Something Blue? Purple? Yellow? -Bright Vibrant Fish that You Love

[Eva Rose]

I have a peaceful reef tank. I have lots of red and pale pink fish. Tank size 300 g. with some LPS. Current stocking includes:
1 Whitetail Bristle tooth
1 Pixy Hawkish
1 Long nose Hawkish
4 Bartlett Anthias
5 McCosker Flasher Wrasse
1 Ocellaris black/white clown
1 YWG female (grayish yellow)
1 Jawfish
2 Helfrichi Frefish
3 Pajama Cardinals
- (will be adding Midas Benny bonded pair soon to display-thanks to R2R!!)

I had a pair of hippo tangs originally in the tank. They were beautiful and I miss the flash of blue. But they bullied/chased off the other fish @ feeding times. I gave the bonded pair of hippos to my neighbor who has a large tank.
I do like bright various colors in the tank! But my priority is having a tank with fish that are not stressed. My Bartletts and Wrasse show each other "who's the boss' in their hierarchies. - But no bullying or stressing of fish.
What suggestions can you share on peaceful additions that are blue, purple, yellow (or other vibrant colors)?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Perhaps a Royal Gramma?

Or a Candy Basslett?

 

[Boesemani]

Royal gramma basslet, black cap basslet, chalk basslet, candy basslet, gold assessor basslet lol basslets!!!

 

[donnievaz]

I know they're kind of run of the mill because they're so common but I still think the Coral Beauty is gorgeous.

 

[Eva Rose]

I know they're kind of run of the mill because they're so common but I still think the Coral Beauty is gorgeous
!

 

[Eva Rose]

The Coral Beauty is one of my favorites- gorgeous fish!
How nippy can they be with LPS ? (I have mostly gonipora, frogs pawn and hammers. Wanting to add favia, lobos etc.)
Are there any tangs they tend to be incompatible with (zebrasoma etc.)?

 

[donnievaz]

The Coral Beauty is one of my favorites- gorgeous fish!
How nippy can they be with LPS ? (I have mostly gonipora, frogs pawn and hammers. Wanting to add favia, lobos etc.)
Are there any tangs they tend to be incompatible with (zebrasoma etc.)?

All Dwarf Angels have the potential to be nippy but the general consensus it that the Coral Beauty is one of the best behaved. As far as tangs go I've never seen a problem between the two types in general.

 

[Eva Rose]

Thanks!

 

[Boesemani]

Coral beauties may tend to be better behaved in terms of coral nipping, but they are often not well behaved in their attitudes toward other fish. Also, behavior can vary from one fish to another so one might not look at any coral while another may feast on them.

 

[Tjohnson8057]

I had a coral beautiy and it was completely fine with coral

 

[Boesemani]

I had a coral beautiy and it was completely fine with coral

That doesn't necessarily mean someone else's would.

 

[Eva Rose]

Appreciate hearing the different experiences that members have had with them.
I am only going to add a few more species to my stocking list so I wanted to add a little more color.
Any other species that members like that are vibrant and peaceful?

 

[tj w]

Various flasher and fairy wrasses. Plenty of choices to choose from within each.

 

[4FordFamily]

Orchid dottyback, yellow "coris" wrasse

Much more docile than their purple pseudochromis close cousins

Both would be best added simultaneously.

 

[Maritimer]

Sooo, a few fish that I think might work for your plans . . .

I've been bitten by the wrasse bug...
Orange-backed fairy wrasse have a yellow-orange back and magenta head, but the underside and medial fins are a very peaceful cerulean blue.
Exquisite fairy wrasse - depending on where they're from, the balance of colors changes, but the basic is a deep pine green with red accents.
Solorensis, or clown fairy wrasse - teal-green, outlined in sapphire/ultramarine, with a cream head. Under blue lights, these fish have been found to faintly flouresce in a deep red that's on the very edge of what humans can see.
All of these guys tend to swim above the reef, in open water.

Blue gudgeon dartfish - a group of three or five of these would add some sky-blue splash to your reef, which they'll hover just above, as your helfrichi do. Some folks have reported dartfish as hiding a lot, but that hasn't been my experience with them.

Neon/sharknose/yellowline goby offers a pop of electric blue, yellow, or a combination - but not from very far away! Also a pretty effective fish-cleaner, fun to watch in action.

Ruby scooter dragonets - I have a pair, and the male and female are very different shades of red, but both are brilliant red, covered with small white spots and with yellow pelvic fins. Behaviours can be fascinating, whether pecking 'pods, flashing his fin (first dorsal of the mail could propel a smallish boat!) or rising into the water column to spawn.

I get a bright-blue pop from a trio of azure damselfish, but these guys, although relatively well-behaved _for_damsels_ - can still be pretty darned cranky to newcomers.

For what it's worth, I've got a coral beauty as well, who shows no more than passing interest in any corals - a nip here or there, but she's not trashing anything. Under my lighting (MarsAqua "black box" LEDs) the fish appears mostly ... dark.

HTH!

~Bruce

 

[Eva Rose]

Orchid dottyback, yellow "coris" wrasse

Much more docile than their purple pseudochromis close cousins

Both would be best added simultaneously.

Those look great together!

 

[Eva Rose]

Sooo, a few fish that I think might work for your plans . . .

I've been bitten by the wrasse bug...
Orange-backed fairy wrasse have a yellow-orange back and magenta head, but the underside and medial fins are a very peaceful cerulean blue.
Exquisite fairy wrasse - depending on where they're from, the balance of colors changes, but the basic is a deep pine green with red accents.
Solorensis, or clown fairy wrasse - teal-green, outlined in sapphire/ultramarine, with a cream head. Under blue lights, these fish have been found to faintly flouresce in a deep red that's on the very edge of what humans can see.
All of these guys tend to swim above the reef, in open water.

Blue gudgeon dartfish - a group of three or five of these would add some sky-blue splash to your reef, which they'll hover just above, as your helfrichi do. Some folks have reported dartfish as hiding a lot, but that hasn't been my experience with them.

Neon/sharknose/yellowline goby offers a pop of electric blue, yellow, or a combination - but not from very far away! Also a pretty effective fish-cleaner, fun to watch in action.

Ruby scooter dragonets - I have a pair, and the male and female are very different shades of red, but both are brilliant red, covered with small white spots and with yellow pelvic fins. Behaviours can be fascinating, whether pecking 'pods, flashing his fin (first dorsal of the mail could propel a smallish boat!) or rising into the water column to spawn.

I get a bright-blue pop from a trio of azure damselfish, but these guys, although relatively well-behaved _for_damsels_ - can still be pretty darned cranky to newcomers.

For what it's worth, I've got a coral beauty as well, who shows no more than passing interest in any corals - a nip here or there, but she's not trashing anything. Under my lighting (MarsAqua "black box" LEDs) the fish appears mostly ... dark.

HTH!

~Bruce

Love those suggestions- nice additions to my current stock! All would add nice splashes of color. I can't commit to the damsels though - my former hippo tangs were cranky enough . The orange back & exquisite wrasse are amazing . I had forgotten about them! I'm not familiar with the clown fairy wrasse-I can't wait to look them up.