Help me stock my 200 gallon

[Zivman]

The time has come to stock my new 200 gallon.

The only fish I really want are:
Paired maroon stripes clowns
Blonde Naso tang

Beyond this, I am hoping to get suggestions. I would prefer Reef safe fish, though I don't plan on keeping corals, but I do plan on keeping clams sometime own the road. Tank has about 300lbs of live rock so there is plenty of hiding places.

Please post suggestions of online places to purchase as well thanks-

[Samper]

Get 5 or 6 cardinals for a schooling effect.
A neon goby or two.
A royal gramma and a Flame Hawk.
If you have an established sandbed get a blue spot jawfish and a pistol shrimp....awesome symbiotic relationship and overlooked by quite a few.

All have awesome behaviors.
I'm sure others will chime in with different suggestions but those are a few of mine.
You shouldn't get all your fish at once though.......do it slowly over time. Also this might be too many but all are pretty small.
As for places to get them I don't know. My fish are bought from an LFS.

[Zivman]

Get 5 or 6 cardinals for a schooling effect.
A neon goby or two.
A royal gramma and a Flame Hawk.
If you have an established sandbed get a blue spot jawfish and a pistol shrimp....awesome symbiotic relationship and overlooked by quite a few.

All have awesome behaviors.
I'm sure others will chime in with different suggestions but those are a few of mine.
You shouldn't get all your fish at once though.......do it slowly over time. Also this might be too many but all are pretty small.
As for places to get them I don't know. My fish are bought from an LFS.

I decided against the maroon clowns and went with a nice pair of saddle backs.

I am having a local place find me a blonde Naso, which they quoted ~$80 for about a 3-4" one. I thought this was a decent price. I like the suggestion of the Hawk and will be getting a neon goby.

[spbaden]

I really like the sailfin tang that is a very cool fish i would love to have one. would get like 5 Heniochus butterflies because that look cool and they school! 1 blue powder tang (a personal favorite) maybe a purple tang, you have room for a copperband butterfly to be happy, there are some pretty cool bat fish, keep in mind you could get a little shark, lots of people say no right away but they are the coolest looking things that can be found in a fish tank. one big lion fish would be awsome. just keep you mind open and look at all the fish you can. I would get a couple of puffers. You have the luxury of being able to have almost anything you want as long as they all get along, but with 300lbs of live rock the only thing that couls be a problem is large preditor eating a small fish.

[Zivman]

I decided against the maroon clowns and went with a nice pair of saddle backs.

I am having a local place find me a blonde Naso, which they quoted ~$80 for about a 3-4" one. I thought this was a decent price. I like the suggestion of the Hawk and will be getting a neon goby.

I added a neon goby and a kole tang. I am picking up a majestic angel and the sailfin today. I might still get a pair of maroon gold stripe clowns though. The LFS also suggested a copperband butterfly, but that would really limit me if I ever decided to do corals.

[Michelle]

Hi Zivman,

You might want to give it a couple of weeks before you add another fish. In fact, you might want to wait several months before you consider adding a Majestic Angel or any other Angel fish to your tank.

Michelle

[Zivman]

Hi Zivman,

You might want to give it a couple of weeks before you add another fish. In fact, you might want to wait several months before you consider adding a Majestic Angel or any other Angel fish to your tank.

Michelle

Because of water conditions? My tank has been set up for over 7 weeks now. Water parameters are perfect.

[Reefland]

Not because of the water conditions, but because of the age and overall maturity of your system. You should give your tank a good 4-6 months to mature before adding a delicate fish like an Angel and you should give your tank a good 2-3 weeks to re-balance in between additions.

[Zivman]

Not because of the water conditions, but because of the age and overall maturity of your system. You should give your tank a good 4-6 months to mature before adding a delicate fish like an Angel and you should give your tank a good 2-3 weeks to re-balance in between additions.

Too late for that, the angel is in. I spoke with my LFS about this when I went to pick the fish up and they said it can really vary, but as long as the fish is hardy, you acclimate them properly, and you watch your water parameters you should have no worries.

[dougc]

Obviously, there is no quarantining going on here. You should be prepared to medicate the tank. Given the speed with which you have crammed new fish into the tank, you stand a pretty good chance of an ich outbreak. If you medicate the tank with copper, though, you can forget adding clams later. Most medications, especially copper, get absorbed into the rocks and substrate. Copper is extremely toxic to invertebrates and cannot be easily removed from the tank. Unfortunately, copper is still the most effective treatment for parasites. Beyond parasites, treatment of fish diseases is a guessing game. That is why quarantining new arrivals for a few weeks is highly recommended. I have never had a whole lot of luck treating sick fish (other than parasites), but at least the disease affects only the quarantined fish. In the years before I started quarantining fish, I often added a new fish to the tank, only to have the new fish die and then to lose one or more of the other fish in the tank within a few days or weeks. Since I started quarantining fish for a few weeks, this has not happened.

Majestic angels are not what I would call a hardy fish. They are certainly not considered particularly difficult, but, like most angels, they demand pristine water conditions. They are beautiful, though. They are known clam mantle nippers, too, but that seems to vary from individual to individual.

It is sometimes difficult to be disciplined about adding fish to a tank, but it is the surest way to achieve long-term success. I think most of us have been guilty of acting like a kid in a candy store at one time or another, but it is often later regretted. I now quarantine every fish for a month before it goes into my tank and I never buy a fish without first learning as much as I can about the species before I buy it. Feeding, aggressiveness, compatibility with the other fish in the tank, space requirements, etc. I don't rely on store personnel as my sole source of advice. It takes longer to stock a tank this way, but ultimately it results in healthier fish and less losses along the way.

Read all you can here and on the other fish and reef boards. You can learn a lot from those that have been through this. Don't rely on one opinion, even mine , because we don't all agree on the best way to do things. Good luck with your fish.

[Reefland]

Too late for that, the angel is in. I spoke with my LFS about this when I went to pick the fish up and they said it can really vary, but as long as the fish is hardy, you acclimate them properly, and you watch your water parameters you should have no worries.

Good luck with your new additions.

It is very important to research the suggested care requirements for each new fish, coral or invert that interests us before adding it to our displays; it will save yourself a lot of heart-ache and the give the animals a better chance at longer term survival. I would also like to add that a lot of people at a LFS are trained to sell things, not to provide the most potential buyers with information that will allow them to make an educated decision on potential purchases.

With that said, you need to make sure you try to give all of the fish you have just added the most varied diet you can provide. Flakes, mysid, algae, home made recipes of shrimp, clam, etc.... whatever you can provide. It is important to make sure your water quality is maintained at perfect conditions to keep the stress level as low as possible for these new additions. I would also follow the above recommendation on quarentine and be prepared to set up something quick if needed.

Good Luck!

[Zivman]

Good luck with your new additions.

It is very important to research the suggested care requirements for each new fish, coral or invert that interests us before adding it to our displays; it will save yourself a lot of heart-ache and the give the animals a better chance at longer term survival. I would also like to add that a lot of people at a LFS are trained to sell things, not to provide the most potential buyers with information that will allow them to make an educated decision on potential purchases.

With that said, you need to make sure you try to give all of the fish you have just added the most varied diet you can provide. Flakes, mysid, algae, home made recipes of shrimp, clam, etc.... whatever you can provide. It is important to make sure your water quality is maintained at perfect conditions to keep the stress level as low as possible for these new additions. I would also follow the above recommendation on quarentine and be prepared to set up something quick if needed.

Good Luck!

I respect everyone's opinion, but I really trust these guys at the store I am buying the fish from. I purchased all the fish from the same place and all have been in great health upon purchase. All have been eating within hours of being introduced to the tank. The Sailfin that they sold me, they had for over 6 months and really didn't want to see it go to just anybody. I have a quarantine tank ready if I see any sort of disease. I am watching my water parameters very closely and am confident that there is only a slim chance I will need to use it.

The LFS has advised me against purchasing more expensive fish because they felt they would not be a wise investment at this stage in the game. I will be waiting several weeks before adding any more livestock to the tank to ensure the fish I have already are healthy.

[Reefland]

Please do take anyone's advice with a grain of salt util you can verify it many times over. I personally would question their advice immediately saying it was ok to add that many fish of that delicate nature in this early stage.

Please don't get us wrong, we are just trying to steer you in a good direction; remember that none of us have any profits to make from our advice. ;)

[Zivman]

Please do take anyone's advice with a grain of salt util you can verify it many times over. I personally would question their advice immediately saying it was ok to add that many fish of that delicate nature in this early stage.

Please don't get us wrong, we are just trying to steer you in a good direction; remember that none of us have any profits to make from our advice. ;)

Just an update. The fish has been in the tank for about 36 hours and seems to be doing OK. He has been grazing on the live rock a bit, but is still a bit shy, though it has paced the tank a few times. I have yet to see it to eat any prepared food, but the grazing is a good sign. I did leave a cube of formula one in a clip overnight and it was gone in the morning, but I know the sailfin and clowns were taking a liking to, so they probably finished it off.

The LFS said they have had a lot of luck with the majestic and they didn't have too many concerns with sending it home with me. They said that they don't take to prepared foods all that well, and to start them off with mysis and work into the flakes and so on. They said it usually takes about a week for them to fully acclimate to the new tank/environment and to watch my water parameters and things should be alright. I am religiously watching my parameters and continuously watching his activity.

[Zivman]

Update - 11/05
The Majestic Angel started eating prepared food today. It had been picking at the liverock all morning since the lights came on and after about 2 hrs I put in a cube of formula one. It took the fish about 20 minutes and then began pecking at it. He looks great and is becoming less and less shy everyday.

Water parameters are still pristine. The LFS said I might want to look at a UV sterilizer. I have been researching them for a couple days and while there are many that would said they are not needed, I think it is a wise investment, because the only time you will need one is when you don't have it. I know the pros and cons, but would like recommendations from the board on brands.

It seems most recommend Emperor Aquatics - http://http://www.thatpetplace.com/P.../Itemdy00.aspx
Or Aqua-
http://http://www.marinedepot.com/md...product=AV2271

Any recommendations on the above would be appreciated

[lastpuppy7]

I've tryed liquid garlic. It does wonders. Works on keeping away ick and parsties. Easy way to use it is drop on ure seedweed. Hope that helps.

[Zivman]

I've tryed liquid garlic. It does wonders. Works on keeping away ick and parsties. Easy way to use it is drop on ure seedweed. Hope that helps.

Yes it does. I ordered a few fish from liveaquaria and lost a true perc within 2 days. I think they were stressed from the shipment as they only put one heatpack in the box and the water was a bit chilly(I live in MN). The other clown wouldn't eat for about 4 days and was looking pretty rough so I went out and picked up some garlic extreme. I have been soaking brine shrimp in it and finally got the litttle guy to eat. Looks like he is going to make it.

The angel is doing beautifully and eating everything I throw at him. not really shy at all, but once the tank lights go out, he goes to bed till they come back on.

I did buy a 40 watt UV sterilizer by emperor aquatics, seems to help with algae a bit.

[fishgeeksrus]

We love our Copperband...
Also, the barlett and bi-colored anthias are really pretty. They add lots of color.
Purple tang...
purple firefish, but ours hide alot...
flame hawk ( I here they are very interesting to watch)...
Chevron tang (very pretty also)...