Fish compatibility and suggestions?

[Buphy]

So I'm considering setting up a saltwater tank. To really get into a project though I need to know my end goal. It's a 125 gallon and I have some ideas but I also have tons of questions. Here's a list of fish I'm considering (not all together but some from the list);

- coral beauty angel
- lemon peel angel
- potters angel
- basic clown fish
- blue spotted jawfish
- copper banded butterfly fish
- some other butterfly fish
- marine betta
- harlequin tusk
- clown tang

So this is a list of stuff I like, but obviously I can't have it all. Any general information on any of these fish is greatly appreciated as well as any recommendations. A few notes...

- I know multiple dwarf angels wont do well together but is a 125 big enough for 2? Was thinking the coral beauty and the lemon peel (I've read of the 3 potters is gonna be the most difficult?)

- I know copper bands have a reputation for being difficult but I've also heard if you get an individual that's eating well already they can be fine. Other butterflys are on the list because I've seen a few others I like.

- I know a clown tang will out grow the tank eventually but I've also been told some salt fish grow very slowly and so some of the bigger fish will be ok in a smaller tank for several years.


Thanks for taking the time to read and I look forward to y'all's responces!

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I would do 1 angelfish,1 tuskfish,a pair of jawfish, and about 4 niger triggers and some anthias ,then add the copper and at a later date

 

[Aquadog]

I have never had luck with the Copperband Butterfly. Even with a sump/refuge that would supply pods for food. One fish I always liked is the Blue/Green Chromis in a school of about 10-13. You can get them pretty cheap too. Mix about 9 Chromis with 7-9 Anthias and you will have a very active tank.

Clown Tangs are also hit and miss. If you get one that adapts to aquariuam life, they can get pretty large for a stocked 125g.

 

[Buphy]

Alittle edit as I wander closer, I'm now leaning towards 2 dwarf angels, and a butterfly. Then maybe some smaller stuff like the bluespotted jawfish, a basslet and maybe a scooter?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Alittle edit as I wander closer, I'm now leaning towards 2 dwarf angels, and a butterfly. Then maybe some smaller stuff like the bluespotted jawfish, a basslet and maybe a scooter?

Sounds good might want to add a few chromis and anthias for the mid level

 

[fishfanatic80]

I’d heavily advise against the clown tang, they do very poorly in captivity and get very large. Chances are you’ll lose it before it gets big. Are you doing a reef tank or a fowlr? If your doing a reef tank you’ll need to watch out on which dwarf angels you add. It’s a 50/50 chance they pick on corals. If your not doing a reef I’d say go with a hardier butterfly. Copperbands are only very popular because they’re reef safe, I’m sure you can find nicer ones on the market. Blue jawfish is fine in either scenario but they move sand and tend to bury corals. Scooter blennys need live amphipods or you can feed nutramin ova to try to get them to eat but more often then not it’s a poor choice for survivability. How experienced are you at keeping salt? Sometimes experience can out weigh chances I have a colony of 6 leopard wrasses while most people say they won’t touch them with how poor they ship and adapt to the aquarium.

 

[4FordFamily]

The hawkish prefers cooler water than most and they’re often poor choices as a result. Dwarf angels may tolerate each other if adddd together. Coral beauty and potters are too similar the potters is likely to get bullied and killed. The lemon peel and coral beauty may be OK but may eat coral as mentioned.

Harlequin tusk get very large and can be quite aggressive.

The CBB is very tough to get eating, and it needs mostly docile tankmates otherwise a giant tank or else it may scare and never eat. Stress is a big factor with these guys. Butterflies can and often do munch on coral.

The minimum tank size for a clown tang for the first few years is 180, but they’ll fast outgrow it and require 8 feet of room in adulthood. They’re difficult in captivity due to being an acanthurus tang, ich management won’t be an option (although in today’s environment where nearly every fish comes with ich and velvet it’s inadvisble anyway not to treat and quarantine).

I hope this was helpful, I’m a Fish nerd on Reef2Reef, same tag there