Need help choosing Fish for my Saltwater Aquarium

[rickrock]

I am looking to restock my 100 gallon saltwater aquarium. I have had the tank up and running for about 5 years. Right now I do not have any fish in the tank so I am kind of starting from scratch....and looking for some help/advice.

here some other things that I am considering.
-I am looking for a "low maintainence setup" as time can sometimes be an issue.
-I am also looking for "somewhat affordable" tank mates (under $250)
-I would like to possibly be able to include cleaner shrimp, snails and crabs without them turning into dinner
-Also looking for some vivid coloring

*some fish that I have some interest in:
Ocellaris Clownfish (3-4)
Flame Angle or Coral Beauty
Dwarf Lionfish (not sure if they will go with my desired setup)
Blue Tang
Piccaso Trigger (not sure if they will go with my desired setup)
?
?
?

So if you were to create a tank...what would you do?
any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[spoonman]

You already have corals in the tank?

 

[rickrock]

no corals (i am going to stay away from them due to the high maintainence)...the only thing remaining are some red/blue legged crabs...I moved about 2 years ago and only transferred 3 fish. but unfortunatly those fish did not make it through a 1 week power outage from a snow storm a few months back. the good thing is that i can now start from scratch and build an effiecient set up of my liking (and with some good advice)

 

[SeanMonster]

I have a Flame Angel that is doing quite well and I love the punch of color. I also have a Niger and Pinktail Trigger, both of which are pretty mild mannered. The Blue Spotted Toby is also a mild mannered fish that won't get too big. I have a 180g FO as well. I was thinking about a reef in the future, but haven't committed. If I do, it will be a smaller setup than the 180g. I also have a Green Wolf Eel that is pretty cool too.

 

[armenkk1]

I recommend the fuzzy dwarf. they are pretty hardy and if u feed them every day they probably won't eat ur shrimp/clean-up crew. if u don't like that option there is the Mombasa lionfish which stays even smaller (6" compared to 7") plus they look more like a lionfish (volitan) than fuzzies.

 

[rickrock]

So far this is what I plan on going with...please take a look and let me know if something doesnt fit or if you might reccommend a substitute

1 Powder Blue Tang (sm-med)
4 Ocellaris Clown (sm)
1 Flame Angelfish (med)
1 Fuzzy Dwarf Lion (sm)
1 Humu Picasso Trigger (med)

2 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
1 Sexy Anemone Shrimp
1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Multiple red/blue hermit crabs

 

[carey]

I wouldnt do two pairs of clowns, there most likely will be trouble at some point. I had 4 in a 6 foot 125g tank and after a couple months of harmony the one set tried to kill the other two.

 

[Rutrag]

+1 on only one pair of clowns. Also, the regular coral banded shrimp are often aggressive to other shrimp.

Powder blues are also one of the more aggressive tangs. Definitely add him after the angel and clowns.

Finally, I'm not sure I'd trust any lions or triggers with shrimp. I think that might just be fresh food, especially with the sexy shrimp.

What about a butterfly or foxface? A school of cardinals might look nice too. There are also a lot of pretty wrasses as well.

 

[rickrock]

yeah...it might make sense to take the lionfish and trigger out...keep the suggestions and advice flowing...right now I am researching cardinal schools and some different foxface.

 

[SeanMonster]

I had a foxface and loved that fish. Then one day it stopped eating and died about to days later. They can be a little shy.