Cool beginner fish for a 90 gallon display tank?

Diogenes

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 9, 2008
2,407
21
68
Birmingham, AL
So I am in the process of building my tank. I've got a 90 gallon DT (48x18x24) and a 30 gallon sump. I've got a reef octopus NWB-150 rated for 150 gallons.

I have been combing the internet looking for ideas for stock, and I am already starting to lose interest because of the limited choices recommended to beginners.

I think I want a trigger of some sort, but I want more than one fish. The things you read on the web are that triggers are murderous villains that will eventually murder anything in the tank.

Here's a list of stuff I'm interested in and I would appreciate any feedback MFk could give me on combinations of the below listed species:

Triggers -as near as I can tell there are the milder ones ie. niger, pink tail, blue jaw, the mediums ie rhinecanthus species, and the killers ie clowns, undulates, blue stripe, queens, titans, etc.

Eels- considering a snowflake although if I could keep a different species that would be cool.

Angels- originally wanted a smaller growing "big" angel like a blue ring, but research suggests that dwarves are gonna be the biggest thing I can keep. What would be the best dwarf for a pretty aggressive stock list?

Lions- cool fish but I've seen videos of triggers snapping off the spines. Also they don't seem very active. I'd like to have more than one fish.

clowns- mostly because of the hosting behavior, but I've read that they don't always host, and that anemones are hard to maintain.

drgonets- cool but need lots of pods to thrive. I plan on building a relatively large fuge chamber in my sump, but not sure what to stock with it.

ornamental shrimp/inverts- seem cool but triggers will eat them.

puffers- again pretty cool but not sure which ones are appropriately sized for my tank and weary about tank inhabitants.

Angler/frogfish- cool but not sure about tankmates.

butterfly- cool looking but I've read that they are not for beginners and I don't know what to keep with them.

Wrasses- not that interested with the exception of the harlequin tuskfish. What sort of tankmates would be good for one of these?

tangs- koles and blue tangs look pretty cool, but blues are a bit on the cliche side. The yellows are the least attractive of any fish to me fresh or salt.

corals- I like the way SPS corals look but I'm not too interested in having a Ca reactor and metal halide lights. Also I keep aquaria for fish, not corals and I don't like the idea of being constrained by the water quality requirements of a coral environment.

I guess that about covers it.

Any suggestions on how to best optimize a system like this with cool fish?
 

Diogenes

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 9, 2008
2,407
21
68
Birmingham, AL
could a harlequin live with a picasso or humu and maybe an eel and a puffer?

also I've heard that all trigger setups work. What sort of triggers and how many would people recommend for a setup like that?

for the record I don't want the most aggressive tank I can find, I want a trigger because I think they're interesting and because I've encountered a couple of different species while scuba diving and they seem like the coolest thing under the waves. I am only considering taking the tank in an aggressive direction because I want it to be compatible with these guys.
 

Pazzoman

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
2,991
32
81
New York
...hey... blue throats are really cool looking fish. I like the male's colors...I have one! They are pretty docile compared to other triggers. For a center piece go with the tusk (australian has better colors) www.liveaquaira.com has them for sale if you hurry.
 

Ashlee

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 8, 2009
194
0
0
With TheCanuck
Diogenes;4491790; said:
what sort of stuff lives on the bottom? Anglers? flounders?
Scorpion fish

toadfish

crocadile fish


Anglers would get killed. They can't defend themselves.

no problem.

Lion fish can be easily mixed with triggers as well. I had the nastiest with my lion fish, and hes still here with me and they are not. A trigger will kill anything if it decides too, usually they don't as long as they are fed well.
 
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