Help with fish choices please!

[TravelinGal]

Hi! I have a young tank (4 months) and I only have 1 ocellaris clownfish so far. I want to get more fish in there but I don't know what is safe/good and after being told I could keep a yellow tang by a LFS ("and just sell it when it got big") I don't know who to trust anymore. (Thanks to the folks here letting me know that was NOT right!)

Here are my details:
46 gallon bowfront corner tank
Fluval SEA LED lights
Lots of places to hide along with open area to swim
all varieties of corals (some already in tank, some planned)
feather dusters
the one ocellaris
one coral banded shrimp
snails - turbo/astrea/nassarius/cerith
calcified macro algae
I would like to possibly have a reef safe starfish (I would go CRAZY over a purple linkia but need more info on that one...)

And, of course, a QT is set up and running. I have a little blue damsel (yes, I know it can be aggressive - he won't go in the main tank ever) in there to help keep it cycled along with some live rock and another calcified macro algae.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

View attachment 19780

 

[FinsUp]

Love your tank!! Great rock work.
I like starry blennies for algae control and huge personalities.

 

[TravelinGal]

Thanks Cindy. I was sitting staring at it one night and getting really tired and all of the sudden I thought it was looking kind of like a Flintstone village. LOL
On the front left is BW Condo (all my bristle worms live in those rocks for some reason). Right behind that is the Zoatel (zoa hotel - because that's where I'm putting all my zoas). A hitchhiker bivalve mollusk is at the top of the 'hotel' and has decided that is home. Makes a nice topper.
I decided I needed a "tree" in the back corner of the tank (so those rocks are the newest). The 'art deco' shopping center is next to the 'tree' and then the 'two story house' LOL

I DID say I was tired when I came up with all this. ROFL

 

[FluidDesigners]

You could do a small group of anthias. They always add personality to a tank. Tri color wrasse. Lots of smaller blennies/gobies to choose from...klausweitz, Randall's, rainfordi, Yasha. You could pair certain ones with a pistol shrimp. That creates a really cool thing to see in the tank.

Hi! I have a young tank (4 months) and I only have 1 ocellaris clownfish so far. I want to get more fish in there but I don't know what is safe/good and after being told I could keep a yellow tang by a LFS ("and just sell it when it got big") I don't know who to trust anymore. (Thanks to the folks here letting me know that was NOT right!)

Here are my details:
46 gallon bowfront corner tank
Fluval SEA LED lights
Lots of places to hide along with open area to swim
all varieties of corals (some already in tank, some planned)
feather dusters
the one ocellaris
one coral banded shrimp
snails - turbo/astrea/nassarius/cerith
calcified macro algae
I would like to possibly have a reef safe starfish (I would go CRAZY over a purple linkia but need more info on that one...)

And, of course, a QT is set up and running. I have a little blue damsel (yes, I know it can be aggressive - he won't go in the main tank ever) in there to help keep it cycled along with some live rock and another calcified macro algae.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

View attachment 19780

 

[charleshardy5]

➕1 to the watchman goby pistol shrimp combo. But be careful... Coral banded shrimp are known to kill other shrimps. That's the only reason my pink spotted watchman is shrimpless. Already had the coral banded and didn't wanna take the risk. I also think a foxface rabbitfish is an excellent choice if you don't want to deal with the hassle of replacing a yellow tang every so often. Mine did an excellent job keeping hair algae in check and is quite beautiful to see every day

 

[zombie]

Gobies, blennys, anthias, chromis, basslets, and reef safe wrasses are your best bet. Do a little searching and research on those species, find some you like the look of and we can give you the go ahead if it will work for you.

 

[zombie]

I also think a foxface rabbitfish is an excellent choice if you don't want to deal with the hassle of replacing a yellow tang every so often. Mine did an excellent job keeping hair algae in check and is quite beautiful to see every day

+1 as long as you get a juvenile. unlike tangs while rabbitfish are small, they can be kept in smaller than suitable aquariums without getting stressed (as long as the tank isnt overstocked) If you get one as a juvenile you have about 5 years to get it into a 4 foot long tank 75+ gallons.

 

[SynDen]

Gobies, blennys, anthias, chromis, basslets, and reef safe wrasses are your best bet. Do a little searching and research on those species, find some you like the look of and we can give you the go ahead if it will work for you.

+1 but ya I would watchout for the Coral Banded, they are notorious especially as they get older. I'd recommend trading him for another shrimp.

 

[TravelinGal]

+1 but ya I would watchout for the Coral Banded, they are notorious especially as they get older. I'd recommend trading him for another shrimp.

Can you please expand on this? What are they notorious for and what would be a better shrimp. (assuming I can even catch this guy!)

 

[SynDen]

They are notorious for killing other inverts like shrimp and when they get larger they can even go after small fish. They generally start out fairly docile but as they get bigger they can become very aggressive. They are often times sold as being reef-safe, which imo is a travesty, as they really are anything but.
Great shrimps to have that wont give you problems are pistol shrimps, skunk cleaners and/or fire shrimp

 

[zombie]

Can you please expand on this? What are they notorious for and what would be a better shrimp. (assuming I can even catch this guy!)

They get VERY territorial and will attack any fish that gets too close to it. They will also hunt down fish and other shrimp if they get really hungry. The best shrimp to have are cleaners (skunk, or fire) to act as a tank medic, pistol shrimp for their cool interaction with gobies and sand stirrer, and pepperment shrimp to deal with aptasia if it ever gets introduced.

 

[ThatsDeep!]

I am pretty new here so take this post with a grain of salt but husband and I have had to remove 4 problem fish already, so I asked this same question recently. We do have a six line wrasse, hawkfish [no good if you want shrimp but we just love it] a mandarin goby, target goby [aka dragonette] and our newest since asking everyone has been a blenny. I thought they were not so great to look at, but we bought a ""tail spot" goby about an inch long. He is thriving, growing and likes to hide in holes - I swear he thinks he is an eel. We also have a pygmy perchlet who keep a low profile but is really cool.

So, all of this to say yes to blennies! As for the goby/ dragonette they eat pods and so I had to scramble and add pod populations when we put in a second one so I would have been wary of that if I had known what I know now.

Also agree - nice rock arrangement - you are well on your way and asking the right questions!

Jody

 

[sethsolomon]

They are notorious for killing other inverts like shrimp and when they get larger they can even go after small fish. They generally start out fairly docile but as they get bigger they can become very aggressive. They are often times sold as being reef-safe, which imo is a travesty, as they really are anything but.
Great shrimps to have that wont give you problems are pistol shrimps, skunk cleaners and/or fire shrimp

+1. And if you get a pair of either cleaner or fire shrimp eventually they will pair up and spawn feeding the rest of your tank

I have a pair of cleaner shrimp that spawn every month to month and a half.

+1 as long as you get a juvenile. unlike tangs while rabbitfish are small, they can be kept in smaller than suitable aquariums without getting stressed (as long as the tank isnt overstocked) If you get one as a juvenile you have about 5 years to get it into a 4 foot long tank 75+ gallons.

A rabbit fish would destroy his macroalgae.

You could do a small group of anthias.

I personally disagree. anthias seem to need more swimming room than most small fish.

Tri color wrasse. Lots of smaller blennies/gobies to choose from...klausweitz, Randall's, rainfordi, Yasha. You could pair certain ones with a pistol shrimp

+1 all good ideas there. Tri-Color wrasses are a lot of color for $20-$35

 

[zombie]

Even though they look spectacular, dont add a mandarin anytime soon. I ve seen people get away with it on smaller tanks like yours if they are the ONLY pod eater in the tank, the tank has a large 20+ gallon refugium, the tank has been established for longer than 6 months, the owner supplements additional pods several times a year, and the mandarin accepts frozen. Not saying it cant be done, but I havent seen sucess unless all of the above were true for mandarins.

 

[sethsolomon]

Even though they look spectacular, dont add a mandarin anytime soon. I ve seen people get away with it on smaller tanks like yours if they are the ONLY pod eater in the tank, the tank has a large 20+ gallon refugium, the tank has been established for longer than 6 months, the owner supplements additional pods several times a year, and the mandarin accepts frozen. Not saying it cant be done, but I havent seen sucess unless all of the above were true for mandarins.

I personally waited for a year to a pair of mandarins in my 120g.

 

[TravelinGal]

LOL - you read my mind about wanting a mandarin.... OK - I'll wait. :fat: