# trying to get some research in before i start my saltwater tank



## purpledolphin (Apr 15, 2009)

i'm planning on starting a saltwater tank. my husband and i are planning on a 75g. reef tank first, but my main goal is a 180g. reef tank. i'm trying to get as much research in as i can before i start doing anything since this will be a large financial investment. i have a couple of questions on compatability with some fish that i was looking at and i also want to get some advice on corals and inverts. the fish that i am looking into are:

ocellaris clownfish
blue tang
mandarin dragonet
yellow tang
purple firefish
red velvet wrasse
ruby head wrasse
six line wrasse

i know all of these fish are compatible with live corals, but i would like to know their compatablity with eachother. also i've heard that you should use caution with wrasse and inverts. if i have a wrasse will it conflict with my reef cleaners? any help with this along with any knowledge on the best types of corals and inverts i should get would be wonderful and most appreciated. thank you!


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

All of the fish you name are fine together in a 180. No issues at all. The Six Line Wrasse is reef compatable, again no worries.

Research research research! What did you have in mind for filtration?


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## johnnynuke (Aug 23, 2007)

Be patient before trying a mandarin dragonet. A tank should be established for at least 9 months before getting one. This will give enough time for a supply of copepods to develop. I have found that, while beautiful, they are difficult to maintain.

Also with the wrasses, those of the Cirrhilabrus genus (Velvet and Ruby Headed) will co-exist nicely together, but I would be careful with the Six line wrasse as it is a different genus. If you really want to try them out together, I would recommend adding the Six line last.

Good luck!


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## juice28 (Apr 23, 2009)

yup you have a good base for fish thats for sure and in 180 you'd be fine..I dont know if anyone has had this problem but for me, tangs are sensitive..they get stressed really easy and develope ich quickly when they get stressed smaller tangs are more likle to stress also so be sure your tank is well estrablished and scaped first, if not your tangs will strss and make sure to get algae sheets for them to eat! as for the mandarin i actually started with one(bad choice) but she is dong fine for me, I bought a crap load of copopods and basically overloaded my tnak with good bacteria and pods, if you just have to have one early id recomend gettet close to 8-10000 pods, one eats clse to 1200 a day by itself and 2. man they will eat your pods so fast you wont be able to keep them in the tank whch are a vital part of the "reef" I actually feed mine brine also. she eats frozen foods too so it is posible for them to eat more than just pods but pods are roughly 80-90% of her diet


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## sierragymnast (Apr 23, 2009)

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank. I have an emperor angelfish, a clarks clownfish, and a blue tang. If you are looking into a blue tang, I just want to say, they are really great and graceful fish to have. They are easily scared though. A thing you would want to watch out for is scaring to the face. That is not a deadly disease, but it is bad. Look for a joyful and bouncy fish. Good luck. PS, i would reccommend a clownfish for your first fish.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

johnnynuke said:


> Be patient before trying a mandarin dragonet. A tank should be established for at least 9 months before getting one. This will give enough time for a supply of copepods to develop. I have found that, while beautiful, they are difficult to maintain.


Very good point. I would agree that you want a VERY mature aquarium when adding any dragonet.


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