critique this stock list...

[tucker]

90 gal tank
70lbs live rock
30lbs tonga branch
40lbs live sand
kent skimmer 24/7
20 gal refugium w/ chaeto, dsb, lr rubble


fish:
2 perc's
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow tang
1 purple tang (introduced at the same time as Yel T)
3 chromis
1 emperor angel
2 neon gobies
2 yellow goby
1 coral beauty

shrimp:
2 skunks
1 peppermint

crabs n snails
10 blue legs
10 red herm
1 horseshoe
5 big turbo snails
15-20 assort snails

starfish n inverts
1 sand sifting
1 chocolate chip
1 gtba


im wondering if the 90 gal will suffice for size? alot of the fish will be purchased in dwarf size(ie <1 in) will the coral beauty and the emperor fight instinctively? theres plenty of little caves and whatnot to hide in..

also, does anyone see and precautions with my fish list as far as going sps/lps? my lighting is more than enough but im wondering if the angels will mess with the corals.

[ATMgueedo]

The chocolate chip star fish is not reef safe I believe. The only angel Id be worried about is the large angel. Just make sure you get him young and keep him eating stuff you feed him. But thats no promise they wont pick at corals when they are older. I wouldnt worry about the Coral Beauty at all. In the 90 I dont think they would fight, but dont quote me on that. As far as the turbos go, I would change them for 4 times as many nassarius snails. Turbos can knock corals over, and arent much to look at. Ive had tons of luck with nassarius. I think you could have all these in your tank but do only add about 3-4 at a time max...then check the water and then wait until after the spike to add anything else. I hope this is good info!

[Andrew]

The coral beuty and emperor shouldn't be a problem. However a 90 is on the small side for an emperor, and they can be difficult to keep at small sizes (under 4"). I personally wouldn't keep any of the large angels unless I had a 6 foot tank minimum (125 or larger).

Except for the chocalate chip star, (and maybe the emperor angel) the remainder of your list looks doable.
HTH
Andrew

[hobogato]

i agree ^^^ . the skunks are good cleaner shrimp, but i prefer the fire shrimp, they seem alot tougher.

[Shark_Bait]

Pesonally I don't think that's enough crabs/snails and I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in but there's something about Chocolate Chips in a reef tank. That is if your going to go reef. I seem to remember something about if the starfish is "bumpy" then it's no good in a reef.

[Richard]

The peppermint shrimps can be hit or miss as far as being safe with corals goes. Personally I would do a Fire shrimp instead, much prettier.

Also Lawnmower blennies can be difficult to keep long term unless you always have plenty of hair algae growing, which you probably don't want. A small percentage of them will take prepared foods so you might want to try and find one that is eating spirulina flake, formula II, etc.
The other option is an easier type of blennie, midas blennies and bicolor blennies are two of my favorites.

[JeremyGlen]

I have to agree about the chocolate chip. They are notorious for eating corals and really don't do much in the tank. Also, I would scrap the sand sifter because they "sift" the sand in search of pods and worms to devour. They usually just end up disintegrating in your tank anyways.

Definitely get the coral beauty before you add any corals and get it used to eating frozen. If you add it after you have corals, it may start nipping right away.

When you say yellow goby, are you talking about clown or watchman? Any gobies you put in there of the same species should always be added at the same time because they will fight. If your thinking about clown gobies, I would advise you not to because they are bad about picking at some sps. I just had to get rid of two. The larger one started right away and the smaller one learned from the other. They killed a frag or two that I had.

The horseshoe crab it just going to plow into everything. They don't really provide much in the way of natural cleaning or whatever. The only reason to have one is to have a prehistoric animal in your aquarium.

I had a lawnmower that did great till the algae ran out. I was lucky though because he began eating the frozen stuff I was feeding. This keeps them alive, but is not good for them because its not their natural diet and their bodies can't handle it and process it properly. I would go with the suggestions by Richard.

Hope I don't seem too negative. Ultimately its up to you, but I would recommend reading up on all of the animals you ever put in your tank.

[tucker]

guys, this is great info. thanks for the responses!

most of the fish i already have in my 42 gal. the chocolate star, the sand sifting star, the lawnmower, a six line wrasse, yellow goby(i think clown), and the coral beauty...all of them are doing well now.

i havent noticed the choc star doing any damage but then again, i havent had him long. the same goes for the sifting star. dont really see them doing much.

the horeshoe crab is like you stated jeremy, very clumsy. its whimsical to watch him swim upside down and bump into things. he hasnt knocked anything over as of yet(hes only quarter sized). i think i may keep him just for novely purposes.

the lawmower blenny justs chomps away from the live rock, eating the algae on the surface. ive had him for the longest time so as long as theres algae in the new tank, im think im good to go there...

my peppermint shrimp doesnt eat aptasia at all, so i think ill take the popular vote and trade him/give him away in lue of a pair of fire shrimp..

my coral beauty eats frozen so im ok there as well. i dont have any corals now save for a small piece of brain and he doesnt mess with that. i think my main concern is that everyone says you cant do 2 angels and i want to do the c/b and the emperor. i really really really want the emperor so i think ill get one and figure out from there what to do when he gets larger.

i definitely will take consideration to the snails...i *have* noticed my large turbos knocking rocks over so i will re-improvise my snail count.

and the tangs, you guys think its ok with the 2 tangs? shouldnt be a problem keeping the 2 together?

im getting more and more excited as i count down til cycling is complete!!!

[ATMgueedo]

The yellow tang should be fine. Ive heard some horror stories about the purple tang being very aggressive towards other fish in the tank. From what Ive seen they are just plain mean. But Ive never had one for myself

[Bug_Power]

I've got a horseshoe crab, let me tell ya. I pull that guy off my Modded Maxijet becuase he gets sucked up off the sand!