Good Reef Safe Livestock List

[djcanis]

I am just starting the cycle on my 90gal reef tank, and want to start to get an idea of how I want to stock the tank. Anyone know of a good link or thread that has a list of reef safe live stock. I am getting a little frustrated looking at each individual fish to see if its reef safe. So far my list looks something like this; (minus the cleanup crew)
2 Clowns, either false percs or sebae
mystery wrasse
purpleback psuedo
some type of tang (blue hippo, chevron or clown)
Blackfoot Lion
and possibly a Flame Hawkfish
Am I gonna run into any problems between species?
As for a clean up crew, I am thinking;
10 bumblee snails
10 margarite snails
15 Scarlet and Blue leg hermits
2 sand sifter crabs
and possible a skunk cleaner or copper banded shrimp (will most likely get eaten)
Am I missing any? Will this be enough for a 90 gal?
Thanks

 

[maxsmart]

Sounds like you could put a lot more in a 90gal. I'm not sure about the lionfish - I think they're pretty aggressive and the clowns are peaceful. You can't mix peaceful and aggressive. Do your homework, rate aggressiveness on a scale of 1-5, and keep your tank within a range of 2 (ie, 2-3 or 4-5).
I've also heard bumblebee snails are aggressive and will kill other snails and inverts, but I've never owned any.

 

[oceansidefish]

The best thing to do is just ask....
I would add the flame hawk first....
Then the 2 clowns
Then the Mysteri
Psuedo
If you want a tang get a Kole...it will do much better in a 90g long term
Don't get a sand sifting star...it will starve
Bumblebee snails are worthless...
10 Cerith
2 nassarius
10 small black turbos
10 Astrea
10 Nerite snails
*You will only want to add about 1/3 of these snails origionally....Then slowly add more as your tank matures.
If you want a lion plan on it eating your cleanup crew.

 

[hlcroghan]

+1 on the lion. They are not reef safe.
Remember most of the time when you say reef safe it means it will most lifely not eat corals OR inverts. Although there are exceptions....
Also the flame hawkfish will prolly eat any shrimp you have unless they are really large.
Clowns
Flasher wrasses (with wrasses, smaller is better for a reef)
chromis(similare to damsels but generally less aggressive)
damsels(these can be very aggressive, although small)
pseudochromises
blennies (some are not, most are)
gobies(some are not, most are)
tangs(most are too large for a 90, but kole was a good choice)
some small angels (they can nip corals sometimes, so be aware of that)
anthias (they can be hard to keep)
basslets
cardinals
dottybacks
Take a look at some of these and come up with a good stocklist and people should be able to tell you yes or no and why or why not. Keep in mind there are many more good choices though. And remember not all of these fish are compatible together either.
Stocklist is one of the hardest things to figure out IMO. Just keep asking and take a look at some of the tank threads for examples. You will also learn what NOT to try as well.

 

[djcanis]

Thank you! Thats why I am trying to get a head start and not make the same mistakes twice... I was getting frustrated at looking at individual fish to find out what is reef safe. I read that some of the volitans are? Now when they say dwarf, does that imply the fish is a dwarf and will only grow to a ceratin size or is that in relation to the size when you buy and they will grow to the same size as a normal one? Same thing with juvenile?
At least now I have a better list to narrow down?
Any suggestions on something small that I could possible get a school of, say 4 to 5 in a 90 gal?
Also, you mention most tangs are to large for a 90gal, is this fish size or fish need more room? I ask cause I see 125gal and even some 220gal that are the same length as my tank just deeper or higher...
Any other things I should stay away from?
Any of the ones you listed do I have to worry about having more then one?
Thanks for the help, my last tank was fish only and I made a lot of mistakes, was long before I found this site...
Thanks again!

 

[hlcroghan]

No problem!! It is excellent that you are asking ahead of time. It will save heartache and your wallet....
Yes. Dwarf lionfish are smaller than others. Volitans are very large and definitely will eat anything that can fit in it's mouth. Lionfish are not actually aggressive. They are opportunistic. Basically if something comes by and looks edible, it's gone. You may be able to swing a dwarf lionfish in a reef as long as nothing is smaller than it and you expect to lose some inverts. They will not eat corals though. And they are not going to attack your hand like an aggressive fish would.
If you want a school of something pretty, get a shoal of 5 or 6 blue green chromis. They are lovely and not as aggressive as the damsel. Oh and please do not use them to cycle your tank. The LFS may suggest this. It is unnecessary.
Tangs need a lot of swimming room. Most require at least 6 feet and they require lots of mature live rock to graze on. Make this one of your last purchases. The same with anemones. The parameters of your tank need to be stable. The reason the kole was suggested is that it is smaller and hardier than some others. Still, tangs tend to be ich magnets and catch this parasite quite easily so be aware to get a very healthy specimen and quarantine the fish prior to addition to your display tank.
Stay away from any damsels as they are aggressive or add them last as be aware that they could kill other fish. Also, dragonettes and mandarins can be very difficult to keep. They have specialized feeding requirements. Some anthias and fairy wrasses are not very hardy and have to be acclimated slowly. Pick some fish........let us tell you what is nice.
Starting with clowns. Tomato and maroon clowns are larger and can be very aggressive so you could have an aggessive reef with those but you may have more choices all around if you stick with occelaris or true perculas. They are the ones that look like Nemo and are either black and white or orange and white.