180 Gallon Fowlr (Potential Reef) Stocking W/ Inverts

The April FOTM Contest Poll is open!
FishForums.net Fish of the Month
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆

FrightyDog

Mostly New Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
Location
US
So in the not so distant future, I plan to get one of these and here is what the stocking may or may not look like. It should be a peaceful tank who should not harm the inverts.
1x Spotbreast Angelfish
1x Coral Beauty Angelfish
1x Yellow Tang
1x Sailfiin Tang
6x Blackbar or Blue/Green Chromis
6x Dispar Anthias
1x Firefish
2x Scissortail Dartfish
2x Barred Dartfish
1x Purple Firefish
1x Hectors Goby
3x female and 1x male Whipfin or McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
2x Ocellaris Clownfish
1x Midas Blenny*
2x Diamond Watchman Goby
1x Foxface Lo One Spot
6x Pajama Cardinalfish
1x Lawnmower Blenny
CuC:
x6 Emerald Crab
3x Anemone Porcelain Crab
1x Blue Porcelain Crab*
24x Hermit Crab (8 of each; red, blue, green)
10x Astrea Snails
10x Nassarius Snails
2x Onyx Nassarius Snails*
3x Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
10x Peppermint Shrimp. 
1x Fire Shrimp
*=could be replaced or not added at all
So what do you think? Good stocking? Too much inverts, bad mixes of fish? Could a butterflyfish or two be added? Thanks for any input
I would add them in this order (once the tank cycles) with two weeks until adding the next batch
1.-6x Blackbar or Blue/Green Chromis
(not add more until tank cycles)
1.5. -All inverts
2.-3x female 1x male Whipfin or McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
3.-2x Ocellaris Clownfish
-6x Pajama Cardinalfish
4.-x6 Dispar Anthias
-1x Hectors Goby
5.-1x Firefish
-2x Scissortail Dartfish
-2x Barred Dartfish
-1x Purple Firefish
-2x Diamond Watchman Goby
-1x Lawnmower Blenny
-1x Midas Blenny
6.-1x Coral Beauty Angelfish
-1x Spotbreast Angelfish
-1x Yellow Tang
-1x Sailfiin Tang
-1x Foxface Lo One Spot
(when added they will all be small [under 2"] but the Tangs, angelfish, and gobies other than Hector's will be similar in size 
 
24x Hermit Crab (8 of each; red, blue, green)
 
I would get species IDs on these and particularly an ID on the green ones, since that's not a usual CUC hermit common name and so is unlikely to be one of the safer species. 
 
 
 
 
2x Onyx Nassarius Snails*
 
Make sure they're not Ilyanasa obsoleta, which is sometimes sold under that name and is a coldwater species that dies quickly at tropical temps.
 
 
 
 
3x Anemone Porcelain Crab
 
Best not added until you have something for them to form a hosting relationship which. It doesn't have to be an anemone; even some hardy things like hairy mushrooms will work. If you add an anemone to the tank after it has matured for a few months, the anemone crab will likely move into it (assuming it's a hosing species like a BTA or carpet). Non-hosting species are fine with just a place to hide, but the anemone crabs can sometimes get rather stressed without an anemone-like thing to live in, clean, etc.
 
EDIT: just realized you meant this as a FOWLR (misread the title, sorry). If you won't be adding any corals or anemones for the anemone crabs to live in, then I would not add any of those crabs. If you do turn it into a reef later then it would be fine, but make sure they have something anemone-like even if it's just some hairy mushrooms.
 
The invert stock is everything i saw from blue zoo aquatics. The Green one is calcinus spp. and Called green leg reef hermit crab. The onyx was just cool looking, I could do without it easily. The anemone crabs, ok i didn't want to get anemones because of their aggressive tendencies (one person said it killed their shrimp), but if they need it I don't mind. I picked all of these fish in case I wanted to change into a reef.
 
I just took a look at the listing on the site. The "green" one is an incorrect ID; the symmetrical claws mean it's not Calcinus if the pic is even correct - and sometimes its not with online listings, so there is no way to tell what those are with any certainty. I'd skip on those. Even if the pic is right, offhand I'm not sure of the ID but I'm pretty sure it's in the Clibanarius genus. The problem with picking random Clibanarius species as CUC species is that some get BIG and can be destructive from clumsiness even though they're not usually very aggressive compared to other large species. 
 
The ID is also wrong on the red-legs. If the pic is right, those are most likely Clibanarius digueti (safe). The blue-legs are the only one of the three that seem to have a correct listing.
 
Since the onyx Nassarius are listed as Ilyanassa that means they're likely the cold water species. I've never seen another Ilyanassa species sold regularly in the trade except for I. obsoleta, which is native to the northeastern United States. They cover the beaches sometimes in Connecticut (where I am) and only retreat to deeper water when ice starts forming. They can tolerate brief bouts of warmer temperatures but need a yearly dip down to fairly cool temperatures to survive long-term. They are fine in unheated tanks in colder climates (like where I am - I have a pico with some that have been around for years now) but not in warmer places or heated tanks.
 


i didn't want to get anemones because of their aggressive tendencies (one person said it killed their shrimp)
 
Depends on the anemone species. Non-hosting species like condy anemones are more likely to do that. Also, how dangerous the anemone is can also be a function of whether it's fed regularly, and it depends on size too. Something like a minimaxi (which stay relatively small) would be hard pressed to capture a fish or invert unless it was really tiny. If you want the anemone crab and don't want a true anemone, definitely get a patch of hairy mushrooms for it (just not elephant ear mushrooms; they are "hairy" but are an exception for safety). They will sometimes go for arbitrary other corals in the absence of anemone-like things, but it can be detrimental to some stony corals and may cause various other soft corals to not open fully.
 
ok Thanks for all the help! is there any "more" peacuful anemones that could do ok in that tank? i want the crabs happy as can be. i dont any stress for any of the creatures in the tank
 
A captive-propagated BTA would be the best bet for hardiness (and for finding a captive one; captive specimens are much less likely to die randomly upon introduction than wild ones for nems), although they can get big and can be pretty sticky if they're hungry and aren't fed. Minimaxis are also pretty hardy and can also be gotten captive-propagated sometimes. The minimaxis are smaller and probably wouldn't be able to harm anything that wasn't near death anyway invert and fish-wise, but they can sting corals. Both types of anemones need pretty good lighting though and should only go in a mature tank, so 6 months or so after the CUC goes in. For a tank that size, a BTA would need either high-spec LEDs or probably 4xT5 HO. I have seen some very happy crabs living in large hairy mushrooms too, which are very closely related to true anemones compared to other soft corals. 
 
  Change the Midas Blenny to a Two Spot blenny (i don't like the idea of venomous fangs). And are honey red chromis peaceful? I know they may pick on each other, but I mean are they as bad as their damsel brethren?
 

Most reactions

trending

Back
Top