So I I recently set up a monster aquarium,
I set up this monster aquarium behind me, the Waterbox 220
isn't she a beaut? Yes.
So I set up this monster aquarium far bigger than any aquarium I've ever owned,
which means a whole new world of possibilities.
So in the past, I've only had fairly small reef tank, OK, I've had a twenty nine
gallon Biocube and a 40 gallon Innovative Marine up to this point.
So one of the things that I'm super
excited about, this new beauty behind me is the fish options.
OK, it's definitely the fish options because up to this point, I mean,
what can you stuff in a 40 gallon aquarium in terms of fish?
I mean, not much, right.
So my experience with keeping fish has been super limited.
And up to this point, I pretty much just focused on corals.
And because I really haven't had much experience with fish before,
I am not really experienced with fish quarantine's either.
Props to you guys because I had no idea
how horrible the freaking fish quarantine process actually was.
I finally have a good idea of what I want to do in terms of quarantine my fish
it requires like different medications
and like a whole month and a half period of it's a nightmare, OK?
It's an actual nightmare.
I am so put off by the fish quarantine
process, even though I know it is essential to, you know, to go through.
But anyway, to distract myself from this
fish quarantine, you know, headache that I have going on right now,
I figured I need to bring the excitement back.
I need to, you know,
remember why I am excited about keeping these fish in the first place.
And this video, I am going to go over all
the fish and, you know, little critters that I plan on stocking this guy with.
So in terms of picking out what fish
you're going to add, there is somewhat of a hierarchy.
You know, like your first fish that you need to add are like really hardy fish,
you know, like damsels clowns, you know, clownfish type fish is what is suggested.
And I mean, clownfish are definitely on my list.
I mean, obviously, everybody's got to have a pair of clownfish in their tank.
Right.
But don't judge me for this, but I'm kind of not really feeling all
the bougie clownfish options that are out there right now.
I really want to go basic.
I want to be a basic it's a basic clownfish.
I'm kind of over the whole, like,
clownfish thing that has been going on here for a while.
You know, like, I really don't really want
to add clowns that are named after weather patterns.
I mean, why are all the clowns named after weather patterns anyway?
You know like storms, mocha storms, you know, snowflakes, lightning clouds.
I mean, it's just like I just want
something basic, you know, I just want something basic.
You know, I'm not like the other girls,
you know, I just want my typical basic ocellarias
traditional nemo clownfish, OK?
And, you know, I'm just I'm just not like other girls, you know?
And I mean, how else am I going to show you guys that I'm a real one?
So ocellarias clownfish are definitely some clownfish that I want to add.
I want people who come over that aren't
into the hobby to point out Nemo and get really excited.
You know, I want to be that person.
And I feel like with all these, like,
different variations of clownfish now, you know, like every color,
like Holstein from my Innovative Marine 40 gallon, he looks like a cow.
I feel like clownfish look so different now.
I feel like what's rare is truly having ocellarias clowns in your tank because
I feel like everybody's neglected them, you know, everybody's neglected them.
They have fancy clownfish, they're black, white, brown.
I mean, I want to bring it back to the basics.
I want to bring it back to the basics.
So, yeah, definitely have ocellarias
clownfish as my first editions to this bad boy.
And then of course, I need to add more timid fish as well
after, you know, the damsel family fish, I need to add, you know, timid fish.
So what I was thinking in no particular order because I haven't actually figured
out the order yet, but in no particular order.
I do want to add a royal gramma
i mean, I guess these basic
fish choices are going to be like a recurring theme because I haven't really
had the opportunity to own these basic fish options.
OK, so don't judge me.
Why am I justifying myself?
I want the Royal Gramma because they are so beautiful.
They're nice and colorful.
They're like a bit shy.
They're like a great addition, you know what I mean?
They're just they're a great addition, a tank staple.
And I also definitely want a few groups
of Anthias of different kinds of anthias and like one male and two females of each kind
in a group, if that makes sense, because I've heard that if you have two females
and one male, the male like becomes really
like extravagant to show off to the females, you know?
So I definitely want some extravagant
colorations on that male so, you know, a few pairs of this male female combo.
Right.
But in terms of what kind of anthias I really want to add,
it's it's been like this ongoing process because because when I look
at anthias, it's like I look at them and I'm like, oh,
I really think that that's a pretty anthia, that's so gorgeous.
I need to have that in my tank.
And then I would look through various pictures and, you know,
the website pictures of various vendors selling these fish.
And I'm like, oh, you know, maybe they're not as beautiful as I thought.
You know, I you know, I keep second guessing myself with anthias.
Maybe I'm just not a big fan of anthias or or maybe it's just because, like,
every picture of a type of anthia that I see looks like completely different.
And then it really confuses me about which one I want to commit to.
So I'm constantly been going on and off
about which type of and the, you know, anthias group I want to keep.
But a few that I really keep coming back to are like bartlett anthias
it's one of the fish that when I
first wanted to have a saltwater tank and I was planning how I would put
that together, initially I wanted a really large tank.
So my fish stocking was a little bit
different than what I actually ended up with.
But that was one of the first initial fish on the stocking list
that I came up with bartlett anthias was definitely on there.
And I really want to pay homage to that
newbie desire that I had for bartlett anthias, I guess.
Anyway, I still think they're really gorgeous fish.
So I've been thinking about those also.
I really liked lyre tail anthias
sorry if I'm butchering all of these names, I'm really, really not.
I cannot emphasize how much I am not
a fish person but lyre tail anthias are really cool.
I like both the male and female.
Which speaking of has been one of the most confusing things
to me in the concept of anthias, because most of the time when looking
at these anthias, I really, really like the male.
But then the females are so average,
you know, when it's like I can't commit to having two females that are like ugh
for one, like decent male, it's like this fish stocking list
is honestly driving me crazy.
I keep thinking that I have a really small
tank and that I really have to be super, super, super careful with my fish stocking
so i've been kind of driving myself crazy, going back and forth, as you can tell.
But with the lyretail anthias
are definitely one of those anthias that I like both the male and female.
So I'm thinking, just go with that, just go with that and run with it.
Maybe thinking about another group of anthias
but I don't know.
I'm so torn about this.
I'm so torn about the anthias
i mean you could push and pull me any which way.
Let me know what anthias are like.
Really pretty in the comments because I'm
still, I'm still having a difficult time picking them.
So I also want to add a few wrasses
i want to add a few wrasses
i've been thinking about the fairy wrasse
i think the fairy wrasse is very beautiful and very colorful.
I mean, why not?
I also really like the Blue star leopard wrasse, but it's like another one of those
wrasses that kind of looks different under the lighting you have.
And it's like I mean, I like you, but I also don't like you.
I don't know.
I mean, these these are the wrasses I have been in conflict with.
However, there is one wrasse that I must
have, OK, it's my favorite wrasse of all time.
The blue striped tamarin wrasse. OK, this fish.
I know I said I was going the whole basic
route in terms of fish stocking, but this is going to be my rare beauty
because this is like my favorite fish ever.
I mean, the blue and the yellow, they're just so striking and so pretty.
I want to add one to my tank so bad.
But I think knowing how sensitive it will
be in the quarantine process, I mean, it's kind of scary,
but totally worth it because this is like definitely my dream fish and it's going
to be that fish that's really just going to change my life.
I mean, I, I need to have at least one or
two, like, really bougie fish to counteract my other basic choices.
Right.
So definitely want that blue striped tamarin wrasse
i mean, just goals, total goals in terms of fish, other fishes, other fishes.
OK, we definitely have to have our bottom
dwelling gobies of some sort where I was thinking about two Yasha gobies because
they're so cute with their little top fin and everything.
I mean, I really, really like them
And you know of course, pair them with that candy cane pistol shrimp.
I mean, I think it will be so cute to have
those guys in my tank, but I've heard they're a bit sensitive.
So I'm definitely going to add those a bit later into the tank.
Another one that I really need to add is actually not based on my choice.
Well, I mean, I like this fish,
don't get me wrong, but it's really based on Reef Mama.
I need to add a blue dragonette. A blue dragonette is reef mama's hands down
favorite fish in this world haven't been able to own one up to this point.
And she said, look, if you're setting up this tank, it is absolutely
mandatory that you add a blue mandarin.
So I said, yes, ma'am, and I mean, I like mandarins.
I've always wanted one
i think they are so cute and they have a lot of personality.
So that's definitely obviously one that I have to add a long time down the road
because we want this guy a bit more established, you know what I mean?
Before we can think about adding adding in that guy.
But that's another one that I'm pretty excited about.
Another bougie
addition that I've been thinking
about is a candy basslet because they are just so bright and obnoxious and gorgeous.
I think that's going to be like my second bougie fish.
They're just so pretty.
I mean, in terms of the bigger fish copperband
butterfly, not because of their aptasia eating abilities, but just because I think
they are like the coolest looking fish ever.
They're just beautiful.
And I got to have one, even if that means that I unfortunately cannot own a clam.
You know how I feel very strongly about
clams to not have one in my tank because of a copperband butterfly was a really
difficult decision, but it was a decision that I had to make.
Nonetheless, copperband butterflies are
definitely super beautiful and totally underrated in my opinion.
I think, you know, more tanks should be incorporating them
and not just because of their aptasia eating abilities.
OK, let's you know, they're just beautiful fish in general.
It's time that we acknowledged that more.
I also want to add a one spot foxface.
I've always thought they're really interesting fish, but there's kind of like a funny
reason why I'm like really dead set on owning one now.
OK, so like Reef Mama always sticks her
hands in my tanks, it usually ends up causing trouble.
So with my bubble algae take over
recently, bless her heart, she has been trying to help the situation
when I am not around the tank, you know, sneakily she wants to help.
It ends up just making the situation a lot worse because she pops the bubble algae
and she doesn't realize that that's that's like a no no.
I kind of talked up the foxface.
The foxface's ability to sting you or I
don't know what you call it poison you or whatever.
I've really talked it up
so she's definitely scared to put her hands in this tank, which is which is kind
of like a funny way to solve all of these issues.
Definitely got to get that fox face
to scare off Reef Mama from messing with my tanks.
Now the tangs
deciding on what tangs
I wanted to add, was the most difficult part of this fish stocking decision
making, because obviously you can't really go for that many tangs because of their
aggressivity and their need for space and yadda, yadda.
So I was really, really torn.
Gem tang is one that I must have under all
circumstances because I need one for the clout
you know, I need one,
you know, because they're they're gem tangs
when it came to the other
tang that I really wanted to add to my tank, it was so difficult.
I really wanted a Naso
Tang because of their awesome personality and they're really pretty.
But then I was like, maybe I should go with, you know, the Royal Blue Tang.
I mean, that's just like a classic.
But the more I got to thinking,
the naso tang had too much yellow in it like it wouldn't.
I really was looking for a fish with blue color because if you look at my whole
stocklist, that was the color that was kind of lacking.
So it was either royal blue or powder blue.
The more I thought about it, I think just powder blue tangs are so gorgeous.
I mean, they are just they're the special
kind of pretty blue that is just it's just very nice.
So it was a tough decision,
not even a lie, but I ended up picking the powder blue.
You know, I'm excited for that.
I think that's that's definitely one of the I think that's definitely the fish
that I'm probably or one of the fish that I'm the most excited about keeping.
However, unfortunately, is going to be the very last fish due to its aggressivity.
So it's going to be a while until I see
that guy swimming around here, but really looking forward to that.
In terms of everything else,
I really want to add a cleaner shrimp, I think cleaner shrimp are just cute.
And I love the way that they're in everything's business.
You know, they're always just there,
you know, messing with this, and messing with that.
I mean a cleaner shrimp.
Definitely adds some personality
to the tank in addition to the candy, candy cane pistol shrimp for the gobies.
But other inverts, I guess,
that are really important to me is, you know, obviously I've been talking
about this for a while, but the arrow crab arrow crabs are scary little guys.
They're awful.
I really miss having them in my tank.
They scare the crap out of me.
They really frighten me.
And I don't think I can ever touch one.
But I think that's why I'm you know, they're so appealing to add to my tank.
I have had one in the past.
And I mean, I just loved it because it was so freaking scary.
I mean, it's it's the ugliest little
spider thing, you know, I just think they're really, really cool.
And I it's it's mandatory that I think about adding this this guy to my tank.
Will I be actually placing it in there myself?
No way. No way.
But, you know, I think it will make an excellent creepy
little addition, so that is a must, so, yeah, those are all the fish that I am
considering for this beast of a tank behind me.
I'm not really committed to these these fish.
I still have a lot of thinking to do about
them, particularly in what order I'm actually going to end up placing them.
I mean, this fish stuff like is really overwhelming to me, considering I've never
kind of dealt with this whole side of reef tanks before.
So I don't know if you have better ideas of what fish I should add or, you know,
have any recommendations for me and definitely let me know in those comments.
I know this video is kind of really
boring, but I really need your input on what I should add.
Is this too much fish?
Can I go for more, too? I don't know.
I don't know. Let's discuss.
Again, with the first second comments,
I love this, I've truly made it as a YouTube and you know what Brokereefman,
that method of placing zoas works just as well.
Splash, I'm truly honored that you thought my zoa
placement video resembled a blockbuster hit.
I try I try really, really hard.
And that's how it all starts.
Anders you add one zoa and maybe two or
three after and then before you know it, you've become an official zoa collector.
That marvels over the latest and greatest zoas that only have a slight color
variation that is pretty much unnoticeable to most people.
But you, you have now developed a trained eye and you absolutely must add these zoas
to your collection because zoas are life.
You just you just got to accept your fate now.