Difficult and Special Care Species List

[atoll]

Easy:
Copperband
Kleini
Long nose
Auriga

Copperband arent considered an easy fish. Am not saying theyvare difficult but you need the right tank mates and feed them well so I would consider them middle of the road and with caution. Similar with the long nose.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Copperband arent considered an easy fish. Am not saying theyvare difficult but you need the right tank mates and feed them well so I would consider them middle of the road and with caution. Similar with the long nose.

I have had many and got them to eat within a day and they get along with all my fish. Current one almost 3 years old and is an eating machine. I know of others with similar experience.
Makes a difference where they’re from and how they’re caught

 

[N.Sreefer]

The list says I shouldnt throw this guy in my reef? Darn thought hed be perfect for my 5g nano. Being serious thank you for this contribution to the hobby many of those fish are common to LFS in my area and almost all of them get bought by people inexperienced in sw who cant care for them. Bet this post has saved lots of fish over the years.

 

[atoll]

I have had many and got them to eat within a day and they get along with all my fish. Current one almost 3 years old and is an eating machine. I know of others with similar experience.
Makes a difference where they’re from and how they’re caught

Not suggesting that's not your experience but if you check any site they will tell you they are not a beginners fish so not considered easy. My yellow tang for instance won't allow any copperband to feed. I have kept them in the past for years but some fish as with my YT will harass a newly introduced CB till it succumbs or one or the other is removed.
I have a lot of experience with CBs and get reluctant feeders to feed using an open mussel to get them started along with other tricks. If I get another CB my YT will have to go.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not suggesting that's not your experience but if you check any site they will tell you they are not a beginners fish so not considered easy. My yellow tang for instance won't allow any copperband to feed. I have kept them in the past for years but some fish as with my YT will harass a newly introduced CB till it succumbs or one or the other is removed.
I have a lot of experience with CBs and get reluctant feeders to feed using an open mussel to get them started along with other tricks. If I get another CB my YT will have to go.

They’re not a beginner fish and as stated - easier butterfly opposed to ones like vagabond, Pakistani etc. Not too many fish fare well with aggression.
There was a time where one was lucky to get these to eat and that has changed greatly. Over the 34+ years in the hobby, many fish have adapted much easier to captive raising in a marine tank
I have 6 yellows and CBB will out-eat them any given day

 

[atoll]

They’re not a beginner fish and as stated - easier butterfly opposed to ones like vagabond, Pakistani etc. Not too many fish fare well with aggression.
There was a time where one was lucky to get these to eat and that has changed greatly. Over the 34+ years in the hobby, many fish have adapted much easier to captive raising in a marine tank
I have 6 yellows and CBB will out-eat them any given day

Did you put the CB in before the YT? Mine certainly won't tolerate CB in with it. Perhaps you have so many UTs they leave the CB alone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Did you put the CB in before the YT? Mine certainly won't tolerate CB in with it. Perhaps you have so many UTs they leave the CB alone.

He went in after

 

[MnFish1]

Anyone know how to train a fish to eat frozen food. I have a Hectors goby and I know it eats sugar and I have seen it eat miniature pieces of brine shrimp do I think it is eating fine. But I just want to make sure.

patience. They will eventually eat it. I would also suggest that something like LRS is better than brine shrimp - in general

 

[MnFish1]

He went in after

I put mine in after as well

 

[MnFish1]

I have had many and got them to eat within a day and they get along with all my fish. Current one almost 3 years old and is an eating machine. I know of others with similar experience.
Makes a difference where they’re from and how they’re caught

I think this is key - if you get a somewhat sick fish - its not going to do well. The copper band I have literally rips food out of the Harlequin tusks mouth. (the tusk is 2x the size). But - I monitored the fish - it was eating well at the LFS, etc. PS - he rips food from the yellow tangs as well

 

[Zionas]

Is yours an Australian or Fijian one?
This is off topic but any updates on your harem of Flameback Angels?

 

[atoll]

Is yours an Australian or Fijian one?
This is off topic but any updates on your harem of Flameback Angels?

The CB I last put in had been the LFS a number of weeks eating well. I have tried 3 CBs butveachbtime my YT has pestered tgemntonthe point of stopping them.from feeding properly
My 3 flameback/fireball Angel's are all doing very well thanks. Not seen them spawn as yet, still a bit immature I think.

 

[jaganshi066]

The CB I last put in had been the LFS a number of weeks eating well. I have tried 3 CBs butveachbtime my YT has pestered tgemntonthe point of stopping them.from feeding properly
My 3 flameback/fireball Angel's are all doing very well thanks. Not seen them spawn as yet, still a bit immature I think.

You have 3 flamebacks in your tank?

 

[i cant think]

I realise this is probably dead however, I will agree with the statement of Leopards being hard to keep fish without the right conditions. I have recently bought my 1” BSLW on Saturday and she ate instantly today - I couldn’t feed her yesterday since she went in the sand before I could throw it in - I also have had a CBB for 18 months and they’re only beginner if:
- Yours is eating
- You manage to get an aggressive one
- It goes into the tank peacefully
These go for any hard fish (Leopards, Anampses, CBBs, Idols ect..)
I can not stress the last one enough, if you have an aggressor in the tank it will most likely go downhill if you haven’t already established the fish to captivity and got it eating what you feed at home

 

[Zionas]

In your experience, what are some fish that frequently cause trouble for these more sensitive species? I’d probably assume many Tangs to be among them.

 

[i cant think]

In your experience, what are some fish that frequently cause trouble for these more sensitive species? I’d probably assume many Tangs to be among them.

In my experience it was shockingly the CBB for my radiant wrasse - My tang is a C. binotatus and somehow ended up being on the peaceful side of the personality spectrum. My Leopard wrasse and Naoko fairy will probably have the issue of the Aussie Scott’s when they first go in.
If you have an Acanthurus tang in the tank already that isn’t A. tennetii, A. olivaceous or A. triostegus I don’t recommend adding a sensitive fish such as Anampses femininus or Z. cornutus. Other fish are:
- A lot of predatory fish such as Lions, Triggers, Eels ect..
- Aggressive Angels,
- Some wrasse can be aggressive (Thalassoma spp, Cirrhilabrus scottorum, Coris spp, Halichoeres chloropterus)
CBBs are not known to be aggressive however, I managed to pull an exception out and it squabbled with my radiant for the first few days - All is fine now and the Foxface keeps the peace in the tank.

 

[Zionas]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and I’m glad it’s all worked out. How big are your CBB, Tang and Foxface by the way? I know Foxfaces get pretty large. I love angels, would you mind letting me know which ones tend to be aggressive and which ones not so aggressive?

 

[i cant think]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and I’m glad it’s all worked out. How big are your CBB, Tang and Foxface by the way? I know Foxfaces get pretty large. I love angels, would you mind letting me know which ones tend to be aggressive and which ones not so aggressive?

So the CBB is close to 2.5” from snout to tail, I got him at around 2” so they don’t grow quite as fast.
The Foxface is a Magnificent Foxface and he’s 5” but we got him at around 3” over a year ago (I’d say around 19 months ago). He’s said to get to 9”-10” however it’ll probably take a lot more years before he gets close to that size (I’d estimate this time next year he’ll be close to it).
The tang is a Ctenochaetus binotatus and it’s around 2.5” at a max. I got it a month after the FoxFace and CBB went in and he was around 1” and they’re said to get to 8” in the wild, but 4” is more commonly seen in captivity - I mean they can live for 40 years+.

Angelfish that can get aggressive are:
- H. tricolor,
- H. burmudensis,
- H. cilliaris
- H. passer is possibly the worst for aggression in this genus
- Pomacanthus imperator can tend to get aggressive as large adults - It’s also a dream angelfish for me
- Pomacanthus xanthometopon - This is the second dream angelfish for me.. I’d love to get a reef safe one too, I don’t think they get as aggressive as H. Passer
- Apolemichthys not all the spp in this genus are aggressive but the most are
The only Large angelfish group that I know are both reef safe and fairly peaceful are the Genicanthus genus
Others that can be peaceful are Centropyge angels, Asfurs can be aggressive but all fish can be aggressive with others more peaceful. If you add the Angel in last then chances of it being aggressive to already established sensitive fish is low

 

[Zionas]

I like how you mentioned the Blue Face because the Majestic IMO is a very pretty one and is one of the smallest of the large angels. Think they don’t get that big in captivity. Fortunately I’m not too big a fan of Holacanthus. I find some Chaetodontoplus and Apolemichthys to be nice too. Personifier to my knowledge gets large but ones like the Blue Line, Scribbled and a couple of the others are nice. My favorite Apolemichthys is the Goldflake.

Good luck with all of your fish! How big is your tank by the way?

 

[i cant think]

I like how you mentioned the Blue Face because the Majestic IMO is a very pretty one and is one of the smallest of the large angels. Think they don’t get that big in captivity. Fortunately I’m not too big a fan of Holacanthus. I find some Chaetodontoplus and Apolemichthys to be nice too. Personifier to my knowledge gets large but ones like the Blue Line, Scribbled and a couple of the others are nice. My favorite Apolemichthys is the Goldflake.

Good luck with all of your fish! How big is your tank by the way?

I have a 4x2x2 at the moment, It has a 5’ diagonal to it and then there’s 2-3 more wrasse going in it - It has 5 at the moment, those 5 are:
- Indo Lubbocki,
- Cebu Lubbocki,
- Aussie Scott’s,
- Radiant,
- Jade/Green coris wrasse.
The last few wrasse to go in it are:
- Blue Star Leopard,
- Naokoae fairy,
- Maybe A flasher of some sort

The fish I have that aren’t wrasse (as Said above) are:
- Magnificent Foxface - RedSea
- CBB - Aussie,
- Blue Eye Kole Tang - Indo
- Black photon clown (The female vanished)
- Swallow tail angelfish - Not Japanese