I've got 80 gallons to spare...

[Gaffes]

Hello all,

Unfortunately, Fedor, my undulated triggerfish has passed away after 11 years of life in my UOWLR tank. It was just him and a bunch of liverock, mushrooms, and green star polyps.

I am looking to plan a "round two" and restock my tank. It is somewhat empty since the undulated was not really up for company. I plan on getting a cleanup crew of two turbo snails to start, and am looking for ideas of what else to stock with.

The tank is 80 gallons with lots of water flow and pretty good overall water quality. I'm skimming with a Remora Pro and only use RO/DI water and am dosing kalkwasser via a Nielsen Reactor.

My inital thoughts are to try an identify some smaller, colorful fish and maybe an interesting invert or two.

I've been maintaining aquaria for about 30 years or so, and fell like I am fairly competent, but still prefer to stick with hardier species whenever possible.

Now....ANY IDEAS??

Thanks in advance...

 

[D.W.L.]

Sorry for the loss. They sure become close pets after that long.

 

[Anonymous]

My inital thoughts are to try an identify some smaller, colorful fish and maybe an interesting invert or two.

Well, do you want to stay with the predator theme or go with more reef safe critters? My first thought for a reef type tank of that size would be a nice shoal of any of the cardinal fish.

 

[Gaffes]

Thanks, DWL, it was sad to see him go, but 11 years was a good life for an undulated, if I understand correctly.

Lawdawg, I am thinking of shifting gears and going for more of a community/soft coral tank this time. Currently considering a small harem of fairy or flasher wrasses, and also maybe a small shrimp or two. Still lots of reading to do...

I am not familiar with any of the cardinal fish that I am aware of, so will add them to my research list. Thanks!

 

[Mike612]

If you want a small school of wrasses, look at Flasher Wrasses, not Fairy Wrasses. Fairy Wrasses get a bit bigger and are more territorial. Make sure you have a tight-fitting lid to cover the tank as all wrasses are known to jump out if they are scared.

Cardinals make better schooling fish in my opinion, If you want to consider a group of Cardinals, you might want to look into the Pajama Cardinals. They're easy to care for, easy to find, and aren't expensive. Avoid a school of Banggai Cardinals. They may look more appealing, but they really don't school well. They'll start killing each other off until only one remains.

Green Chromis also make nice schooling fish. They may seem bland, but in a big group and with the right lighting, they put on a nice display. They're also easy to find and easy to care for.

A pair of Ocellaris Clownfish always gets people excited. They live long and spawn frequently in the home aquarium also if your tank conditions are good. They also eat pretty much anything so feeding is a breeze.

You can consider a Royal Gramma for your tank to add some color. The Royal Gramma was my first fish and it was a real delight to have. It's very hardy and a beautiful fish too.

In a soft coral tank, you can consider a dwarf angel for a centerpiece fish. The Flame Angel and Coral Beauty Angel are your best bets. They shouldn't bother any soft coral other than a zoanthid here and there. Just keep it well fed.

Invertebrate-wise, Cleaner shrimp are full of personality and do the fish a great service by cleaning them. They're also out in the open most of the day so they add some character to any tank. Astrea Snails do a good job of cleaning the algae in the tank. Emerald Crabs also do a good job of cleaning and are usually safe with fish unless they're really big. You can also consider Electric Blue Hermit Crabs (my favorite crab). They're usually out all day long picking at algae and leftover food at the bottom of the tank. Just be careful when mixing with snails. They like to kill snails and steal their shells for themselves :S

Good luck! I hope this helps!

 

[Gaffes]

After a bit of thought, I am leaning towards the following for my final setup. I still have to re and fine-tune a bit.

The first thing I want to do is install and stock a DSB.

For final inhabitants:

2 cleaner shrimp
5 green chromis or cardinalfish
1 royal gramma
1 coral beauty
1 goby/shrimp pair

Does this list look compatible? Is the stocking level too high? Also, I have not decided upon the shrimp/goby pair. Is anyone aware of a list showing the species that are likely to pair together?

Thanks for any help...I probably won't begin stocking until I have my full plan in place...

 

[Anonymous]

One thought...the goby/shrimp pair would be better in a small specific tank dedicated to them, I'm afraid in the 80 you couldn't observe the unique behavior very well. Oh, and in a tank that size you could have more than 2 cleaner shrimp

 

[Gaffes]

Updated stocking dream list:

3 cleaner shrimp (already purchased)
5 orange lined cardinalfish
1 midas blenny
1 coral beauty

How does this look? I'm still not sure about the coral beauty, I may go for a pygmy angel or a flame angel. I am looking for an easy to keep colorful fish that will get along with the rest of the guys above. Any suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

Well, if I remember correctly none of the pygmy angels are reef safe, did you plan on corals?

 

[Gaffes]

I've heard mixed reviews on the dwarf angels and nipping at corals.

My tank is completely overgrown with mushrooms and GSP, so if he nipped at a few and reduced the populations that would be fine with me...