Best Hardy/Beginner Fish?

JSkeleton

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I know there's a bunch of lists out there, but I'm looking for a slightly more specific list of suggestions and from various hobbyists :)

I'd like to start with some hardy, easy to take care of saltwater fish. Ones that are less prone to getting sick if possible (I know any fish CAN get sick, but if it's less likely to happen then at least that's an extra layer I hopefully won't have to worry about. And I think I found a shop to buy the fish off of that have great reviews for having great, healthy fish so that's a bonus!)

Clownfish are a given. Always loved them and the fact that they seem to be one of the top recommended and are hardy is a huge plus! Probably start with 2 Clowns. But after that? I have a 55 Gallon by the way. Obviously don't want to overstock. Was looking into maybe a Royal Gramma down the line too(?), but still learning about them!

Also debating adding some snails and/or shrimp and/or hermit crabs but don't know enough about them yet. If you have suggestions for those too I'm all ears! Just nice to have a bit of a clean up crew I guess. Was looking at Trochus Snails since they can turn themselves over I hear, and maybe Blood Red Fire Shrimp if they're also a good choice (unless there's others? again don't know a lot about this category).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/tips/advice! :)

ALSO (not sure if it should be a separate post or not), BEST TEMPERATURE for a saltwater tank?
I'm undecided whether to add coral down the line or not, so just curious if there's a rough best Temp to get my fish used to that a variety of fish and possible coral would be comfortable at?
 
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fishski13

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I would say the best fist that are both hardy and are pretty safe not to get sick are gobies. Most are very hardy and fun to watch.

Some other hardy fish are blennies.

Royal Gramma is another option, however in my experience I have seen multiple of them get bacterial infection that always hits them the worse, not sure if just me.

For a cuc: Snails I would definitely go with trochus and mexican turbos. I would also look into Nassarius or Bumble bee as they eat any left over food. Hermits crabs are a hit or miss, some people say they do nothing and some say they eat algae. I have a few in my tanks. Blood fire shrimp is a good shrimp however most shrimp dont eat algae just leftover food. A cleaner shrimp has the benefit of cleaning fish and are a bit cheaper than blood fire if you are interested. One of the best cuc members in my experience is the conch as they really clean the sand bed and algae.

I think you have a good start. Just make sure you do your own research on everything you buy before purchases

For temperature I run my two tanks at about 77-78 degrees.
 
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JSkeleton

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I would say the best fist that are both hardy and are pretty safe not to get sick are gobies. Most are very hardy and fun to watch.

Some other hardy fish are blennies.

Royal Gramma is another option, however in my experience I have seen multiple of them get bacterial infection that always hits them the worse, not sure if just me.

For a cuc: Snails I would definitely go with trochus and mexican turbos. I would also look into Nassarius or Bumble bee as they eat any left over food. Hermits crabs are a hit or miss, some people say they do nothing and some say they eat algae. I have a few in my tanks. Blood fire shrimp is a good shrimp however most shrimp dont eat algae just leftover food. A cleaner shrimp has the benefit of cleaning fish and are a bit cheaper than blood fire if you are interested. One of the best cuc members in my experience is the conch as they really clean the sand bed and algae.

I think you have a good start. Just make sure you do your own research on everything you buy before purchases

For temperature I run my two tanks at about 77-78 degrees.
Appreciate the response! I assume fish such as gobies and blennies are good with clowns?

That said, quick google search says gobies are notoriously hard to keep?

So Trochus and Mexican Turbos feed on algae, but Nassarius and Bumble Bee snails feed on left over food or?

Maybe I should skip on the hermit crab then or they still cool to have?

As for the Shrimp I guess I would want to choose between the crab or the blood fire shrimp in that case or both bad options? So cleaner Shrimp actually clean the fish themselves?? How's that work? :O Haha Sounds cool!

Can a conch flip itself over or is that something I'll have to be constantly doing? xD

Perfect, 77-78 was what I was going to aim for as well (though during cycling my heater wasn't calibrated and has been stuck at 81 for 3 days, so I'll have to do a water change and add some cooler water).
 

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The family of gobies, Gobiidae, is huge. There are so many gobies! They are definitely not "hard to keep."

There is bound to be a Goby that you find cool and is easy to keep.
 

fishski13

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Appreciate the response! I assume fish such as gobies and blennies are good with clowns?

That said, quick google search says gobies are notoriously hard to keep?

So Trochus and Mexican Turbos feed on algae, but Nassarius and Bumble Bee snails feed on left over food or?

Maybe I should skip on the hermit crab then or they still cool to have?

As for the Shrimp I guess I would want to choose between the crab or the blood fire shrimp in that case or both bad options? So cleaner Shrimp actually clean the fish themselves?? How's that work? :O Haha Sounds cool!

Can a conch flip itself over or is that something I'll have to be constantly doing? xD

Perfect, 77-78 was what I was going to aim for as well (though during cycling my heater wasn't calibrated and has been stuck at 81 for 3 days, so I'll have to do a water change and add some cooler water).
Yeah no most gobies are very hardy and considered beginner fish for that reason. Definitely look into that again.

You are correct with the snail, turbos and trochus feed on algae and nassarius and bumblebee on food.

Hermit crabs is all your choice.

The cleaner shrimp is from the Nemo movie if you have ever watched it, it basically sets up a station and fish know what kind of shrimp it is, and they swim up to it and the shrimp cleans the fish.

Not sure about the conch
 

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I think a lot of people stray away from some of the more aggressive smaller fish that are very hardy, but I would say they are great with the right tank mates.

Certain Dottybacks such as Indigo, Elongate, Sunrise, and Orchid are all great. Just one per tank.

Hawkfish such as Long nose, flame, or falco are great and really fun.

Damsels, such as Azure, yellow tail, Talbot, or Sapphire are all awesome too.

Clowns would mix great with these too. You could do something more unique like a Clarkii.
 

Zionas

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@JSkeleton Oh yours is a standard 55 right? In that case, I would do:
-Pair of Clownfish (Ocellaris, Percula, Pink / Orange Skunk(

-CB Coral Beauty Angelfish (Biota)

-Azure Damselfish

-A basslet of some kind (Royal Gramma, Black Cap, Swissguard etc.) or a Dottyback

-A wrasse (smaller Halichoeres, smaller Fairies etc.)

-Some fish on the substrate / perching fish (Blennies, Gobies, Hawkfish?
 
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JSkeleton

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Yeah no most gobies are very hardy and considered beginner fish for that reason. Definitely look into that again.

You are correct with the snail, turbos and trochus feed on algae and nassarius and bumblebee on food.

Hermit crabs is all your choice.

The cleaner shrimp is from the Nemo movie if you have ever watched it, it basically sets up a station and fish know what kind of shrimp it is, and they swim up to it and the shrimp cleans the fish.

Not sure about the conch
Are there any specific gobies you'd have in mind I could start with in my research? haha

As for the snails, I have a glass canopy and there's like a 1 inch gap in the back I'm not sure how to cover to prevent snails from climbing out of xD I have some hang on back stuff there.

I've seen the movie, but honestly cannot remember the shrimp from the movie haha But that's honestly insanely cool! So cleaner Shrimp sound like a very good thing to have right??
 
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JSkeleton

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I think a lot of people stray away from some of the more aggressive smaller fish that are very hardy, but I would say they are great with the right tank mates.

Certain Dottybacks such as Indigo, Elongate, Sunrise, and Orchid are all great. Just one per tank.

Hawkfish such as Long nose, flame, or falco are great and really fun.

Damsels, such as Azure, yellow tail, Talbot, or Sapphire are all awesome too.

Clowns would mix great with these too. You could do something more unique like a Clarkii.
Thanks! Random question but are Damsels and Hawkfish back fins sharp (they look like pointy razors haha)
 
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JSkeleton

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@JSkeleton Oh yours is a standard 55 right? In that case, I would do:
-Pair of Clownfish (Ocellaris, Percula, Pink / Orange Skunk(

-CB Coral Beauty Angelfish (Biota)

-Azure Damselfish

-A basslet of some kind (Royal Gramma, Black Cap, Swissguard etc.) or a Dottyback

-A wrasse (smaller Halichoeres, smaller Fairies etc.)

-Some fish on the substrate / perching fish (Blennies, Gobies, Hawkfish?
Thanks! Those Wrasses look super colourful! Was definitely heavily considering a Royal Gramma.

So all the ones you named are typically hardy, less prone to stress/disease, and can get along with each other?
 

Zionas

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Yeah these generally have a Hardy reputation, not saying things can’t happen (they do) but they’re on the Hardy end of the spectrum. If you get a Halichoeres you need a sand bed. Also if you go down the Dottyback route I would not place any other basslets like the Royal Gramma with it, so you’ll have to make a choice there. Compatibility should not be too big of an issue as these fish look relatively different from each other and the species are fairly standard for the hobby.
 

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