FOWLR missing the FO - Planning for tank mates

[N00B]

I have a soon to be ready FOWLR aquarium awaiting fish.

58g. Oceanic
Solarmax H.O. double T5 - (1) 10,000K Daylight, (1) Actinic - 03, LEDs
LR - Caribean and Fiji
LS - 30lbs of Carib Reef Sand, 15lbs of Carib Sea Aragonite Fiji Pink
Sump w Sicce - Syncra Silent 2.0 => 568gph.

Now about the fish... I've done research stating it's best to introduce the most passive fish first with the most aggressive if any last. Below is my list, keep in mind I plan on purchasing small fish so they can grow into the tank and expand in time.

Step 1
1 - Green Mandrin Goby
1 - Clown
1 - Long Horned Cowfish or Puffer

Step 2
1 - Desjardin's Sailfin Tang
1 - Falcula Butterflyfish, True - haven't decided yet.

Step 3
1 - Emperor Angelfish or Flametail Angelfish. Is there ANY POSSIBLE way to have both?

Step 4
1 - Picasso Trigger - Skeptical this is a good idea.. Anyone know better?

Is this too much fish?? Could I replace Humu with something less agressive?

Additional suggestions needed:

I've seen a wave maker that I going to acquire in a few days. Need some advice regarding power head size. I was thinking about 1 -850 and 1- 460 (to avoid tank boredom) angled at different directions to optimize wave flow.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for my setup? I'm not sure if i should go stronger with 1300 or if it'd be too much. I don't want my fish smacked against the glass but something they'd all enjoy.

I'm hoping experienced folks would care to comment. Thanks in advance!

 

[ErinCahir]

Hello! Welcome to the site!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no way you could keep the emperor, the trigger or the sailfin in a 58 gallon tank.
A good rule of thumb for saltwater is one small fish for every ten gallons. With your set up, you could do 6 small fish... or say 1 medium fish and four small fish.
I would also lean towards a smaller puffer instead of a cowfish. They can release toxins if they are stressed... which it probably would be in your tank since it also requires a larger system.

 

[bojangles93]

The green mandarin could be an issue in a new tank. Unless you know 100% that it will eat frozen food, it can and will decimate whatever population of copepods that you have in the tank. I would wait on the Mandarin if it was me :twocents:

 

[N00B]

Hello! Welcome to the site!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no way you could keep the emperor, the trigger or the sailfin in a 58 gallon tank.
A good rule of thumb for saltwater is one small fish for every ten gallons. With your set up, you could do 6 small fish... or say 1 medium fish and four small fish.
I would also lean towards a smaller puffer instead of a cowfish. They can release toxins if they are stressed... which it probably would be in your tank since it also requires a larger system.

Thanks for the insight. Would it be possible if I purchased a very small sized emperor or sailfin and transfer them to a larger tank in time or do they need the space to swim even while they're really small?

Do you know if an Emperor and Flametail can coexist in a larger tank?

 

[N00B]

The green mandarin could be an issue in a new tank. Unless you know 100% that it will eat frozen food, it can and will decimate whatever population of copepods that you have in the tank. I would wait on the Mandarin if it was me :twocents:

Good to know. Perhaps I add him after the tank is more established. Thank you!

 

[OhNoNemo]

Even a juvi emp or any large angel for that matter must be in a large system (min..125) they need to have the least amount of stress possible in order to mature into full adult colors and just be healthy
2 angels "can" work in a very large system (240 and up) and best if put in together...i passed up the urge to get a second angel till i upgrade...if your set on angels look at the dwarfs ...
and +1 to Erin and bojangles

 

[Rufio808]

I'd look into dwarf angels. They are equally as nice!

 

[N00B]

Thanks for everyone's response.

Does anyone have any input to the power head size(s) I should go with for my system?

 

[Bifferwine]

Cowfish also require a tank 150 gallons in size or larger.

There are lots of options for a tank that size, and a clown fish is perfect. But your other fish probably wouldn't do so well.

You will also need stronger lights than that to keep coral down the road, but since it's fish only for now, those lights are just fine.

I would recommend two powerheads for a tank that size.

 

[N00B]

Cowfish also require a tank 150 gallons in size or larger.

There are lots of options for a tank that size, and a clown fish is perfect. But your other fish probably wouldn't do so well.

You will also need stronger lights than that to keep coral down the road, but since it's fish only for now, those lights are just fine.

I would recommend two powerheads for a tank that size.

Lots of options? It's appears quite the opposite with at least the fish I was interested in. Are you saying the clown fish is the only fish that would do well with my setup out of all the fish from my list?

I thought a 58g tank was okay but now I'm learning that most of the species I wanted require almost 3 times the size. Chuckling because my gf was upset that her mom donated her 75g without asking her. This tank was given to me so I can't complain but just a little bumped out.

This is an expensive hobby and thinking about how much I've already spent getting everything set up for fish that I'm not really thrilled about. Sure, clown fish are cool but not to be my focal point in livestock.

I'll probably upgrade to a larger tank later and eventually convert the 58g into a coral tank and upgrade the lights at that time.

What gph flow rate powerheads do you recommend for a 58g? Do you think I should go with 2 different flow rates? Are there any brands you'd steer me away from? I was think about hydro koralia but the folks at the lfs said they don't work all that well with wave makers. They said I'd be better off going with the Sicce Voyager series.

Thanks for everyone's input, this is a great forum and I appreciate the help.

 

[little_fish]

There are lots of great fish that can fit in your tank!!!

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Kaudern's Cardinalfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Firefish, Helfrichi

Longfin Fairy Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Red Tail Flasher Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Six Line Wrasse - Reef Safe Wrasses

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Coral Beaty Agelfish Dwarf Angels

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Rusty Angelfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Rusty Angelfish

Longnose Hawkfish

Antennata Lionfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Hoeven's Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Midas Blenny

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Starry Blenny

That is just a small sample of all the cool fish you could put in there!

check out this site for more fish ideas: Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

You also want your total flow rates to be 15-20x your tank volume turned over per hour. Also the koralias are great, but they do wear out faster if the are turned on/off a lot. Im not sure of any brands off the top of my head that are designed for this. I personally dont run a waver maker, and dont think its necessary. But some people do like them, personal thing really.

 

[Rufio808]

I find that when I get a fish I'm not too thrilled about, that it grows on me.

 

[N00B]

There are lots of great fish that can fit in your tank!!!

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Kaudern's Cardinalfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Firefish, Helfrichi

Longfin Fairy Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Red Tail Flasher Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Six Line Wrasse - Reef Safe Wrasses

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Coral Beaty Agelfish Dwarf Angels

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Rusty Angelfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Rusty Angelfish

Longnose Hawkfish

Antennata Lionfish

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Hoeven's Wrasse

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Midas Blenny

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Starry Blenny

That is just a small sample of all the cool fish you could put in there!

check out this site for more fish ideas: Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

You also want your total flow rates to be 15-20x your tank volume turned over per hour. Also the koralias are great, but they do wear out faster if the are turned on/off a lot. Im not sure of any brands off the top of my head that are designed for this. I personally dont run a waver maker, and dont think its necessary. But some people do like them, personal thing really.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate your time in listing the various fish that can survive in my aquarium, that was very kind of you.

 

[little_fish]

Youre welcome! There actually many more than that too, those are just a few of my favorites. I went through a similar thing when i put my 46 gal, and a little searching brought up many fish i didnt even know existed.

 

[Rufio808]

If you get a dwarf angelfish, make sure you get one that's well fed and healthy. They tend to be delicate. I noticed that a fish store here on Oahu always stocks on flame angels and potter's and that some of them never take onto feedings.

If you do manage to get an awesome one, then it's all worth it!

 

[N00B]

If you get a dwarf angelfish, make sure you get one that's well fed and healthy. They tend to be delicate. I noticed that a fish store here on Oahu always stocks on flame angels and potter's and that some of them never take onto feedings.

If you do manage to get an awesome one, then it's all worth it!

I plan on getting a dwarf angelfish so thanks for the tip. It'll probably be one of the last fish I add once the aquarium has been established. I do like the flame angel as well as the coral beauty. The difficult part is going to be choosing between the two.

The couple of flames I've seen out the LFSs around Nashville seem to be pretty aggressive. I'm hoping that adding him after all the other fish have been acclimated will dampen the "small man syndrome."

There's a sale at liveaquaria.com for flames right now. Has anyone had any luck purchasing fish online. I'm a bit hesitant without seeing the fish myself. Shoot, living in Hawaii... I'd surprised if you weren't temped to go snorkling with a big net. I know I would, lol...

 

[little_fish]

You should never, every buy any fish that isnt eating at the store. Sick fish dont eat, dont buy an bull about "well they just ate etc" a healthy fish will always pig out when given the chance.

Also look for fish with bright eyes, and are swimming and acting normal.

 

[BL1]

I've bought several fish from live aquaria and they a great company to deal with. I didn't like buying fish from anywhere else online.

 

[N00B]

I've bought several fish from live aquaria and they a great company to deal with. I didn't like buying fish from anywhere else online.

Thanks for the info... I'll keep that in mind.

 

[ErinCahir]

I've also bought from liveaquaria. Not everything made it, but they are very good about honoring their guarantee.