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Fortunenick

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
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12
Have a new 180 gallon tank I'm setting up will be getting top of the line everything. Will all these fish be compatable with each other?
2 ocellaris clown fish
1 bicolor dottyback
1 bicolor angelfish
1 butterfly fish
1 Flame angel fish
2 mandarin fish
1 blue tang


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I would do one mandarin after the tanks been going for about a year. I'd also replace the butterfly with something else. They're not easy fish


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i agree, do not attempt mandarins until the tank has aged quite a bit. they are very difficult to get eating frozen food, dont believe your lfs. If they swear they are eating frozen make sure. But I still would saty clear of them for at least a year so if they decide they dont want to eat at least there will be some pods, hopefully in abundance, in your tank. Also agree on the butterfly, another difficult fish to get eating and they will also eat pods so they will compete with the mandarin.
And finally, you dont want two angels in the tank, even with a 6 foot 180g tank. they will find each other and fight.

There are sooo many fish you can get for this tank though, so dont be bummed that your first selection isnt perfect.
have you considered a yellow tang or a bristle tooth tang? Pretty easy to keep and beautiful fish. I have four tangs in my 180g, a yellow, blue hippo, tomini and a white lined (looks like a mustard tang lol). I also have like 10-14 chromis, a rabbitfish, pair of clowns, mated pair of filefish ( I dont recommend, mine eat coral), some misc blennies and two hawk fish. I am pretty much at fully stocked so you can see that you have plenty of room. :) I am hoping to add even more chromis so I can have an uber school of them. lol But keep in mind I am meticulous with my tanks, I do very large water changes to keep parameters in check. If you want alot of fish you'll have to commit to the same regimen.

Good luck! Revise your list a bit and post, would love to see where youre at.
 
Ok awesome I love this forum already. What are some fish that will school together? You mentioned chromis are there any others?


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Also do the chromis have to be the same type to school or will they all school together no matter the type?


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Anthias and cardinals come to mind but anthias are more difficult than chromis and cardinals


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2 ocellaris clown fish
1 bicolor dottyback
1 Flame angel fish
1 mandarin fish
1 blue tang
10 chromis
1 yellow tang

This is what I have come up with so far or mabey final. Was thinking of getting one more black and yellow fish or something with a cool shape to it. Looked at morish but have to watch them with eating coral.


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I always recommend hawk fish, they perch and watch you intently. they will follow you around when you are near the tank too, such personality! I have at least one in every tank I have right now. lol
Blennies and gobies shouldnt be dismissed either, I have a few of each and they are really neat fish. An active yellow one is a midas blenny. They wiggle when they swim and mine is super active. You can also think about maybe a rabbitfish or foxface. Medium sized fish, well in comparison to your tank size, medium sized. lol
If you are set on a mandarin I would skip any anthias, they also eat pods and could compete with the mandarin. But a small school of anthias is an awesome sight. :)

Not sure on the chromis question though, i have regular ole cheap blue/green ones. I had some blue reef chromis, a bit more money but they get bigger and are a nice dark blue. If you wanted something a little different. Mine actually mated one time and sprayed eggs all over my powerheads. Sadly, I couldnt get them to hatch tho. But it was a stunning display when they did it.
 
Yeah I'll get the mandarin but not right away. Will wait atleast a year before introducing it to the tank.


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Good deal. glad you are doing the right thing. far too many of them die due to not having the right things that they need to survive. Awesome fish though, I miss mine madly........
 
Ya I want to do this right and just have a nice tank. I'll check out your other recommendations.


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What are your thoughts on a moorish idol?


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I agree with Carey on hawks, they're awesome fish lol. How about a couple different wrasses? Carpenters, Xmas, melanurus are all awesome looking. And there's a ton more


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If you havent been to liveaquaria.com now is the time! They have like every fish in the trade listed with tank size and eating habits listed as well. Great website for getting the hang of what you want. :)
 
Idols, from what I understand are difficult fish to keep. I think it has to do with their eating habits.
 
Ok I'll stay away from them and check out the site. I like the looks of the foxface.


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Idols are probably the hardest fish in sw from my research. Eating habits, tank size, diet. Best left in the wild IMO

Edit: oops Carey beat me to it lol

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I have a rabbit fish, very similar to the foxfaces, he is a big mooch when it comes to feeding time. lol Very personable fish. Loves seaweed too, just as much as the tangs.
The only warning is that they have venomous spines so you have to be careful handling them. It wont kill you or anything, dont wanna scare you away, lol, but its worth noting.
 
If you want a moorish idol looking fish you could do heniochus. Same look but so so much easier. They can be a holes though...


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