Originally Posted by
VinnyRaptor
http:///forum/post/3047204
basically the best way to do this is to ultimately decide what the end will look like. you shouldn't be thinking ok what next and then a month later ok how bout this. you have to devise a plan. a solid plan backed by research and knowledge is what you need.
the 1st thing you should do is make up your mind 100% that this tank will NOT house corals of any kind. then you should decide what if any kind of inverts you would like to keep. this is VERY IMPORTANT, tanks do alot better with a nice mixture of snails, shrimp, stars, and crabs, however some fish eat snails, stars, shrimps, and crabs...
hawkfish eat shrimp and triggers are capable of anything.
here's what i would do if it were my 90 and i decided on a FOWLR....
(with the flame angel already there)
i would add about a dozen snails of mixed variety - turbos, cerith, etc..
i would get 1 chocolate chip star fish, 1 cleaner shrimp, and 1 coral banded shrimp.
i would order 1 or 2 batches of copepods!
i would get 1 emerald crab and 1 really interesting invert like a nudibranch or an urchin. i would NOT add any hermit crabs! they tend to eat snails for there shells and meat and can pick on other inverts. they will not be needed if you add the star and shrimp i mentioned above.
this CUC gives you plenty of life, color, and interesting creatures to watch day and night without adding any fish yet.
i would consider the flame my show fish, you could do a tang but generally 4 foot tanks arent good long term homes for tangs. forget triggers if you want any inverts. so the flame would be the show fish.
as far as fish go i would do a pair of clowns ( your choice) or a single maroon clown
5 or 7 chromis or small anthias to give the appearance of a school
i would add i psuedochromis or small basslet
and lastly i would add 1 mandarin goby or a clown goby and a blenny.
this kind of livestock list is interesting colorful and will have a light bio load giving you a better chance at maintaining great water chemistry and a healthy environment.
just my 2 cents... good luck!
Yea I'm 100% i dont want corals haha.
I forgot to mention that right now I have 3 turbos (plan to get more), a few hermits, 3 serpent stars and about five hundred thousand stomellapods (a lot) haha.
I wouldnt mind a blue jaw picking at the hermits or stomellas or snails even but will it pick at the stars? I have a maroon clow pair and anemone in my other tank so I want to stay away from clownfish to avoid redundancy I think.
I think I like the longnose butterly and the hawkfish the most depending on what the lfs had.
If I wanted another pygmy angel should I get it sooner rather than later to avoid territorial issues?
Thanks a lot!