The pros and cons of reef fish

[witfull]

if you're gonna get some get at least a trio. my 3 swim, eat, and yes, sleep together. they all worked together to dig there burrow ( i know this cause i watched for almost 2 hrs) then as the lights go out they one by one make there way home for the night. in the morning the same ritual- one out...then two out...followed by the third. they are the coolest lil guys!

shameless plug time: 500th post- im a big tuna now!!

[briane2]

wrasses -5 always out but has cost me 80 dollers for new bulb he splashed
copperband -10 always out and up front never picks on my corals
my tangs not going to say yet
lawnmower blenny -10 love how he sits in the rock and eat anything i feed him
thats all iam going to do i have a lot of fish in my tank

[Brutuscz]

clowns..the reason I started saltwater..10
blue damsel..evil, but man that blue color..5
yellow tang....awesome color..got rid of my hair algae..8
scooter blenny..cute, good personality..7
neon pseudochromis...awesome color, great personality..damn cool...8
pearly jawfish...couldn't get the damn thing to eat....3
firefish..great look...sits in the open for good viewing...9
royal gramma...great color, can be shy...7
mandarin...just a barrel of fun watching a beautiful fish starve to death...2

[Craig Manoukian]

Wrasses are one of the bigest classes of fish and so the word wrasse is pretty non=descriptive.

Thallusomas and other genus, not reef safe because crabs and shrimp are food.

Fairy and Flasher wrasses are the ultimate reef safe fish IMHO. They come in all colors of the rainbow (somtimes all on the same fish), eat anything, are very hardy, good citizens, and active/visible swimmers with great personality. Their size makes them perfect for any tank 29 gallons plus (the bigger and deeper the tank the less they are likely to jump.

:guns:

[Dennis7]

I have or had most of the ones mention. True about the firefish, I have 3 that love to hang. Have a lawnmower blenny that eats mysis and brine shrimp besides algae.I love my tangs, each has their own personality(yellow,blue, and Naso). I am surprise no one mention shrimp, they have their own personality too.
ANother forgotten species Chromises, green and blue. A very simple fish but loves the upper end of the tank, and beautiful in their own right, especially when schooling.

[fidojoe]

False Perc. Clowns...my fav...10, they aren't aggressive, they're funny to watch, and they're pretty disease resistant.
Yellow tang...5 cool looking, disease prone, kinda shy(well not my second one, lost the first one to ick) He does poo a lot too, as big as my cat poos, almost, and yes he does eat it, but spits it out most of the time
Coral Beauty...6, not the hardiest...IMO, pretty, disease prone, not very aggresive (lost one of these to ick also)
Potters angel...8 no problems yet, bad ass looking fish, hardy so far, cool colors, non aggressive.
This is all ive had so far.

[PygmyAngel]

My 6-line/Pyjama Wrasse: 10! My very 1st fish in the tank, and still living happily. I would be devastated if something happened to it. It has never shown any sign of disease, performs cleaning functions to other fishes, like a cleaner wrasse/shrimp, fun to watch, absolutely beautiful; adorable eyes w/ lots of personality, it can get a little aggressive w/ other fishes, but never mean, eats everything and anything, doesn't poo a lot, and gets more beautiful by the day....it's been in the tank now 2.5 yrs...
My Coral Beauty Angel: 10 also! This fish has been very good in my tank too - going on 2 yrs and 3mos. Never had attitude or disease prob, very hardy, well-mannered, and a beautfiul dwarf angel. Does not pick on any of my corals, nor fight with other angels. Good community fish and healthy also.
Atlantic Jewel Damsel: .5 This is a very alluring damsel, with bright neon blue spots all over the juvenile, but it is a member of the Giant Damsel Family. This means it grows up to be a very big damsel with attitude...It will move snails and large rocks by carrying them in its mouth and dropping them where it wants them. I cannot keep clams, elegance coral, scolymia, brain coral, or any coral it decides to pick on...and kill. I could have probably bought a 1/2 dzn. 'ultra' clams for the $$ I have lost due to this fish. It is a pretty and hardy fish, but not worth the pain. It is also mean to the other fishes....sigh. It will need to go soon....already been in the tank WAY too long...
Scopas Tang: 10! This tang will be in my tank 2 yrs. as of this coming January. This fish turned out to be a pleasant surprise- orig. bought to deal w/ a hair algae prob. which it did not do... but turned out to be just a great member of the reef in its own right. This fish is a beautiful, peaceful, and healthy fish. They look drab and unhappy in the lfs when I see them, and are not very expensive. When treated and fed well, you will see their true beauty. They are not really brown at all.
Green Clown Goby: 10. Have had this fish over 2 yrs. also. Stays very small. Perfectly behaved, very beautiful green and pink stripes, perches on corals, and stays still for a great photo specimen. Eats a variety, very hardy, only thing is tends to get ich spots frequently.
Maroon clowns: 9.5. Have a breeding pair that have been mating since this past March. They are great and fascinating to watch. But the female can get aggressive with the others, which is understandable. She also will spit at me when I put my hand in the tank ...not so much anymore, but when I 1st put her in, she always made me jump. But they are so cool to watch tending the eggs and such.
Molly Miller Blennies: 8.5. I have 3. They are very behaved and hardy, but they eat and poo A LOT! One is plenty...they are great to watch, though, as they perch way high on the powerheads and rocks.
Lemon Peel Angel: 7. Don't have anymore, as the one I had for a long time disappeared this May, never found out why. This dwarf angel is notorious for being a coral picker, but mine was not. The lemon peel has always been one of my fave reef fishes, in spite of the risk...Well, when mine disappeared I tried to replace it w/ the same, but w/out success. These are a 50/50 chance, I'm afraid: in behavior, hardiness, and personality (doesn't help when you have a mean damsel to bother it, either).
Regal Tang: 7. Very beautiful fish. But so susceptible to ich.
I have had one now for about 5 mos, but tried before with ones that didn't make it. And with this one, I had an ich outbreak when I introduced it to the tank. They are so fragile and susceptible to disease, inc. HLLE, that one has to take great care in providing a good envir. for this fish: compatibility, diet, disease prevention and/or cure, stress mgmt....etc. but the hard work can prove rewarding when it actually gets thru all that crap and really shows how beautiful a healthy regal tang is. This is the longest success I've had w/ one so far. It gets along very well with the Scopas Tang too, as they tend to swim together, like buddies. I've never had HLLE w/ my tangs at all either, and I attribute that to providing their required and varied diet, including vitamin supp. w/ Zoe and Selcon.
Singapore Angel: 6. This fish is one of my newest additions, but is on my crap list right now, since it recently pulled a 'jewel damsel' move, and ate my brand new elegance coral.
Other than that, it gets along well, and is hardy, but it's pissed me off right now, so I am thinking of removing it along with the jewel damsel.
Pygmy Angel: 9, so far. My newest addition. When I first got it, I didn't see it till 4 days after I put it in. I thought it was never to be seen again, but to my surprise, it came out and has been gradually more brave ever since. I thought for sure it fell victim to my jewel damsel, but has proven a worthy opponent, and very beautiful and interesting. It eats and grazes, comes out a lot now, so maybe it will be a 10 eventually, if it stays this way.
Psych. Mandarin: 10, for me. I knew it was a risk to get this fish, but I have such an abundance of pods, and pod-breeding places, and nooks and crannies for this fish and its pods, I felt like I could provide for it. And thus far, it's doing great: been in the tank since early April, going on over 5 mos. now. Still an abundance of pods I have, and still a happy mandarin.
Skunk Clown: 8. This is a VERY hardy fish-was in the LFS for 8 mos. before I bought it. For real. I got tired of seeing it there all the time, so I got it so it wouldn't be an orphan anymore. But when I put my 1st maroon clown in the tank, the skunk clown almost killed it. And it always hides in the shelter of my leather coral. Otherwise, it is well-behaved cuz the maroon clowns are now an aggressive pair. It is healthy and pretty, and doesn't bother anyone, but it doesn't swim around the tank, ever. Hardly ever get to see it...but I think this fish will never die...knock on wood.
Honey Damsel: 6. Another member of the Giant Damsel Family...oh joy. This fish was about 1/4 inch long when I got it in January, and is now HUGE. It is very pretty and hardy, but it eats and poops a lot too, and stays hidden most of the time, but during feeding time, it zooms around like a bat out of hell, and is very skittish. I hardly ever get to see it, but it just keeps growing.
Cleaner Wrasse: 1. I had one that was already grown and used to eating prepared foods in a home reef; it was given to the lfs after they had to move. This was a rare success, as most cleaner wrasses don't make it. Well I got it, and had great success with this fish, too. I was so proud; I had this cleaner wrasse almost a year, and it so cool to watch it clean the other fishes...But I did not have a cover over my tank at the time, & found the fish on the floor one day. That was very sad for me. Well, I tried to duplicate the success I had w/ that cleaner wrasse, but I have not been able to, and after 3 or 4 tries w/ others, I have resigned all hope.
Flameback Angel: 9.5. Don't have this fish anymore either. But it was my 2nd fish in the tank, and followed my 6-line wrasse all over the tank like a puppy; it jumped out too, and I was devastated. It was very healthy and stunning, but did have some aggressive tendencies occasionally. When I had it at the same time w/ the coral beauty and lemon peel, they did not bother each other and made a beautiful trio of dwarf angels. Now, I still have the coral beauty, but of course the other 2 angels are now the Singapore, and the Pgymy...still very pretty, but not the same as having my orig. ones.
Flame Angel: 4. Tried this fish once, and it died suddenly after a month. Would love to have this fish again, but no room, and afraid of the past history of this fish w/ sudden death syndrome, and so many others having the same prob. So, just don't know...
Jawfish: 3. Mine only lasted a very short time. But it was probably due to the environment. My tank is very busy, and it was probably stressful to it. I would love to have one, but I think my tank had too much going on. They need plenty of sand, compatible and peaceful mates, and a caretaker who doesn't mind their burrow-making and special needs.

Well I think that will do it for now. I better go to bed already.

[Brucey]

Wow, PygmyAngel ... that's the longest reply I've ever seen to a post. Good info
Brucey

[L.Baldrey]

Such a good thread and a must read before a purchase...

Id recommend
Cleaner shrimp...lysmata ambionesis..super guys..(10/10)
Bi-Color Blenny- Loved him but he got hit by the powerhead day before yesterday and went to fish heaven :'( (11/10)
Regal Tang - Ich prone but super after acclimating (8/10)

Lyndon

[Craig Manoukian]

Yellow Eyed Kole Tang is best PITA algae, that small green stuff, grazer for your tank. Hardy and active, they constantly patrol the tank cleaning the glass, rock, and sand. A model reef citizen and max size of 7" makes them very attractive for any 48" lateral tank.

:guns:

I second the Red Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. A pair is a must for any tank bigger than 50 gallons!