restocking my 240 gallon reef

[reeferJ]

Had a tank crash a while back, but everything seems to be in order now. Time to spend money again. The plan is to have mostly LPS corals, leathers, maybe clams, maybe linkia and/or serpent starfish. As for the fish, the list will definitely include a Powder Blue Tang, a pair of O. clowns, and a Mandarin. I know all about the mandarins needs, and have lots of bugs. What other fish would be good cohabitants with the list. I don't want to add anything that would compete with the mandarin's supply of critters. I was thinking about:

Black Cap Gramma
Royal Gramma
Firefish
Fairy Wrasses
Anthias
Snowflake Blenny
School of Longspine or Red Cardinals

Which of the above (or others) would you recommend? Thanks!

 

[Len]

I'm not sure which species of Blenny the Snowflake is, but if it's not an obligatory algae eater, I'd skip it. It will compete with the Mandarin for food. All the other fish are fine. Just make sure the top is covered since most of those fish are prolific jumpers.

 

[reeferJ]

Do you think the Grammas would be aggressive toward the Mandarin? I also have heard that the Black Cap in particular eats Pods, any truth to that? Thanks.

 

[Len]

Grammas and Black Caps are distantly related and will be aggressive towards one another, but they should leave the Mandarin alone. Both the gramma and black cap spend much of their time in caves, often upside, hunting for foods on the surface of the caves. They will compete somewhat for the same foods as the Mandarin, but both should be able to coexist with the Mandarin in a 240. If you want to play it safe, you can pass on these two fish.

 

[reeferJ]

Thanks for your input Len, If 1 PB Tang, 1 Mandarin & 2 or 3 O. Clowns are a given in a 240 gallon tank, how many fish (or inches of fish) could I comfortably add? Also how many Longspine or Red Cardinals would I need for them to school?

 

[Len]

For the size and types of fish you're looking at, you can comfortably fit upwards of 20 specimens. 240 is big and will provide your planned stocking list plenty of space. For the cardinals, I've actually found they rarely school once they acclimate. Worse yet, the dominant specimens often harass the weaker ones. I'm not sure if this holds true for all species, but the Bangaii certainly behaved this way.

 

[reeferJ]

I have seen and heard of keeping multiple Royal Grammas in a large tank, does anybody have any thoughts on this? I have only been able to keep one. Also, any preferences between a harem of Fairy Wrasses vs. a harem of Anthias? vs. a school of Longspine Cardinals?