catalogue that met my requirements.

 

After counting the fish in the 06 catalogue it was only 42.

 

Would it be advisable to have say the yellow tank school of 10, another school of 15 or so then the odd pair of fish here and there, then 35 different fish?

 

What is the problem with such diversity?

 

BTW thanks for the yellow tang school idea.

 

What are the best schooling fish?

 

 

It seems like having every "type" of fish would be cool. Blennies, wrasses, tangs etc at a minimum.

 

I read the threads about every fish having a "bed" for when the lights go out. I guess if you have 80 beds you can have 80 stressfree fish? Do the schooling fish sort of bed down together?

 

Is Fish World in Richmond good for the live sand and live rock? I talked to the owner about getting 700lbs of cured rock tonga/marshall island/tonga branch (in quanities for a nice display) for about 3K. Is that good?

 

Thanks!

 

Jeff

[jamesbuf]

Thats a pretty good price if you can get nice large pieces for your display.

[discretekarma]

I just got a Clown Tang and not only is it a beautiful fish but it darts around the tank and goes back and forth and in and around all the time. Sometimes it wears me out but it is one amazing fish that I am very happy to have.

 

This is a picture I found online, not mine, but at least you can see how beautiful.

 

Edited November 1, 2007 by discretekarma

[jason the filter freak]

a harem of angels makes a nice display

[dandy7200]

I would add a school of Convict tangs, like 6 or 7. This wil take care of most all algae problems you might run into. I like to add your "dream fish" and then stock around it. I favor coral to fish so every fish must have a job in my system unless he is the chosen "dream fish" or featured specimen.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

Is Fish World in Richmond good for the live sand and live rock? I talked to the owner about getting 700lbs of cured rock tonga/marshall island/tonga branch (in quanities for a nice display) for about 3K. Is that good?

 

 

That's good price especially for cured. I believe Dr Mac has uncured for that price or better, you could check that out too (I bought a bunch from him...back in the day, I paid 2.69/lb, but it's higher now).

 

I believe he might have a volume discount too. Might give him a call. LINK

 

 

tim

[lletellier]

I would add a school of Convict tangs, like 6 or 7. This wil take care of most all algae problems you might run into. I like to add your "dream fish" and then stock around it. I favor coral to fish so every fish must have a job in my system unless he is the chosen "dream fish" or featured specimen.

 

 

hmm I wonder what dans dream fish is....

[treesprite]

my dream fish is the yellow tang, that's why I'm encouraging that school I would love to have enough space for a school of them.

[madmax7774]

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! this thread needs pictures!

[davelin315]

Take a look at past TOTM winner Gatortailale (el Presidente Craig). He's got a 210 (?) so your tank is 3x the size of his and he's got a ton of different fish in there. OK, now that I've thought about it again, here's the base package I would have:

• 10-15 yellow tangs
  
• 5-10 Dussumieri Tangs
  
• 3 Regal Angels
  
• 15 Anthias (not sure which kinds)
  
• 3 blennies (you choose)
  
• 2 pairs of mandarin gobies
  
• 1 pair of Potters Angels
  
• 10 Royal Grammas
  
• 5 Pacific Blue Tangs
  
• 1 Vlamingi Tang
  
• 1 Pair of Black Ocellaris Clowns
  
• 5-10 Pink Skunk Clowns (they will colonize a single anemone which suggests that you also get yourself a nice large anemone)
  
• A few random fish here and there
  

It's a lot of fish, but if you do your rock the right way you can really break the tank up in enough different ways so that they all have a happy home. Again, take a look at Craig's tank and you'll see the numbers of fish that you can add and how well they can do together. Also, take a look at Copps' tank (another TOTM). He's got some interesting fish in his system, too, and there's a lot of them in there, too, especially when you consider the fish that are also in his frag system in the back, too. I'm assuming total water volume is really going to be more than 630 gallons.