I really love Caribbean fish

[Harveyman]

Would either of those be a possibility?

 

[mr_X]

sure..i would be worried about adding any butterfly though, as they are not really reef safe.

 

[Harveyman]

Ok, so no butterfly. Anything special I should know about the Ocean Surgeon? (Other than to not try to pet it...)
And what about a Molly Miller Blenny?

 

[mr_X]

lol...it's not like that. i don't know anyone, nor have i ever read anything about anyone getting sliced by a tangs spines. i had a clown tang nip at my hand a bit, but that's about it.

the butterfly may prove to be ok. it's impossible to know without trying it.

here is a partial list of caribbean fish-
Fish Gallery - Caribbean | Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)

here are more (you'll have to weed through these)
http://www.oceanlight.com/fish.html

 

[Harveyman]

Ya, people usually get cut when the fish has a hook in its mouth and is flopping on the deck of a boat.
Hmm... this is tricky. Maybe I could lock in the blue Caribbean tang and talk to my lfs about the surgeon to see if I could even get one. Could I get away with a flameball/flameback angelfish? (in addition to to the cherub angel)

 

[mr_X]

hard to say. in a 210 it might be ok. i've never kept more than 1 angel in a tank, so i couldn't tell you for sure, and it's really up to the individual fish as well. some folks might keep certain fish and have absolutely no problems with them, while others might have the same fish in their tanks wreak havoc.
all we have are basic guidelines to go by. the rest is up to mother nature.

 

[Harveyman]

I do agree, predicting behavior of any animal is hit and miss.
My next biggest concern is the work bench I am planning to put the tank on. It is 73"X30" on the top. When I was planning for a 55 gallon tank, it was no problem. But now I am putting the equivalent of a small CAR on it. I think it could take it but I am not 100% positive. I am planning to reinforce the joints at least with metal fittings. The little metal feet are from my dad. There is a radial arm saw next to the table and he liked to use the bench to support things while he was cutting. I plan to lower or remove them all together.

 

[mr_X]

you should go to a fish store and check out the stand that they sell for a 210. compare it to this table.

 

[Harveyman]

I went to the local store, took a look at their stands, and I am pretty sure the table will hold the weight. I am definitely going to reinforce the joints with shelf mountings, the rest I am going to get my Dad's help as he is very good at this sort of thing. While I was at the store, I also talked to the man there about getting live rock and sand from him, and his price, is about half of what it would cost me to get it online, and it is much better quality. He also can get me the livestock for a much more reasonable price as he has things sent to the airport and then picks them up personally. He did however point out that because of new policies and the oil spill, it is going to be more difficult to get caribbean species. So I have decided to let myself wander a little. Here is my new stocking list. I am open to suggestions and alternatives.

210 Gallon tank setup V4
380 lb Florida Live Sand
-30 lb in sump for 1-2” sand bed in refugium
-For 4-5” bed for Jawfish/ Neon Wrasse
360 lb Caribbean Live Rock
2 Peppermint Shrimp
-Lysmata wurdemanni complex
1 Fighting Conch
-Strombus alatus
1 Arrow Crab
-Stenorhynchus seticornis
2 Emerald Crab
-Mithraculus sculptus
3(+?) Nassarius Snails
-Nassarius vibex
20(+?) Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
-Paguristes cadenati
20(+?) Astraea Turbo Snail
-Astraea tecta
20 (+?) Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
-Clibanarius tricolor
1 Pincushion Urchin or tuxedo urchin
-Lytechinus variegates/ Mespilia globulus
4 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
-Lysmata amboinensis
1 Red Brittle Star
-Ophiocoma sp
1 Porcelain Crab
-Petrolisthes sp
Chaetomorpha Algae
-Chaetomorpha sp
-In 40 gallon breeder tank sump
1 Rock Flower Anemone
-Epicystis crucifer
1 Colored Cluster Duster
-Bispira brunnea
1 Royal Gramma (Fairy) Basslet
-Gramma loreto
3 Neon goby
-Elacatinus oceanops
1 Flame Cardinalfish
-Apogon spp.
1 Pygmy (Cherub) Angelfish
-Centropyge argi
2 Yellowhead Jawfish
-Opistognathus aurifrons
-Plastic Mesh cover
1 Blue caribbean tang
-Acanthurus coeruleus
1 Sailfin tang
-Zebrasoma veliferum
4 Carpenter’s Flasher wrasse
-1 male, 3 female harem
-Paracheilinus carpenteri
1 Ocean Surgeonfish/ Naso Tang
-Acanthurus bahianus/ Naso lituratus
1 Fireball Angelfish/ Flameback Angelfish (African)
-Centropyge aurantonota/ Centropyge acanthops
1 Orange Lined Cardinalfish
-Apogon cyanosoma

 

[Innovator]

There are only a handful or less of reputable Atlantic wholesalers in the country and as far as I know they are not having any trouble providing fish so I would check with another fish store. It's more likely he just doesn't have that good of a connection in a wholesaler or he just wants to point the blame elsewhere. In general, Atlantic animals will be more expensive than fish from other ocean realms.

 

[Harveyman]

Thats basically what he was saying, he could get them, but they would just be more expensive than similar things from the Pacific of Mediterranean.

 

[mr_X]

hey harvey...i just noticed you are in jersey. are you close to the burlington bristol bridge by any chance? there are a few decent stores about 5 minutes in on the pa side you should check out.

 

[cmor1701d]

Hey Doug, we have some great stores in NJ too. Stop trying to steal our sales tax money!

 

[mr_X]

lol..gotcha.
it's just that i know how folks that are new to the hobby react to a store like the hidden reef. you gotta admit, it's worth the visit.

 

[ralphsparker]

Standard can only think the biggest (new or old), will fit in your position or whatever you intend to partition it with the oil pan and the solid plate, glued to the aquarium sealing.

 

[Harveyman]

Standard can only think the biggest (new or old), will fit in your position or whatever you intend to partition it with the oil pan and the solid plate, glued to the aquarium sealing.

:? Huh? :?
I live around Phillipsburg NJ, which is about 30 miles north of Levittown.
Is this the hidden reef store you mentioned? Welcome to Hidden Reef! And what are some other good stores around me?

 

[mr_X]

yup. that's the store. they don't update their website very often i don't think, but the store is cool. it's pretty large, and caters to us.
i took some pics of it a couple years ago-
the hidden reef pictures by GORILLA_MONSOON - Photobucket
jersey seems to be Cmors neck of the woods, but within 2 miles or so of the hidden reef is the fish factory, which is ok, and also pets plus langhorne. you can make 3 stores in one shot.
i'm moving to just a few minutes away from the hidden reef actually.

 

[Harveyman]

I have a few things that I need to finalize for my list,
3(+?) Nassarius Snails
20(+?) Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
20(+?) Astraea Turbo Snail
20 (+?) Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
And what about a Lamark's Angelfish (Genicanthus lamarck) or a Bellus Angelfish (Genicanthus bellus)? From what I have read, I don't think I would have any problems with one of them.