prettyfishy76 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I have a 150 gallon Marineland Deep Dimension Cube (36"L x 36"W x 28"H) that my husband and I won at the DFW MACNA last year. Since we brought it home from Dallas, it had been sitting in our garage throughout the Fall, Winter and most of Spring. We were able to get some assistance (Thanks to some River City Aquatics muscle) moving the tank indoors once the outside temperature started to rise. So, right now, we have an empty tank begging to be filled and stocked. It's quite torturous to see it staring at you... I don't really have a concrete plan on what I'd like to do with this tank, which is why I think it's still empty. I currently have a 100 gallon seahorse-only set-up and a 29 gallon Nano Cube, which has a handful of fish in there, including the devil reincarnates themselves, my clownfish. I do know that I DO NOT want really aggressive fish. I'm thinking of a fairly peaceful set-up. In regards to coral, I don't think I'll go crazy with them. I honestly enjoy keeping fish more. I would also like 1-2 clams. Does anyone have suggestions on livestock that won't necessarily eat each other and are reef-safe? Are there any good schooling fish out there? I thought that might be a neat centerpiece. I mostly want everyone to get along in their own ways if they can. Keep in mind that this is a cube aquarium, so I won't be looking into any fish that require a lot of swimming space. I sincerely appreciate any help during this process. Other than the 100 gallon tank, I have not had anything this large before. There wasn't much I could do with the 100 gallon because of the seahorses. They have their own special set-up that I can't really mess with... Please note that the rest of the tank equipment, including lights, will be purchased after I figure out what's going in the tank. I would like to cater to the chosen livestock. I have included a photo of what the tank looks like. However, I yanked the picture from the internet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Cardinal fishes are probably one of the more peaceful schooling fish out there. They are not the most colorful fish, but pretty neat. A large number of these dwarf cardinals would be cool: http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/87840-keeping-dwarf-cardinalfish-apogon-parvulus.html My first thought then I saw this tank was a rock "mound" or "tower" in the center of the tank, which would allow fish to swim in circles around it. I can't remember if it was on this forum, or another, that someone has did the "rock mound" in the a cube tank, and it came out really neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Why not a giant seahorse tank? Think how many you could have in that system! A school of pajama or baggani(sp?) cardinals would look awesome. Or those blue eyed ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Massive BTA tank or a carpet anemone tank. You could do a center rock piece/column with a ton of BTA's on it, or do light rockwork in the back corners and nice carpet anemone in the center. If you want to do schooling, some chromis or cardinals or even anthias if you don't mind their feeding requirements. Just throwing some ideas out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I like the idea of a rock mound in the middle too, and a school of 20 anthias would look killer swimming around in there. Maybe throw in a rabbitfish for algae control if the anthias aren't enough. Batfish are peaceful and neat, and they might school in a tank. If you dont care about corals or inverts, they might be fun Oh yeah, a school of bannerfish would be pretty neat in a tank like that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I know I'm a broken record about these, but purple firefish area amazing. In a 150 you could have a few. Maybe mix in regular firefish or a helfrechi if you have some cash to blow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Massive BTA tank or a carpet anemone tank. You could so a center rock piece with a ton of BTA's on it, or do light rockwork in the back corners and nice carpet anemone in the center. If you want to do schooling, some chromis or cardinals or even anthias if you don't mind their feeding requirements. Just throwing some ideas out there. A massive anemone tank would be awesome... need to dig up my photo from the Monaco aquarium.... here it is: I also first thought Chromis for schooling, but reading I was doing today suggested that they school for predator protection in the wild. But in the aquarium, once they figure out there are no predators, they start turning on each other and whittle down the pack. So I guess the moral here is to also add a shark to the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Here's the one at the denver aquarium. Hard to get any perspective on how large this is, but it's 400+ gallons. Round or cube would be perfect dimensions for something like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I also first thought Chromis for schooling, but reading I was doing today suggested that they school for predator protection in the wild. But in the aquarium, once they figure out there are no predators, they start turning on each other and whittle down the pack. So I guess the moral here is to also add a shark to the tank. Normally any larger fish will cause them to school. They won't do any Discovery Channel stuff in there though; mostly just swim together. I haven't had any problems with Chromis killing each other. My vote is: 5-10 Chromis 3 Anthias 2 Clowns 2 Fire Fish 2 Tangs 1 Watchman or Sleeper Goby 1 Six-Line Cubes look awesome with a U shaped rock formation in the center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 You are seriously suggesting 2 tangs in a 3ft long tank?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Sure why not? You could get a Yellow and a Kole and be just fine for years. I wouldn't put a Naso or Clown tang in there but Sailfin or Bristle would be fine as well. Let's not forget that the width is also 3ft. The minimum tank requirement generally quoted is 55g for a Yellow Tang and that has half the foot print of a 150g cube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prettyfishy76 Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 Cardinal fishes are probably one of the more peaceful schooling fish out there. They are not the most colorful fish, but pretty neat.A large number of these dwarf cardinals would be cool:http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/87840-keeping-dwarf-cardinalfish-apogon-parvulus.htmlMy first thought then I saw this tank was a rock "mound" or "tower" in the center of the tank, which would allow fish to swim in circles around it. I can't remember if it was on this forum, or another, that someone has did the "rock mound" in the a cube tank, and it came out really neat. I have thought a lot about keeping a school of cardinal fishes. I just wasn't sure which type would be the best option. I will be researching these types of fish regardless. The dwarf cardinals look awesome, but I'm not sure if they'll be too small or not... I also couldn't find a vendor that sold them. I am a fan of the "blue-eye" cardinal fish. I'm not sure what they are called, but they are mostly clear. A LFS had some in a display tank and those fish just sparkled under the lights.Rockscaping is going to be fun with this tank. I like your suggestion about having a rock mount/tower. Guess I'l need to get some epoxy ready. I've never created any sort of rock work except for a mound that is supporting by the back of the tank. Sometimes I have to be careful not to touch the rocks in a certain way to make them topple over. I would hate to squish a fish or coral...Why not a giant seahorse tank? Think how many you could have in that system!A school of pajama or baggani(sp?) cardinals would look awesome. Or those blue eyed ones. I can only handle 1 seahorse tank. The ones I have drive me crazy as it is (I still love them). Those fish are like having children - I'm going to have to get a "seahorse-sitter" when I go out of town...+1 on the cardinal fish idea, especially the blue-eye option.Massive BTA tank or a carpet anemone tank. You could do a center rock piece/column with a ton of BTA's on it, or do light rockwork in the back corners and nice carpet anemone in the center.If you want to do schooling, some chromis or cardinals or even anthias if you don't mind their feeding requirements.Just throwing some ideas out there. A huge anemone tank would be so cool! It would be clownfish heaven.I like the idea of a rock mound in the middle too, and a school of 20 anthias would look killer swimming around in there. Maybe throw in a rabbitfish for algae control if the anthias aren't enough.Batfish are peaceful and neat, and they might school in a tank. If you dont care about corals or inverts, they might be funOh yeah, a school of bannerfish would be pretty neat in a tank like that as well. I have heard that the anthias are a little difficult to keep - something about them needing to eat all of the time and that they can be really aggressive to one another. They are SO pretty, though, it kills me. Don't the bannerfish get kind of large?I know I'm a broken record about these, but purple firefish area amazing. In a 150 you could have a few. Maybe mix in regular firefish or a helfrechi if you have some cash to blow That'd be kind of cute. Firefish are great and SUPER peaceful! "Helfrechi" yes! I also first thought Chromis for schooling, but reading I was doing today suggested that they school for predator protection in the wild. But in the aquarium, once they figure out there are no predators, they start turning on each other and whittle down the pack. So I guess the moral here is to also add a shark to the tank. Normally any larger fish will cause them to school. They won't do any Discovery Channel stuff in there though; mostly just swim together. I haven't had any problems with Chromis killing each other.My vote is:5-10 Chromis3 Anthias2 Clowns2 Fire Fish2 Tangs1 Watchman or Sleeper Goby1 Six-LineCubes look awesome with a U shaped rock formation in the center. I have read a lot about the chromis killing one another. Initially, I wanted a school of the green chromis, but all of my research has pointed me away from them. They look so nice, though.How would a school of cardinals (not sure exactly which type yet) do, along with some dartfish (fire fish, gudgeons, etc) and gobies? Do different species of dartfish get along together? I wasn't sure if multiple gobies could live in harmony or not...Thanks again for all of the great suggestions. This discussion is getting the wheels a' turnin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason & Amber Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Im going to put a little school maybe 6 cardinals in the 185 when its ready. I have heard chromis can get a little aggresive towards each other and the wife and I like how the cardinals look more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I don't know first hand about aggression between anthias as tank mates, but I do know they are regularly kept as trios, and in the wild they live in huge communities on reefs. They need to eat 3 times a day, most people use an automatic feeder for them. Bannerfish I think would work, though your tank is on the small end of their requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Bangai and PJ's live peacefully in groups, but they don't swim around much and normally stay at the top of the tank. I've seen aquariums with up to 10 of them living together but someone looking into your tank could easily miss them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko's Reef Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Awesome you won this tank. I love the design of it. B4 I got the 180g in the wall, I was looking at 1 of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.