I wouldn’t do a scopas tang in this size tank, the anthias may work however be aware this will result in having to feed more and so a heavier nutrient intake for the tank.
I can't believe I forgot to mention my favorite fish in the tank my blue line flasher wrasse. So that's also in the tank lol
Thanks! Tank is currently fed 4-5 times a day so should be ok I think right?
All Zebrasoma tangs are nasty with aggression it’s just that people ignore it because they’re popular reef fish (in reality they’re not really that interesting… it’s just a bright yellow fish which is easily replaced by butterflies and a purple fish that looks black under the right lighting).
Makes sense! My main reason for it was actually nothing to do with its shape or color (though I do like the sailfin shape). I wanted something that may pick at filaments algae. Do you have any suggestions for a 4 foot 120 that fit the bill or just not worry about it lol
I like foxfaces for this, I personally have a 6-7” Magnificus in my 4’x2’ and he really isn’t as active as people make them out to be (this isn’t my first experience with this either).
And it looks like one spots stay the smallest? I should be okay on nutrient export once I finalize my external fuge, and at that point maybe I add a trio of lyretails and a one spot foxface. At that point I'd feel pretty fully stocked with 5-6 medium fish and 9 or so small fish in a 120 with most natural controls in place for algae
Orange back fairies can be rather nasty so I would remove that from the list or add it in later. The Chrysus will be alright though.
That could work better but since it’s only a 3’ tank I personally wouldn’t - Aurantidorsalis is a larger fairy which can easily get 5 inches (and larger).
I would personally do either a Brunneus or Finifenmaa in the tank. Finifenmaa is basically just the nicer version of Rubriquamis.
How much do these fish personalities vary in wrasse? By far the meanest wrasse I've ever kept was a Lubbock's fairy wrasse. I wonder what made him such a meanie lolIn a 3’ tank I wouldn’t do any flasher or large fairy such as the Cyanopleura and true Solorensis. So with this in mind here’s the wrasses that are left;
Cirrhilabrus lubbocki, the Lubbock’s Fairy Wrasse, as @Slocke said this is in fact my favourite fairy wrasse. The reason for this is the colouration both variants get - neither are left looking drab. I would definitely grab this species, I agree with the Indonesian looking nicer however as I said both are beautiful fish. Here’s the differences between the two (LFS’s tend to sell the Cebu variant as a female, don’t fall into that trap). In terms of aggression and size, the Cebu is larger and I would personally aim to keep it in a 4’x2’ tank however this one is slightly less aggressive. The Cebu gets to 3-3.5 inches whilst the Indonesian remains at 2-2.5 inches.
Indonesian;
Cebu;
Cirrhilabrus isosceles, the Pintail Fairy Wrasse, is another beautiful wrasse. I find the pinkish orange body of the mature male Isosceles complements the lubbocki’s deep purple body incredibly well. If you got a lubbocki then this would be number one on the list behind it personally (I never got an isosceles as I couldn’t introduce it early enough). The pintail fairy is a very delicate species when it comes to activity with other wrasses, if they’re added early on (1st or 3rd) they aren’t as secretive or hard to acclimate however when you begin to get more wrasses (5-6) they can be rather difficult to acclimate.
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus is another good choice. These guys can go in later as they aren’t overly sensitive to aggression, I would personally aim for a Vanuatu variant as these are the brightest in colour from the variants I’ve seen (African, Maldives, Vanuatu, ect). This also introduces a nice green which is one of the few colours I rarely see in fish in such a large quantity. For a short rundown of the variants and how you know what sea they’re from, look at the dorsal fin and if it’s edged in red then you have an Indian Ocean variant however if it’s not edged in red (yellow is often the other colour you see the fins edged in) then you have a Pacific Ocean variant. Below is a photo of all the differences - some are less subtle than others. This photo is taken from a reef builders article about the Exquisitus complex.
And last but not least, Cirrhilabrus flavianalis. This is the species that I wouldn’t do this is because they are known for their bad behaviour with other wrasses. I would personally replace this one with a different species of Fairy Wrasse (or if you have a sandbed, I’d grab a Halichoeres iridis or Halichoeres leucoxanthus).
Hope this helps and have a great Christmas
They well and truly vary, the most notoriously peaceful species may have some of the most aggressive specimens but the most notoriously aggressive species may have the most peaceful specimens and vice versa.
How big is it and is it causing any problems?
Thank you. We believe it is about 1.5 inches at the moment. It has been rather aggressive in the beginning to others except the two clowns, but has since toned down. Eats well, no sign of sicknesses, good with picking algae from rocks, but has done more strange glass surfing recently so I thought these are some of the symptoms of having the wrong type of fish for this nano tank. We have checked all other 5 fishes (clowns, Randall goby, Purple fire fish, and Tailspot Blenny) and they seem to be fine but this one appears to stand out as not suitable.
Yeah that be a sign. I think it probably has excess energy and maybe can't find it in that tank. 1.5" isn't big but that angel seems like it might need something bigger.
