120 FOWLR tank

[sunfishman]

as some of you may know, i have had a delema about what kind of fish i should put into a new 120 tank i aquired i've had some experience withmarine and so i thought i would do a marine tank as i had some equipment for it. i want to know if a lionfish, a hippo tang, a clown trigger, and a longnose hawkfish would get along ok. also, would it be possible to keep a brittle star living in the live rock because lionfish eat shrimp and didn't want to buy one just to have it eaten. anyway i just wanted to see if these fish would get along or if i would need better tankmates. i want the tank to be centered aroud the lion and clown trigger so if some of the other fish need to be changed let me know.

[kaybee]

Lionfish and triggers aren't a good mix, particularly the clown triggers due to their aggression level (despite the lionfish's defenses, the trigger may make life hard for the lionfish since they're capable of biting the tips of their spines off or worse). So one of these (not both) can be the centerpiece of your tank.

Inverts (such as the brittlestar) and triggers aren't a good mix. Triggers will eat inverts.

Smaller fish (long nose hawkfish) and large carnivores (lionfish and triggers) aren't a good mix. The smaller fish may get eaten.

The tang, especially a large one, should be compatible with any of the above, though when clown triggers get large (they can surpass 18", though I'm not sure how long it takes them to get to that size), they can get rough with their tank mates.

[sunfishman]

i will keep the lion fish then, but most clown triggers i've seen stay close to the bottom and lionfish go to most all parts of the tank. if i keep the lion and the hippo tang, in your oppinion what are some other good tankmates. also, i really would like to put a regal angel in the same tank. would that work?

[Amazon]

why not just do a tank with a bunch of smaller fish? then you could add inverts.

[MCHRKiller]

I kept a Niger Trigger, a Volitan Lionfish and a Panther Grouper together with great success in the past. Nigers are probably one of the more peaceful of the tiggers, so if you must mix a Trigger and a Lionfish this is probably going to be your best bet. This Trigger is also one of the better choices for a Predator reef, thus it wont relentlessly hunt down every last member of your CUC. Do expect it to occasionally eat a few of them but generally mine left the corals, and inverts alone. I even managed a good sized Peppermint shrimp colony in that tank. Keeping the fish well fed is a MUST tho. I dont see a problem with the Hippo, I to would avoid the hawkfish. Make sure that you provide Nori for the Tang as they need a pretty much constant supply of vegatation

[sunfishman]

ok, i may try that. would an american or small moray eel be suitable as well? the other fish i plan on putting in would be to big for them to swallow. anyway, i'm just looking for the best tankmates but i know i will have the lion and tang and probably the regal angel

[MCHRKiller]

I probably wouldnt add an eel just for the sake of size even the smaller eels will still get to around 3ft. They really need atleast an 8ft tank to really thrive, not to mention the bioload these other fish are going to be creating.

[sunfishman]

yeah, probably right. so, now i will have a lionfish, hippo tang, regal angel, and 1-2 other fish along with live rock.
maybe a flounder?

[MCHRKiller]

Honestly those 3 fish are probably going to all but max out your tank. With the LR, your only going to have about maybe 90Gs of water.

[sunfishman]

yeah, brobably right . those three fish get pretty good sized and are pretty showy to see swiming. i think i'll stick to those 3

[MCHRKiller]

They should all grow to be show pieces given this ample space, I do hope you provide us with pics of them in the future :22:

[sunfishman]

as soon as i get a decent camera i'll try. i'm really not that good with posting pics. but if i get good ones i'll try