The pros and cons of reef fish

[volitan]

Marine Fish and Inverts I've had over the years (which are not all reef safe):
Red Volitan Lionfish (requires ample live food, a bit disconcerting to stick your hand in the tank)
Foxface (not good if u have corals)
Snowlfake Eel (can climb out if no lid)
Marble Grouper (same live food issue)
Panther Grouper (same live food issue)
Spotted HawkFish (fun to watch as it perches and swoops down, also likes live food)
Blue Damsels (mean.)
Mandarin Goby (like everyone sated already, beautiful but difficult to keep)
Catalina Goby (beautiful colors, but very small and hide a lot)
Tomato Clown (aggressive)
Cinnamon Clown (aggressive)
Lawnmower Blenny (dido with everyone)
Percula Clown (perfect)
Ocellaris Clown (perfect)
Sailfin Tang (great temperament, colors, and immune system)
Copperband Butterfly (my only experience was difficult to feed...tried every kind of food and methods. it didn't really pick at my corals)
Bicolor Angel (beautiful but shy, not a vigorous eater)
Coral Beauty (perfect, mine never nips at corals)
Pygmy Angel (pretty, but shy)
Firefish (I agree with everyone's synopsis, come in a wide array of colors too)
Pseudochromis (aggressive)
Rose and green BTA (beautiful once they get settled)
Serpent Stars (fun to watch, hardy)
Coral Banded Shrimp (females are larger, downfall you can only have one in the same tank, fun to watch tho, molt a lot)
Scarlet Crabs (very reef safe, won't move arrangement)
Blue-Knee Crabs (aggressive, especially toward turbo snails, can knock over live-rock arrangement)
Sally Lightfoot Crab (pretty docile, can annoy anemones)
Arrow Crab (defends itself well considering shape and size)

Currently in my tank are two percula clowns, one coral beauty, one pseudochromis, two serpent stars, and a sail-fin tang aside from all the scarlet crabs, turbo, nassarius, and cerith snails, and corals.

Regarding the wrasses, has anyone ever had luck with the Haliocheres (sp?) wrasse in a reef environment?

[ReefSilly]

(Halichoeres chrysus) Yellow wrasse
I have one and I love him; but he was tank bred.
There are two here one jump out.

[risika67]

True Percula Clown - 10 - Always out in front, great personality, plus adorable!
Royal Gamma - 10 - Beautiful fish and always out in front
3 Stripe Damsel - 3 - I think they are nice looking but as mean as they come. Beat up a few of my fish and inverts that got into "his" area (more than half the tank)
Firefish - 8 - Beautiful but can be a little skittish!
Orange Spotted Goby & Pistol Srimp - 8 - Incrediably fun to watch together though they create sandpiles like it is going out of style!

[jgsensor]

Ok, I'll Play, here's my current list

Black Percs - 8 Cool fish, peaceful, but a bit shy
Yellow tail damsel - 10 beautiful, active and never bothers anyone
Humbug damsel - 6 fun to watch, but took some larger fish to mellow him out
Domino Damsel - -5 the spawn of Satan
Dragon Goby - 7 Great sand sifter
Coral Beauty - 7 Nice Colors, hasn't bothered the corals, but hides a lot
Royal gramma - 9 Awesome colors, always out and peaceful
Diadema Pseudo - 7 Good color, peaceful, but hides in the rock a lot
Chromis - 7 fun to watch, but fight amongst themselfs to limit the numbers
Copperband - 8 Beautiful fish eats everything but aptasia
Raccoon Butterfly - 9 Awesomely beautiful fish, great aptasia eater and so far hasn't touched the corals
Pearlscale Butterfly - 5 good aptasia eater, don't trust him around the corals
Foxface - 10 Beautiful peaceful fish
Orangespot Foxface - 6 cool fish, just not sure I trust him, but I haven't caught him at anything yet (grows fast and gets huge)
Blueline Wrasse - 9 comical fish, but can be hard to keep
Ornate wrasse - 8 beautiful but alusive
Carpenters wrasse - 10 beautiful
Niger Trigger - 9 Awesome, but snails sometimes hate him
Flame Hawk - 9 comical fun to watch, but likes shrimp
Yellow Tang - 10 Peaceful and beautiful
Purple Tang - 10 See above, but a bit more moody
White Check Tang - 11 Love it, but sometimes shy
Indian Mimic Tang - 10 Nice looking unique fish, likes Ich
Kole Tang - 10 an eating machine
Naso Tang - 15 absolute awesome fish, very active gets big