Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

[Biocube32]

Cool Thread!

I am setting up a 32 gallon biocube. I plan to stock it a little on the heavy side but want a very peaceful tank with sociable fish. I am thinking:
1. Tailspot blenny
2. Yellow watchman goby with pistol shrimp
3. Royal gramma
4. Exquisite firefish or zebra dartfish
5. Carpenter, mccosker, possum, or pink streaked wrasse

I am going for bold colored fish with personality. I do not want a clown, i already have a clown in a seperate tank. I know that some say mccoskers and carpenters need a little bit more space but i really think it would be a great centerpiece fish for the tank because of it’s colors and displaying behavior. I will add corals eventually but right now i have plenty of swimming room with a relatively open scape which i think would be nice for a flasher wrasse. I’ve seen some people online recommend a minimum of 20 gallons for these fish before. LA says 55, but it just seems a bit much to me for something that barely gets to 3” full grown, especially if kept with peaceful tankmates.

I do have a question about the blenny and watchman. Will they fight at all? Also my sand is slightly larger grain than what i am used to, will that be a problem for either? Its the carib sea arag alive hawaiian black sand.

 

[a;lksdjf]

I’ve got a 55g sumpless fowlr. I’m about to get a pair of clownfish into quarantine and am interested in a few of the following to add down the road. Any recommendations, do’s/don’ts, pros/cons, etc? What order should I add things? Also, did I miss anything in my research and add anything too large to live comfortably in a 55g? I won’t be upgrading to a jumbo tank (150g) for at least another year or two.

These are the fish I’ve narrowed down to future possibilities (not all of them, I’m very aware of the dangers of a overstocked tank.)

Royal Gramma (2)
Chromis (3+)
Yellow Prawn Gobi (1)
Pink Spotted Gobi (1)
Yellowhead Jawfish (1)
Blue Dot Jawfish (1)
Black Cap Basslet (1)
Yellow Candy Hogfish (1)
Zebra Barred Dartfish (2-5)
Exquisite Fish

Thanks!

I would only do 1 basslet since both royal grammas and black cap basslets are related, do yellowhead jawfish over a blue dot since blue dots require lower temperatures, and I would only do 1 species of dartfish since they can be aggressive to each other

 

[Jon Fishman]

I am thinking Yellow Tang with a pair of clowns. Lots of color

 

[a;lksdjf]

Cool Thread!

I am setting up a 32 gallon biocube. I plan to stock it a little on the heavy side but want a very peaceful tank with sociable fish. I am thinking:
1. Tailspot blenny
2. Yellow watchman goby with pistol shrimp
3. Royal gramma
4. Exquisite firefish or zebra dartfish
5. Carpenter, mccosker, possum, or pink streaked wrasse

I am going for bold colored fish with personality. I do not want a clown, i already have a clown in a seperate tank. I know that some say mccoskers and carpenters need a little bit more space but i really think it would be a great centerpiece fish for the tank because of it’s colors and displaying behavior. I will add corals eventually but right now i have plenty of swimming room with a relatively open scape which i think would be nice for a flasher wrasse. I’ve seen some people online recommend a minimum of 20 gallons for these fish before. LA says 55, but it just seems a bit much to me for something that barely gets to 3” full grown, especially if kept with peaceful tankmates.

I do have a question about the blenny and watchman. Will they fight at all? Also my sand is slightly larger grain than what i am used to, will that be a problem for either? Its the carib sea arag alive hawaiian black sand.

I would recommend against doing a carpenter or mccosker’s wrasse since they like horizontal swimming room. Definitely go with a possum or pink streaked over a fairy/flasher wrasse. Another good looking wrasse that would do well in that tank is a scarlet pin stripe wrasse. Aside from that the list looks decent. I can’t speak for compatibility between tailspot blenny and watchman goby

 

[becca10]

Hi All,
I have a 57 gal plus sump and have the following in my tank-
Pair of Storm clowns
Midas Blenny
Bonded pair of yellow watchmen w shrimp

What can I add with color and movement? I’m not looking for a crammed tank full of fish, just visually appealing color and movement. TIA

 

[Jon Fishman]

My local shop had me sold on a yellow tang for my 46, but I looked it up and there is no way..... not sure why they said it was fine for my tank size

 

[a;lksdjf]

My local shop had me sold on a yellow tang for my 46, but I looked it up and there is no way..... not sure why they said it was fine for my tank size

Some stores will try to sell you expensive fish to make some money and then tell you they had no idea why it died unfortunately. If it’s a fish only tank, a fish that would do much better in that tank size while also keeping the flat shape and yellow color is a lemonpeel angel

 

[a;lksdjf]

Hi All,
I have a 57 gal plus sump and have the following in my tank-
Pair of Storm clowns
Midas Blenny
Bonded pair of yellow watchmen w shrimp

What can I add with color and movement? I’m not looking for a crammed tank full of fish, just visually appealing color and movement. TIA

Carpenter’s flasher wrasse, McCosker’s flasher wrasse, ruby longfined fairy wrasse, yellow coris wrasse, melanurus wrasse, red-lined wrasse, coral beauty angel, flame angel, or a cherub angel would work in a tank of that size

 

[Steven91]

I have a black leopard wrasse, 4 clarki clowns, tomini tang, dwarf fuzzy lionfish, saddle puffer, foxface and copperband butterfly. I was thinking about adding one more tang, ideally a purple tang, would that be a good idea or bad idea? Its a 120 gal display

 

[becca10]

Carpenter’s flasher wrasse, McCosker’s flasher wrasse, ruby longfined fairy wrasse, yellow coris wrasse, melanurus wrasse, red-lined wrasse, coral beauty angel, flame angel, or a cherub angel would work in a tank of that size

I forgot to mention I have tons of zoas and soft corals, no angels! Will look into the wrasses. Thank you!

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have a black leopard wrasse, 4 clarki clowns, tomini tang, dwarf fuzzy lionfish, saddle puffer, foxface and copperband butterfly. I was thinking about adding one more tang, ideally a purple tang, would that be a good idea or bad idea? Its a 120 gal display

Not a tang expert so could be wrong, but purple tangs can be a rather aggressive member of the surgeon family. A 4’ tank may bring this out more.

 

[Buck]

I have a 180 with the following fish.
2 clowns
Pin tail fairy wrasse
Carpenters wrasse
Potters wrasse
Melanaruss wrasse
Blue hippo tang
Purple tang
Yellow eye kole tang
Citron goby (lives in overflow bc he fits through the weirs, fished him out twice but he keeps going back there.
What other wrasses would be safe to add?
Any other purple fish besides black cap. My wife loves them but they seem to hide a lot?
Thanks in advance

 

[a;lksdjf]

I have a black leopard wrasse, 4 clarki clowns, tomini tang, dwarf fuzzy lionfish, saddle puffer, foxface and copperband butterfly. I was thinking about adding one more tang, ideally a purple tang, would that be a good idea or bad idea? Its a 120 gal display

You could do either a yellow, purple, scopas, convict, mimic lemon peel, or powder brown pretty safely

 

[Steven91]

You could do either a yellow, purple, scopas, convict, mimic lemon peel, or powder brown pretty safely

Awesome, it's gonna be my last fish, I'm somewhat liking the purple and I know I don't want a yellow. Any opinions on the others?

 

[a;lksdjf]

I have a 180 with the following fish.
2 clowns
Pin tail fairy wrasse
Carpenters wrasse
Potters wrasse
Melanaruss wrasse
Blue hippo tang
Purple tang
Yellow eye kole tang
Citron goby (lives in overflow bc he fits through the weirs, fished him out twice but he keeps going back there.
What other wrasses would be safe to add?
Any other purple fish besides black cap. My wife loves them but they seem to hide a lot?
Thanks in advance

You could do a ruby head fairy wrasse, a red-lined wrasse, or a yellow wrasse. As for another purple fish you could do a group of the more purple dartfish, a royal gramma, a bicolor dottyback, a purple dottyback, or a group of Evansi anthias

 

[a;lksdjf]

Awesome, it's gonna be my last fish, I'm somewhat liking the purple and I know I don't want a yellow. Any opinions on the others?

Convict tangs are extremely passive so I would advise against it if your tomini tang is aggressive, but all the rest should be okay at handling themselves, especially since tomini tangs are some of the smallest tangs out there

 

[Steven91]

Convict tangs are extremely passive so I would advise against it if your tomini tang is aggressive, but all the rest should be okay at handling themselves, especially since tomini tangs are some of the smallest tangs out there

Yeah my tomini Tang is kinda small but cute, I might just go the way I was thinking with the purple or the lemon oeel

 

[User]

Any thoughts on a Purple tang, yellow tang (both 3”, introduced together) and a sailfin tang in a 180, moderate amount rockwork. Other fish are 2 onyx perculas, a 4” Mag Foxface, a Randall’s goby and a single dispar anthias.

Will have a plan to rehire the sailfin if I get the impression she’s feeling cramped.

Thanks

 

[a;lksdjf]

Any thoughts on a Purple tang, yellow tang (both 3”, introduced together) and a sailfin tang in a 180, moderate amount rockwork. Other fish are 2 onyx perculas, a 4” Mag Foxface, a Randall’s goby and a single dispar anthias.

Will have a plan to rehire the sailfin if I get the impression she’s feeling cramped.

Thanks

If the sailfin isn’t already established in the tank and you’re introducing it at the same time as the other 2 you should be ok, but if it’s a pre-existing fish it might not take kindly to the 2 new tangs, especially since all 3 are zebrasoma tangs. It could work out, but at the same time it might not

 

[KittenChiu]

I have new-to-me 75 gallon rhat currently has lots of live rock, 3 firefish, 3 clownfish, a royal Gramma, a coral beauty angel, and a flame angel. Also have a bubble tip anemone, a Sally Lightfoot crab, strawberry crab, two pom pom crabs, a peppermint shrimp, a camel shrimp and multiple hermit crabs, and snails. I am looking to put in a blue colored fish, but not sure what would be happy in there. Any suggestions?