Advice on fish choices

[cromedogg33]

Alright I'm a bit ahead of myself but I'm pretty excited. I recently purchased a 75g tank and i'm trying to get a grasp and idea of what i'm trying to do with it before making decisions and am looking for some experienced opinions.

The fish selection I'm looking at while doing reefs in the tanks is as follows.

2-Ocellaris Clownfish
1-Blue Hepatus Tang
1-Yellow Tang
1-Lawnmower Blenny (still my favorite)

I know the tangs may battle but hopefully if I introduce them at the same time they should be okay (hopefully).

I have also been thinking about some sort of butteryfly fish like a Black & White Heniochus along with these but I'm not sure everyone will get along. I like Blue Ring Angelfish too, but have no idea or experience with these. Also let me know if you think this is too crowded for a 75g.

I'm not sure exactly what to get as far as a cleaner crew in this tank so if anyone has some good ideas as far as fish/# of them go, I would be grateful so I can start looking at prices and where to find some good healthy fish.

[IFbettas]

Unfortunately, a 75 gallon tank limits your choices down to smaller fish. The blue tang will outgrow it as would the butterfly and angelfish. The yellow tang should be fine though. If it were me, I would switch out the tangs for some nice fairy/flasher wrasses (as long as you have a cover on the tank).

[bill_c]

Good advice from Marcus. The blue tang will outgrow the tank. Another type of fish to consider are the dwarf angels. They aren't 100% reef safe, but worth the risk IMO.

[cromedogg33]

If I was to get a juvenile Hippo Tang how long before they outgrow? I don't mind raising one up and trading. I'll look at the other fish you guys posted as well.

Thanks

[bill_c]

No idea on their growth rate. I've never owned one. Lot's of people on here have them, so someone will chime in.

[plumber dude]

If I was to get a juvenile Hippo Tang how long before they outgrow? I don't mind raising one up and trading. I'll look at the other fish you guys posted as well.

Thanks

They grow somewhat slow, it also depends on tank size and how much you feed them. I have 4 and they are not growing all that fast for me.

[SHess]

I would definately stick with the lawnmower blenny, that is also one of my favs. There are two wrasses that have done very well helping me manage pests: melanarus and the coris wrasse. Both are fairly inexpensive and they really do a great job. I also agree with Bill on the dwarf angels. IMO the Heniochus will be just fine in a 75 gallon. Are you planing on doing reef or fish only?

[cromedogg33]

I'm going to do a combo tank and just play it month by month on whats working good in my tank and just be patient with what the tank will support at the time.

Also with a cleaner crew, I don't want the tank to be crowded. I'm not going to do massive amounts of rock so I want some room for the fish to move around etc.

In general how many fish per gallon do you want? I figured with what I had mentioned above give or take 1 or 2 I would be okay but want to make sure.

[kgross]

Josh, There is no good rule of thumb on fish per gallon. The size of the fish and its temperament controls the amount more than just the number of gallons. You can have 70 firefish in your tank, or 1 clown trigger .

With the fish you have listed, as long as th tangs are pretty small you can have quite a few other small fish, but if the tangs are larger the tank could be close to loaded according to most people.

kim

[reefmanmatt]

i have a sailfin tang that is just great ! its very active and is a people watcher all day . it and a blue cleaner wrasse where instant best friends , they follow each other constantly. i also have a scooter blenny , three blu damsels , two cardinals , a diamond goby ,upside down jelly ,and a reverse perc. clown. this is in my experience only by the way , i know no facts . my first fish was a lawnmower blenny . my reef is super clean and didnt make the right amounts of food for him , nor would he eat prepared foods of any kind. best fish i ever had . the scooter is just as cool , ate prepared food within a few minutes of introduction to my tank . plus its bright red ! i really enjoy all of these fish , but the clown is a bully and is really the only bully. once and a while the gody will get put in check by the tang but i have read this is common. if you get a tang of any size , buy stock in seaweed cause your gonna need it ! by the way i bought all juvenile fish which are living in a 46 bowfront / 10g sump

[vaporlockv2]

Is the cleaner wrasse that little guy with the light blua and dark blue stripes?

[SHess]

Here are some pictures of different types of cleaner wrasse:

[Garrett9]

The black and white heniochus are one of favs. I have had a total of 4 now. They say they are not completely reaf safe, but I havnt seen any problems with mine yet. I've also read that they only need 55 gallons. I had 3 in my 90 and my smallest one, which was very small died. But the point is 75 gallons should do fine for a heni. As for the other fish go, I don't know all that much. Good luck with everything.

[Garrett9]

Oh ya. I second steve saying that the melanerious wrasse and the yellow coris wrasse are good fish. I have both and used to have flat worms, but can't ever find any in my display. Which makes it a little less stressful when adding coral from someone that might or does have flat worms.