huge stocking

[xdusty6920]

ok, im having two tanks built and one will be a FO and the other will be a reef. its fair to say both tanks will be massive. well i have around 40 fish that i know off the top of my head i want to house in these two tanks. my question is, how can i decide what fish will or will not coexist with each other and which order to indroduce them? this is a simple task when you have 2-3 fish in one small system. but two large systems and several dozen fish are a whole other ball game. thanks for the help guys.

[Angel*Fish]

Make a list of all 40 fish
Cross off the first 15
Divide by 2
Subtract 10.5
Then add half the remaining fish to one tank & the other half to the other tank & the order doesn't matter :D

Seriously, why don't you go back to step one - Make a list of all 40 fish & post them here & I'm sure you'll get lots of help

Some of us live for this kind dilema :)

[stykthyn]

how big is massive?

[xdusty6920]

the tanks will total over 4,000g and thats just the displays. i hate saying this but for the time being id like to avoid talking about the tanks themselves. everytime i have a question about large pumps, extreme mh lighting etc. the thread quickly turns to questions about my tank rather then discussion of the subject. i hope that doesnt sound rude but believe me its easy to turn the focus to the tanks and thats a whole other thread in itself lol.
ok heres the list that i have compiled in no particular order. i realize some fish just wont work, its just a list of what fish id really like to house. also some fish may be multiples but that really depends on what the final stocking list is and which fish will school and be ok in multiples. ok enough jibber jabber here's the list!
mystery wrasse (psuedochellinus ocellatus)
blue unicorn tang (naso brevirostris)
chevron tang
starry puffer
copperband
paucifasciatus butterfly
orbiculate batfish
marculosus angelfish
passer angelfish
redsea regal angel
hoevens wrasse
magnificent foxface
crosshatch trigger
centropyge interruptus
imperator angel
klunzinger wrasse (thalassoma klunzinger)
yellow goat (pacupeneus cyclostoma)
hihat
herbraicum gold bar wrasse
harlequin tusk (austrailian)
sargssum trigger
emperor snapper
hawaii drangon eel
jackknife fish
threadfin lookdown
achilles tang
black tang
powder brown tang
vlamingi tang
unicorn tang
foxface
blue bar psuedo
dutoiti psuedo
exquisite wrasse
radiant wrasse (halichores iradius)
flasher wrasse ( paracheilinus filamentosus)
thats about it for now. also id like to add ill have a rather large container that holds some extra live rock and also a large refugium, and a large frag tank.
the reason i mention this is that i will have 3 extra "tanks" that could house species that just wont fit with either tank. remember one large display FO and one large reef display and then the three sump/fragtank/refugium areas. thanks guys

[Angel*Fish]

If this were my list , I'd write it down & next to each fish I'd record the adult length of the fish to see how many I have that were going to get gigantic.

I'd also make a note of any that are particularly sensitive & need special effort/conditions. (Eg copperband butterfly, batfish...)

Unless money is no object, I'd take note of any fish that is going to cost more than a certain amount.

If money is no object, & I didn't want to do the research myself, I'd consider hiring a consultant, a real expert, not your local tank maintenance guy.

Which fish go in which tanks has so much to do with the size/length of the tank. As far as order goes, I think what you have to do is research each individual fish. I'm sure you know that in general you put in the less dominant ones first working up gradually to the more belligerent ones for last

Not many of us have that many fish. I have almost 30 in one tank, but they don't overlap with your list at all. I combined mine by doing lots of homework on each & thru some trial & error. I had 2 fish eaten, one that would have had to be removed if it hadn't died & one I had to remove.

When combining lots of fish in one tank
Keep in mind their niches. When you look at my tank, it doesn't appear crowded because the fish live in different niches.

I have some that like the water column - anthias
Some that like to perch on rocks - blenny, mandarin
"hanging" fish - cardinals/firefish
Some that stay by their hidy holes or anemones - damsels, clowns
Some that live on the bottom - highfin gobies
Some that graze in & out of the rockwork all day - angels
One everywhere fish - Lubbock's wrasse

I hope this helps :)

[SDguy]

I'd pass on the copperband and jackknife (which, BTW, isn't that the same as a hihat - both drums?). No way will these fish get enough food in that crowd in a FO tank.

Actually, you might want to specify which fish you listed will go in a display containing LR...many listed just won't cut it, IMO, in a FO tank.

hth

[ObscurityKnocks]

I've never heard of anyone putting a dragon eel in a community tank. I do not think that would be wise addition unless it is a species only tank.

[xdusty6920]

well, although these tips are helpfull i couldnt imagine how each fish would react to the other 39 fish in the tank. nor do i think it would be possible to research it. what i mean is for example can a batfish co exist peacfully with a unicorn tang? can the unicorn tang get along with a crosshatch trigger? can the trigger get along with an emperor angel? etc etc.
id just like to start by deciding what in that list is reef safe. that way i can at least narrow the list down to what will actually be candidates for the FO. also i mentioned that i had the three other large containers (sump,refugium, frag tank) so people could suggest what fish would be more suited to by itself (in one of those three) and not in one of the displays. for example i think the dragon eel would be a good candidate for one of those three because i dont think he'd do well in the FO nor the reef as obscurityknocks mentioned. thanks guys for all the comments and help and keep em coming!

[edwar050]

Well sounds like some great tanks seperation I would say from the list
I believe very reef safe-
flasher wrasse, powder brown tang, foxface, achilles tang, magnificent foxface, redsea regal angel if more sps, vlamingi tang, black tang, unicorn tang,and chevron tang.
Possible reef safe-
crosshatch trigger and Harlequin Tusk
Fowlr-
starry puffer,Orbiculate Batfish, Maculosus Angelfish, Jacknife, lookdown, etc.

I have to agree with ObscurityKnocks on the dragon moray but might suggest a zebra or two for the fowlr.

I know you can get some angels to be great with coral tanks but would keep most of the angels, if not all, fowlr. A school of anthias in the reef tank would be dramatically beautiful on a tank that size.

What are you planning on cleanup crew for the fowlr? I would think urchins might work for a tank that size. Alot to answer, this is just my opinion and not fact but hope it helps start a list.

Another idea would be after seperating, to take the fish and calculate the aggressivness. Then create a list in excel with the least aggressive first to most aggressive and try to stick in that order while buying.

[donski]

Sorry this is off topic ... but what is a Michigan guy doing in Columbus????? THAT must be tough!!! Don't worry, I won't blow your cover.. I went to USC.

[Hattie B]

I am so happy to see someone else that is going to have a unicorn Tang.

I have a unicorn tang and it is awesome. They might not be the most colorful, but personality +++. She actually has recenlty started to get a lot of blue around her fins and her yellow 'eye shadow' and she has a nub for a horn.

The horn is starting to grow.. She is one of my favorite fish and she is like a dog.

She lives with a mappa puffer, damsel, flame angel and yellow headed sleeper goby.

All is fine but she does try to eat ALL the food ALL the time no matter what it is.

Good luck

[xdusty6920]

well im wondering if all those tangs and all those wrasses will be ok in the same tank. or will i need to put a few of each in each tank. i just want to make sure agressivness is kept minimal.
for a clean up crew im going to go with an assortment of things. astrea,turbo,cerith,nassarius, cleaner shrimp, and possibly a few urchins if i can find an urchin that doesnt bulldoze as bad as my long spines do now.
the unicorn tang has always been a fish id wanted. but with my upcoming tanks i took a trip to the newport aquarium to look for some inspiring things and saw a tank with a dozen or so unicorns around 20" without the horn. after seeing that i new i had to have one.
im also consimplating getting a few LARGE fish. but thats kinda a tricky area. large fish arent commonly kept in the hobby because of tank size restraints. but in my case i think i could step it up a fair amount, but im just clueless as to where to look for "huge" fish. so heres your oppurtunity guys. ever thought to yourself "man id love to have a _______ if i had a tank big enough for one". well lets here em lol. thanks guys for all the continued help and opinions.