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

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Will a bicolour goatfish fit in an 80gal reef long term? I am looking for a relatively large and active solitary fish that occupies the bottom - middle of the water column, but I have heard mixed reports for these fish's tank size tolerance, usually either stated to be in the 50gal range or around the 125 - 150gal range.

Also, will they regularly eat cleaner wrasses? Their ranges overlap so I assume the goats will be cleaning customers, but just in case...

 

[DeanoL]

Hi everyone,

Only joined about a week ago and have been madly reading this chat for as much info and advice as possible.

Gor my first marine tank two months ago and cycled for 4 weeks before adding the first inhabitants. I'm very excited about adding more fish and corals but know the importance of patience. I have a very good LFS who gives honest advice and has already told me fish I definitely can't have but keen to get opinions from others.

Info about the tank:

60g Waterbox DT with sump which has probably 25-30g of additional water
Sump houses Red sea reefer skimmer, reefrun mat and pump.
One myAI wave maker
Lights are Smart Reef

I'm going for a mixed reef with hopefully a number of small, colourful, peaceful inhabitants.

Current inhabitants in order of purchase
CUC: 5 trochus snails and 5 other snails (can't remember name)
2 ocellaris clownfish
2 Bangaii cardinalfish which seem to hide from each other
1 Banana wrasse (yellow coris)
1 red starfish

Corals: 1 elegance, 1 torch, 6 red morphs, 1 hammer, 1 frogspawn (I think) and a zoa frag

I have been testing every couple days using red sea marine multi test kit and levels are great: 0 ammonia and nitrites. Nitrates barely registering in tests.

The tank is currently going through an ugly stage with cloudy water and I have ordered some copepods and 3 peppermint shrimp which I've read will help. Should arrive in next couple of days.

Please let me know if you see any issues with the following list of fish that id love to add. Listing them in order of planned addition, but depends on availability at LFS:

3 Blue-Green chromis (will it be better to get 5 as I have read that they may dwindle in numbers?)
1 firefish (red or purple)
Yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp pair
Royal Gramma or Blackcap basslet
2 more wrasses from either the fairy or flasher families (any suggestions that are peaceful and colourful??)
1 dwarf angelfish (either cherub/pygmy, flame or coral beauty - have read they are best for my size, any suggestions?)
1 mandarin dragonet - adding towards end to allow copepods population to grow.

I know it's hard to give advice on number of fish as it depends on system and maintenance routine so I'll definitely test regularly and after each addition, but would those fish coexist ok? Any changes to fish or the order? Or any other species I may not have thought of???

Invertebrates I like include Coral banded shrimp (but dunno about that with pistol shrimp) porcelain crabs and sand sifting starfish.


Thanks so much for any advice! I've kept tropical tanks for years but so excited to finally be venturing into marine!!! (Thanks to my partner for the tank and setup which was a 40th bday gift?!)

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Is a bird wrasse going to do fine in an 80gal long term? I know it probably won‘t, but it‘s a cool looking fish so I gotta ask…

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

@DeanoL , welcome to Reef2Reef!

As a fellow Aussie, I'm just going to point out a couple fish on your list that are becoming increasingly unobtainable, and incredibly expensive. This doesn't matter if you want to or are happy paying top dollar for livestock.

Flame Angel - the cheapest I've seen them in a while is $500.
Watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair - very expensive, just saw a pair on Gee Marine go for $300, many pairs on other sites going for over $450 to $550.
Blackcap Basslet - the absolute lowest I've ever seen these here is $295, on The Coral Shop which is a very reputable store. - https://thecoralshop.com.au/products/black-cap-basslet

If you need recommendations for stores, these are my absolute go-tos

- Reef Haven, one of my personal favourites, located in Melbourne, QTs fish. Awesome customer service and will special order fish uncommon here. Recently had Flame Angels, Blackcap Basslets, Watchman Goby with Pistol Shrimp.
- The Coral Shop, located in the Gold Coast, great selection, will order in any fish for you. Has Blackcap Basslets at the moment, I think they had Flame Angels a couple months back as well.
- Gee Marine, again, great service, wide variety of livestock, they also have had Watchman Gobies recently, and do get Flame Angels. Has Blackcap Basslets for $300 now.
- Ocean Reefs Marine. By far the largest range of fish, very open and honest workers, call with any questions and they're happy to help.

All these places ship with good DOA policies.

 

[Slocke]

Hi everyone,

Only joined about a week ago and have been madly reading this chat for as much info and advice as possible.

Gor my first marine tank two months ago and cycled for 4 weeks before adding the first inhabitants. I'm very excited about adding more fish and corals but know the importance of patience. I have a very good LFS who gives honest advice and has already told me fish I definitely can't have but keen to get opinions from others.

Info about the tank:

60g Waterbox DT with sump which has probably 25-30g of additional water
Sump houses Red sea reefer skimmer, reefrun mat and pump.
One myAI wave maker
Lights are Smart Reef

I'm going for a mixed reef with hopefully a number of small, colourful, peaceful inhabitants.

Current inhabitants in order of purchase
CUC: 5 trochus snails and 5 other snails (can't remember name)
2 ocellaris clownfish
2 Bangaii cardinalfish which seem to hide from each other
1 Banana wrasse (yellow coris)

Just going to point out that both those names for that wrasse are wrong. A banana wrasse is a big aggressive beast Thalassoma lutescens. And wrasse from the genus Coris are also big and aggressive. You have a yellow or gold wrasse (hopefully) Halichoeres chrysus.

1 red starfish

Just a warning that most starfish have diets that are hard to replicate in captivity

Corals: 1 elegance, 1 torch, 6 red morphs, 1 hammer, 1 frogspawn (I think) and a zoa frag

I have been testing every couple days using red sea marine multi test kit and levels are great: 0 ammonia and nitrites. Nitrates barely registering in tests.

The tank is currently going through an ugly stage with cloudy water and I have ordered some copepods and 3 peppermint shrimp which I've read will help. Should arrive in next couple of days.

Please let me know if you see any issues with the following list of fish that id love to add. Listing them in order of planned addition, but depends on availability at LFS:

3 Blue-Green chromis (will it be better to get 5 as I have read that they may dwindle in numbers?)

There is an issue with chromis and disease. Since you’re wanting a lot of fish anyway I would reconsider a lot of chromis. A single often does better then a group and even then I suggest QTing it.

1 firefish (red or purple)

Just need a good lid as they jump and are cowards

Yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp pair

Good

Royal Gramma or Blackcap basslet

Good

2 more wrasses from either the fairy or flasher families (any suggestions that are peaceful and colourful??)

You are limited with that tank size. Really I’d only look at the A size fairies. Maybe a B. A Lubbocks is a great choice.

For flasher again you want one of the smallest like a blue.

1 dwarf angelfish (either cherub/pygmy, flame or coral beauty - have read they are best for my size, any suggestions?)

All are fairly similar but all are possible coral eaters and may bully. However angels usually only bully other angels.

1 mandarin dragonet - adding towards end to allow copepods population to grow.

Give it at least a year

I know it's hard to give advice on number of fish as it depends on system and maintenance routine so I'll definitely test regularly and after each addition, but would those fish coexist ok? Any changes to fish or the order? Or any other species I may not have thought of???

That is a lot of fish. I’d consider getting some of the nano fish instead. Possum or a pink streak wrasse for example.

Invertebrates I like include Coral banded shrimp (but dunno about that with pistol shrimp) porcelain crabs and sand sifting starfish.

All good and should get on just fine.

Thanks so much for any advice! I've kept tropical tanks for years but so excited to finally be venturing into marine!!! (Thanks to my partner for the tank and setup which was a 40th bday gift?!)

Just make sure to take things slow and be careful with new additions and you should be fine. Let me know if you need any more help.

 

[Slocke]

Is a bird wrasse going to do fine in an 80gal long term? I know it probably won‘t, but it‘s a cool looking fish so I gotta ask…

Nope and your other inhabitants will not thank you. They are big and very energetic.

Will a bicolour goatfish fit in an 80gal reef long term? I am looking for a relatively large and active solitary fish that occupies the bottom - middle of the water column, but I have heard mixed reports for these fish's tank size tolerance, usually either stated to be in the 50gal range or around the 125 - 150gal range.

Also, will they regularly eat cleaner wrasses? Their ranges overlap so I assume the goats will be cleaning customers, but just in case...

I’d say it needs a bigger tank but your cleaner wrasse is safe. My suggestions are something either smaller or less energetic. A dusky wrasse fills the first and a foxface the second.

 

[Ymrhb]

Hi all,

I've been following the forum for a few years and today I decided to join the community!
So here goes my first post, I need some suggestions about the last fish I want to add to my tank. I have a 34 gallon red sea reefer (LPS and soft corals).

My current livestock is;
2 clown fish
1 banggai cardinal fish
1 red firefish
1 fire shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp

I would like to add a relatively colorful and peaceful but not a shy fish - captive bred would be definitely a big bonus.

I have very good behaving, aptasia eating peppermint shrimp. I need to make sure that there is no danger for it. After seeing my captive bred watchman goby eating the second peppermint and a tubeworm, I'm a bit skeptical about them, so no watchman goby for me.

Thanks a lot in advance!!

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Nope and your other inhabitants will not thank you. They are big and very energetic.

I’d say it needs a bigger tank but your cleaner wrasse is safe. My suggestions are something either smaller or less energetic. A dusky wrasse fills the first and a foxface the second.

Thanks. I'm kinda running out of ideas for fishes that I can put in that won't either hide all day or are tiny... maybe I'm going to have to go back to tangs and butterflies.

 

[Slocke]

Hi all,

I've been following the forum for a few years and today I decided to join the community!
So here goes my first post, I need some suggestions about the last fish I want to add to my tank. I have a 34 gallon red sea reefer (LPS and soft corals).

My current livestock is;
2 clown fish
1 banggai cardinal fish
1 red firefish
1 fire shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp

I would like to add a relatively colorful and peaceful but not a shy fish - captive bred would be definitely a big bonus.

I have very good behaving, aptasia eating peppermint shrimp. I need to make sure that there is no danger for it. After seeing my captive bred watchman goby eating the second peppermint and a tubeworm, I'm a bit skeptical about them, so no watchman goby for me.

Thanks a lot in advance!!

Well captive bred you could get a mandarin which are very colorful and not shy at all. Also maybe a pipefish but only if you have very low flow.

Other suggestions would be a basslet like a gramma, a chalk, a swissguard etc. Or a possum or pink streak wrasse.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Do hi - hats fit in 80gal tanks? I've only seen them recommended for 75 and less but they're a drum so I'm being careful. My lfs can get them in and they're quite cool fishes that would be very funny to have.

Also, obligatory "do they kill cleaners?"

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

This fish wins the silver for hardest fish to google for… who names a fish hi - hat?

 

[Ymrhb]

Well captive bred you could get a mandarin which are very colorful and not shy at all. Also maybe a pipefish but only if you have very low flow.

Other suggestions would be a basslet like a gramma, a chalk, a swissguard etc. Or a possum or pink streak wrasse.

Thanks for the suggestions. I feel like mandarin could be a little tricky even if it's a captive bred but it's definitely a dream fish. I think the flow is not suitable for a pipefish. I usually prefer to be on the safe side.

A gramma (found a captive bred!) or a possum wrasse would be great if they can get along with my shrimps. I was also thinking about a bicolor blenny. Any thoughts about blennies?

 

[Slocke]

Thanks for the suggestions. I feel like mandarin could be a little tricky even if it's a captive bred but it's definitely a dream fish. I think the flow is not suitable for a pipefish. I usually prefer to be on the safe side.

A gramma (found a captive bred!) or a possum wrasse would be great if they can get along with my shrimps. I was also thinking about a bicolor blenny. Any thoughts about blennies?

Gramma and possum wrasse are both shrimp safe but a blenny is an equally good choice. All the above are great choices.

 

[DeanoL]

@DeanoL , welcome to Reef2Reef!

As a fellow Aussie, I'm just going to point out a couple fish on your list that are becoming increasingly unobtainable, and incredibly expensive. This doesn't matter if you want to or are happy paying top dollar for livestock.

Flame Angel - the cheapest I've seen them in a while is $500.
Watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair - very expensive, just saw a pair on Gee Marine go for $300, many pairs on other sites going for over $450 to $550.
Blackcap Basslet - the absolute lowest I've ever seen these here is $295, on The Coral Shop which is a very reputable store. - https://thecoralshop.com.au/products/black-cap-basslet

If you need recommendations for stores, these are my absolute go-tos

- Reef Haven, one of my personal favourites, located in Melbourne, QTs fish. Awesome customer service and will special order fish uncommon here. Recently had Flame Angels, Blackcap Basslets, Watchman Goby with Pistol Shrimp.
- The Coral Shop, located in the Gold Coast, great selection, will order in any fish for you. Has Blackcap Basslets at the moment, I think they had Flame Angels a couple months back as well.
- Gee Marine, again, great service, wide variety of livestock, they also have had Watchman Gobies recently, and do get Flame Angels. Has Blackcap Basslets for $300 now.
- Ocean Reefs Marine. By far the largest range of fish, very open and honest workers, call with any questions and they're happy to help.

All these places ship with good DOA policies.

Hey always nice to meet fellow Aussies.

Thanks for the info, yes I have noticed the price of some of them....if only we could get the prices I see on some of the overseas sites!!!

Thanks for the list of stores too, always good to know which are the recommended and more likely to provide quality stock.

My LFS, Canberra Marine, has been really great with support, patience and advice while setting up my tank so I'm keen to support them as much as I can.

Cheers

 

[DeanoL]

Just going to point out that both those names for that wrasse are wrong. A banana wrasse is a big aggressive beast Thalassoma lutescens. And wrasse from the genus Coris are also big and aggressive. You have a yellow or gold wrasse (hopefully) Halichoeres chrysus.

Just a warning that most starfish have diets that are hard to replicate in captivity

There is an issue with chromis and disease. Since you’re wanting a lot of fish anyway I would reconsider a lot of chromis. A single often does better then a group and even then I suggest QTing it.

Just need a good lid as they jump and are cowards

Good

Good


You are limited with that tank size. Really I’d only look at the A size fairies. Maybe a B. A Lubbocks is a great choice.

For flasher again you want one of the smallest like a blue.

All are fairly similar but all are possible coral eaters and may bully. However angels usually only bully other angels.

Give it at least a year

That is a lot of fish. I’d consider getting some of the nano fish instead. Possum or a pink streak wrasse for example.

All good and should get on just fine.

Just make sure to take things slow and be careful with new additions and you should be fine. Let me know if you need any more help.

Wow thankyou so much for the detailed info, I really appreciate the time you've put into it.

Yes, it's a yellow wrasse h.chrysus and has been a very peaceful tank member so far.

I really like the compatibility chart for fairy wrasses so thankyou for that and have found a few smaller wrasses that I like:

Fairy - splendid, dusky, Lubbocks, Naoko's and lunate
Flasher - blue, carpenters, mccoskers
Pink streak and possum both look good too.

Are those ok for my tank if i was to get 2-3 of them all up?

The dwarf angelfish will most likely depend on availability and price at my LFS but I do like the pygmy/cherub.

Will definitely wait for the Mandarin and seed tank with a few purchases of copepods before introducing it.

Is there any particular order for the invertebrates?

Thanks again

 

[Slocke]

Wow thankyou so much for the detailed info, I really appreciate the time you've put into it.

Yes, it's a yellow wrasse h.chrysus and has been a very peaceful tank member so far.

I really like the compatibility chart for fairy wrasses so thankyou for that and have found a few smaller wrasses that I like:

Fairy - splendid, dusky, Lubbocks, Naoko's and lunate
Flasher - blue, carpenters, mccoskers
Pink streak and possum both look good too.

Are those ok for my tank if i was to get 2-3 of them all up?

Yeah should work!

The dwarf angelfish will most likely depend on availability and price at my LFS but I do like the pygmy/cherub.

Will definitely wait for the Mandarin and seed tank with a few purchases of copepods before introducing it.

Is there any particular order for the invertebrates?

Let your sand get dirty before the the starfish but the others can be added whenever.

Thanks again

 

[jeffpopple]

Thanks! I love the name of the acclimation box “The Shu!” What kind of fish would you recommend with the acclimation box?

My acclimation box from Octoaquatics shipped today! Excited to get it.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

I've been having a difficult time finding information on the temperament of the Eibli angelfish.
I asked in the angel lovers thread earlier, and received both very positive and very negative experiences with them.
Does anyone have any experience with them with peaceful tank mates? Would they be too aggressive for a peaceful wrasse dominated tank with other fish such as tilefish, assessors and clowns?

 

[Slocke]

I've been having a difficult time finding information on the temperament of the Eibli angelfish.
I asked in the angel lovers thread earlier, and received both very positive and very negative experiences with them.
Does anyone have any experience with them with peaceful tank mates? Would they be too aggressive for a peaceful wrasse dominated tank with other fish such as tilefish, assessors and clowns?

The great thing about angelfish is they are generally very peaceful with fish other than other angelfish. I don’t have personal experience with that species but that is what I have experienced with other angels and what I’ve been taught.

 

[JayM]

Current stock in my 80 gallon mixed reef:
4 - Ocellaris clowns
2 - Springeri damsels
1 - Flame hawkish
1 - Yellow watchman goby
1 - Lemonpeel angel
1 - Blue hippo tang
1 - Midas blenny
3 - Skunk cleaner shrimp
1 - Tiger pistol shrimp

CUC with red legged hermits, bumblebee, trochus, nassarius, astraea & margarita snails and a trio of conchs.

Also an assortment of softies and LPS corals.

My plan is to add a couple more fish and call it done. A Coral beauty is at the top of the list, as well as a Firefish goby to replace the one I had that recently passed due to (most likely) uronema.

Am I pushing “max capacity” with adding 2 more fish? Water parameters are stable, and everything seems to be thriving now. I’m a few days away from a second round of Prazipro due to a possible fluke infection on my tang, but symptoms are 100% gone. Corals seem happy (and my Duncan is already sprouting a new head after only about two weeks in the tank).