Recommendation - Fish Selection

[cvsailer]

I'm new to reef central, and I'm setting up my first FISH ONLY saltwater aquarium (92 gallon corner tank). I have cared for freshwater tanks for decades (currently have 55 gl african cichlid tank), but saltwater is brand new to me. I'm looking for recommendations on what fish I should include in the tank. The obvious reason I'm venturing into saltwater is for the spectacular color and variety of fish compared to freshwater. I'm looking for a mix of hardy fish that will give me optimum color without elevated aggressiveness. I recognize it's a tall order, but I thought I would ask. Thanks in advance for your insights.

[sponger0]

These are my least favorite posts. Im sorry. IMO you need to go to some websites and check out what fish are available in the hobby. I could post a list of all sorts of fish, but honestly you may not like them.

I would say go to liveaquaria.com check out what they have then come back with questions.

For example, 90% of the people on here want tangs. Tang tang tang tang tang. Honestly...Im not a tang freak. Id much rather have wrasses.

[gone fishin]

I agree with sponger not everyones taste and wants are the same. Live Aquaria is a good place to look for research. Write down what you want then whittle the list down looking at size, compatability etc. good luck

[MrTuskfish]

Are you going to use your 55? A 55 gal is a decent size FW tank; but a small SW tank. Like sponger0 said, Live Aquaria is a great place to get fish info. A great place to buy them too. One big mistake beginners make with fish is buying without researching the fish. Most SW fish are sold as juvis, plan your tank around adults. Avoid impulse buys,the cute little fish could grow into a huge predator. Proceed slowly, many new hobbyists don't last long because of the disasters that can happen by moving too fast.

[cvsailer]

To answer Mr. Tuskfish's question, I will be keeping the 55 gal African cichlid tank and setting up a new 92 gallon fish only corner tank...as recommended, I will check out LiveAquaria and come back with questions. Thanks for the responses.

[cvsailer]

Okay, I did some homework on LiveAquaria. The following are fish I'm considering for my 92 gl corner tank: Blue Tang, Royal Gamma Basselet, Auriga Butterfly, Hoeven's Wrasse, Blue Reef Chromis, Ocellaris Clownfish, Yellowtail Damsel, Purple Firefish (Dartfish) and Foxface Lo. My objective was to choose compatable, colorful fish that are relatively peaceful and easier to care for. Please share your insights on compatability, number of fish I can include (singles vs. groups), etc. Thanks!

[sponger0]

Ok here's my response.

Blue Tang needs a 200+ tank

Butterflies arent recommended for beginners and they arent considered reef safe

Chromis tend to dwindle down to one when you have multiples of them

Damsels can be aggressive and bully fish 10 times their size. Ive even seen a video of a domino damsel attack an octopus.

[Gregs138]

Hey CV good luck with your new tank. Here's my two cents on the fish you like:

Blue Tang-gonna say no on this. I know every LFS in the world has 20 of them on display but this fish can get huge(9+ inches). It's just not a good fish for a tank that size. Instead maybe check out the Tomini or Kole tangs. You can probably get away with a yellow tang as well in a 90+.

Royal Gamma Basselet-cool add early

Auriga Butterfly- not for starters, probably a no if you want to do any corals. Generally butterflies are done in butterfly/angel FOWLR type tank-almost all of them eat corals. Wait on it, see which direction you want to take your tank first.

Hoeven's Wrasse-Most wrasses like this should be added last in the tank and be carefule, they like to eat just about anything. Has potetntial to eat crabs/snails/corals-which means it most likely WILL eat them. Look at the fairy wrasses isntead if you are gonna do corals.

Blue Reef Chromis-fine, fine add early

Ocellaris Clownfish, Yellowtail Dams-l- Careful with the damsel, small little packages of fish fury and hatred. I would say get a bonded pair of ocellaris and skip the damsel altogether. Either way add these later in the tank.

Purple Firefish (Dartfish)-fine add early

Foxface Lo-I have one, I would say no in a 90. This fish gets rather large, uses alot of the filter, it is probably the strongest swimmer in my tank and imo needs 125 minimum. Get another wrasse instead imo. Or by dropping this I think you could easily free up the "slot" for one of the tangs I mentioned.

[cvsailer]

Greg, thank you for the VERY informative and actionable post. I have a few questions:

First, I should have mentioned in my last post that the setup will be a Fish Only tank so corals will not be an issue. Would this make the Auriga Butterfly and the Hoeven's Wrasse viable options?

Due to my tank size, are there any additional Tangs or Wrasses you can recommend? Are there any other peaceful fish with great color you feel I should be considering?

Finally, I was planning to cycle the tank with the Damsels. What fish do you recommend I cycle the tank.

Thank you and anyone else who shares their perspective!

[sponger0]

Butterflies are still difficult cause of their feeding habits. I would wait on this until you get the hang of easy fish if you are really determined to get one

Tangs - Kole tang or Tomini tang. Some will say yellow but they can be aggressive and still should have a larger tank.

Tons of wrasses to chose from. I, myself, as I mentioned before am a wrasse guy. Flashers and fairies will work in your tank. They are really easy to care for. If you really want a show fish, look at flame wrasses.

Do not cycle the tank with fish!!!! Do it naturally with live rock or table shrimp. Its cruel to do to the fish and toxic

[Pix5c]

Look into a Midas blenny nice fish with a great personality

[cvsailer]

Thanks for the feedback sponger and pix. Let's say I go with the following fish:

1 Kole Tang
1 Royal Gamma Basslet
3 Blue Reef Chromis
2 Ocellaris Clownfish
2 Purple Firefish

My question is, how many Wrasses types and total Wrasses can I also add?

[sponger0]

Id say you could have about 3-4 wrasses, as long as they are flashers or fairies.

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by sponger0

Butterflies are still difficult cause of their feeding habits. I would wait on this until you get the hang of easy fish if you are really determined to get one

Tangs - Kole tang or Tomini tang. Some will say yellow but they can be aggressive and still should have a larger tank.

Tons of wrasses to chose from. I, myself, as I mentioned before am a wrasse guy. Flashers and fairies will work in your tank. They are really easy to care for. If you really want a show fish, look at flame wrasses.

Do not cycle the tank with fish!!!! Do it naturally with live rock or table shrimp. Its cruel to do to the fish and toxic

Not all butterflies have difficult feeding habits. A few don't.

If the LR has lives then it is also cruel to waste them during a cycle, one can say.

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by cvsailer

I'm new to reef central, and I'm setting up my first FISH ONLY saltwater aquarium (92 gallon corner tank). I have cared for freshwater tanks for decades (currently have 55 gl african cichlid tank), but saltwater is brand new to me. I'm looking for recommendations on what fish I should include in the tank. The obvious reason I'm venturing into saltwater is for the spectacular color and variety of fish compared to freshwater. I'm looking for a mix of hardy fish that will give me optimum color without elevated aggressiveness. I recognize it's a tall order, but I thought I would ask. Thanks in advance for your insights.

What defines hardy?

Here is my take on hardiness.

1. by far the most important--readiness to take a variety of food, or a food that is a proven variety.

2. low vulnerability to certain disease that are hard to control, mostly bacterial infections or fluke It will be harder to limit oneself to those that are not vulnearble to ich. Ich is too pervasive to be the limiting factor, I think. Ich can also be eradicated systematically.

3. Not too brutal to tankmates.

4. vulnerability toward ammonia--some tide pool fish can take higher levels of ammonia . If you cannot limit ammonia to near zero, your choices will be limited.

[cvsailer]

Originally Posted by sponger0

Id say you could have about 3-4 wrasses, as long as they are flashers or fairies.

Sponger, thanks, I have two questions:

- what do you think about the Christmas, Grey Head and Vrolik's Wrasses?
- is it an issue at all that I plan to use crushed coral vs. sand for any of the fish I have chosen?

[sponger0]

Im not familiar with this family of wrasses. I mostly like fairies and flashers. But these arent reef safe and I like having a reef safe from predators.

I like the Christmas the best.

My 2 debates about sand vs CC.

CC can trap detritus and cause nitrate issues. But in a fish only tank, that isnt so bad. Minus nuisance algae. But in a fish only tank, using macro algaes to combat the phosphate and nitrate issue would work well. But also some wrasses do need a sandbed to sleep. And CC isnt good for that.

So if it were me, I would do sand. And I personally like the look of sand better. So if it were me, I would do sand. Just do a nice size sandbed.

[jamesbaur13]

Royal Gramma
Flame Hawkfish
Gold Midas Blenny
Solar Wrasse (he's blue, none of the others are that color and he'd work in your set-up, but any fairy wrasse would work here)
Halichoeres Wrasse (take your pick, many to choose from)
2 Occ Clownfish
Kole Tang

[bu11itt]

If you're interested in more of a peaceful tank, my suggestion would be to spend some time reading this thread: PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

You can start at the beginning, somewhere in the middle or 10 pages back from the last, it doesn't really matter. A good 20-30 mins of reading will help with not only fish compatibility, but also give great suggestions for fish and give excellent ideas for further research.

I am new myself and thought I had my stock list set four months ago, but after continually reading that thread my stock list has been refined to something I feel is going to make me much happier with my tank in the long run.

[cvsailer]

Thanks for all the help. Based on the feedback here is my latest stocking list I will choose from (my intent is not to include all of them):

Kole Tang
Royal Gamma Basslet
Blue Reef Chromis
Ocellaris Clownfish
Purple Firefish
Fox Face Lo
Wrasses (Carpenter, Grey Head, Vrolik's)
Green Clown Goby

Please let me know if you see any compatibility issues with this potential mix. Also, are there any peaceful options to add some more blue colored fish. Thanks again!

[sponger0]

That looks good. All of those in a 90 would be fine IMO.