fish pairs and multiples in a 150g

[cba191]

I'm setting up a 150g tank and want to focus on pairs. What fish will pair up? I'm thinking maybe Genicanthus, pyramid butterflies (?) and some anthias. Is this a bad idea? What other fish should I look at?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@i cant think

 

[RobertK]

I like my pair of captive bred royal grammas.

 

[PleaseThink]

I'm setting up a 150g tank and want to focus on pairs. What fish will pair up? I'm thinking maybe Genicanthus, pyramid butterflies (?) and some anthias. Is this a bad idea? What other fish should I look at?

A 150 gal tank would look pretty small with one full grown pyramid or genicanthus, I wouldn’t put a group or pair of those larger pelagic feeding fish in long term.

What is the footprint of the tank?



Some pairing / groupings to consider:

Clown fish, probably the easiest and best fish for pairing in reef tanks.

Anthias, classic fish for having a group. In this size tank I would stick with the smaller species. Important to research each species under consideration as this is a large and diverse family.

Chromis and damsels are frequently in these discussions, I tend to advise against them as they have a propensity to whittle themselves down to a pair or single individual. There are some pair forming species that might be worth investigation.

Centropyge, great fish, generally accommodating of pairing in captivity, look for the great guides other users have made on how to and the risks.

Leopard and possum wrasse are frequently kept in groups, and seem to largely avoid the normal wrasse pairing problems.

Fang blennies, many species lots of different colors, often housed in groups but are pair forming. Barnacle blennies also pretty social and commonly housed in groups.

Tile and dart fish, large group with diverse social structures so research first, some are obligate pair forming like firefish, some are pretty tolerant of larger groups like zebra dartfish.

Cardinal fish, like dartfish, some species will only tolerate a mated pair like bangai, some seem to be tolerant of groups, like threadfin and redspot.

Euryhaline nano fish, some, medaka, rainbow fish, guppies and molies, can be acclimated to full saltwater, are Generally tolerant of groups, and much smaller than most similarly behaved marine fish. There are some concerns with acclimation and flow so worth some research before diving in.

Little more difficult to pair but not uncommon are hawkfish pairs, I would recommend finding a vendor or another hobbyist selling a pair unless you have several tanks to try pairing in and separate fish as needed.

Basslets, Gramma, Liopropoma, Lipogramma, Bullisicthys, chalk bass, dottybacks, can live in pairs or groups depending on the species and are great mostly small fish.

Gobies, lots of little gobies out there, some social some not so social so look into the species first. Eviota, trimma, gumdrop families are all worth investigation.

 

[cba191]

A 150 gal tank would look pretty small with one full grown pyramid or genicanthus, I wouldn’t put a group or pair of those larger pelagic feeding fish in long term.

What is the footprint of the tank?

The tank is 48x24x30t

 

[PleaseThink]

The tank is 48x24x30t

Ah a tall 120, gal, foot print wise that’s limiting.

 

[Zionas]

Royal Grammas (and I assume the whole genus), when you say “paired”, does that mean they hang out most of the time together? Any spawning? Or does it mean “2 in one tank and don’t fight?”

Which Centropyge pair?

 

[RobertK]

Royal Grammas (and I assume the whole genus), when you say “paired”, does that mean they hang out most of the time together? Any spawning? Or does it mean “2 in one tank and don’t fight?”

Mine were not paired when introduced, they were introduced as juveniles a few months apart. At first they wanted nothing to do with each other, they did not fight but stayed on opposite sides of the tank. After several months they started hanging out together occasionally. As they grew one became larger and the other remained smaller, and they began spending more time together. Now they hang out together about half the time but are not inseparable like my clowns. They are currently exhibiting what I believe is spawning behavior.

 

[joseph scott]

I can say having a HAREM of Flame dwarf angels, one male two females has worked out wonderfully in my 150 gallon tank with the huge pile of rocks aqua scape type. They do some chasing in circles which is funny because the smallest female sometimes ends up chasing the big male inadvertently. They have even mated just before lights out.

 

[BZOFIQ]

You can put half a dozen of cherub angels, they are perfectly fine together.

Also melenarus wrasse can be done in pairs.