New to saltwater fish (and aquariums in general) need help deciding on fish

Hello all, I'm new to these forums and I'm starting a saltwater tank pretty soon. I've been researching lots of fish that would be good to start with in a 40 breeder. I want to get a flame hawkfish and a wrasse of some kind but I'm worried that they won't get along that well. Also I want to eventually get a trigger and Yellow Tang l but I assume my tank would be too small at the moment to get those two (maybe the Tang would be fine but I don't want to stress it out). If you have any recommendations I'll gladly accept them.

 

cycle the tank with live rock for a WHILE, like a month, before you put ANYTHING else in it.

as far as tangs are concerned. I do not like tangs- they are sensitive and not hardy at all, AND they do not reproduce in aquariums, only in the wild so every tang you purchase has been taken from a reef.

 

Thanks for replying! I do plan on using live rocks to cycle the tank I just wanted to know if a Flame Hawkfish is a good fish to start with or if I should start with more hardy fish like Damselfish or Clowns.

 

my salt water fish go-to person said a damselfish will be most hardy for a first fish.

 

Be very careful with damsels. They are very hardy, but extremely territorial. They may be small but they can really stress out your other fish. If you absolutely want a damsel then get an azure damsel, or green chromis. Clown fish sound like a good idea.


What about some sort of goby? Or maybe a school of chromis. A dwarf species of lionfish, fire fish, royal gramma, a dwarf angelfish. So many options!

 

as far as tangs are concerned. I do not like tangs- they are sensitive and not hardy at all, AND they do not reproduce in aquariums, only in the wild so every tang you purchase has been taken from a reef.

yellow and blue hippo tangs have both been successfully bred in captivity. yellow tangs were first about a year ago, and blue tangs maybe just a month or two ago. I don't think the blues have hit a sellable size yet, but you can get yellow tangs.

 

A flame hawk and a wrasse (Pseudocheilinus sp, others need a bigger tank) should be fine in a 40B. Make sure you have a tight fitting lid if you plan on getting the wrasse though!

You are correct that your tank is way too small for a trigger or a tang. Even a single tang will not be fine for long in a tank that size. And (speaking from experience...) do not buy a fish that can not comfortably live out its life in the tank you have right now. Yellow tangs need 100g+, blue tangs need 180g+, and even bristletooth tangs should be in a tank that is at least 75g. Triggers need 125-180g+.

A suggested stocking list: flame hawkfish, Pseudocheilinus sp. wrasse (or possum wrasse), a firefish, an orange-spotted goby or watchman goby, and a blenny (my favorites are starry, midas, and bi-color).

 

(Sorry for the late replies) Interesting, when I set up my tank soon I'll be on the lookout for those fish. Also SecretiveFish is there any specific order that I should introduce the fish in? Thanks again guys for your help!

 

Usually you should introduce least aggressive to most aggressive. I would add the goby first, then the firefish, then the hawkfish or blenny, and then the wrasse.