77 Best saltwater fish for a 75 gallon tank (how many fish)

A 75-gallon tank is a nearly perfect size for saltwater fish, allowing enough room to care for all but the largest saltwater fish.

You can keep all the fish species recommended for smaller tanks, and the added volume in a 75-gallon tank unlocks the following fish types:

• Several dwarf angelfish species
• Graceful Anthias species
• Soldierfish

Here is a list of the 77 Best saltwater fish for a 75 gallon tank:

• Dwarf Angelfish: Flame angel, Coral Beauty, Bi-color, Pygmy/Cherub, Flameback, Lemonpeel, Rusty, Red Stripe, 
• Antias: Lyretail
• Reef safe wrasses: Carpenter’s, Fairy, Melanurus, Yellow Coris, McCosker’s, Sixline
• Marine betta
• Dwarf lionfish: Fuzzy dwarf, Dwarf zebra, Fu Manchu, or Monbasa
• Filefish: Aiptasia-eating
• Blenny: Tailspot, Two spot, Canary, Midas, Striped, Harptail or Smith’s
• Cardinalfish: Banggai, Yellow, Pajama, or Longfin
• Cleaner goby: Neon, Yellow line, Shark nose, or Hybrid
• Clownfish: Tomato, Cinnamon, Maroon, Clarkii, Spotcinctus, Ocellaris, Percula, Orange skunk or Pink skunk
• Chromis: Blue-green or Blue Reef
• Dartfish: Firefish, Purple firefish, Zebra, Scissortail orHelfrichi
• Dottyback: Orchid or Neon
• Fairy Basslet: Royal gramma, Blackcap or Chalk basslet
• Fancy goby: Clown, Two spot, Yasha or Court jester
• Hawkfish: Flame, Longnose, or Falco
• Puffer: Saddle Valenti (if fish only)
• Soldierfish: Squirrelfish
• Damselfish: Azure, Blue, Blue Devil, Bluefin, Blue Velvet, Domino, Three-stripe, Four-stripe, Yellowtail

Best Saltwater Fish 75-G	Options:
Dwarf Angels	Flame	Coral Beauty	Bi-color	Cherub	Flameback	Lemonpeel	Rusty	Red Stripe
Anthias	Lyretail
Reef safe wrasses	Carpenter’s	Fairy	McCosker’s	6 Line	Melanurus	Yellow Coris
Marine Bettas
Dwarf lionfish	Fuzzy	Zebra	Fu Manchu	Monbasa
Filefish	Aiptasia-eating
Blenny	Tailspot	2 Spot	Canary	Midas	Striped	Harptail	Smith’s
Cardinalfish	Banggai	Yellow	PJ	Longfin
Cleaner goby	Neon	Yellowline	Sharknose	Hybrid
Clownfish	Maroon	Tomato	Cinnamon	Clarkii	Spotcintus	Ocellaris	Percula	O. Skunk	P. Skunk
Chromis	Blue-green	Blue reef
Dartfish	Firefish	Purple	Helfrichi	Zebra	Scissortail
Dottyback	Neon	Orchid
Fairy Basslet	Royal Gramma	Blackcap	Chalk
Fancy goby	Clown	Two-spot	Yasha	Court Jester	Yellow Watchman
Hawkfish	Longnose	Flame	Falco
Pufferfish	Valenti
Soldierfish
Damselfish	Blue	Blue devil	Blue velvet	Domino	Azure	3 stripe	4 stripe	Yellow tail	Blue fin

Typical 75-gallon tank dimensions

A 75-gallon tank is typically 48 inches long x 18 inches wide x 21 inches deep. 

It is the exact size of my very first Saltwater Aquarium. For years, I had kept freshwater fish in a 20-gallon high style aquarium, but when I transitioned to saltwater, the 75-gallon tank was what I went for, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

Sidebar, but I just thought I’d share, for your amusement, that my first version of that sentence above read, “whole heartily”. Hah

How many of the best saltwater fish for a 75-gallon tank should you have?

The total number of saltwater fish you should keep in a 75-gallon tank is 21 or less. Restricting the number to 10-15 will reduce maintenance and increase your chance of success with corals and other invertebrates.

See the list below for recommendations about how many of each type of fish:

• 1 Dwarf Angelfish: Flame angel, Coral Beauty, Bi-color, Pygmy/Cherub, Flameback, Lemon peel
• 1 Anthias: Lyretail
• 3-5 Flasher or Fairy wrasses: Reef safe wrasses: Carpenter’s, McCosker’s
• 1 Reef Safe Wrasse: Six line, Melanurus, Yellow Coris
• 1 Marine betta
• 1 Blenny: Tailspot, Two spot, Canary, Midas, Striped, Harptail or Smith’s
• 1-5 Cardinalfish: Banggai, Yellow, Pajama, or Longfin
• 1 Cleaner goby: Neon, Yellow line, Shark nose, or Hybrid
• 2 Clownfish: Tomato, Cinnamon, Maroon, Clarkii, Spotcinctus, Ocellaris, Percula, Orange skunk, Pink skunk
• 1-5 Chromis: Blue-green or Blue reef
• 1 Dartfish*: Firefish, Purple firefish, Zebra, or Scissortail, Helfrichi
• 1 Dottyback: Orchid or Neon
• 1 Fairy Basslet: Royal gramma, or Blackcap, Chalk basslet
• 1 Fancy goby: Clown, Two spot, Yasha or Court jester
• 1 Hawkfish:Flame, Longnose, or Falco
• 1 Filefish: Aiptasia-eating
• 1 Saddle Valenti puffer (if fish only)
• 1 Soldierfish: Squirrelfish

Or if you want to keep a predator:

A few compatibility notes and caveats

There are a few caveats to the recommendations above. 

• Pick either a Fairy Basslet or a Dottyback, not both
• Dartfish are very mild-mannered, may not work with bold tank mates, best to be an early tank addition
• Select either the Flasher or Fairy or Reef Safe wrasses, don’t mix
• In my own personal experience, it is challenging to keep a shoal (>1) chromis alive
• Soldierfish and Hawkfish may not be compatible with your mobile invertebrates

Equipment needed for a 75-gallon tank

• Heater – 200 watts may be sufficient, I recommend 300-watts to be sure
• Protein skimmer – I recommend the Red Sea Skimmer. Read more here
• Reef tank lights —Aqua Illumination is a good place to start
• Lid – Several of the saltwater fish listed here will jump out of tanks when startled. A tight-fitting lid is key
• Powerhead – to create the proper water flow in the tank, you’ll want a powerhead, like a GYRE style pump
• Test kits – Water quality is so important—it pays to have the right test kits

A few important related topics to consider

Here are a few other very important articles to help you have success with your new saltwater tank:

Other stocking options

Fish are possibly the easiest and most readily available animals you can keep in your 75-gallon saltwater tank, here are a few other non-fish recommendations:

Looking for a different size

If you’re not quite sold on the 75-gallon saltwater tank as the right aquarium for you, check out these stocking guides for these other great tanks to see if they’re a better fit for the space in your home, apartment, or budget.

Share your plans and leave a comment

After reading this article, what are your plans for your aquarium? Have you identified your livestock yet? Please leave a comment and let me know which of the best saltwater fish for a 75-gallon tank you’re thinking about.