A good sized, colorful fish for tank..suggestions

[courtneyclv]

My tank is 78 gallons, long and short. I have about 25lbs of live rock so far, sand, watchman goby, firefish, royal gramma, maroon clown, hermit crab.

Even though I do have fish, they are all very tiny and I want something of substantial size for my tank. I would like a tang, maybe wrasse, and an angelfish that doesn't grow too big to add to my list.

What do you suggest? (I may get some soft corals and an anemone eventually)

[Finatic]

Try a Coral Beauty. Love mine.

Depending on where they come from, they can have differentamounts of Orange and Purple on them.

[courtneyclv]

Can I put a dwarf angelfish, rabbitfish, tang, and possibly butterfly all in my tank if they are known to get along?

[melosu58]

I think that will be too big of a bio load esp. since you are way short on your LR ( natural filtration)

[courtneyclv]

I am picking up a piece or two of LR every few days. I would get my whole tank filled but since I live in Las Vegas..I have heard this is the worst season to get LR because of the heat and shipping. I would rather wait and get more goodies!

I will have the bottom of my tank, almost 7 feet, covered with LR eventually.
What do you think then?

[tecwzrd]

Is your tank custom? Are you sure it isn’t an 80 gal long (73 x 14 x 21)? I haven’t heard of a 7 foot long regular tank in that gallon range. Even 180 gal tanks are still only 73� long.

More info on the tank is needed. What is your no3 level currently? You mention a watchman goby but what kind is it (they range from 3� to 6�). Even at 3� you already have 15� of fish at adult hood which IMO is about the maximum amount you should have until you gain a lot more experience and have better filtration.

Your tank just cycled less then a month ago and the amount of fish you have currently added is going to stress your bio-load until the bacteria can catch up. Adding 1 fish every other week is about as fast as you want to go in this hobby. Also quarantining all stock before adding to the tank is recommend or else you risk infecting the whole tank.

Even if everything appears fine now within 3-6 months you will start battling no3 even with your current stock load. Make sure you feed sparingly (see this post) and let your tank mature for the next 6 months.

As others have mentioned will need more lr (100-150 lbs) and I’d invest in a quality skimmer as well.

It’s not that you can’t/shouldn’t overstock a tank slightly. It’s just that you have to have very good filtration and a strict weekly 10%-20% pwc schedule depending on no3 levels. Having a sump/refugium to increase total water volume helps greatly also.

Keep in mind that all the filtration in the world is worthless if you have an extended power outage and even your current stock list could die without filtration if it went longer then 24 hours. Battery powered air pumps can help a little bit but even that wouldn’t help an over crowded tank for very long.

With SW it’s very important to not rush things. Unlike FW doing large 50% pwc is not easy or recommend to keep your tank parameters in line. When things start to go bad in SW tanks it can happen very quickly.

[courtneyclv]

Hi everyone,

What is a good size (more than 2 inches) fish I can get for my tank in time?

I know I need more live rock, will get a protein skimmer...

I have about 15 inches of fish so far. I have read in other posts that it matters on what the fish's purpose is. Watchman goby doesnt do a thing and hides under a rock all day. So I subtracted him. I should have at least 6 inches of fish now give or take.

Water was tested today and everything is as it should be. I am working on getting more live rock every few days. And my tanks is 82 inches, by 14, by 14 and It is in a big window cubby thing (yes it is covered in the back) so space is limited when it comes to a sump/refugium. And I have added the fish I have every couple of weeks, making sure that all tests are at zero.

So..anyone want to help me out here?

[tecwzrd]

Originally Posted by courtneyclv

I have read in other posts that it matters on what the fish's purpose is. Watchman goby doesnt do a thing and hides under a rock all day. So I subtracted him. I should have at least 6 inches of fish now give or take.

I have no clue what you have read or been told but size is size and you still have 15� of adult fish length which is close to the max you should have. Not to be a stickler on size but the measurements you gave for the tank equal 70 gal not 78 gal.

The only time you take a fishes “purpose� into consideration is if they are messy eaters i.e. puffers, lion fish, triggers for example. They reduce your total fish capacity due to the fact that they pollute tanks more and therefore increase the bio-load.

All other “non-messy� fish should be counted in totaling up your adult fish length. The watchman pollutes just as much as your other fish even though it is just “sitting there� most of the time.

It sounds like you have your mind made up and are determined to add more fish regardless. I hope that isn’t the case but be warned that doing so will increase your bio-load beyond normal capacity which will require frequent pwc in the near future and will probably increase your algae over time due to excess nutrients in the water.

melosu58 & I are only telling you this from experience and are looking out for your best interests.

[stevefromga2000]

i know that you are probably tired of hearing about the live rock, but it really is worth it. i would invest all the money you have into more rock and you equipment first before getting more fish. afterwards, you should be a lot more relaxed and be able to pick out exactly which fish you want.

you said that you are getting a skimmer, me too. i'm actually getting ready to order mine in the next couple of days, but i just want you to remember that a quality skimmer is going to cost pretty close to $200. i'm not sure if you are on some sort of budget (like me), but if so, then the equipment to make the fish live is more important. plus the skimmer, from what i've been told, will help make the water look better because it will be cleaner.

about the live rock, you could order a package, or a box of live rock from a website and pay anywhere between $100 and $200 per box. you should easily be able to get 50 or 60 lbs within a reasonable price range. you should order your skimmer, then order some live rock or pick some up at the LFS, and then look into getting you fish.

hth, and good luck with your tank.

[courtneyclv]

Yeah, I went to three LFS today and they didn't have much live rock with any goodies on it. (too hot outside when shipped..110!) I am picking up a piece or two every few days.

What websites do you suggest for LR that looks good?

[tecwzrd]

Originally Posted by courtneyclv

What websites do you suggest for LR that looks good?

If looking for cheap live rock checkout intmarinefish.com which has lr for as little as $3-$4 per lb shipped.

Couple of more places with quality lr:
www.liverocknreef.com
www.liveaquaria.com
www.tampabaysaltwater.com

[courtneyclv]

Cool, thanks..


Oh, and I measured my tank again..it is 82 by 15 by 15 which is around 80 gallons! A couple more inches of fish! haha

[FishFrik]

IMO, the "inches of fish per gallon" rule is just a general rule for beginners to get an idea of how much fish they can keep. How many fish you can keep in your tank actually depend on alot of factors, such as:

Filtration - Equipments, LR, LS
Feeding - Heavy or Light
Type of fish - Messy or Not

You don't have to have just exactly that much fish in that tank. Just a thought

[courtneyclv]

Getting more LR this week and next after I come back from vacation. How much LR should I add per week? I heard that I could mess up the bioload if I didnt do it slowly.

You are all going to kick my A@@ but bf surprised me with juvi majestic angelfish! I know, WAAYYY too big! The LFS said I can bring it back when it grows too big for my tank. She is beautiful though...

:P

[lando]

My fist concern is the addition of all of these fish into a tank that is only 6 weeks old. Keep an eye on water parameters closely and do veryrregular water changes.

Getting more LR this week and next after I come back from vacation. How much LR should I add per week? I heard that I could mess up the bioload if I didnt do it slowly.

I would add as much as you can as soon as you can. As long as the LR is fully cured from the LFS you can add as much as you want without worrying about water parameters.

[FishFrik]

As long as the LR is fully cured from the LFS you can add as much as you want without worrying about water parameters.

Yep! Remember the keyword "cured"

[courtneyclv]

Ok, cool. I will go today and pick up a piece berfore I leave for 4 days. I checked the water last night and everything is perfect. Topped off with fresh water and checked the salt levels. Angel is doing well and is swimming a lot. Everyone seems better and not so stressed out now that my big crab is out of the picture. I will also get some more snails.

I also told my roomie...ONLY ONE brine shrimp gummie is to be given when I am gone. Last time he fed twice a day and my tank was a mess!

[weemanpow3]

A Blue Hippo Tang

[nycpassat]

Flame Angel will be a nice addition to your tank