tjm80's 75 gallon build thread

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How deep is your sandbed? I have a yellowhead jawfish and he has a ton of personality, very fun to watch (digs a lot though).
 
My nice fiji pink sand is covered in diatoms!!! It's ugly, but it's a welcome sign (from what I've read on here) that my tank is maturing as expected.

So I've had the two clowns in there for about a week or so. When can I add some more fish and does anyone have any suggestions for reef-safe fish for a 75 gallon?

I eventually want a Kole and/or Scopas Tang, but know they need to be added last and together.
i don't think you need to add a scopus or kole last. you can add them any time you want. are you going to want to add something that relies on pods? if not, the fairy wrasses are a nice addition.
Wrasse Fish for Sale: Cleaner Wrasse and other Reef Safe Wrasse Species
 
i don't think you need to add a scopus or kole last. you can add them any time you want.

Awesome. I'd been told that you need to add your tangs last due to aggression. But eventually I'd like to get a mandarin. I've got a LOOONG way to go with my pods. I think the cycle killed the majority of them. My LR used to look like it had fleas, now I see a few little bugs here and there, but nothing like it was.
 
well, it would ultimately depend on the actual fish, and i'm sure there are exceptions, but i have never heard of an aggressive scopus or kole tang.
 
You just made my day. I need to finish my QT and I will be getting a new addition!

Does work get in the way of this hobby for anyone else? lol
 
After you mentioned the Jawfish, I did some reading and now I REEALLY want one of those little guys. I remember seeing them at the Georgia Aquarium. they had a tank full of them, and it looked like a Saltwater Whack-A-Mole. :splat:
 
they had a tank full of them, and it looked like a Saltwater Whack-A-Mole. :splat:

Haha! They react the same way if you get close to the glass.

Just make sure you are extra careful when acclimating them, the can stress out very easily. Mine was in a blacked out bag, whereas my other livestock were in clear bags. Keep the lights off in the room and tank until the next day, and keep a tight lid on the tank!
 
Well after calling all the LFS in my area, none have any reef-safe fish, except reef-safe fish I don't want or can't house. One store is going through a sale and won't have any more live stock until someone buys the store, another won't place another order for 3 weeks, and the place I got my clowns just made an order but the fish he has that I want are too big - I want to get them small.

Anyway, I ordered 3 fish online last night. They should be at my door by 10:30 am. I took uscamaro's advice and got a yellowhead jawfish! Can't wait to see this little guy in action. Also got a yellow watchman goby. And I also went ahead and got a small Kole tang!

3 fish may be a bit much, but paying $40 for shipping is crazy, but my 75 looks so empty with just 2 little clowns!

Should I get a pistol shrimp to accompany my watchman goby? Or would a pistol shrimp and the jawfish be too much "renovation" of my sand bed?
 
i don't think the little yellow head is going to rearrange things too much. perhaps just make a few holes here and there. btw- make sure you have a good lid, or mesh grate over the tank, because i have seen more of them jump than not.
take some pics when you get them in the tank and be sure to give a review of the online vendor, for others who are considering a purchase.
 
They called me this afternoon, and unfortunately do not have any yellowhead jawfish. I asked what other jawfish they had in stock, and they had a dusky jawfish available. I googled it and it is a pretty interesting looking little fella, and I didn't see any differences in the dusky and yellowhead except for color, so I told them that was ok.

Just got the fedex shipping notification, so they're on their way!

I have a 10 gallon QT set up waiting for them to arrive with a DIY sponge filter in my sump (it's been there for 4-5 days collecting bacteria). I couldn't justify paying more for shipping than the actual cost of the fish, and the best of the 3 LFS around here didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about the jawfish....:rolleyes: Will the 10 gallon be too small of a QT for a medium sized kole tang, the yellow watchman goby, and the jawfish?
 
dusky are cool too.
there will be alot of people who will disagree with me, but i would not put that tang in that 10 gallon tank. if i was getting those fish, i would toss them right in the DT.
i just don't see how small tanks that look absolutely nothing like the environment they were just abducted from, won't stress them out tremendously. you may want to take someone elses advice on this one.
 
So would you recommend a freshwater dip first?

I don't know what others say, but everything you've told me so far has been spot on. I'd have probably given up on SW and got an oscar if it wasn't for your advice. ;)
 
well, they will probably come in with ich. if they aren't too stressed, it will appear to subside. as long as they live relatively stress free lives it will not resurface, but it will always be there. that's what you deal with when you don't QT.
of course the worst case scenario is that they die from it.
thanks for the kudos.
 
So do you QT or not? I had thought about placing the jawfish and watchman goby in the DT but putting the tang in QT since tangs are more prone to get it.
 
i don't qt anything. i dip corals, and that's all. i lost 1 fish this way, of all the fish i brought in. it was an achilles tang.
 
Looks like I'm going to be forced to do it your way anyhow. I just noticed there is rust running down the side of my QT. I "temporarily" (then forgot to remove it) placed a metal clamp on the side of the QT to hold the airline in place. Oops.

But back to the ich, if it doesn't show up for a while, wouldn't the life cycle have been broken and the tank become ich free? Or will the fish constantly have ich, but have the ability to fight it off with their immune system?
 
They are all in the tank! I am leaving the lights off for a while. The Kole and Goby immediately went into hiding, while the jawfish just sat there with it's mouth gaped wide open.

I will post pictures whenever I turn the lights on.
 
Pictures as promised. The clowns were already there, but they aren't as shy now, and were posing.



Watchman Goby


Dusky Jawfish


Kole Tang
 
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