Caribbean Biotope Tank

[psychorugby]

I'm going to set up my 120 (4x2x2) as a Caribbean biotope. I have a list of fish that I want, but I have a feeling I missed some or that I have too much. PLease let me know if anything I list won't work or if I have too many listed as I suspect I do because I love them all. I know the 3 basslets may or may not work together - the swissguard is my favorite if I can find it for a reasonable price.

∙Blackcap Basslet
∙Royal Gramma
∙Swissguard Basslet
∙Chalk Bass (a small school perhaps)
∙Red Spot Hawkfish (only if it won't eat peppermint shrimp)
∙Flameback or Cherub Angel (plan to add last)
∙Flame Cardinal (a small school perhaps)
∙Pearly Jawfish (2 or 3)
∙Neon Goby (2 or 3, maybe more)
∙Sharknose Goby
∙Atlantic Blue Tang (is it possible to do 3?)
∙Princess Parrotfish
∙Indigo or Shy Hamlet (maybe, if they don't eat peppermint shrimp)
∙Blue Reef Chromis
∙Barnacle Blenny
∙Bluehead Wrasse

I know it's a lot but I can't decide who should be excluded or what the numbers in the schools should be. The tank will have lots of macro to help with nutrient export. I am also trying to figure out what corals I CAN put in the tank as they are banned from collection. So far all I can think of is gorgonians and sponges... and maybe some condys. I want a few hard corals in the tank if I can get them and whatever other soft corals I can get that are Caribbean specific.

 

[Anonymous]

It depends what kind of biotope you are looking for. You could start by deciding whether you want a shallow water biotope or deep water one. That will limit your options and make choosing easier. One thing though, you might want to avoid any tangs in your system...they will get big, they are very active, and more than one will fight.

 

[ChrisRD]

I'll move this to the main discussion forum where you'll get more feedback...

 

[Anonymous]

You should probably ditch the tangs and the parrotfish altogether. The rest of the fish stay pretty small (oh, except for the wrasse...do you know the species name?) so I would just add one at a time and see how things turn out. I don't think you can fit all of them but you can probably do a few of your favorites. Good idea!

BTW, a hamlet or hawkfish will most likely end up eating your peppermints.

 

[psychorugby]

The parrotfish is going to get nixed, as is the hawk and the hamlet. That was just a list for me to work from. The tang is the one fish on there I have to have. The wrasse gets to about 7" long.. species name: Thalassoma bifasciatum.

Biotope may have been the wrong word... more like Caribbean only.

 

[Meloco14]

Sounds like a good list to start from and narrow down. The wrasse is not reef safe, it will probably eat corals if you find any to keep. The angel will also be a chance, some turn out to be fine, others tend to pick at coral polyps. Both fish are fine for a fish only tank though. I'm not positive about this but for some reason I think chalk bass might eat peppermint shrimp, so be careful there. I have two tank raised neon gobies in my 55, and I like them a lot. They are very hardy, but the bigger one tends to chase around and pick on the smaller one. Your tank is obviously much bigger, but you may not want to get more than 2 or 3 since they might pick on each other. For corals it's kind of hard to find caribbean stonies, but there are many different colors of ricordea and other mushrooms you could find. Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Any wrasse from the genus Thallasoma will make quick work of your shrimp, snails, crabs and possibly small fish.

The tang is doable, but it puts a big bioload on your system. It will really limit the other fish you can put in. I wouldn't put more than the one tang in either.

One beautiful gorgonian that I can think of from the Caribbean (I think!?) is Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata.

 

[Anonymous]

I would bet on the Thalassoma bifasciatum eventually taking out all your little fish as it grows.

Thalassoma wrasses are nice fish only tank fishes, but they are fast swimmers that often worry other fishes, and you have to choose their tankmates carefully.

 

[Anonymous]

I would (just my opinion of what would be a cool tank) ditch all the larger, more difficult fish, and have a selection of the smaller fish, but in multiples.

Centropyge angels can be kept in pairs or groups if you add them at the same time and they are small, and the behaviour of a pair of dwarf angels is one of the most interesting things to watch. I have a pair of Centropyge loriculus in my 155g and they are way more entertaining and colorful that my big ol boring tangs who do nothing but eat and poop.

 

[Anonymous]

Good luck pairing a group of C. argi though 8O

 

[psychorugby]

I'm leaning towards a flameback anyways since they seem to be more docile.

 

[psychorugby]

Just bumping up and updating my stocking list:

Blackcap Basslet
Swissguard Basslet
Chalk Bass (a small school, 3-5)
Flameback Angel (plan to add last)
Flame Cardinal (a small school, 3-5)
Pearly Jawfish (2 or 3)
Neon Goby (2 or 3, maybe more)
Atlantic Blue Tang
Blue Reef Chromis (5-7)
Barnacle Blenny
Greenbanded Goby
Lightning Wrasse (will it eat peppermints?)

Still whittling away at the list, thought it almost looks reasonable now.

 

[Anonymous]

Lightning Wrasse (will it eat peppermints?)

Halichoeres cyanocephalus I presume? Never had that particular one, but any wrasse of the genus Halichoeres will be way more docile than anything in the genus Thallasoma. MUCH better choice I think. I had a Halichoeres ornatissimus that I just loved to peices, great, wonderful fish. Outgoing, hardy colorful, perfectly friendly with my other fish. Can't say for sure if he will be safe with peppermints, I have my doubts. I think they may be at risk especially as the wrasse gets larger, but I say a cool beautiful wrasse is worth the risk of some peppermints, just my opinion though.

You will have to cover any openings in your tank for this guy though, I lost my Halichoeres ornatissimus because just one night I accidentally left the top open. That was such a cool fish and I miss him dearly.

 

[Anonymous]

Neat idea - I have toyed witht he idea of doing a carribean tank but the lack of coral diversity kind of ruins it for me. The best I could do was a bunch of gorgonians and a flower anemone or two which are not conducive to small fish in my experience.
SOme input on a few fish on your list:

Blackcap Basslet - can be pretty pugnacious, I got one from reeftopia that had swimbladder damage and died - make sure it's properly collected and preferably buy form lfs you can observe it before purchase.
Swissguard Basslet - shy, may get bullied by blackcap
Chalk Bass (a small school, 3-5) - awesome fish - they will eat small shrimp.
Flameback Angel (plan to add last)
Flame Cardinal (a small school, 3-5) - beleive these are mostly nocturnal, provide some caves.
Pearly Jawfish (2 or 3) - fairly timid , I would add these first and let them settle in a week or two before adding anything else.
Neon Goby (2 or 3, maybe more) - awesome fish , short lived though none of the ones I've had over the years have lived more than about ayear and a half.
Atlantic Blue Tang
Blue Reef Chromis (5-7)
Barnacle Blenny - Extremely cool fish, can do in groups if tank large enough.
Greenbanded Goby - G.multifasciatum?
Lightning Wrasse (will it eat peppermints?) - voracious , your peppermints might be ok if they are in tank first but I kind of doubt it. Agree with Laura it's a better chouce than bluehad simply as it's much less active - the bluehead will drive you nuts from pacing in the (relativelyl) small tank.

 

[psychorugby]

I've nixed, teh basslets, greenband goby, and narrowed the cardinals to 1 or 2. I plan on having the shrimp in first for a few months to get a hold on the tank. The chalk bass I've had before never messed with the shrimp. Would a CBS be a better choice than pepps?

 

[Anonymous]

Scott Michael says chalk bass will only pick on very small shrimp like Periclemenes spp. Peppermints should be fine if they're large and in the tank first.

 

[ChrisRD]

My Chalk Bass never bothered the two Peppermint Shrimp he was in with. The shrimp were in the tank first, so not sure if that's what made the difference...

 

[Meloco14]

If you decided against the blackcap and swissguard, you may want to consider bringing back the royal gramma. they are peaceful with all other fish except basslets, fairly inexpensive and hardy, very colorful and once established are very curious and like to come out and see what's going on.
Just an idea

 

[Anonymous]

I have at my disposal a standard 30 gallon tank, 2x150 fixture, etc., and am trying to decide if this is worthwhile. How did the project at the top of this thread work out? Are there any good indo-pacific surrogate hard coral species to approximate the look and growth form of some of the Caribbean species, such as Leptoria for Diploria, and perhaps a Pacific Porites for the Atlantic species? I'm figuring a couple of massive species under several colonies of gorgonians, with a royal gramma and a pair of neon gobies or a cherub angel would look kinda neat.

 

[Anonymous]

A Scolymia sp. occurs in the Atlantic. Lots of the hard corals (like Meandrina) bear superficial resemblances to Trachyphyllia...sorta.