Lycoperdon
New Member
I've had nano saltwater-tanks for over a decade, but I've only recently upgraded from a 30 gallon to a 75 gallon, which opens new options for fish!
Here's the thing: I love Corals... But I'm guilty of the "color-vomit collection." You know what? I'd bet most of us are, so lots of tanks online look pretty similar. I've been thinking about ways I could make my tank unique. How do you add contrast when everything already contrasts? Well, you know what I've never seen before? A marine tank with only monochromatic fish. Nothing but black and white, but different patterns, body shapes, and roles. I figure it would be like adding a different form of contrast. Here are some candidates (I do not plan on getting all of these) I've been considering. Some of these fish I'm even leaning towards probably not (for various reasons), but I'd love to hear any feedback, advice, words of caution, or additional suggestions! I also want to avoid fish which terminate to brown or would simply get too large for my setup as an adult.
I currently have the Black Snowflake clown (~7 years now), a Banggai Cardinal, and I'm picking up a Tribal Blenny soon... Possibly a young Black Storm clown as well, if my LFS gets a nice batch this weekend. Some thoughts, concerns, and questions I've had regarding some of these fish are below:
•Black Storm Clown - Would contrast nicely with my Black Snowflake. Both are Ocellaris, so I'd hope they'd play nicely together. As far as I've heard, as long as there's a size difference between them and I use an acclimation/introduction box, it'll (hopefully) go okay between the two.
•Sleeper Blue Dot Goby - Sand Sifter, pearly white. I am slowly adding sand in, and I'd likely wait another 6 months for the sandbed to be mature before adding this guy.
•Black & White Chromis or Half & Half Chromis - I've heard from locals these may act more like Damsels... But I don't want jerks. Anybody try these?
•Tuxedo Damselfish - I've heard an anecdotal report that the Chrysiptera genus tends to be chill. I don't know if this is true, though... If I could get away with it, three-stripe, four-stripe, and three-spot domino damsels would fit beautifully in this setup, except they're too aggressive for what I'm trying to do here.
•Striped Dottyback - Biota Group says these are the most laid back of the Dottys. If true, I'd still try introducing this one last out of all of these. I love the look of the Kamohara blenny, but I suspect I wouldn't be able to keep both of these since they're similar looking and occupy similar niches in the tank. I'd really like to try the dotty, though, because some bristleworm control would be nice to have.
•Kamohara Blenny - Beautiful, but probably won't play nice with the Tribal Blenny (mixing blennies a no-go, yes?) or the Dottyback (too similar body/pattern/niche).
•Tribal Blenny - Stark black and large. Would like an algae grazer because I probably can't squeeze a tang in the 75g.
•Sailfin Mollies - Black, White, and Dalmatian would all look really nice. I do worry about the higher flow I have in my tank, though. I'm assuming any spawn would probably find their way into the sump? If not, some other fish on this list would very likely eat them... Actually, some of these other fish would likely eat the adults, too. They're extremely inexpensive fish, so I may just try a couple and see how it goes. If the flow is too much, perhaps they can live in the sump.
•Lantern Basslet - Anybody have experience with these? Aparently they're different from the Harlequin Bass, which get larger (8"-11", this basslet supposedly stays <5"). I hear they're fairly peaceful, but they would definitely eat small fish...
•Black Cap Goby - Pretty, but perhaps too rare and expensive. I know next to nothing about these. Might not play nice with the Sleeper Blue Dot anyway...
•Marine Betta / Comet - Beautiful, slow-moving, centerpiece fish. Would buy a captive-bred specimen. Would very likely eat mollies, but would it be able to swallow an adult Banggai? Another concern is the light and flow of my tank. It can be bright and turbulent, but I do have caves.
•Lamarck or Watanabei Angel - Might be pushing it for size, here... Multiple LFS's have told me I could probably do it, but don't they get like 10"? What do you guys think? I know they may pick at LPS.
•Lined Wrasse - I'd really like to attempt this fish. These wrasses would be the most challenging fish I've tried. I have heard they can be difficult to get eating at first, but once they settle they're not too bad. Would try to find a young female.
•Black Leopard Wrasse - Basically the same deal as the Lined Wrasse.
•Black-Backed Wrasse - Same as the other two, except I hear these can get more aggressive as they get older, which I'd like to avoid. They may also get too large for a 75g.
Any other suggestions come to mind? Anything on this list you'd suggest I strike off? I'm all ears!
Here's the thing: I love Corals... But I'm guilty of the "color-vomit collection." You know what? I'd bet most of us are, so lots of tanks online look pretty similar. I've been thinking about ways I could make my tank unique. How do you add contrast when everything already contrasts? Well, you know what I've never seen before? A marine tank with only monochromatic fish. Nothing but black and white, but different patterns, body shapes, and roles. I figure it would be like adding a different form of contrast. Here are some candidates (I do not plan on getting all of these) I've been considering. Some of these fish I'm even leaning towards probably not (for various reasons), but I'd love to hear any feedback, advice, words of caution, or additional suggestions! I also want to avoid fish which terminate to brown or would simply get too large for my setup as an adult.
I currently have the Black Snowflake clown (~7 years now), a Banggai Cardinal, and I'm picking up a Tribal Blenny soon... Possibly a young Black Storm clown as well, if my LFS gets a nice batch this weekend. Some thoughts, concerns, and questions I've had regarding some of these fish are below:
•Black Storm Clown - Would contrast nicely with my Black Snowflake. Both are Ocellaris, so I'd hope they'd play nicely together. As far as I've heard, as long as there's a size difference between them and I use an acclimation/introduction box, it'll (hopefully) go okay between the two.
•Sleeper Blue Dot Goby - Sand Sifter, pearly white. I am slowly adding sand in, and I'd likely wait another 6 months for the sandbed to be mature before adding this guy.
•Black & White Chromis or Half & Half Chromis - I've heard from locals these may act more like Damsels... But I don't want jerks. Anybody try these?
•Tuxedo Damselfish - I've heard an anecdotal report that the Chrysiptera genus tends to be chill. I don't know if this is true, though... If I could get away with it, three-stripe, four-stripe, and three-spot domino damsels would fit beautifully in this setup, except they're too aggressive for what I'm trying to do here.
•Striped Dottyback - Biota Group says these are the most laid back of the Dottys. If true, I'd still try introducing this one last out of all of these. I love the look of the Kamohara blenny, but I suspect I wouldn't be able to keep both of these since they're similar looking and occupy similar niches in the tank. I'd really like to try the dotty, though, because some bristleworm control would be nice to have.
•Kamohara Blenny - Beautiful, but probably won't play nice with the Tribal Blenny (mixing blennies a no-go, yes?) or the Dottyback (too similar body/pattern/niche).
•Tribal Blenny - Stark black and large. Would like an algae grazer because I probably can't squeeze a tang in the 75g.
•Sailfin Mollies - Black, White, and Dalmatian would all look really nice. I do worry about the higher flow I have in my tank, though. I'm assuming any spawn would probably find their way into the sump? If not, some other fish on this list would very likely eat them... Actually, some of these other fish would likely eat the adults, too. They're extremely inexpensive fish, so I may just try a couple and see how it goes. If the flow is too much, perhaps they can live in the sump.
•Lantern Basslet - Anybody have experience with these? Aparently they're different from the Harlequin Bass, which get larger (8"-11", this basslet supposedly stays <5"). I hear they're fairly peaceful, but they would definitely eat small fish...
•Black Cap Goby - Pretty, but perhaps too rare and expensive. I know next to nothing about these. Might not play nice with the Sleeper Blue Dot anyway...
•Marine Betta / Comet - Beautiful, slow-moving, centerpiece fish. Would buy a captive-bred specimen. Would very likely eat mollies, but would it be able to swallow an adult Banggai? Another concern is the light and flow of my tank. It can be bright and turbulent, but I do have caves.
•Lamarck or Watanabei Angel - Might be pushing it for size, here... Multiple LFS's have told me I could probably do it, but don't they get like 10"? What do you guys think? I know they may pick at LPS.
•Lined Wrasse - I'd really like to attempt this fish. These wrasses would be the most challenging fish I've tried. I have heard they can be difficult to get eating at first, but once they settle they're not too bad. Would try to find a young female.
•Black Leopard Wrasse - Basically the same deal as the Lined Wrasse.
•Black-Backed Wrasse - Same as the other two, except I hear these can get more aggressive as they get older, which I'd like to avoid. They may also get too large for a 75g.
Any other suggestions come to mind? Anything on this list you'd suggest I strike off? I'm all ears!
