Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

[i cant think]

So a pair of ocellaris and we can expand to other fish. A pair of maroons and they are the only ones. Got it! I’ll stick to the ocellaris. Maybe we can get a pair of black storms, the wife would be excited

Could also look at the Skunk complex as most of them are more behaved IME.
https://www.tfhmagazine.com/article...ercula Complex,white bands bordered in black.

 

[manzoherz]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you can give me some advice regarding which fish/shrimp to add to our tank that should work well with the current population.

The tank has now passed the 1 year mark and I feel I want to add some more life.

We currently have a 110 Gallon display with the following inhabitants:

2 Clownfish (spawning every two weeks )

1 Charcoal Goby

1 Fire Shrimp

1 Cleaner Shrimp

1 Foxface

1 Sailfin Tang

We have some aptaisia so I was thinking to add:

1 Peppermint Shrimp and 1 Filefish

and also a Wrasse (not sure which one) to control some potential pests e.g., Bristle worms.

I also was wondering if I shall add maybe 5-6 Chromis to give the display more movement in the top level.

Is it true that you need to replace school fish if you lose some. Just not sure if I like to go through quarantine hassle every time that happens.

Would be great if you guys can leave some suggestions/comments here. Also any ideas on corals would be appreciated. We currently have zoas that are proving rather temperamental, and some mushroom and hammers.


Thanks in advance.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you can give me some advice regarding which fish/shrimp to add to our tank that should work well with the current population.

The tank has now passed the 1 year mark and I feel I want to add some more life.

We currently have a 110 Gallon display with the following inhabitants:

2 Clownfish (spawning every two weeks )

1 Charcoal Goby

1 Fire Shrimp

1 Cleaner Shrimp

1 Foxface

1 Sailfin Tang

We have some aptaisia so I was thinking to add:

1 Peppermint Shrimp and 1 Filefish

and also a Wrasse (not sure which one) to control some potential pests e.g., Bristle worms.

I also was wondering if I shall add maybe 5-6 Chromis to give the display more movement in the top level.

Is it true that you need to replace school fish if you lose some. Just not sure if I like to go through quarantine hassle every time that happens.

Would be great if you guys can leave some suggestions/comments here. Also any ideas on corals would be appreciated. We currently have zoas that are proving rather temperamental, and some mushroom and hammers.


Thanks in advance.

Nice tank! I'll leave @Slocke for the wrasse suggestion.

The filefish (make sure its aiptasia-eating) and peppermint shrimp both have the chance they'll nip/eat corals. So if you're going that route, add the filefish and shrimp then add corals later once most aiptasia is gone, then you can experiment with what corals they will/won't pick at. Or you can just remove them after theyve done their job. I love berghias so I would reccomend going that route, the get the wrasse AFTER the berghia have done their job.

I am not a fan of chromis because it's very hard to keep a school of them. Its almost all luck. Getting some the same size, feeding often and assuring they all have their own sleeping space can help. But again, some will just get bullied until death.

 

[Slocke]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you can give me some advice regarding which fish/shrimp to add to our tank that should work well with the current population.

The tank has now passed the 1 year mark and I feel I want to add some more life.

We currently have a 110 Gallon display with the following inhabitants:

2 Clownfish (spawning every two weeks )

1 Charcoal Goby

1 Fire Shrimp

1 Cleaner Shrimp

1 Foxface

1 Sailfin Tang

We have some aptaisia so I was thinking to add:

1 Peppermint Shrimp and 1 Filefish

and also a Wrasse (not sure which one) to control some potential pests e.g., Bristle worms.

I also was wondering if I shall add maybe 5-6 Chromis to give the display more movement in the top level.

Is it true that you need to replace school fish if you lose some. Just not sure if I like to go through quarantine hassle every time that happens.

Would be great if you guys can leave some suggestions/comments here. Also any ideas on corals would be appreciated. We currently have zoas that are proving rather temperamental, and some mushroom and hammers.


Thanks in advance.

For a pest control wrasse I suggest a yellow wrasse, Halichoeres chrysus, a radiant wrasse, H iridis, or any other Halichoeres wrasse.


As for a top of the tank fish I suggest getti by a variety of fairy Wrasse instead.

 

[manzoherz]

For a pest control wrasse I suggest a yellow wrasse, Halichoeres chrysus, a radiant wrasse, H iridis, or any other Halichoeres wrasse.


As for a top of the tank fish I suggest getti by a variety of fairy Wrasse instead.

OMG what an amazing chart! thank you so much that is incredibly helpful

 

[manzoherz]

Nice tank! I'll leave @Slocke for the wrasse suggestion.

The filefish (make sure its aiptasia-eating) and peppermint shrimp both have the chance they'll nip/eat corals. So if you're going that route, add the filefish and shrimp then add corals later once most aiptasia is gone, then you can experiment with what corals they will/won't pick at. Or you can just remove them after theyve done their job. I love berghias so I would reccomend going that route, the get the wrasse AFTER the berghia have done their job.

I am not a fan of chromis because it's very hard to keep a school of them. Its almost all luck. Getting some the same size, feeding often and assuring they all have their own sleeping space can help. But again, some will just get bullied until death.

Thank you! That's really helpful especially re the Chromis - sounds like we should avoid them. The Berghia option sounds like a great idea.

When you introduce new fish do you have a quarantine procedure. We are setting up a QT tank at the moment and were thinking to get the UV pump/filter established too, similar to our display. I'm not keen on all the dips and treatments some people seem to do as part of the quarantine procedure so we were thinking to just put the new fish in the QT tank for 2-3 weeks and check for any signs of ick or other diseases. But not sure if this is risky.

Thanks again!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Thank you! That's really helpful especially re the Chromis - sounds like we should avoid them. The Berghia option sounds like a great idea.

When you introduce new fish do you have a quarantine procedure. We are setting up a QT tank at the moment and were thinking to get the UV pump/filter established too, similar to our display. I'm not keen on all the dips and treatments some people seem to do as part of the quarantine procedure so we were thinking to just put the new fish in the QT tank for 2-3 weeks and check for any signs of ick or other diseases. But not sure if this is risky.

Thanks again!

Yeah, I'd quarantine your fish. Here's a good article on how to it very basic.

Quarantine Setup Made Easy

Introduction: This article covers the equipment that I utilize in my current quarantine tank. I address commonly asked questions for newly cycled and existing QT setups. In addition, I touch upon the trusted medications that I keep on hand...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[PJs_Bucket_List_Reef_75]

Hello all! New reefer here, and I would appreciate some input. 45 gallon 36L x 12W x 24H) undrilled tank, no sump. CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji pink sandbed, about 1 1/2 in deep. Mix of man made reef rock, not sure how many lbs. Just finished cycling and ready to add the first fish. I'll be taking my slow, sweet time with adding any new livestock. Eventually I want to have a truly mixed reef aquarium, with a mix of soft corals, LPS, and a few SPS. I need some advice on what to choose after the first 3 (2 clownfish and 1Royal Gramma), so the following is a list of possibilities/fish I'd like to get, if they're compatible with my tank and existing fish. *Note: I don't plan to add all of them, I'm trying to decide the best mix from the list. Also, if you can suggest the best order of adding them, it would be really helpful. Thanks!

Firefish
Flametail blenny
Diamond / Pink bar/ or Wheeler's goby
McCosker's flasher wrasse
Long nose hawkfish
Yellow clown goby
Azure damsel
Yellowtail damsel
Carpenter's wrasse
Yasha goby
Coral beauty angelfish
Flame angelfish
Orange spotted blenny
Orange Klein's butterfly
Line spot flasher wrasse
Aquacultured Mandarin goby (once pods are well established)

Pistol shrimp to pair with a goby
Would appreciate suggestions for the other inverts and CUC

 

[manzoherz]

Yeah, I'd quarantine your fish. Here's a good article on how to it very basic.

Quarantine Setup Made Easy

Introduction: This article covers the equipment that I utilize in my current quarantine tank. I address commonly asked questions for newly cycled and existing QT setups. In addition, I touch upon the trusted medications that I keep on hand...

www.reef2reef.com

brilliant thank you!

 

[William Chiavetta]

Hello all! New reefer here, and I would appreciate some input. 45 gallon 36L x 12W x 24H) undrilled tank, no sump. CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji pink sandbed, about 1 1/2 in deep. Mix of man made reef rock, not sure how many lbs. Just finished cycling and ready to add the first fish. I'll be taking my slow, sweet time with adding any new livestock. Eventually I want to have a truly mixed reef aquarium, with a mix of soft corals, LPS, and a few SPS. I need some advice on what to choose after the first 3 (2 clownfish and 1Royal Gramma), so the following is a list of possibilities/fish I'd like to get, if they're compatible with my tank and existing fish. *Note: I don't plan to add all of them, I'm trying to decide the best mix from the list. Also, if you can suggest the best order of adding them, it would be really helpful. Thanks!

Firefish
Flametail blenny
Diamond / Pink bar/ or Wheeler's goby
McCosker's flasher wrasse
Long nose hawkfish
Yellow clown goby
Azure damsel
Yellowtail damsel
Carpenter's wrasse
Yasha goby
Coral beauty angelfish
Flame angelfish
Orange spotted blenny
Orange Klein's butterfly
Line spot flasher wrasse
Aquacultured Mandarin goby (once pods are well established)

Pistol shrimp to pair with a goby
Would appreciate suggestions for the other inverts and CUC

I really like a long nose hawkfish but I know they can be pretty aggressive.

 

[Slocke]

Hello all! New reefer here, and I would appreciate some input. 45 gallon 36L x 12W x 24H) undrilled tank, no sump. CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji pink sandbed, about 1 1/2 in deep. Mix of man made reef rock, not sure how many lbs. Just finished cycling and ready to add the first fish. I'll be taking my slow, sweet time with adding any new livestock. Eventually I want to have a truly mixed reef aquarium, with a mix of soft corals, LPS, and a few SPS. I need some advice on what to choose after the first 3 (2 clownfish and 1Royal Gramma), so the following is a list of possibilities/fish I'd like to get, if they're compatible with my tank and existing fish. *Note: I don't plan to add all of them, I'm trying to decide the best mix from the list. Also, if you can suggest the best order of adding them, it would be really helpful. Thanks!

Firefish
Flametail blenny
Diamond / Pink bar/ or Wheeler's goby
McCosker's flasher wrasse
Long nose hawkfish
Yellow clown goby
Azure damsel
Yellowtail damsel
Carpenter's wrasse
Yasha goby
Coral beauty angelfish
Flame angelfish
Orange spotted blenny
Orange Klein's butterfly
Line spot flasher wrasse
Aquacultured Mandarin goby (once pods are well established)

Pistol shrimp to pair with a goby
Would appreciate suggestions for the other inverts and CUC

So I cut the ones that won’t fit in that tank or are too aggressive. The rest may work.

The angels are pushing it size wise and may eat corals.

Hawkfish often attack gobies so don’t mix those. Blennies and firefish sometimes don’t mix.

Otherwise I think the others are good

 

[Barncat]

Heeey I'm trying to decide between these two fish for my 30 gallon mixed reef tank for some hair algae control because my urchin Doughnut and her snail crew need reinforcements:

- Court Jester/Rainford's Goby
- Link's Goby

What's making me hesitate over both of these fish is that I already have a striped fang blenny (who looks somewhat similar to the Link's Goby,) and a sixline wrasse (who looks somewhat similar to the court jester/Rainford's goby.)

Are there compatability issues between these gobies and my existing blenny and wrasse? Which goby is the better option for an addition to my cleanup crew? I know that they both eat hair algae with a touch of sand sifting on the side!

I also might still have a yellow watchman goby Clyde (she's several months MIA,) who killed the molly miller blenny that I tried to add a few months ago, which is why I hesitate over adding an algivorous blenny. Link's and Court Jester gobies are both peaceful and have a different-ish shape from my yellow devil of the deep so I am hopeful that Clyde would ignore them. I do also have a plan to catch Clyde and rehome her if I see her again.

Of my two goby options I kind of prefer the Court Jester because I'm a nut for colour but I also know that Link's Gobies are danged near bulletproof. Both would be captive bred (I'd order them from New Dawn Aquaculture who gets them from Biota.) What would you do?

I am working on trying to find a 75+ gallon aquarium to upgrade to, and upgrading my filtration, but I'm poor as dirt so that's going to take a while. (Guess what ALL my Christmas money will be going to, lol.)

 

[Slocke]

Heeey I'm trying to decide between these two fish for my 30 gallon mixed reef tank for some hair algae control because my urchin Doughnut and her snail crew need reinforcements:

- Court Jester/Rainford's Goby
- Link's Goby

What's making me hesitate over both of these fish is that I already have a striped fang blenny (who looks somewhat similar to the Link's Goby,) and a sixline wrasse (who looks somewhat similar to the court jester/Rainford's goby.)

Are there compatability issues between these gobies and my existing blenny and wrasse? Which goby is the better option for an addition to my cleanup crew? I know that they both eat hair algae with a touch of sand sifting on the side!

I also might still have a yellow watchman goby Clyde (she's several months MIA,) who killed the molly miller blenny that I tried to add a few months ago, which is why I hesitate over adding an algivorous blenny. Link's and Court Jester gobies are both peaceful and have a different-ish shape from my yellow devil of the deep so I am hopeful that Clyde would ignore them. I do also have a plan to catch Clyde and rehome her if I see her again.

Of my two goby options I kind of prefer the Court Jester because I'm a nut for colour but I also know that Link's Gobies are danged near bulletproof. Both would be captive bred (I'd order them from New Dawn Aquaculture who gets them from Biota.) What would you do?

I am working on trying to find a 75+ gallon aquarium to upgrade to, and upgrading my filtration, but I'm poor as dirt so that's going to take a while. (Guess what ALL my Christmas money will be going to, lol.)

Neither of these fish are great for hair algae. Dirty sand and cyano they are good for but not hair algae. For hair algae I recommend Mexican turbo snails and tuxedo urchins.

 

[Barncat]

Neither of these fish are great for hair algae. Dirty sand and cyano they are good for but not hair algae. For hair algae I recommend Mexican turbo snails and tuxedo urchins.

According to my research they are? (I already have a tuxedo urchin and turbo snails.)

 

[Slocke]

According to my research they are? (I already have a tuxedo urchin and turbo snails.)

Fish of the Amblygobius genus are sand sifters. They grab mouthfuls of substrate and filter out edible detritus and micro-organisms in their gills. If you have hair algae in your sand it will help and eat it. But if it is on your rocks they are unlikely to do anything about it. In Especially with captive bred species which are trained to eat from the water column. Now eating from the sand may prevent hair algae from reproducing/spreading.

@ISpeakForTheSeas Got any input?


In my experience snails are always the best way to prevent algae. Though if it is hair algae it should be easy to remove manually. If it is hard to remove manually it is probably turf which is a different beast.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Heeey I'm trying to decide between these two fish for my 30 gallon mixed reef tank for some hair algae control because my urchin Doughnut and her snail crew need reinforcements:

- Court Jester/Rainford's Goby
- Link's Goby

What's making me hesitate over both of these fish is that I already have a striped fang blenny (who looks somewhat similar to the Link's Goby,) and a sixline wrasse (who looks somewhat similar to the court jester/Rainford's goby.)

Are there compatability issues between these gobies and my existing blenny and wrasse? Which goby is the better option for an addition to my cleanup crew? I know that they both eat hair algae with a touch of sand sifting on the side!

I also might still have a yellow watchman goby Clyde (she's several months MIA,) who killed the molly miller blenny that I tried to add a few months ago, which is why I hesitate over adding an algivorous blenny. Link's and Court Jester gobies are both peaceful and have a different-ish shape from my yellow devil of the deep so I am hopeful that Clyde would ignore them. I do also have a plan to catch Clyde and rehome her if I see her again.

Of my two goby options I kind of prefer the Court Jester because I'm a nut for colour but I also know that Link's Gobies are danged near bulletproof. Both would be captive bred (I'd order them from New Dawn Aquaculture who gets them from Biota.) What would you do?

I am working on trying to find a 75+ gallon aquarium to upgrade to, and upgrading my filtration, but I'm poor as dirt so that's going to take a while. (Guess what ALL my Christmas money will be going to, lol.)

Are you sure the algae is GHA? Bryopsis look similar and CUC will never be able to keep up with how fast it grows.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

According to my research they are? (I already have a tuxedo urchin and turbo snails.)

@ISpeakForTheSeas Got any input?

From what I've read, Koumansetta rainfordi (the Court Jester/Rainford's Goby) will peck at and maybe eat some filamentous algae, but I've heard mixed things as to whether or not they'll eat enough to be useful for controlling the algae.

I've also heard that at least some Amblygobius species (the Link's Goby being Amblygobius linki) will eat filamentous algae, but I wouldn't expect them to control its growth from what I've read.


In both cases, these fish are primarily carnivorous, so while they may eat hair algae (or potentially just pick pods and detritus out of it), I wouldn't expect them to effectively control it.

 

[PJs_Bucket_List_Reef_75]

So I cut the ones that won’t fit in that tank or are too aggressive. The rest may work.

The angels are pushing it size wise and may eat corals.

Hawkfish often attack gobies so don’t mix those. Blennies and firefish sometimes don’t mix.

Otherwise I think the others are good

Thank you! This really helps me a lot

 

[LiquidSpace]

Does anyone have any info on the Brown Spot Spinefish (Siganus stellatus)? I have seen a few pop up on Diver’s Den lately. It says they get 1’4” which tracks with the adult photos.

Buy Fish Online: Buy Tropical Fish, WYSIWYG corals, clams and inverts online at the Diver's Den® Store

180 gal max is listed, but that seems really generous for a fish that size. I have a 200 gallon, 6 ft aquarium. The adult looks beautiful, but I don’t want to get a monster fish if it’s going to truly be a monster.

 

[Slocke]

Does anyone have any info on the Brown Spot Spinefish (Siganus stellatus)? I have seen a few pop up on Diver’s Den lately. It says they get 1’4” which tracks with the adult photos.

Buy Fish Online: Buy Tropical Fish, WYSIWYG corals, clams and inverts online at the Diver's Den® Store

180 gal max is listed, but that seems really generous for a fish that size. I have a 200 gallon, 6 ft aquarium. The adult looks beautiful, but I don’t want to get a monster fish if it’s going to be too small.

Siganus genus means it is a rabbit fish. It’s unlikely to reach full size in captivity. Probably shy and eats algae.