fish for reef tank

[reefnoob]

hi guys,
i just got a new 90 gallon tank a few weeks ago. i just set it up and plan on letting it cycle for about a month or so. ive already set up a refugium for about 2 weeks and its doing fine. ive been doing some research on what fish i can put in my new tank. i would like to have a reef tank with plenty of corals and colors. ive researched some fish and think they can be compatible, although im not sure if the space is enough. i want to put 1 flame angel, 3 firefish,1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang, 2 clownfish, 1 royal gramma, 1 scooter blenny and a couple of hermits/crabs/snails/shrimp. is this too much for a 90 gal? are they compatible? anyone have any experience with these? i would also like some advise about what kind of corals i should add and when.

 

[Bifferwine]

Welcome! I think the number of fish is fine -- 10 is fine for a 90 gallon tank (a good rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10 gallons, give or take a fish depending on their size). The flame angel has a 50/50 chance of nipping at corals, but many people successfully keep them in reef tanks. The firefish are a great choice, but tend to be jumpers so check out the DIY forum for some ideas on making your own mesh tops for the tank (you do not want to use a glass or plastic top). Unfortunately the tank size is too small for a blue tang (they require 180 gallons or more). A 90 is fine for a yellow tang, though, and if you can't have the blue tang, there are a few other types of tangs that will go well in a 90. The clowns and royal gramma will also be fine in there. Scooter blennies can be challenging to keep because they tend to starve to death easily. You have a fuge, so that's good. But I would make sure that you wait until your tank has been set up for a while before adding that guy so that he has a lot of food in the tank. I think everyone should get along fine.

You can start out with easy corals (zoanthids, mushrooms and leathers) when your tank is done cycling. There are lots of easy LPS corals that are good for beginners too, such as candy canes, bubble coral, hammers, frogspawns, brains and torch corals. BUT probably the most important thing that determines if you can keep corals is your lighting. What type of lights do you have?

 

[reefnoob]

thanks for the advice. i was also thinking of a six line wrasse to put in, do you think thats alright? the aquarium i got doesnt come with everything so im slowly getting the pieces together. i was planning on deciding what to put in the aquarium, then buying the needed equipment. what type of lights would you suggest for my tank?

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...lil fish has you covered. The lighting is a personal choice, but for a 90gal, I'd either go with a 6-8 bulb t-5 system, or even leds.

 

[little_fish]

Damn, am I awesome or what! I dont even need to post something :D

But I think a 6 line would be a great choice for your tank. And here is a quick primer on lighting to get you started thinking about what direction you want to go in

https://www.livingreefs.com/lighting-101-a-t41427.html

 

[Smitty]

Oops. Hahaha, sorry Sarah, I thought you were Hannah. Yeah, lil fish, I give you credit, you are good. :)

 

[RockStacker]

Be careful with the 6 Line Wrasse if you intend to keep shrimps.
That fish has a history of eating any shrimp it sees (except mantis lol).

 

[reefnoob]

Not even peppermints?

 

[Bifferwine]

In my experience, sixlines are fine with shrimp.

 

[BL1]

My sixline ate 3 of my cleaner shrimp, it's really 50/50 with them.