Fish for aquascapes / Aquascapes for fish

Ardeus · Jan 11, 2019

I am in the process of upgrading my tank and of course it's an opportunity to add some fish.

There's a lot that I find myself taking into consideration when choosing a fish:

- Do I particularly like that fish?
- Will it get along with the existing fish?
- How safe will it be with the corals?
- Is my tank big enough for him?
- Can I feed it easily?

Then there are things that I don't see being considered often and that's the reason I am posting in this section.

A - How will captivity affect this fish?
B - Will it remind me constantly that this tank is a cage?
C - Is my scape adequate for this fish? Can I change my scape to better suit this fish?

A and B make me rule out big swimmers (no matter their size) and large fish. Large fish will make any tank look small.

The question about aquascapes for fish and vice-versa should be given more attention and It's surprising it isn't much discussed. In the freshwater world the match between fish and aquascapes is much taken into account.

If you want a tank packed with coral with little swimming space, perhaps most tangs are not a good idea and yet it's a common combination.

On the other hand, if you want a more minimalistic aquascape, perhaps fish that graze on rock all day and fish that constantly swim in and out of caves are not a good combination.

I find minimalistic aquascapes the hardest to choose fish for.

There should be a list somewhere of fish recommendations based on aquascapes styles.

davocean · Jan 11, 2019

It's a good topic and point, and I agree, people often scape, and then force things to fit it.

So, like I like minimalist scapes, I have a mandarin, and he needs enough rock to hold pods, so I had to compromise and add rock to my scape to suit his needs.

I have a magnifica that needs a perch high up so I had to scape my tank for that from the get go.

And I see people all the time try to decide BB, shallow, or DSB, basing it on denitrification or high flow(BB sps dominant) yet later wonder how they accomidate sand dwellars in a BB, and the like.

The plan needs to be thought out well in advance w/ some thought as to what you really wish to keep.

Ardeus · Jan 11, 2019

I'm on the same boat. I also need a good amount of empty space to rest my eyes somewhere in the tank and I also have a magnifica.

I am upgrading my 36x36x20 cube to a 55x36x24 and I am planning to double the fish population (I only have 13 small fish).

Having over 30 anemones creates an hostile environment for the fish and also has an impact in my fish choices. The clowns and Banggai cardinals are the only fish that can hang around the anemones.

I will have to put all the anemones on one side and the corals on the other. The magnifica also needs her own private area.

Now, combine that with the need of negative space and the fact that I don't want corals or rock next to the glass and the result is a very restricted amount of aquascaping options.

I am sure the fish would prefer a rock wall, but we must find a compromise between their preferences and mine.

Choosing fish for this tank becomes a challenge.