aggressive fish like damsels are best kept in odd numbers, but doing 3 might not disperse aggression enough. what are the dimensions of the tank and how many hiding spots/sight breaks are there?
It's a shallow nano. Water dimensions are 23 x 16 x 8. Tank depth is 12 inches but not all of that is usable.
royal grammas and other basslets, many species of wrasse, flame hawkfish are generally good, but might eat shrimp and crabs if you plan on getting them, some people have success with coral beauties and flame angels in reef tanks, but before you add it you should put a cheap fleshy coral in an isolation tank with it just to be sure, dottybacks are very colorful but can be aggressive, clown gobies, firefish, bicolor and tailspot blennies will all do well in a 65. as for coral, that all depends on care level and how strong your lighting is.Just getting started and learning. What are some colorful fish and coral that would work well in a 65 gallon tank?
Just want some names and ideas to start googling and researching.
Even better if you want to tell me what you have stocked in a similar size tank
live rock can certainly help get your cycle going sooner, but there’s a risk of hitchhikers you may or may not want. the stock list is more than acceptable, but make sure to give the tank at least 6ish months before adding the anemone, since they like tanks that are more established, and there’s no guarantee your clowns will decide to live in it, especially if you get them before the nem. the only thing i would look out for is the peppermint shrimp, as they may bother the anemone.
i would veer away from leopard wrasse bc the 6 cleaner wrasses would probably outcompete it as they are generally obligate copepod eaters. the other 3 would most likely do fine
hello i have the same size tank and imo 7 fish is pushing the bioload, but if you’re willing to keep up with the water changes go for it. melanurus wrasse would do well for most of its life, a flasher wrasse would be happy in this size of tank, but i can’t speak on flashing behavior lol, most chromis do well singly (i’m a fan of the blue greens and the blue reef chromis) but look out for potential aggression between it and the clowns as they grow older as they are both damsels, from what i’ve heard the most reef safe dwarf angels are coral beauties and flames, but whether or not they’ll eat coral is a gamble. if you get one put it in an isolation tank with a cheap lps like a candy cane and watch for nipping, but i am of the opinion that they need a tank that’s a little bit larger, so you might want to try a cherub angel, the only relatively reef safe butterflies need 125+ gallons, and either a goby + pistol shrimp or a bicolor/tailspot blenny would do great (i can personally vouch for tailspots they’re hilarious) but if you do both, gobies and blennies might get aggressive with each other. if you’re getting a diamond goby maybe don’t do a wrasse, since a majority of their diet is microorganisms, and wrasses might outcompete them. if you don’t do a goby + shrimp, you might want to try a valentini puffer. from everything i’ve seen they don’t eat corals and they have wonderful colors and personalities. only downsides to them is you will have to replenish your CUC every once in a while and you need to make sure they get some hard shelled food in their diets to work those teeth down. hope this helpsFirst post here, been lurking for a couple months though. Have got lots of awesome information from others' questions on this thread already, so I figured I'd create an account and post my own question.
46 gallon bowfront DT (36" wide x 16.5" deep in the middle x 20" tall), with 40 pounds of Arag-Alive sand and 40 pounds of CaribSea South Seas dry rock. Cycled with Seachem Stability. Have a pair of Koralia 850's running and filter is a Fluval 407 cannister running with mechanical filtration and two of the media baskets filled with Maxspect nano-tech bio-spheres. Glass lid with small holes along the back edge for filter tubing. See photos for lid, aquascape and current inhabitants. Planning on adding corals; beginner at first and then possibly some more advanced ones as I learn more. Also planning on adding a BTA eventually.
Current inhabitants are:
2 juvenile occ clowns (one Da Vinci and one mocha)
1 royal gramma
CUC of 3 nassarius snails and 7 hermit crabs
My first question is, I would like to add a melanurus wrasse and possibly a flasher wrasse eventually; are the openings cut along the back of my lid too big to keep them safely in the tank?
Second question is about my final stock wishlist. Our wish list of additions is listed below, but the melanurus is the only one that's a "must have". Planning on about 7 fish total, adding them slowly with frequent water parameter checks.
-Melanurus wrasse
-flasher wrasse - will the melanurus make the flasher flash? Or do I need a 2nd flasher of a different species to make them display?
-chromis of some sort - looking for a variety that does well as a single.
-angel as a centerpiece fish if it won't destroy my corals. I've read that I'm probably limited to dwarf varieties with this size tank, but I've also read that they can all nip at corals. What would work best? Coral Beauty? Flame? Others? If I do end up getting an angel, I know it has to be added last. Also open to other ideas for a centerpiece fish; I know most butterflies get way too big, but I know there are a couple smaller varieties, would any of them be appropriate for this size tank? Would they be even harder on my corals?
-goby/pistol shrimp pair or an algae eating blenny like a bicolor or tailspot. Is the sandsifting of the goby or the algae eating of the blenny more useful long-term to the tank in your opinion? Any preference of blenny vs goby/shrimp pair as far as viewing enjoyment? Neither of these are particularly high on my wish list, but I thought they would add a little variety to the tank as well as do a job.
-open to other ideas and would love any feedback anyone has!
Thank you in advance!
Matt
you could probably put another fish in there in theory, but that seems like a potentially high aggression tank lol. if you do, be very careful about introducing it. as for the fish, a semi-aggressive wrasse or hawkfish might workHello all... I'm looking for some stocking suggestions/advise...
I have a bare bottom RS 250 with mostly SPS and some LPS with lots of rock work. I presently have a pair of Clowns, a pair of Damsels, a Tomini Tang and a Lawnmower Blenny. I've had these fish for a little more than a year now and they are all doing well - and get along with each other
My wife has been asking for another, "fun", fish but I'm not certain my tank can accommodate any. I've been doing a little research on what would be both reef safe as well as get along with my existing fish and I thought I would ask the folks here for your thoughts as well...
There's magic in keeping the family involved
Thanks in advance.
Joe
