Stocking my tank....will these live together in harmony?

[stableminded06]

I have a 55 gallon tank that has been established for two years. I have about 50% live rock and a 3 inch live sand bed. I currently have 1 Behns Damselfish that I want to give to a friend and restock my tank. Here is what I would like to have....
1 Potters Angelfish
1 Red Spotted Hawkfish
1 Blue Headed Wrasse ( or a six line wrasse)
1 Blue Hippo Tang (tiny-small)
1 Firefish
Maybe.....
1 Yellow Tang (tiny-small)
1 Bangai Cardinal Fish
Now before the tang police show up....
I know that this is alot of fish and tangs need much larger aquariums....I am prepared for this as they grow. I also have a 125 gallon (six foot long by 18 inchs wide I believe) tank waiting for them as they grow. ( I recently took it down bc that is a huge tank for one little damselfish which is all that I had for the last two years). But for now....
Will they be able to live harmoniously if I buy them small, puchase them and introduce them into the tank at the same time...and buy the less agressive one a little bit larger than the other?
Any ideas and opinions are greatly appreciated!!!
<-------------Not easily offended.

 

[meowzer]

WELCOME.....
Personally.....I would set up the 125G......and use the 55G as a qt for the fish ....

 

[mjm889]

i agree with meowzer go big right away, it proably will save headaches later on, i like your list, my yellow and blue hippo get along just fine, my blue hippo can be aggressive to other fish in the tank at times

 

[btldreef]

I agree about setting up the larger and using the smaller for a QT, BUT, if you're not going to do that, I think your plan will work. As long as there is a larger tank for them and you're prepared for that, it should work. Keep in mind that smaller tangs, especially smaller hippos have a low survival rate.

 

[saltfan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by stableminded06 http:///forum/thread/383763/stocking-my-tank-will-these-live-together-in-harmony#post_3358638
Will they be able to live harmoniously if I buy them small, puchase them and introduce them into the tank at the same time...and buy the less agressive one a little bit larger than the other?
Any ideas and opinions are greatly appreciated!!!
<-------------Not easily offended.
Answer to your question is yes. As they are small and have room to roam, you should be fine for the time being with that stocking list.

 

[aquaknight]

The Potter's Angel really isn't a good angel to 'break the ice' with, as someone's first angelfish. Up until recently they were considered an expert only fish, and some still do. I would suggest a different angel with higher survival rate, depending on if you're leaning reef (Coral Beauty, Flame) or fish-only (Half-Black, Eibli). As stated above, tiny hippo tangs also have poor survival rates, as do most really juvenile fish. I wouldn't suggest one much under 2". "Tiny" yellow tangs are quite scare, thankfully. If you must do the 55gal, only do one tang. I do agree that going big right away by setting up the 125, not the 55, would make things much easier.
Define "red spotted hawkfish" (scientific/latin name). Depending on which hawkfish you mean, they could range from mild mannered, to lethal. You have some pretty passive fish, with the Firefish and Cardinal. The only hawk's I would say might be okay would be the Longnose Hawk, or the Flame hawk.

 

[btldreef]

Good call with the Potters Angel.

 

[stableminded06]

Sorry let me clarify....this is not my first rodeo. I have kept a yellow tang before and he did great. But I moved across the country and gave my fish away before the move.
When I set my tank back up here in Oklahoma the LFS is very very high priced and will sell you anything without any regard to your experience or tank size etc.
I have kept a coral beauty and flame angel before...(seperate tanks). So its not a first for angels either. I was just unsure if a yellow and a blue hippo would be ok. I have a friend that tried a sailfin and a yellow and it was a disaster. Since I was planning on buying everything online all at once I wanted to be positive that all the fish would get along...
If not I was only going to buy the blue hippo tang, but if there was any chance that they would live together I thought it would probably be best if I bought them at the same time so there would be no territory issues.
The hawkfish is a Amblycirrhitus pinos as stated by saltwaterfish.com.

 

[mjm889]

i would not keep the blue hippo tang and the yellow tang in the 55 gallon tank together, there will be some aggression towards one another if not a ton, when i placed my blue hippo in my 135 gallon with my yellow the would take a swing or two with there tail at eachother, the difference is that i had bigger tank with lots of hidning places, now the two get along great and leave eachother alone, i afraid with small tank they might stress eachother out and then comes the ich

 

[btldreef]

If you're not set on doing both, I would definitely just do the one in the 55G. Small, juvenile hippos actually do better in smaller tanks. The issue is that most people don't have a game plan other than, "I'll trade him," for when they outgrow the tank they were raised in.
I'd recommend doing the blue hippo now and once he's large enough for your 125, buy a Yellow and add it with the Blue Hippo at the same time to that tank. It's hard to find small Yellow Tangs. A smaller yellow tang will usually be more aggressive with food than a small hippo, so one is the better option. Get a juvenile hippo and fatten him up and make him healthy first. With just the one you can really work on having a healthy fish.

 

[saltfan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by stableminded06 http:///forum/thread/383763/stocking-my-tank-will-these-live-together-in-harmony#post_3358823
I have kept a coral beauty and flame angel before...(seperate tanks). So its not a first for angels either. I was just unsure if a yellow and a blue hippo would be ok. I have a friend that tried a sailfin and a yellow and it was a disaster. Since I was planning on buying everything online all at once I wanted to be positive that all the fish would get along...
If not I was only going to buy the blue hippo tang, but if there was any chance that they would live together I thought it would probably be best if I bought them at the same time so there would be no territory issues.
Having those Tangs inthe tank at one time is not an issue, the size of the tank in which they are in at the same time is. I have a Sailfin, Yellow, Tennant,Hippo,Naso,Scopus and a Vlamingi all in the same tank. But....Its a 240g, 8'x2'x2' tank, none of them fight. Having just the 2 small ones in that tank might be fine for the time being.