The pros and cons of reef fish

[tankgirl]

Doesn't it seem like there's some problem or other with any fish you keep? Here's the list of problems I've encountered with different reef fish and how I rate them on a scale of 1 to 10;

Damsels: They're aggressive little monsters who harass other fish endlessly. (my vote; 0)

Clowns: they bite when you put your hand in the tank. (I've discovered a solution to this; I wear tank gloves whenever I put my hands in the tank - for about 6 weeks. The clowns learn that biting doesn't work, and they stop trying). (my vote; 8)

Anthias: they need a constant supply of micro life (copepods, etc) to thrive. So, they only do well in mature systems. (mv; 8)

Wrasses: they're hyper little boogers and they eat or harass shrimp. (at least some of them do). They also hide out a lot, so you don't get to watch them. (mv; 7)

Tangs: they poop massive amounts and then eat it. Ewwww. And, you have to feed them several times a day, so they can poop even more. (mv; 7)

Butterfly fish: not reef safe. (mv; 5)

Angels: not reef safe. (mv; 2)

Mandarins: specialized diets and they die after a few months from starvation. (mv; 0)

Gobys: Some of them hide out and disturb the SB, but mostly they're pretty good reef fish. (mv; 7)

Blennys: Great fish, but they peck at corals. (mv;8)

That's about it for fish I've had; What your vote for various fish?

[witfull]

firefish goby: great is groups, always out front, nice colorationthat changes with lighting, easy feeders, totally nonagressive. my vote:9

[Woodstock]

Blue tang: beautiful, mild mannered, long lived, eats bubble algae, bristle worms, but is prone to disease; MV 8

blue damsel: pretty, long lived, disease resistant, a bit aggressive sometimes but not always; MV 7

Ocelleris: beautiful, mild mannered, long lived, disease resistant; MV 9

Yellow tang: beautiful, a bit aggressive, algae grazer, long lived, prone to disease; MV 7

Mandarin: beautiful, shy, resrticted pod diet but long lived with sufficient live rock; MV 7

domino: pretty, extremely aggressive, long lived, disease resistant; MV -1

[MRedman]

Mandarins in large tanks with plentiful live rock - 10
Friendly clownfish 10
Yellow, kole, purple, blue, sailfin tangs - 10
Firefish gobies - 10
Schooling chromis - 10
Most pseudochromis - 2 (most are very mean)
Powder blue tang 10 looks, 5 for disposition and ich attraction
Clown and sohal tang 10 looks, 2 for aggression
Royal grammas - 10
Bengaii cardinals - 10
Coral beauty angels (and other dwarf angels) - 10 if they are reef safe, otherwise 0
Fairy wrasses - 10 (except if you have two males of one species)

Sorry for all my high rankings, I am just an optimist when it comes to reefing.

Mike

[zxanth]

-lawnmower blenny-8 eats algae and has lots of character
-its not a fish but green brittle star- 2 nice to look at but eats fish
-bengaii cardinals- 9 out in front, and reproduce a lot
-coral beauty- 6 cool colors, picked on my anenome until it tore it, leaves my corals alone though (weird)
-clowns -10 cool swimmers and very hardy
-yellow tang- 8 nice colors, eats algea but gets really big
-royal grammas-9 nice colors, good temperment
-yellowhead blenny- 3 cool colors, nice living habit (want one), JUMPERS

those are my tank inhabitants

[curtswearing]

lawnmower blenny - 0
Bicolor blenny +10

I don't own a bicolor anymore but boy did Gilroy have personality.

If you notice my signature, you will see I have a lawnmower blenny named snapper (a brand of lawnmower). Why would I rate them as a 0. Simple really. Most of them are captured later in life and cannot convert to prepared foods. Once the algae is gone, they slowly starve. At the time, I was ignorant but lucky. Please don't buy one. I watched my LMB eat at my LFS (which is one of my tests), but I didn't realize at the time how many die vs how many live). Please don't buy one.

Tankgirl---thanks for your post. Until today, I never realized I needed to update my sig.

[witfull]

do anemones count? well in my tank they do
carpet anemone, beauty with a hint of danger mv-10
any crab...well ya'll know my feelings...lol

[curtswearing]

Wit, I always thought you had no opinions regarding crabs. I am SHOCKED....YES I'M SHOCKED THAT YOU ARE NOW EXPRESSING AN OPINION REGARDING CRABS.

j/k

[MRedman]

I have four emerald crabs, including a large male with BIG pincers; to date, all have been reef safe!

The anemone/porcelain crabs are very entertaining when they "fan" for food.

Mike

[tankgirl]

Really fun to read everyone's ratings!!!

witfull, I'm gonna have to try a firefish goby, sometime.

Woodstock & zxanth; thanks So much for reminding me how wonderful royal grammas are!! I forgot to include them.

Hah! Mike, you are a lovely optimist. All your tens! For me, an 8 is very high. A 10 would be a perfect fish that never pecked at corals or got sick or harassed other fish, ate flake food, etc.

Great info, curts! I didn't know that about lmbs. Will not buy one!