Help with fish selection

[SuperNemo]

I really need help with fish selection here. I want to get everything, dont know how many people have this problem.

I have a standard 125G tank which is filled up to about 13.5 inches due to me being on the second floor and dont want to have so much weight on floor with a 55G sump. I estimate the water volume to be about 100G.

Two fish that I would definately want is Oscellaris Clownfish x2 and a Yellow Tang, which the kid really wants also.

What other fish should I get? Or how many more fish could I get. I got have a Vertex Alpa 200 skimmer, so a little overstocked would still be okay.

I have sand in the tank, so a nice sand sifter would be nice also to keep the sand clean.

The tank is going to be FOWLR, but might get some softies in the future.

Please give me your inputs and what would be a nice set of fishes to get. Thanks.

Jim

[cdeboard]

I personally like the diamond goby for a sand cleaner. I also use a sandsifting star.
Otherwise. Another tang would do (maybe a blue tang, or whatever) and maybe a small schoal of chromis (3-5 or so). Just some suggestions.

[thegrun]

Is this a standard 72 x 18 x 20 tank or a 60 x 18 x 24 (125 Tall)? Either way I would have concerns about the tang being able to make turns in such a shallow tank. You would have 75 gallons in the DT if it is a standard 125, 63 gallons if it is a 125 tall. As a side note, most 2nd floors will support a 125 tank if it is near a bearing wall. I would add a purple firefish and a royal gramma to the mix. I think in the long run the shallow depth is likely to stress the tang to the point where it will succumb to disease.

[cdeboard]

How do you get the water to the sump if it is only half full? Just wondering on that one. Yeah that yellow will get quite large. Just be aware you may have to either fill the tank or switch things around or get rid of the tang down the road. Personally I would maybe go with a smaller sump then fill your tank full. Hell when I bought my 125 it only had like a 20g wet/dry that I converted into a sump that I used for a while.

[catch1]

Whatever you do, add your fish slowly. Throwing them all in there at once is asking for a crash.

[SuperNemo]

thegun, the tank is a 72x18x20. so i guess i'll leave the water shallow for now and get the yellow tang. i could easily change the height of the water in the future to accomidate the tang. I like the purple firefish, can i also get the regular red firefish together with the purple or would they end up killing each other.

cdeboard, the overflow i have is a modified version of the pvc style overflow thats on the diy section of this site. I'll try to find a picture of it, but I think that the rock has covered most of the pvc overflow so it would be dificult to see. The sump idea is good, but i already have the sump made so dont think that I will be doing that.

catch, thanks for the tip. I am well aware of the going slow process. I have all dry rock and dry sand in the tank with two pieces of shrimp waiting for the bacteria process. Going to be a long 4-6 weeks.

So far, the list is as follows
Clownfish x2
Yellow Tang
Purple Firefish
Diamond or Yellow Watchman Goby
Chromis x3-5
Royal Gamma

[TXStateUnivReef]

sixline wrasses are nice they keep your pest population down. they are also very pretty.

[SuperNemo]

The overflow is based of of the one in the diy section except the riser tube inside the water is replaced with a large diameter with a smaller tube inside, essentially creating a overflow area.

121990

121991

the clear tubing on top is a replacement for the check value which is used by most. i used a clear tubing with a ball value which you can't see in the picture to prevent air from entering the tube. The air is sucked out using another pump and you could see when air bubble have entered the tube and know when the system possible fail. You could not see that with the check value, I know how much air is in the system. The picture has air in the tube, thats cause i did not suck out all the air with the pump, which was trapped in the fittings. Bubble came out after i shook the system, will have to use the pump again to get the air out.

[SuperNemo]

how man damsels could i have? Can I have different types of damsels, or would they end up killing each other off?

How about butterfly fish? Or Angelfish?

[Grebex11]

get this butterfly! I love them, very easy to care for, unlike some of the others. They will accept flake food right away.
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+25+242&pcatid=242

[Grebex11]

I'd also skip the damsels. They get aggressive when older, might not be a problem in a 125g though. I would get the 3 chromis instead as cdeboard suggested

[thegrun]

Two firefish regardless of type will fight unless you are lucky enough to find a mated pair. They tend to be shy fish, particularly when first introduced to the tank, but as long as you keep to non-aggressive fish it will eventually come out into the open tank. As much as I love my 6 line wrasse, they eventually if not initially get aggressive. I will soon need to remove my two year old 6 line, it has begun to harass all it's other tank mates.

[SuperNemo]

grebex, that butterfly is awesome, puttimg that on my list

[Chris27]

Damsels are the devils soldiers - skip them! More times then none, they get very aggressive and become a downright horror to keep with other fish.

As it stands, my suggestion are for some more fish are another tang, perhaps a kole or blue, a dwarf or smaller large angelfish such as a lamarck, and a scooter blenny (they are just plain cool).

[cdeboard]

Wow supernemo thanks for that. I havent seen an overflow like that before.
Firefish are cool but cant really keep 2. Butterflys are pretty as well but can pick at corals. +1 on agressive damsels, I have a small one (probably an inch) and it annoys the crap out of me. The only damsels I woul get in in a big chunk would be the chromis. 3-5 or so for a small school.

[SuperNemo]

Based on everyones advice, I guess my fish selection will be the following:

Clownfish x2
Yellow Tang
Purple Firefish
Diamond or Yellow Watchman Goby
Chromis x3-5
Royal Gamma
Black and White Butterfly
Angel fish (small - type undecided)
Scooter Blenny

Dont even know when I will be able to add fish, staring at an empty take for six weeks or more sucks big time.

[SuperNemo]

Well tank appears to have finished cycling.

Amnonia and nitrate are showing 0. added a little piece of shrimp to keep the bacteria alive.

I have decided on the fish to get, but what order should I be getting them. Fish list below. All help is appreciated.

Clownfish x2
Yellow Tang
Purple Firefish
Diamond or Yellow Watchman Goby
Chromis x3-5
Royal Gamma
Black and White Butterfly
Angel fish (small - type undecided)
Scooter Blenny

Jim

[Mavrk]

The order of those shouldn't matter for the most part. I would say to have the tang last and the angel second to last. I would start with chromis just because they are hardy and you shouldn't lose them to new tank syndrome (plus they are cheap). I would probably put the firefish in there on the early side because they are more docile. In general you want to add the passive fish first, then the more agressive. I don't know where the butterfly falls into tall that.

[Seahorse NJRC]

Just make sure the butterfly is already eating frozen when you get it. I would recommend the Flame angel. It will offer a good color variety based on what your other tank inhabitants are. I have a lemonpeel and she is gorgeous with a tinge of blue around her fins and eyes. Good luck with your tank!!!

[Mavrk]

There are a variety of wrasses that will add nice coloring too.

[cdeboard]

Nice list. And on the scooter blenny.. they are pod eaters so make sure you have a good brood of pods going before adding it.