FireFish

MiracleFish · 05/03/2013, 10:25 AM

Just a simple question, how do you reefers feel about them? I honestly have no knowledge about these guys and would like to know if they add any benefit or could end in catastrophe or just be another nemo in the ocean.

Im really considering buying one for my reef tank, not exactly sure what prices I should be looking for for these guys either. I have two LFS, one selling an orange/burgandy and white colored one for $15, the other is selling purple/red/white colored ones for $30.

My tank right now consists of 2 Ocellaris Clowns, 1 hermit, 4 nass snails, 1 goniopora, 1 frogspawn, feather duster worm, 2 polyp frags and 1 daisy frag included with one of the polyps. My tank is a 20L

Parameters:

Salinity: 1.025
Nitrite/Nitrate/Ammonia: 0
pH: 8.3
Phosphates: .25
Magnesium: 1140 (tested last week before my last water change that brought the tank from 1.024 to 1.025, not sure if it rose or not)

Alk: 15 dkh last I checked a week ago

Parameters healthy enough to add this guy? Does he pick at anything?

Spyderturbo007 · 05/03/2013, 10:28 AM

My Purple Firefish is a big scaredy fish. She dug herself a hole under a rock in the sand and hides most of the time. She comes out to eat and randomly throughout the day, but gets scared when my Tang gets near her. She is fine with my Clown though, which is weird.

They are very docile fish and she has never bothered anything. I've read that some peoples are scared and hide and others are outgoing. Even though she hides a lot, I still really like her and she adds some good color to the tank, when she is out.

tbryan · 05/03/2013, 10:42 AM

Love them i have 3 purples in my 60 cube.They do get picked on easily if you have any agressive fish, sounds like you should be fine with the clowns though.Jumpers though you need a covered tank.

danil · 05/03/2013, 11:48 AM

I have two (regular not purple one) and they are hiding most of the time. Sometimes out of blue they start swimming around for few mins and back to hiding. I would get something more 'active' like small anthias or chromi.
They are safe for.. everything and I think $30 for one is on high end for this fish though local market could set it's own prices.

Sk8r · 05/03/2013, 12:01 PM

They're timid except with each other, skirmish if there are 2 in too small a tank, don't bother anything, but jump like Olympians when startled. Keeping one in your tank and out of your overflow requires very, very, very good jump screening.

MrClam · 05/03/2013, 12:04 PM

They are easily intimidated fish, best added first so they can get established. I think a 20g might be too small for two clowns and a firefish, even if they are the more docile ocellaris clowns. I had a purple firefish in my 150g and put two Ocellaris in and the clowns chased him a fair bit, but he had the room to run away. He wouldnt have fared well if it were only 20g.

Also side note but your alk is a bit high.

thegrun · 05/03/2013, 01:38 PM

I've had by far the best luck with the Helfrich Firefish as far as staying out in the open water. The Purple and Reds are much more timid, specially if you have any semi-aggressive fish in your tank.

Gagonzalez · 05/03/2013, 03:21 PM

I have a purple firefish along with a longnose hawk and 6 line wrasse in a 29g nano. The Purple Firefish is the most dominant in the tank and is always out and doesn't bug anyone, then the wrasse and finally the hawk.

Am actually getting rid of my 6 line because he is pushing my hawk to one corner and getting to aggressive. I knew it would happen, just hoped it would have been later rather than sooner. Have only had him about 3 months.

By the way, placed all 3 fish in at the same time with the firefish being the biggest of the 3. Worked well......well, kinda.

Good Luck

coralsnaked · 05/03/2013, 05:33 PM

My tank is a 20L

I have to assume that is a typo. Because if you have a 20 L tank that is ~ 5 Gallons and way too small for a firefish much less 2 clowns and a firefish.

Surely you mean 200 L or at least 20 gals. And at 20 gals you are pushing the bio-load w/ 3 fish.

But as Gobies go the purple firefish is by far the least timid. In a tank of only Gobies it will be the dominant fish. Orange firefish do better in small schools of three.

They love frozen Mysis and one would feed 3 of these about 1/4 cube of Mysis per day. That's total not each.

CIGARSC351W · 05/03/2013, 05:52 PM

I have a regular firefish in a 45 cube. It's out of its hole every morning at 9am (2 hours after the other fish) and back in every night around 6pm (2 hours before the others settle down.) Board line bankers hours. My kids have named it snooze. It seems happy with a Flame Wrasse, a Royal Gramma, and a watchman goby for tank mates and eats everything I throw in the tank.
I think there great additions to a reef tank. Lastly, it takes no **** from its tank mates.

hogfanreefer · 05/03/2013, 09:12 PM

I have a magnifica firefish in QT right now with a Royal Gramma. The firefish is always front and center and was initially the more dominant of the two. The gramma has grown over the last 6 weeks and has taken over but other than being slower than the gramma shows no disadvantage at feeding time.

Schmidty76 · 07/04/2013, 09:25 PM

I added a pair of firefish to my 55 gallon tank maybe two months or so ago. They at first were bullied a little by my spotted hawk, but not badly and only for the first day or so. They've settled into the half of the tank my clowns patrol and the clowns don't give them a second glance. They're actually one of the more active denizens of my tank as well.

15 dollars would be a fair price I think, I paid 12 for mine. The purple ones around here go for about double the price of the orange ones, so 30 doesn't seem out of line for that one.

igot2gats · 07/05/2013, 07:20 AM

Like others have said. A good community fish, but they love to jump.

justthewife · 07/05/2013, 07:26 AM

I was at first leery of getting one of these fish but I did and now love it. It is a beautiful fish. Mine was timid at first until he figured he was in a good place. Now he swims around all over but still pretty much keeps his distance from the other fish and he is one of the first people notice in the tank. Mine is a white and burgundy colored one that was about $11.

johnike · 07/05/2013, 07:40 AM

I have 2 in my tank. I've rescued one of them on two occasions doing the overflow ride to the sump. Always out, and get along with the whole crowd.

TY31088 · 07/05/2013, 08:42 AM

We have two of these,
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...168&pcatid=168 and love them. They are often out in the open.

Teage29 · 07/05/2013, 07:23 PM

I have a purple firefish and its not very timid at all. But as someone said already mine also wakes up later and goes into its hole before the lights go out. They are cool and a great addiction to any reef tank.

05/03/2013, 10:25 AM	#1
MiracleFish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 307	FireFish Just a simple question, how do you reefers feel about them? I honestly have no knowledge about these guys and would like to know if they add any benefit or could end in catastrophe or just be another nemo in the ocean. Im really considering buying one for my reef tank, not exactly sure what prices I should be looking for for these guys either. I have two LFS, one selling an orange/burgandy and white colored one for $15, the other is selling purple/red/white colored ones for $30. My tank right now consists of 2 Ocellaris Clowns, 1 hermit, 4 nass snails, 1 goniopora, 1 frogspawn, feather duster worm, 2 polyp frags and 1 daisy frag included with one of the polyps. My tank is a 20L Parameters: Salinity: 1.025 Nitrite/Nitrate/Ammonia: 0 pH: 8.3 Phosphates: .25 Magnesium: 1140 (tested last week before my last water change that brought the tank from 1.024 to 1.025, not sure if it rose or not) Alk: 15 dkh last I checked a week ago Parameters healthy enough to add this guy? Does he pick at anything?

05/03/2013, 12:01 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	They're timid except with each other, skirmish if there are 2 in too small a tank, don't bother anything, but jump like Olympians when startled. Keeping one in your tank and out of your overflow requires very, very, very good jump screening. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/03/2013, 05:33 PM	#9
coralsnaked Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Austin / Port Aransas, TX Posts: 1,479	My tank is a 20L I have to assume that is a typo. Because if you have a 20 L tank that is ~ 5 Gallons and way too small for a firefish much less 2 clowns and a firefish. Surely you mean 200 L or at least 20 gals. And at 20 gals you are pushing the bio-load w/ 3 fish. But as Gobies go the purple firefish is by far the least timid. In a tank of only Gobies it will be the dominant fish. Orange firefish do better in small schools of three. They love frozen Mysis and one would feed 3 of these about 1/4 cube of Mysis per day. That's total not each. __________________ Merry Skerry Current Tank Info: 1 G Nano jellyfish to 1200 G Bull Nose FOWLR featuring large Holacanthus and Pomacanthus

05/03/2013, 09:12 PM	#11
hogfanreefer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 2,117	I have a magnifica firefish in QT right now with a Royal Gramma. The firefish is always front and center and was initially the more dominant of the two. The gramma has grown over the last 6 weeks and has taken over but other than being slower than the gramma shows no disadvantage at feeding time. __________________ DSA 155,Custom Trigger 42" sump/refugium, MP40 X2, MP 10 X 2, AI Hydra 52 X3, Apex controller, Tunze ATO Current Tank Info: DSA 155 gallon, mixed reef, SPS and wrasse dominant

07/05/2013, 07:20 AM	#13
igot2gats Deeeetroit Basketball! Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 1,063	Like others have said. A good community fish, but they love to jump. __________________ Jeff Stop being lazy, and use the search function. Seriously. Current Tank Info: 75g DT / 20g sump / 20g QT - Eheim 1250, Tunze Osmolator 3155, GHL Profilux 3, 2 Tunze 6095, Tunze Wavebox, Aqua Illumination Hydra LEDs

05/03/2013, 10:28 AM	#2
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	My Purple Firefish is a big scaredy fish. She dug herself a hole under a rock in the sand and hides most of the time. She comes out to eat and randomly throughout the day, but gets scared when my Tang gets near her. She is fine with my Clown though, which is weird. They are very docile fish and she has never bothered anything. I've read that some peoples are scared and hide and others are outgoing. Even though she hides a lot, I still really like her and she adds some good color to the tank, when she is out.

05/03/2013, 10:42 AM	#3
tbryan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 45	Love them i have 3 purples in my 60 cube.They do get picked on easily if you have any agressive fish, sounds like you should be fine with the clowns though.Jumpers though you need a covered tank.

05/03/2013, 11:48 AM	#4
danil Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Concord, CA Posts: 935	I have two (regular not purple one) and they are hiding most of the time. Sometimes out of blue they start swimming around for few mins and back to hiding. I would get something more 'active' like small anthias or chromi. They are safe for.. everything and I think $30 for one is on high end for this fish though local market could set it's own prices.

05/03/2013, 12:04 PM	#6
MrClam Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 557	They are easily intimidated fish, best added first so they can get established. I think a 20g might be too small for two clowns and a firefish, even if they are the more docile ocellaris clowns. I had a purple firefish in my 150g and put two Ocellaris in and the clowns chased him a fair bit, but he had the room to run away. He wouldnt have fared well if it were only 20g. Also side note but your alk is a bit high.

05/03/2013, 01:38 PM	#7
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I've had by far the best luck with the Helfrich Firefish as far as staying out in the open water. The Purple and Reds are much more timid, specially if you have any semi-aggressive fish in your tank.

05/03/2013, 03:21 PM	#8
Gagonzalez Reef Fanatic Join Date: May 2012 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 703	I have a purple firefish along with a longnose hawk and 6 line wrasse in a 29g nano. The Purple Firefish is the most dominant in the tank and is always out and doesn't bug anyone, then the wrasse and finally the hawk. Am actually getting rid of my 6 line because he is pushing my hawk to one corner and getting to aggressive. I knew it would happen, just hoped it would have been later rather than sooner. Have only had him about 3 months. By the way, placed all 3 fish in at the same time with the firefish being the biggest of the 3. Worked well......well, kinda. Good Luck

05/03/2013, 05:52 PM	#10
CIGARSC351W Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: NH Posts: 66	I have a regular firefish in a 45 cube. It's out of its hole every morning at 9am (2 hours after the other fish) and back in every night around 6pm (2 hours before the others settle down.) Board line bankers hours. My kids have named it snooze. It seems happy with a Flame Wrasse, a Royal Gramma, and a watchman goby for tank mates and eats everything I throw in the tank. I think there great additions to a reef tank. Lastly, it takes no **** from its tank mates.

07/04/2013, 09:25 PM	#12
Schmidty76 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Akron Ohio Posts: 12	I added a pair of firefish to my 55 gallon tank maybe two months or so ago. They at first were bullied a little by my spotted hawk, but not badly and only for the first day or so. They've settled into the half of the tank my clowns patrol and the clowns don't give them a second glance. They're actually one of the more active denizens of my tank as well. 15 dollars would be a fair price I think, I paid 12 for mine. The purple ones around here go for about double the price of the orange ones, so 30 doesn't seem out of line for that one.

07/05/2013, 07:26 AM	#14
justthewife Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Endicott, NY Posts: 909	I was at first leery of getting one of these fish but I did and now love it. It is a beautiful fish. Mine was timid at first until he figured he was in a good place. Now he swims around all over but still pretty much keeps his distance from the other fish and he is one of the first people notice in the tank. Mine is a white and burgundy colored one that was about $11. __________________ 90 gallon Fish only tank Current Tank Info: 90 gal tank AquaMax skimmer LED EchoTech Gen 3 lights Gyre150 RO/DI water

07/05/2013, 07:40 AM	#15
johnike Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bureau County Illinois Posts: 5,406	I have 2 in my tank. I've rescued one of them on two occasions doing the overflow ride to the sump. Always out, and get along with the whole crowd.

07/05/2013, 08:42 AM	#16
TY31088 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Warner Robins, GA Posts: 78	We have two of these, http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...168&pcatid=168 and love them. They are often out in the open.

07/05/2013, 07:23 PM	#17
Teage29 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: PA Posts: 73	I have a purple firefish and its not very timid at all. But as someone said already mine also wakes up later and goes into its hole before the lights go out. They are cool and a great addiction to any reef tank.