Fish Mix for a 120?

[oyam123]

the tank is about 5' long.
I plan to keep
Carpet anemone and a BTA
Hippo tang, yellow tang, purple tang, pinstripe wrasse.
Flame Angel, pr of Clowns, Mandarin Goby.

Looks like ill need to get rid of:
tomato clown 3", Lg 5" maroon clown, Lg 5" LMB, Lion 6", Trigger 4", Foxface 4", yellow pseudochromis, green bird wrasse 5" unless you think they will work in the mix?

Id like to have clams and shrimp and peace; thats why most of them need to go.
sump will be my old 120 for now with a TUNZE 9010 skimmer.

[oyam123]

got some feedback, and it seems that 3 tangs in a 5' tank is not a good idea.
the yellow and the hippo are in a 120 now, but I have not added the purple yet.....should I sell it or try to add it?
I was also informed that the wrasse and the dragonett may not mix well as they feed on pods. I have had them in the same tank before and they did well.
dropping the wrasse may be best as I dont want to keep such a deep sand bed.
looks like my sump will be full of fish:help:

[David Grigor]

Okay, well you better call the tang police on me then. I have all 3 you mentioned in my 110g, Yellow, Purple, and Regal, as well as a large Rabbitfish. You skimmer should be able to handle that fish bioload just fine.

As with anything, your rockwork layout and overall swimming room means just as much as actual tank size. I've seen some larger tanks than mine that have mounds of rock and not much room for fish to weave in and out of.......

Unlike, sohol, clown, achilles etc. tangs, the ones your mention don't have the behavior of swimming the length of the tank all the time, so whether it's 5' or 6' you will be fine as long as your rockwork is pretty open with plenty of swimming room and have the ability to keep water quality good.

The yellow tang would be my last addition or kept seperate for a while until the purple is acclimated as the similar body types can cause territorial issues early on but it can work......

Having said that, mine will be moving into a 180g shortly so tang police may not be able to apprehend me in time.....

[oyam123]

thats good news.
the purple is the smallest of the 3 tangs, so I hope they will all play nice.
so open rock work is the key!
should I just keep less rock in the tank and more rock in the sump for volume?

[David Grigor]

It's up to you. In most cases, whatever LR you use in your show tank along with a good skimmer is plenty. I don't get caught up with lbs per gallon rules. I'm luck to reach the .5 lbs per gallon.

Here is a pic from the May meeting at my house. All 4 of these structures are independant from each other ( They don't touch but it's hard to see the 3D from just a pic ) and there is room in front, behind, and inbetween each one for the fish to swim around freely as well as arches etc.......This type of setup is much more fish friendly than the great wall of rock that is so typical in many tanks.

http://nicholb.smugmug.com/photos/151578559-M.jpg

I'm planning the 180g to have the same exact configuation only since another foot in length and wider tank there will be more distance between the structures for the corals to grow out into the open spaces. I really like that type of looks where the corals are very much part of the structure vs. just sitting on top of the structures.

[oyam123]

I will try to do more open aquascaping in the new tank.
I have some nice rocks that will work well for this.

[spsick]

well if you're planning on a carpet, throw out the idea of any tangs, or any "stupid" fish. I'm your first hand example, i've had a carpet for 4 years, and it has successfully eaten every kind of tang I put in, and most fish with the exception of blennies, clowns and dottybacks. It has ate hundreds in fish. But my girlfriend says we have to keep it, so I get 5 fish.

[kvmn]

hey,,i got 1purple ,,2yelllow ,,2hiphop ,,,kope,,saifin,,same tank,,,naso in 180g they are friendly,,,just turn off the light when you add new fish,,,then they will be find,,,that what i did,,,

[oyam123]

well if you're planning on a carpet, throw out the idea of any tangs, or any "stupid" fish. I'm your first hand example, i've had a carpet for 4 years, and it has successfully eaten every kind of tang I put in, and most fish with the exception of blennies, clowns and dottybacks. It has ate hundreds in fish. But my girlfriend says we have to keep it, so I get 5 fish.

Dont tell me that:doh:
I had it kill one fish in the past, but its been living in a 120 for some time with no kills....hosting clowns.
will it do well with crush coral or will I need a sand bed?

[oyam123]

hey,,i got 1purple ,,2yelllow ,,2hiphop ,,,kope,,saifin,,same tank,,,naso in 180g they are friendly,,,just turn off the light when you add new fish,,,then they will be find,,,that what i did,,,

Now you did it!:cop: :cop: :cop:

[spsick]

Dont tell me that:doh:
I had it kill one fish in the past, but its been living in a 120 for some time with no kills....hosting clowns.
will it do well with crush coral or will I need a sand bed?

well if it's happy with cc, then fine, but mine is very happy with a sb, but I think they're easy to satisfy and hard to kill! I hope you like giving it expensive meals, mines ate a 6+ tang with no problem!:doh: