Help with stocking Waterbox 100.3

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Hey,
I have a WaterBox 100.3 which is a 3 foot, 70 gallon display tank with a 30 gallon sump.
The current occupants of the tank are a pair of ocellaris clownfish, a gold head sleeper goby and a yellow assessor. I have a possum wrasse and a tailspot blenny on hold at my LFS until they come out of QT/observation. I just rehomed a scarlet pinstripe wrasse that I got for pest control and became incredibly aggressive, which is why I'm getting the possum wrasse, due to their similar pest eating ability.

I need some help deciding on some other peaceful, reef safe fish that are available in Australia. (We don't have as much selection as other countries.)
I've estimated that I could probably have about 11-12 small sized fish in total, but if not please let me know. I have an oversized skimmer, 2 filter socks, a sump full of established live rock, and I do a twice-weekly 5 gallon WC.

This is my stocking list.
1. Ocellaris clown pair
2. Gold head sleeper goby
3. Yellow assessor
4. Possum wrasse
5. Tailspot blenny
6. Green coral goby

Some other fish I was interested in were pajama cardinalfish, flame hawkfish, sunburst anthias, halichoeres wrasse, lubbock's wrasse, carpenter flasher wrasse, zebra barred dartfish, lineatus wrasse, aiptasia filefish, exquisite fairy wrasse, pink streaked wrasse.
Obviously I'm not looking to get all these fish, but I would apreciate any advice on these ones, or any other suggestions you might have.
Thanks

 

[blaxsun]

11-12 fish is totally doable. I'd nix the aiptasia filefish as it will go after your corals if there is no aiptasia present. @i cant think is the resident wrasse expert - so he can let you know best about compatibility. All the other fish you listed are fine (just subject to wrasse compatibility).

 

[i cant think]

Hey,
I have a WaterBox 100.3 which is a 3 foot, 70 gallon display tank with a 30 gallon sump.
The current occupants of the tank are a pair of ocellaris clownfish, a gold head sleeper goby and a yellow assessor. I have a possum wrasse and a tailspot blenny on hold at my LFS until they come out of QT/observation. I just rehomed a scarlet pinstripe wrasse that I got for pest control and became incredibly aggressive, which is why I'm getting the possum wrasse, due to their similar pest eating ability.

I need some help deciding on some other peaceful, reef safe fish that are available in Australia. (We don't have as much selection as other countries.)
I've estimated that I could probably have about 11-12 small sized fish in total, but if not please let me know. I have an oversized skimmer, 2 filter socks, a sump full of established live rock, and I do a twice-weekly 5 gallon WC.

This is my stocking list.
1. Ocellaris clown pair
2. Gold head sleeper goby
3. Yellow assessor
4. Possum wrasse
5. Tailspot blenny
6. Green coral goby

Some other fish I was interested in were pajama cardinalfish, flame hawkfish, sunburst anthias, halichoeres wrasse, lubbock's wrasse, carpenter flasher wrasse, zebra barred dartfish, lineatus wrasse, aiptasia filefish, exquisite fairy wrasse, pink streaked wrasse.
Obviously I'm not looking to get all these fish, but I would apreciate any advice on these ones, or any other suggestions you might have.
Thanks

Most of those wrasses should get along however just a warning;
Possum Wrasses are not good for hunting pests. They will do it but not to the extent other wrasses do.

The Halichoeres Wrasse needs some specification, some species are downright nasty, some are 50/50 and others are going to go in and be just fine. The Lubbocki and Carpenters should get along with caution of which variant of Lubbock you want. Do you want the Indo or the Cebu? The Cebu variant is slightly more pushy than the Indo IME. The Lineatus Wrasse assuming it’s Cirrhilabrus lineatus is going to be much more pushy than other Cirrhilabrus and due to the size they get, they want Atleast a 4’ tank to be happy long term and not being feisty (Even 4’ I’d say is a bit on the small side for the larger fairies that swim a lot like Lineatus). The Exquisite Wrasse will go in and be fine with everyone else, I would personally try and get the Vanuatu variation of this species. The only issue I see here is if you grab a Cebu Lubbocki you’ll want to put this species in first as they don’t always do well going in last. And the Pink Streak will want to be in before everything else, even the other fish. These guys are easily startled and even the smallest amount of aggression towards these guys will send them into a decline instantly. I wouldn’t add any other fish until you get a pink streak in personally.

So order of introduction for the wrasses I would personally do;
Pink Streak (Ideally get that in now, any later and it may be in too active of a tank to thrive),
Exquisite Fairy & Carpenter’s Flasher (Get these in together as they will settle better as they are also startled easily IME).
Lubbock’s Fairy (Get this in later as both variants are pushy but the Cebu is just slightly more pushy)
Halichoeres Wrasse (More specification on species is needed but it should be alright added last in any circumstance)

And I’d personally replace the Lineatus Fairy with another species of sand sleeping wrasse, don’t restrict yourself to just Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus and Halichoeres, branch out into Anampses, Macropharyngodon, Pseudojuloides, and Xenojulis.

I’m in the UK so what’s available here is vastly different to over there so here’s just a list of the most common species I’d recommend you look into;
Macropharyngodon bipartitus
Macropharyngodon meleagris
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Anampses neoguinaicus
Anampses melagrides
Anampses lineatus
Halichoeres leucoxanthus
Halichoeres chrysus
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres marginatus
Halichoeres richmondi
Halichoeres biocellatus
Pseudojuloides severnsi
Pseudojuloides splendens
Xenojulis margaritaceus

One warning on Pseudojuloides is they are a needier genus and don’t do too well in captivity (Albeit they can be kept). I left that genus in there as I don’t know whether you want a challenge or not.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Most of those wrasses should get along however just a warning;
Possum Wrasses are not good for hunting pests. They will do it but not to the extent other wrasses do.

The Halichoeres Wrasse needs some specification, some species are downright nasty, some are 50/50 and others are going to go in and be just fine. The Lubbocki and Carpenters should get along with caution of which variant of Lubbock you want. Do you want the Indo or the Cebu? The Cebu variant is slightly more pushy than the Indo IME. The Lineatus Wrasse assuming it’s Cirrhilabrus lineatus is going to be much more pushy than other Cirrhilabrus and due to the size they get, they want Atleast a 4’ tank to be happy long term and not being feisty (Even 4’ I’d say is a bit on the small side for the larger fairies that swim a lot like Lineatus). The Exquisite Wrasse will go in and be fine with everyone else, I would personally try and get the Vanuatu variation of this species. The only issue I see here is if you grab a Cebu Lubbocki you’ll want to put this species in first as they don’t always do well going in last. And the Pink Streak will want to be in before everything else, even the other fish. These guys are easily startled and even the smallest amount of aggression towards these guys will send them into a decline instantly. I wouldn’t add any other fish until you get a pink streak in personally.

So order of introduction for the wrasses I would personally do;
Pink Streak (Ideally get that in now, any later and it may be in too active of a tank to thrive),
Exquisite Fairy & Carpenter’s Flasher (Get these in together as they will settle better as they are also startled easily IME).
Lubbock’s Fairy (Get this in later as both variants are pushy but the Cebu is just slightly more pushy)
Halichoeres Wrasse (More specification on species is needed but it should be alright added last in any circumstance)

And I’d personally replace the Lineatus Fairy with another species of sand sleeping wrasse, don’t restrict yourself to just Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus and Halichoeres, branch out into Anampses, Macropharyngodon, Pseudojuloides, and Xenojulis.

I’m in the UK so what’s available here is vastly different to over there so here’s just a list of the most common species I’d recommend you look into;
Macropharyngodon bipartitus
Macropharyngodon meleagris
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Anampses neoguinaicus
Anampses melagrides
Anampses lineatus
Halichoeres leucoxanthus
Halichoeres chrysus
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres marginatus
Halichoeres richmondi
Halichoeres biocellatus
Pseudojuloides severnsi
Pseudojuloides splendens
Xenojulis margaritaceus

One warning on Pseudojuloides is they are a needier genus and don’t do too well in captivity (Albeit they can be kept). I left that genus in there as I don’t know whether you want a challenge or not.

Thanks, I was thinking about a yellow coris or iridis wrasse, but I've heard that the iridis wrasse can be more difficult to keep than other halichoeres wrasse, has this been your experience? My LFS isn't able to get pink streaked wrasse in for ages if not ever, so I don't think that they will make it into this tank. I'm not sure which variant the lubbocks wrasse is, but not as keen on them as other wrasse.
I like the xenojulis margaritaceus, but I can't find much info on them, are you able to point me in the right direction?
I've seen that most Macropharyngodon are quite difficult to keep, but I'm not sure why, could you please help me with some info on them?

 

[i cant think]

Thanks, I was thinking about a yellow coris or iridis wrasse, but I've heard that the iridis wrasse can be more difficult to keep than other halichoeres wrasse, has this been your experience? My LFS isn't able to get pink streaked wrasse in for ages if not ever, so I don't think that they will make it into this tank. I'm not sure which variant the lubbocks wrasse is, but not as keen on them as other wrasse.
I like the xenojulis margaritaceus, but I can't find much info on them, are you able to point me in the right direction?
I've seen that most Macropharyngodon are quite difficult to keep, but I'm not sure why, could you please help me with some info on them?

I can absolutely help you with info on all of these fish. Information on the Gold Nuggets is a PITA to come across as even though they were common as muck last year nobody seemed to have learnt more about them.

Halichoeres iridis is not any more difficult than any other Halichoeres once settled. However the settling period is what makes them so called ‘Expert Only’. They generally don’t adapt well when brought into the fish stores or when shipped. However if you get them from a local fish store and make sure they’re feeding and don’t have mouth damage then I find that most of the time it’s an easy sail from there. They will hide in the sand when newly introduced but they don’t hide for much longer than maybe 2 weeks IME. Obviously this can and likely will vary depending on specimen.

Macropharyngodon are labelled as ‘Expert Only’ or ‘Difficult’ because of them not shipping well, they can come in with internal parasites and not really feed too well. However with the more common species like Bipartitus, Meleagris, Ornatus were able to get them feeding much easier as they’ve been in the hobby longer so we know more on their behaviour. Species like Choati haven’t really been brought into the west much in the past so we can still struggle with them but for the south east I assume you’ll get them in quite a bit as they’re native to Australia so you likely can get them established easier.

Xenojulis margaritaceus is one of 8 species I currently own so feel free to ask any questions (Some I may not know the answer to as she’s only been with me since March).

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

I can absolutely help you with info on all of these fish. Information on the Gold Nuggets is a PITA to come across as even though they were common as muck last year nobody seemed to have learnt more about them.

Halichoeres iridis is not any more difficult than any other Halichoeres once settled. However the settling period is what makes them so called ‘Expert Only’. They generally don’t adapt well when brought into the fish stores or when shipped. However if you get them from a local fish store and make sure they’re feeding and don’t have mouth damage then I find that most of the time it’s an easy sail from there. They will hide in the sand when newly introduced but they don’t hide for much longer than maybe 2 weeks IME. Obviously this can and likely will vary depending on specimen.

Macropharyngodon are labelled as ‘Expert Only’ or ‘Difficult’ because of them not shipping well, they can come in with internal parasites and not really feed too well. However with the more common species like Bipartitus, Meleagris, Ornatus were able to get them feeding much easier as they’ve been in the hobby longer so we know more on their behaviour. Species like Choati haven’t really been brought into the west much in the past so we can still struggle with them but for the south east I assume you’ll get them in quite a bit as they’re native to Australia so you likely can get them established easier.

Xenojulis margaritaceus is one of 8 species I currently own so feel free to ask any questions (Some I may not know the answer to as she’s only been with me since March).

Yeah, choati is I think one of the most common leopard wrasse here. I see them pretty regularly at my LFS. I'm not actually sure on their scientific names, but my LFS had a green leopard and a black leopard. I do quite like the blue star as well, are there any major concerns with this one, or are they relatively easy to keep?
Back to the gold nugget, just basic care info, like what do they eat, how big a tank do they need, are they aggressive, do they need a sandbed? I've seen pictures of them, and they're absolutely gorgeous, but since you have one, do they actually look like that in person or are their images heavily doctored?

 

[i cant think]

Yeah, choati is I think one of the most common leopard wrasse here. I see them pretty regularly at my LFS. I'm not actually sure on their scientific names, but my LFS had a green leopard and a black leopard. I do quite like the blue star as well, are there any major concerns with this one, or are they relatively easy to keep?
Back to the gold nugget, just basic care info, like what do they eat, how big a tank do they need, are they aggressive, do they need a sandbed? I've seen pictures of them, and they're absolutely gorgeous, but since you have one, do they actually look like that in person or are their images heavily doctored?

My Gold Nugget is female however I’ve seen several males and yes they look identical to most of the photos out there!
The females you’ll see are very green and don’t look all that nice but they will transition to males and look gorgeous.
Feeding, it’s very similar to the Macropharyngodon as they will take a short period to adjust (Usually the LFS suffers that period and you don’t have that issue). They will eat essentially anything once adapted. In terms of tank size, I’d say yours is a good size for this fish - I wouldn’t personally go anything below maybe 55G.
In terms of aggression, I have 6 other wrasse and between her and my naoko, they are by far the most peaceful and just mind their own business.

The Black Leopard is M. negrosensis and the Green I believe is M. ornatus which both are good starter species, the Blue Star (M. bipartitus) is in my experience the easiest of the leopards with the meleagris coming in second. They’re easy as pie to settle into captivity. Negrosensis is I’d say 3rd purely because I’ve worked (and still do) in an LFS and they are a PITA to get settled and not have issues with the mouths.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

My Gold Nugget is female however I’ve seen several males and yes they look identical to most of the photos out there!
The females you’ll see are very green and don’t look all that nice but they will transition to males and look gorgeous.
Feeding, it’s very similar to the Macropharyngodon as they will take a short period to adjust (Usually the LFS suffers that period and you don’t have that issue). They will eat essentially anything once adapted. In terms of tank size, I’d say yours is a good size for this fish - I wouldn’t personally go anything below maybe 55G.
In terms of aggression, I have 6 other wrasse and between her and my naoko, they are by far the most peaceful and just mind their own business.

The Black Leopard is M. negrosensis and the Green I believe is M. ornatus which both are good starter species, the Blue Star (M. bipartitus) is in my experience the easiest of the leopards with the meleagris coming in second. They’re easy as pie to settle into captivity. Negrosensis is I’d say 3rd purely because I’ve worked (and still do) in an LFS and they are a PITA to get settled and not have issues with the mouths.

Thanks, that's the info I was needing! I love the look of the female gold nugget wrasse as well, they're the type of fish that makes other fish stand out while still looking pretty good themselves.
With the leopard wrasse, you reckon that the blue star leopard is the best bet? I've wanted one for ages, but everything I look at says expert only, so I discounted them as an option.
If I were to get my hands on a blue star, you say they adapt pretty well to captivity, so by the time I got one from the LFS it should be eating, and doing alright in a tank.

 

[i cant think]

Thanks, that's the info I was needing! I love the look of the female gold nugget wrasse as well, they're the type of fish that makes other fish stand out while still looking pretty good themselves.
With the leopard wrasse, you reckon that the blue star leopard is the best bet? I've wanted one for ages, but everything I look at says expert only, so I discounted them as an option.
If I were to get my hands on a blue star, you say they adapt pretty well to captivity, so by the time I got one from the LFS it should be eating, and doing alright in a tank.

from what I’ve seen, they put them as Expert Only to show that if something happens then it’s not their own fault and it’s simply the fish (which most of the time it is simply that fish that has an issue).

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Also, possum wrasse are not very common here, and this is the first time I've seen them in person, (I don't buy fish online), and I've seen some conflicting information about whether they are a 'hardy' fish or not.
Do you have any experience or advice about this fish?

 

[i cant think]

Also, possum wrasse are not very common here, and this is the first time I've seen them in person, (I don't buy fish online), and I've seen some conflicting information about whether they are a 'hardy' fish or not.
Do you have any experience or advice about this fish?

I have some experience with them (I’ve been trying to find a pair of tanakai for a while now but I’ve not even seen a single specimen). Generally they are easy once past the QT and settling in period. Considering your LFS is holding it for you, I’d say you’ll be safe with it and it should be just fine.

 

[jp_75]

I’m sorry to hijack the thread! How long is too long for Iridis to hide in sand? Long story short: i received small one 2 days ago and still hiding. Fish was Qt for couple of weeks. Currently in tank-wrasses : H. Timor , Black Leopard. The only bossy fish in system: Starcki Damsel and Longnose Hawkfish. Thx

 

[i cant think]

I’m sorry to hijack the thread! How long is too long for Iridis to hide in sand? Long story short: i received small one 2 days ago and still hiding. Fish was Qt for couple of weeks. Currently in tank-wrasses : H. Timor , Black Leopard. The only bossy fish in system: Starcki Damsel and Longnose Hawkfish. Thx

I’d say a few months isn’t unexpected for any sand sleeper to hide. Most of the time these fish will emerge to die and don’t stay submerged to die.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Just wanted to double check that this stocking is okay, it'll be 11-12 fish in total, and they all occupy different parts of the tank, so I don't think that there will be any aggression from that side of it.

1, 2. Ocellaris clown pair
3. Gold head sleeper goby
4. Yellow assessor
5. Yellow banded possum wrasse
6. Tailspot blenny
7. Green coral goby - might cut this one out until I have a species nano set up, I don't want such a small fish to get lost or overlooked. Hoping to do that sometime this year.
8. Iridis wrasse
9. Blue star leopard wrasse
10, 11, 12. Pair or trio of pajama cardinals - I heard that they do better in groups than the bangaii, is this true?
If possible I would love to get a flame hawk again, but it's hit and miss with whether or not they're peaceful, so I'm not sure whether I want to risk it.

Does this stocking look alright, is it overstocked? There are fish that I'm not definitively wed to getting, so if that's the case there are fish I could cut out.
Thanks

 

[i cant think]

Just wanted to double check that this stocking is okay, it'll be 11-12 fish in total, and they all occupy different parts of the tank, so I don't think that there will be any aggression from that side of it.

1, 2. Ocellaris clown pair
3. Gold head sleeper goby
4. Yellow assessor
5. Yellow banded possum wrasse
6. Tailspot blenny
7. Green coral goby - might cut this one out until I have a species nano set up, I don't want such a small fish to get lost or overlooked. Hoping to do that sometime this year.
8. Iridis wrasse
9. Blue star leopard wrasse
10, 11, 12. Pair or trio of pajama cardinals - I heard that they do better in groups than the bangaii, is this true?
If possible I would love to get a flame hawk again, but it's hit and miss with whether or not they're peaceful, so I'm not sure whether I want to risk it.

Does this stocking look alright, is it overstocked? There are fish that I'm not definitively wed to getting, so if that's the case there are fish I could cut out.
Thanks

That stocking looks just fine, I wouldn’t say you’re overstocked as I know some people with the same size tank but with 20+ fish in it.

As for the Green Clown Goby, you think they’re small until they grow. These guys don’t just vanish, they will be there. The other thing you’ll want to do is have a reef where not everything is seen in one look, you want 2-3 large fish that bring you in and then 6-9 smaller fish that keep you wanting to look at the tank. This will be the best thing you can possibly do to keep the reef looking natural.

The Pyjama vs Bangaii Cardinals is true, this is because of their natural behaviours. In the wild, Pyjama cardinals don’t tend to separate from eachother into pairs and generally stay as one big group throughout their whole life. Whilst Bangaii Cardinals in the wild will stay as a large group hiding in Long Spine Urchins as juveniles but once they mature, they will pair off and go to their own long spine urchins and if any are left it tends to be that the pair remaining with that third kills off the third.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

That stocking looks just fine, I wouldn’t say you’re overstocked as I know some people with the same size tank but with 20+ fish in it.

As for the Green Clown Goby, you think they’re small until they grow. These guys don’t just vanish, they will be there. The other thing you’ll want to do is have a reef where not everything is seen in one look, you want 2-3 large fish that bring you in and then 6-9 smaller fish that keep you wanting to look at the tank. This will be the best thing you can possibly do to keep the reef looking natural.

The Pyjama vs Bangaii Cardinals is true, this is because of their natural behaviours. In the wild, Pyjama cardinals don’t tend to separate from eachother into pairs and generally stay as one big group throughout their whole life. Whilst Bangaii Cardinals in the wild will stay as a large group hiding in Long Spine Urchins as juveniles but once they mature, they will pair off and go to their own long spine urchins and if any are left it tends to be that the pair remaining with that third kills off the third.

Thanks.
The fish that I figured are probably going to end up being the 'show piece' fish are the Iridis Wrasse and the Blue Star Wrasse. I think that the Clownfish and the Pajama Cardinals will be in between the larger fish and smaller fish.
The others like the Tailspot Blenny, Possum Wrasse, Yellow Assessor, Sleeper Goby, Green Clown Goby, are more background fish that you'll notice, but have to really focus to look at.

I'm going to get a trio of Pajama Cardinals, because I like their swimming patterns and how peaceful they are towards each other. I wanted a school of fish, and while these don't school, they are the closest I can get without them killing each other off.

Do you have any suggestions for fast growing soft corals that could fill my aquascape out nicely? I'm picking up some Green Sinularia, a Zoa rock and some Firework Clove Polyps. I have a peach coloured Toadstool, some Mushrooms and Zoa frags.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Just giving an update, I picked up a yellow banded possum wrasse yesterday, it's eating well and isn't showing much stress which is good. It spent the night on the sandbed, and I thought it was dead, but it's not. I was worried about acclimating it as they are more sensitive.
I made a couple changes to my stocking list, because of inability to find the fish or dietary needs.
The tailspot blenny has been changed to a tiger blenny, because the tigers are more affordable, have near identical personalities, and the tailspot is a little bit of an overreach in terms of pricing atm.
The green clown goby has been very difficult for my LFS to find, and when they do get some in, they don't take to food very well.
I've changed the iridis wrasse to a melanurus/chrysus wrasse, because my LFS can't locate any for me, which is a bit disappointing, but there are other fish in the sea!
I've taken the blue star leopard wrasse off for the time being, as I don't think my current tank will become established enough, I'm hoping to upgrade my tank or get an additional larger one to make it easier to keep fish with specific dietary requirements. I've put the gold nugget wrasse in it's place as a similar looking fish that is not as difficult to keep.

I've seen a pink margin fairy wrasse, which was a really nice looking fish, if that would be an option?
Also, @i cant think , I saw that you had a black clown goby in your nano tank, how did it go, was it overly difficult to get eating? I really like this one, if you could give me any info on it that would be great.

 

[i cant think]

Just giving an update, I picked up a yellow banded possum wrasse yesterday, it's eating well and isn't showing much stress which is good. It spent the night on the sandbed, and I thought it was dead, but it's not. I was worried about acclimating it as they are more sensitive.
I made a couple changes to my stocking list, because of inability to find the fish or dietary needs.
The tailspot blenny has been changed to a tiger blenny, because the tigers are more affordable, have near identical personalities, and the tailspot is a little bit of an overreach in terms of pricing atm.
The green clown goby has been very difficult for my LFS to find, and when they do get some in, they don't take to food very well.
I've changed the iridis wrasse to a melanurus/chrysus wrasse, because my LFS can't locate any for me, which is a bit disappointing, but there are other fish in the sea!
I've taken the blue star leopard wrasse off for the time being, as I don't think my current tank will become established enough, I'm hoping to upgrade my tank or get an additional larger one to make it easier to keep fish with specific dietary requirements. I've put the gold nugget wrasse in it's place as a similar looking fish that is not as difficult to keep.

I've seen a pink margin fairy wrasse, which was a really nice looking fish, if that would be an option?
Also, @i cant think , I saw that you had a black clown goby in your nano tank, how did it go, was it overly difficult to get eating? I really like this one, if you could give me any info on it that would be great.

I wouldn’t do a pink margin - Those guys are known for becoming nasty with other fairies and flashers.

I still have that black clown goby! He was the easiest fish to get feeding and I’ve had him for 2 years now.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

I wouldn’t do a pink margin - Those guys are known for becoming nasty with other fairies and flashers.

I still have that black clown goby! He was the easiest fish to get feeding and I’ve had him for 2 years now.

Yeah, I thought the pink margins would be nasty, they look a lot like the lineatus, which you said are also pretty aggressive.
Thanks, that's super helpful, I'll try and find a black clown goby, seem like a nice fish, I really hope I can get my hands on one. If not, I'll go for a yellow clown goby.

I saw a blue flasher wrasse (not sure of the scientific name), at my LFS, and it had a pretty greenish blue colour to it, but when I looked them up, all the pictures were red, was the one I saw flashing, or was it a different fish all together?

I saw a group of zebra barred dartfish at my LFS as well as some pajama cardinals, and I was considering which to get, I like the look of both, but I think the cardinals might be better in the tank, because there aren't a crazy amount of hidey holes for the dartfish.
My reefer friend tried to talk me back into the leopard wrasse, but I can't decide which I like more, the blue star leopard or the gold nugget.
I also love the flame hawkfish, and have seen many great experiences with them, but I've also heard that they can turn mean and bully or eat smaller fish. Do you have any knowledge about this or whether they would be an okay addition or not?

I'm having a really hard time deciding between these specific options, and I really need to have a 'set in stone' list, so something like this doesn't happen. If you could provide any insight, or help with this I would really appreciate it, I find it really hard to make decisions like this.