PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[jrf003]

Originally Posted by snorvich

I do not provide commentary on aggressive fish tanks.

post above was for delta. thanks anyway. I like fish more then reefs. I love puffers ever since I was in Hawaii, I was walking the beach and a puffer followed me around it was so funny. I would appreciate any advice for tankmates. fish compatibility chart says its ok.

[President Evil]

Hi, I have a 55 gallon tank, and I am considering placing the following fish:

1 Foxface rabbitfish
1 Percula Clownfish
1 Flame Angel
1 Banggai Cardinal
1 Yellow clown goby

Also is it ok to only have 1 of each fish? I noticed that most people are asking about clownfish pairs. Do I need a pair? Thanks in advance.

[ALR]

New to the hobby. Just purchased a 14G biocube that has been established for over a year. It has live rock, 3 snails, a star fish and 2 damsels.

I would like to know what type of fish are compatible with damsels (if any- I know they are aggressive and territorial in nature).

Also, approx. how many fish can this tank hold?

[dc]

Originally Posted by snorvich

This is an expert thread answered by Reef Central Staff only. As mentioned in my PM to you, we would ask that you not answer this thread although we strongly encourage you to answer/participate anywhere else. Reading knowledge and experience are two completely different experience sets. Having heard something or read something is completely different that having experienced it because there are a huge number of variables involved and those variables are rarely if ever defined in reading experiences.

This is a reminder. You may follow Steve's suggestions or ignore them, but this thread is not for debating. Many other threads for that.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by President Evil

Hi, I have a 55 gallon tank, and I am considering placing the following fish:

1 Foxface rabbitfish
1 Percula Clownfish
1 Flame Angel
1 Banggai Cardinal
1 Yellow clown goby

Also is it ok to only have 1 of each fish? I noticed that most people are asking about clownfish pairs. Do I need a pair? Thanks in advance.

pairs are not necessary and in most cases undesirable. A single clownfish, will, over time, become female and hence more aggressive in nature; however, not as aggressive as when part of a mated/bonded pair. A rabbitfish is a bit too much for that sized tank because of their ecological niche which is that of a grazer.


To Reef Central

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by ALR

New to the hobby. Just purchased a 14G biocube that has been established for over a year. It has live rock, 3 snails, a star fish and 2 damsels.

I would like to know what type of fish are compatible with damsels (if any- I know they are aggressive and territorial in nature).

Also, approx. how many fish can this tank hold?

Actually, you are at your limit in two regards: first, those damsels will not allow additions, second, your biocapacity is insufficient.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by jrf003

post above was for delta. thanks anyway. I like fish more then reefs. I love puffers ever since I was in Hawaii, I was walking the beach and a puffer followed me around it was so funny. I would appreciate any advice for tankmates. fish compatibility chart says its ok.

A puffer of any type will not do well in a 29 gallon tank but the closest would be a Saddle Valentini Puffer which, as the only fish would do ok.

[highaltitude]

newbie to the site and the hobbie, just got my 60 gallon 2'x2' acrylic tank going this weekend . 30 # of live rock , 2 1/2 inches of live sand , rio 1700 return pump , bio balls , hydor wave maker .. 20' white and blue led strip ( working on getting more light and my protein skimmer going

looking to do a mixed reef soft corals and fish , not sure about the details yet.

Question is i was told after my tank set up for 4-5 days i needed to get a few fish in there to keep the cycle going for my live rock . Suggested damsel fish . or clownfish and i heard clownfish were aggressive so i oped for the damsel , I picked up 3 . After reading a lot of pages of your guys desired fish , did not see the damselfish mentioned not once ! Now im worried lol i have a neon blue, black and white striped and a yellow tipped ..

I was going to pick up some cleaners today .. steer me in the right direction ?
totally down for a suggested list of animals that would be friendly together , want a non aggressive tank

[ALR]

So, I would be better off getting rid of the damsels and buying another type of fish such as a clownfish?

[tatorswife]

Tank has been up for 5 months. We have a mixed reef 150 gallon 6ft long dt and 40 gal sump. want to make sure everything will be compatible before we make our next purchases.

We already have:
1 PJ cardinalfish
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 tiger pistol shrimp(had a goby but it jumped out)putting cover on tomorrow before next fish purchases
green brittle star
several nerite snails, nassarius snails, couple scarlet hermits
several corals: acans, mushroom, hammer, frogspawn, zoa, duncan

our next intended purchases
symbiotic goby(orange stripe prawn) to match with the pistol shrimp
3-5 blue reef chromis
lawnmower blennie
tanaka pygmy wrasse
mccosker's flasher wrasse
kole tang
yellow tang
and several months down the road a mandarin dragonet

Thanks so much

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by highaltitude

newbie to the site and the hobbie, just got my 60 gallon 2'x2' acrylic tank going this weekend . 30 # of live rock , 2 1/2 inches of live sand , rio 1700 return pump , bio balls , hydor wave maker .. 20' white and blue led strip ( working on getting more light and my protein skimmer going

looking to do a mixed reef soft corals and fish , not sure about the details yet.

Question is i was told after my tank set up for 4-5 days i needed to get a few fish in there to keep the cycle going for my live rock . Suggested damsel fish . or clownfish and i heard clownfish were aggressive so i oped for the damsel , I picked up 3 . After reading a lot of pages of your guys desired fish , did not see the damselfish mentioned not once ! Now im worried lol i have a neon blue, black and white striped and a yellow tipped ..

I was going to pick up some cleaners today .. steer me in the right direction ?
totally down for a suggested list of animals that would be friendly together , want a non aggressive tank

Using fish to cycle a tank is very out of date. It benefits the LFS (sales) but hurts the fish (ammonia burn in their gills) and eventually causes problems for the aquarist due to the aggressive nature of damsels. Take the fish back to the LFS and put a single table shrimp or a pinch of flake food in the tank to cycle it.

[highaltitude]

So is my tank not ready for fish yet? I had my water tested they said i was good . I like the fish i picked , just not sure what else will get along with them , was going to pick up some cleaners tonight , is that not the way to go ? Im so confused , i read one thing and am told 4 other things by 5 different people ! AWWW lol

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by highaltitude

So is my tank not ready for fish yet? I had my water tested they said i was good . I like the fish i picked , just not sure what else will get along with them , was going to pick up some cleaners tonight , is that not the way to go ? Im so confused , i read one thing and am told 4 other things by 5 different people ! AWWW lol

There is certainly no obligation to follow my advice although I have no financial incentive behind it. And I certainly have no intention of getting into a discussion about whether what others say is good bad or indifferent; this is not a discussion thread. Damsels will limit your choice of tank mates going forward. You should learn to test your own water so you can see whether your tank is ready for inhabitants.

[jrf003]

Originally Posted by snorvich

A puffer of any type will not do well in a 29 gallon tank but the closest would be a Saddle Valentini Puffer which, as the only fish would do ok.

The 29gal was the first marine tank I had and I did have the saddle valentini, I am currently setting up 135gal

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by jrf003

The 29gal was the first marine tank I had and I did have the saddle valentini, I am currently setting up 135gal

Please remember, that I have done literally thousands of these analysis/commentaries so I am not likely to remember from post to post what happened on preceding pages. I set up my page size to be as large as possible to minimize this issue, but going back to preceding pages is infeasible.

That being said, looking back to your original stocking list, I indicated I do not provide commentary on aggressive tanks with eels, etc. We do have a forum for that, and I am sure you will get lots of good advice.

[jrf003]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Please remember, that I have done literally thousands of these analysis/commentaries so I am not likely to remember from post to post what happened on preceding pages. I set up my page size to be as large as possible to minimize this issue, but going back to preceding pages in infeasible.

That being said, looking back to your original stocking list, I indicated I do not provide commentary on aggressive tanks with eels, etc. We do have a forum for that, and I am sure you will get lots of good advice.

I did not get much of a response on the aggressive tank post I put up. I was just searching for advice thanks I will keep looking.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by ALR

So, I would be better off getting rid of the damsels and buying another type of fish such as a clownfish?

short answer is yes (although clownfish are damsels) but only after the tank is cycled.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by tatorswife

Tank has been up for 5 months. We have a mixed reef 150 gallon 6ft long dt and 40 gal sump. want to make sure everything will be compatible before we make our next purchases.

sorry, I missed this at first. Page changes cause problems for me that way.

We already have:
1 PJ cardinalfish
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 tiger pistol shrimp(had a goby but it jumped out)putting cover on tomorrow before next fish purchases
green brittle star careful, may take fish
several nerite snails, nassarius snails, couple scarlet hermits
several corals: acans, mushroom, hammer, frogspawn, zoa, duncan

our next intended purchases
symbiotic goby(orange stripe prawn) to match with the pistol shrimp it will find the shrimp with no problem
3-5 blue reef chromis chromis have been coming in less than healthy recently; in any case, a group more often than not is reduced to one or at most two.
lawnmower blennie
tanaka pygmy wrasse superb fish
mccosker's flasher wrasse make sure your tank is covered with 1/4 inch holes; these are prolific jumpers
kole tang excellent fish
yellow tang I would not do a yellow tang as they limit additions later on but if you do, be sure it is last
and several months down the road a mandarin dragonet this should do fine in this sized tank with about 9 months maturity. I advise getting a wild caught one but be sure they are hunting when you select one (pecking the rock or the chaeto) as many are captured with cyanide; those never make it

Thanks so much

always a pleasure

[ALR]

Originally Posted by snorvich

short answer is yes (although clownfish are damsels) but only after the tank is cycled.

Thank you for your help.
My kids were wanting "nemo" which is why I mentioned the clownfish. Am I right in assuming I am limited to 2 fish max with my size tank? If so, what fish would you recommend? I would like some active fish as opposed to the damsels that just like to hide out in the live rock.

[Billy0690]

coral beauty lol i only know cause thats my next fish

[Billy0690]

i have a flame angel and it is really active and he is bright and colorful

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by ALR

Thank you for your help.
My kids were wanting "nemo" which is why I mentioned the clownfish. Am I right in assuming I am limited to 2 fish max with my size tank? If so, what fish would you recommend? I would like some active fish as opposed to the damsels that just like to hide out in the live rock.

two small fish in a 14 gallon tank; not really large enough for two clownfish, however.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Billy0690

coral beauty lol i only know cause thats my next fish

This is an expert thread answered by Reef Central Staff and is not a discussion thread. While we strongly encourage your participation elsewhere in Reef Central, we would ask that you not comment in this thread. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

[meegwell]

Im new and getting ready to start my cycle. Im primarily choosing fish on tank size, "common" or easy to find, and then "beauty" - I have four young kids so Im keeping in mind what might get them excited.

Tank: 90g (48 18 24) 30g sump. Minimalist aquascaping (more open space than normal) will have mixed corals, would like a clam, maybe a crab.

Havent decided a CUC yet (input welcome!)

Fish Selection (Round 1)

Foxface - 1 (like the one spot)
Angel - (I like flame, coral beauty, bicolor) - 1 of these or would more than one work?
Hi Fin Goby - 1
Midas Blenny - 1
Ocell clowns - pair
purply dottyback 1

Can I do more than 1 of any of the smaller fish?

what is a good very small fish that I could have a school of (I dont know if school is the correct term but I'm picturing a pack of little guys that cruise together...you know, a gang)

I'm looking for size variety and color variety w/ some extra yellow. Any suggestions not on my list would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[ALR]

Originally Posted by snorvich

two small fish in a 14 gallon tank; not really large enough for two clownfish, however.

So, if I decided to get "nemo" for the kids, what other small fish is compatible with a clownfish since they are semi aggressive?