Which fish? Population suggestions / order of introduction

[thegrimreefer]

The time has come. The rest of my highly tolerant family want to see some fish in the aquarium. I've held them off for 6 months.

The tank is a 125 display, with another 180+ gallons in the back room. Large-ish recirc skimmer
Tank is a SPS/LPS mix, a few softies, mostly small clusters of zoos, and a bit of xenia.
Faux sand bottom, with remote DSB in 75 refugium
Lighting will be twin 250W 10 reeflux, one on either side of a 400W 10K reeflux, all using Luminarc Minis
Tank's been up for 6 months. Zoos, pavona, palys, GSP, frogspawn, etc., all seem to be doing well. Without fishie predators, there are amphipods everywhere, day and night.

Other considerations... I have a 2 1/5 year old Nemo fan... so you all know what THAT implies are automatic favorites with him!

The lovely and talented Mrs thegrimreefer loves puffers and triggers, but has accepted that they won't be part of this tank...

I love 'em all, though I do like it if a fish has a "job" and pulls its weight in the tank, if possible. Some are just beautiful to look at, others are just fascinating or fun to observe...

ALSO... I so often see that "This fish should be the last one introduced to the aquarium"... If you want three selections , and all should be added last... then what? All at the same time?

Help me select my fishies!

Ron

[epidemic]

6 mon? was the meeting that long ago?

[thegrimreefer]

Originally Posted by epidemic

6 mon? was the meeting that long ago?

No, but the tank had been set up and running, un-aquascaped, for quite a while before the meeting, starting with 100% cured rock. I just consider the meeting to have been a 35% water change.

Let's not derail already, there is a time-critical component to this fishie selection. I'd like to have them out of quarantine by 16 June. Yes, all fishies get time in the Q tank.

[JnS]

pair of clowns is always a good start.

aggressive tangs should be the last fish.

all the rest of the fish boils down to "personal preference"

[David Grigor]

I highly recommend Rabbitfish ( not the common foxface ). Not only are they cool fish but extremely good maintenance fish and will really help keep algae in check more so than most all tangs would do.....Naso Tangs can be good maintenance type tang if you really don't like rabbitfish.

Blenny all tanks need one IMO. Great personalities and also a decent maintenance type fish. Lawnmower type are the most reef safe. Some of the others are more hit/miss.

[mtfatwork]

I have a marine beta that I think is quite possibly the coolest fish in my tank.

[Samduffman]

I've always thought anthias were some of the coolest looking fish out there...I heard they are hard to keep and I cant wait till i have a tank around the size of yours so I can keep a few.

[Sizzlersonthebrain]

probly a amall schoold of green cromis, great starter fish too.

[spazz]

you might want to consider a beautiful wrasse for your collection. yo might consider a filimented flasher wrasse or my personal favorite the scotts fary wrasse. and if you want to get something a little cooler then go for the lepord wrasse. just about any wrasse other than a 6 line wrasse would be agreat addition to the tank. vey peaceful and great to watch. my filimented flasher wrasse is one of the most curious fish in the tank. he will let me hold him when he is eating nori and allways comes to see what im doing every time i stick my hand in the tank. he is just the coolest fish i have ever had.

[Alero]

Boy Jerry haven't heard that one before


all the rest of the fish boils down to "personal preference"[/quote]

[capman]

spazz,

What is wrong with 6-line wrasses? I think they are cool.

I used to have on in the 220, and I just added one to the main reef in the lab. They are just about the busiest little fish I have ever seen.

[otolith]

Originally Posted by capman

I think they are cool.

I used to have on in the 220, and I just added one to the main reef in the lab. They are just about the busiest little fish I have ever seen.

I agree! I really like my sixline...maybe it's because it's the only wrasse I've ever had success keeping.

[the_colonel]

You say Mrs. Thegrimreefer likes triggers, there are some triggers considered generally reef-safe like the Blue Throat, Pink Tail, or Cross-Hatch triggers. They may take out the occasional invert, but then again, they may not. here is a thread: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69426

[oyam123]

Fish that will always be out are LMB, clowns, hawk, manderin, chromis (school),...the pont of having fish is to see and enjoy them.
lots of nice fish are always running away when you come up to the tank.
you need to be feeding them to keep them out for a bit.
Or just keep your corals in a fragtank and do the Puffer / trigger thing

[HFG]

I hate to say this, but... the miss-ordered regal i have is a keeper. The kids love it and it more than pulls its weight in the tank.
Fairy wrasse = mandarin on crack.
Bicolor or flametail bleeny
Nemo for one of your smaller tanks... once again, kids will love you for it... well, they will at least love nemo Whether they know you did it for them or not.
We just ordered in some red sea anthias. Though they are the gold fish of the sea... they are the gold fish OF THE SEA! Once nice thing is they don't bed down for the night like many of the other fish (well, I do have lots of ambient reverse daylight.