livestock planning (schooling fish)

OKR Brooks · Mar 28, 2015

I am completely new to reefing and saltwater and am in the process of building my first tank (125 gallon long) and I am researching fish breeds before hand. I know I would like some sort of schooling fish, maybe a group of 3-9 to hang out together as part of my reef, but cannot decide on what type. I don't particularly care for blue/green chromis (which it seems everyone has), I do like some of the anthias, but after further research, I'm not sure that it is the way to go either. I love the stark blue color of the damsels I see at the LFS but continue to hear horror stories about aggressive behavior in damsels. About the only other fish that pops to mind is cardinals but they seem super common as well and would prefer something with brighter coloration. So, I thought I would try my hand at asking this forum if they had a suggestion for a fish breed for me to look into, I would prefer brightly colored and simple to moderate to care for since I am new to the hobby, Thanks in advance for any input.

SeahorseKeeper · Mar 28, 2015

You could do a trio of dartfish:

Are you sure you don't like these guys?

OKR Brooks · Mar 28, 2015

Those are Damsels, correct?

TUSI · Mar 28, 2015

Anthias are most common cause they do better only when they are a large group. Long spine cardinals also is a good choice, some people like a group of yellow tangs. If you have and anenoeme you can have a group of skunk clowns they can look pretty Kool in a tank. Melev reef have them and I think they look amazing.