Opinions on stocklist for my setup?

[weber05]

hey all..im still debating on what i want to do here when i get my new tank setup here. i already have a small adult blueface, thats it though. so here is what i am planning on putting in my tank once i get it all put up when i buy a house,and get it cycled.im a little anxious if you cant tell. the tank is a drilled 240 gallon w/75 gallon underneath for the sump. im going to just cover the bottom with crushed coral and fill it up with a decent amount of live rock.

the stocklist plan-

-blueface angel
-sohal OR clown tang
-purple tang
-banana wrasse
-clown trigger
-dogface puffer
-Large maroon clown


i would love a tesselata eel but from everything i have read it is a no.. any suggestions for an eel?

i would also love another trigger..or another puffer but i have heard horror stories about both. what is bad about puffers? its one fish i have never had. open to all comments/thoughts. thanks people.

- anyone ever had a high-fin snapper ? i have seen them a few times and they are awesome fish but im a little worried it would be to bullied in this setup..any thoughts..?

and wondering..any ideas about mixing wrasses? im not doing a sand bottom so i know alot of wrasses are out right there..but i know the one i want so far is fine without it. just curious if i ever decide to find another one i want..are they pretty nasty to others when it comes to mixing ? thanks everyone.

[LisaD]

you will need to fine tune your stock list a little, in IMO. some of the fish are too aggressive for others you've chosen.

do you want a heavy aggressive tank, or a mild aggressive tank?

if you want heavy aggressive, eliminate the dogface puffer and get one that is more aggressive, like a guinea fowl or porcupine puffer.

if you want a mild aggressive, eliminate the clown trigger (replace with Rhinecanthus or Melichthys trigger) and possibly the banana wrasse (replace with Coris gaimard?)

I would eliminate the sohal/clown tang altogether due to aggression, size and space requirements for the sohal, and aggression/poor survival in the clown.

JMO

[weber05]

alright thanks for the response, i have had a clown tang before and kept it for quite some time until i had to sell my setup. i wasnt sure on dogface puffers a buddy of mine said they can be real nasty so i wasnt sure. i will look into another puffer. only reason i say sohal tang is because my friend here has an absolutely gorgeous show size one and he is moving in a few months and i wuold love to take it off his hands instead of it going to someone else who will pack it in a 90 gallon and let it suffer..i would like a pretty aggressive tank because its something i have never had, i have had some semi-aggressive fish in my reef setups, but not anything nasty.

[kirkaz]

Is the tank acrylic or glass? If acrylic I would avoid the Dogface. Clown Trigger is a tremendous risk in any community setup, they sometimes work out long term, but they can be a ticking time bomb. A lot of great Triggers to choose from though, Sargassum, Bluejaw, Pinktail, Halfmoon, that are less aggressive. I have a Banana/Sunset Wrasse, wonderful fish I also have a Harlequin Tusk with him without issue, adds amazing color and energy to any large tank.

Goldentail and Snowflake are great eels.

If you do either the Clown or Sohal, make sure they are last in, they are very dominant fish. My Sohal is doing great in my 240, but he is growing like a weed, I got him at 3 inch, he is now 5, I expect him to be 8 inch by the end of the year.

[weber05]

the tank is glass. i figured the sohal would be last to add or the clown tang. i looked at less aggressive triggers but would they not get beat up a little bit by the other fish? my LFS just got a golden tail eel in by accident and i can have him for $30 "my friends discount that works there" im debating on picking him up now just because its a great deal. he is about 6-8 inches. i really like tesselatta eels but i dont want any of my fish getting swallowed. i didnt want to drop so much on a puffer that is why i steered away from a guinea fowl puffer but i will have to do a little more research on the others. i do like blue throat triggers i just dont want him to get abused. or a pair of them would be great actually. thanks for the advice so far everyone.

[danorth]

Looks good to me for a list. My clown tang isn't mean at all. They have a nice huge one right now on justrarefish.com.

Should look close to this:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/danorth/Crew-12-24-08.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/danorth/FTS.jpg

[LisaD]

Dan, I always think of your tank as the beautiful exception to the rules. :)

[danorth]

Is it really that much of an exception though? If I had to set up another identical tank, I am sure that within 6 months I could get a crew like this together again. If a fish is mean, switch it out and try another....that's how I got to my group.

[LisaD]

maybe you're right, I've never tried that approach. how many fish would you guess you have switched out over the last 3-4 years, to arrive at that stock mix?

[karaim]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14223861#post14223861 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danorth
Looks good to me for a list. My clown tang isn't mean at all. They have a nice huge one right now on justrarefish.com.

Should look close to this:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/danorth/Crew-12-24-08.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/danorth/FTS.jpg

Is that a feather duster I see on one of the rocks? Nobody has sampled it yet? How???

[danorth]

No feather dusters, just anemones and a cleaner shrimp.

[kirkaz]

You have some amazing adult fish Danorth....Weber, don't worry about a Sargassum or Bluethroat being bullied, as long as they are one of the first fish in, you are fine. They are still Triggers, my Sargassum backs down if my Sohal ever chases but he doesn't go into hiding or anything.

[weber05]

alright well like i said im doing a little more research on my puffer situation still..my friend here had a clown trigger from when it was tiny until it was 7+ inches with no problems either so its a tough call for me. i will defanitely keep everyone posted when i get the ball rolling here. any more suggestions or help is appreciated.thanks so far everyone.

anyone have any info on the high fin snapper???