Help Me Stock My Tank

[CoryDude]

I need your ideas. I'm planning my 120 and need some ideas on adding cool fish. It's still going to be a SPS tank, but what should put in it? Fish have never been my specialty, so I need your ideas so I can begin the research phase on each species.

Here's my thoughts so far:
- yellow tonga blenny (holdover from the current tank)
- purple tang
- anthias trio (not sure what type)

None of these are set in stone, except the blenny, so please help me out if you can. They need to be reefsafe, and please keep the fish reasonable. I'd love a pair of Gem Tangs, but that's never going to happen for me. Thanks!

[ErikH]

Sixline wrasses. I just bought three today. ;)

[Europhyllia]

I really like my Bartlett's Anthias and am thinking of getting more once I move them over (even though they're not Caribbean...)
One thing I've noticed was that they really enjoy swimming room. Once I got away from that brickwall rock configuration they seemed much happier schooling etc.
Hopefully this doesn't sound too biased but most of the SPS dominated tanks I see still seem to sport that crammed full brickwall layout.
I don't think it would kill them but I think they might have more fun if they had swimming room.

[saabtech]

if the tank is SPS dominate i would recommend some chromis. it is cool to see them host the SPS at night time. i really like orange lined chromis!

[Big_Pun]

box fish are cool I just got one as a gift today from my girlfriend, I think it was more for her lol she thinks it's cute

[CoryDude]

saabtech, I was thinking about a small school of chromis. They'd be much cheaper than a bartlett's trio.

Thanks Karin, I was looking at that exact anthias.

Chris, I'll be getting one of those for my wife. She loves them too. What's up with women and boxfish?

Erik, I won't spend a fortune on a wrasse again, so yeah I may just stick with a six-line, mainly because they stay so small. You got 3 of them? I've always heard they'd end of fighting all the time if you had more than 1 in a tank.

[allan]

Cory,

Had I to do it over again I'd have stayed away from the chromis. Good fish, peaceful and had I a longer tank they'd probably school a bit more. I like the Anthias, but I wouldn't know one from the other.

I really like the rare tangs, although I don't have any. Kind of gets boring when every tank you see has the same fish over and over. I wouldn't mind getting a marine betta, have you thought of one?

I have a cow fish, wife loves him... i like him a lot. But he's really bad with anything soft. First the clams, then the toadstool. I had to put him in the frag tank.

Chris's girlfriend needs to come over to my house a few times so that she can bring me an obligatory house present like a box fish. :) I think Chris will like that fish more than the other when it starts looking out of the water to get food when he comes around.

[FireWater]

Like Erik mentioned the 6-line wrasses are pretty cool, serve a purpose, and are relatively inexpensive. On my Finnex I was trying to stay w/ smaller fish but, wanted at least 1 wrasse that could serve a purpose such as the 6-line so I did some searching. I looked into 4-line, 12-line, some other line wrasses, and settled on a pink streaked wrasse. Pretty cool little guy and from my research they tend to get a long in a reef community better than most - I had a 6-line in the 90G that was a terror. I also like several other wrasses. Fairy wrasses (solar head, clown fairy), Halichores family (Chritstmas wrasse, radiant), several others.

[CoryDude]

allan,

Hopefully my wife doesn't lurk on this site. But, the whole reason I bought her a tank was so that I could keep some thing odd critter like a cow fish or box fish. I know, it was a self serving act, but we both won out on that one.

I know that the tank will have a tang in one form or another. It's either a yellow belly blue tang, kole yellow eye, mimic, or tomini tang.

[CoryDude]

Like Erik mentioned the 6-line wrasses are pretty cool, serve a purpose, and are relatively inexpensive. On my Finnex I was trying to stay w/ smaller fish but, wanted at least 1 wrasse that could serve a purpose such as the 6-line so I did some searching. I looked into 4-line, 12-line, some other line wrasses, and settled on a pink streaked wrasse. Pretty cool little guy and from my research they tend to get a long in a reef community better than most - I had a 6-line in the 90G that was a terror. I also like several other wrasses. Fairy wrasses (solar head, clown fairy), Halichores family (Chritstmas wrasse, radiant), several others.

The only reason I hesitate on the 6-line is I don't want it competing for food with my mandarin. I've had problems with pod populations in the past when I had both at the same time. I may just end up getting one of the two fairy wrasses you mentioned.

[FireWater]

Agreed, I didn't know there was a mandarin going back in the tank. The wrasse will compete for food. You might be able to get a wrasse out of the Halichoeres family. I will have to do some research to see if they will compete as well. I know my Chrisymas wrasse would follow me around the tak when I used the scraper or mag float - he would love it when I disturbed the sand and then dive in for for what ever was uncovered. What I like about the wrasses is the fact that as far as I know I never had any pest issues w/ my coral.

[marcusgonzales210]

Have you thought of a filamented flasher wrasse? They should be okay with a mandarin. They're a lot more peaceful than the sixlines.

[CoryDude]

Not really sure on a filamented Marcus. I really like the solar fairy wrasse. Just depends on the color maybe.

I may have to go by the dome in Austin. Gary always has a nice selection of different fairy and filimented wrasses. An exquisite or scott's wrasse would be cool!

[marcusgonzales210]

or you could just get a mystery wrasse. lol