centerpiece fish

[gkimble]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a 72 gallon bowfront tank that I will be setting up in about a month. I will have about 85 lbs of tonga rock. I will have a variety of differnt corals ranging form zoos all teh way up to anemone's and clams. The fish that I will have are a pair of goldstripped maroon clowns and a coral beauty.
Now
I whant a pretty show fish that isn't shy and will do well with my inhabitants.
Fish I was thinking of
polluni grouper-probaly get to big
regal tang-probably to big
powder blue tang
powder brown tang
sargassum trigger
harliqin tusk wrasse (australia)
reglal angel-hard to keep alive
bellus angel
trio of anthias
Scotts fairy wrasse
lionfish-worry about eating my fish
What are some others? I really whant a fish that people would say wow
I could always get rid of some fish if they get to large.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I think all those fish are a little too big for 72g... just my opinion though...

how bout a shoal of smaller ones?!

B

 

[mr_X]

groupers and triggers are very shy IMO, not to mention they will most likely eat everything else.
some anthias get large as well, so you might want to consider that too. fairy wrasse are good for reeftanks and don't get too big.
the angels are coral nippers i hear. i've only owned a coral beauty, which was quite aggressive to my other fish, but not the corals.
i know that i say "wow" every time i see a blue spotted jawfish. i hear they are a bit hard to keep, but they are way cool and very entertaining.
http://www.exoticfish.com/details.cfm?c ... &id=36893&

 

[gkimble]

thanks for the replies. Yeah I might look into a foxface of some sort. I am staying away from angels, triggers, and lions. I love teh spotted jawfish. I have always thought about having one. some of the anthias will work such as the lyertails or teh bartlets. well any other suggestions?

 

[Bojangles]

I've had Coral Beauties and Flame Angels and neither of the them were aggressive in my tank. I probably wouldn't get a foxface for a "show piece" fish and definately stay away from triggers and the tusk or you cant introduce any shrimp/crabs/snails ect.

What about a Copperband Butterfly or a pair of Yellow Tangs? I've seen a great deal of YT's kept together if all introduced at the same time and ample space and food is given. Personally I like having alot of little fish in a reef tank rather than a couple of large ones so if it were my tank I'd go with some schooling fish or anthias.

 

[gkimble]

a pair of yt would be neat. I don't know i that is enough room. I think a group of 5 to 6 lyertails would be striking.
So how would this sound
4 female lyertails
1 male lyertail
1 copperband butterfly
scotts fairy wrasse
2 maroons
1 coral beauty
To much? Sound good. I think this combo would be very exciting.

 

[rbursek]

I have 2 female, 1 male Lyretail Anthius and like them and have not caused any problems.
Bob

 

[gkimble]

thanks bob. What do you guys think of my stocking list?

 

[shavo]

my buddy had 2 yellow tangs and a scopas tang in a 55 for a few years, buy them small and ad them to the tank at the same time and you should be OK for a while.

 

[snapper1]

A purple Tang or a Yellow Tang could be a good show piece.

 

[Bojangles]

If you get a purple make sure you dont have any other tangs in the tank. Same with a powder blue.

If you buy a small clown tang you could keep him in there for awhile. Achilles Tang, Sailfin Tang, Clown Tang are my favorite tangs in that order

 

[Anonymous]

IMO, even the smaller tangs mentioned are going to be too much for this system as they mature. If you have the clowns and coral beauty, the Scott's fairy wrasse would be a great addition. You could also add a couple of small fish to give some addd interest. A trio of pajama cardinals and maybe a colorful sand sifting goby would work. I think your last list is over the top for the size tank. Lighter stocking in a reef set up will be advantageous in keeping the system healthy, IMO.

 

[Bojangles]

IMO, even the smaller tangs mentioned are going to be too much for this system as they mature. If you have the clowns and coral beauty, the Scott's fairy wrasse would be a great addition. You could also add a couple of small fish to give some addd interest. A trio of pajama cardinals and maybe a colorful sand sifting goby would work. I think your last list is over the top for the size tank. Lighter stocking in a reef set up will be advantageous in keeping the system healthy, IMO.

Sure in a couple of years your 2inch tang will double in size and eventually outgrow the tank, but I think he has alittle time...