Schooling Fish for 210

murphy357 · Sep 27, 2018

Looking for suggestions on an active schooling fish for my 210 reef.

nereefpat · Sep 27, 2018

I've been looking into scissortail dartfish lately for my 125. Zebras are another one.

Keep in mind schooling, or even shoaling is difficult/impossible to achieve in our tanks.

Anthias are a popular group to look into. Chrysiptera spp damsels like yellow tail would be another group to check out. Most people are disappointed with Chromis.

Radman73 · Sep 27, 2018

I'd look at anthias or maybe bar gobies.

The 2 bar gobies I have hang out most of the time but don't really school. They're also jumpers. I had 6(tiny ones though), with what I thought were tight fitting lids. 4 made it to the DT and 2 have survived. All 4 that didn't make it jumped.

murphy357 · Sep 27, 2018

nereefpat said:
I've been looking into scissortail dartfish lately for my 125. Zebras are another one.

Keep in mind schooling, or even shoaling is difficult/impossible to achieve in our tanks.

Anthias are a popular group to look into. Chrysiptera spp damsels like yellow tail would be another group to check out. Most people are disappointed with Chromis.

Yeah I figured dartfish would be a good space filler. That’s mostly what I’m looking for. Not necessarily “schooling” or “shoaling”. More or less looking for a group of fish that will stay together and will fill space. I have 4 fish that will get to around 8-12”. I want varieties of sizes and activity levels.

User1 · Sep 28, 2018

I'll second what @nereefpat said with regards to Damsels (Chrysiptera) such as Azures, Talbots, Tracy's, etc. You have a similar gallonage to my tank at 210 gallons but my footprint is 54" W x 30" D and 30" T. I have a little over 175 lbs of rock with enough nooks and crannies for hiding. Plan is to get a couple of each such as Azures, Talbots, Tracy's, and maybe another. All total shooting for 15 to 20. One large fish is already in the tank (Lt. Tang). Has it matures I'm thinking enough coral will be there to buffer the rock work and substrate and simulate what I've seen while scuba diving at the top of the reef crest.

Few here have some really nice tanks with lots of damsels mixed in - search on @ca1ore 450 gallon tank - maybe 400, I forget. Anyway a beautiful tank with 30+ damsels. Really add a splash of color and speed. Very under rated fish if truth be told.

murphy357 · Sep 28, 2018

saf1 said:
I'll second what @nereefpat said with regards to Damsels (Chrysiptera) such as Azures, Talbots, Tracy's, etc. You have a similar gallonage to my tank at 210 gallons but my footprint is 54" W x 30" D and 30" T. I have a little over 175 lbs of rock with enough nooks and crannies for hiding. Plan is to get a couple of each such as Azures, Talbots, Tracy's, and maybe another. All total shooting for 15 to 20. One large fish is already in the tank (Lt. Tang). Has it matures I'm thinking enough coral will be there to buffer the rock work and substrate and simulate what I've seen while scuba diving at the top of the reef crest.

Few here have some really nice tanks with lots of damsels mixed in - search on @ca1ore 450 gallon tank - maybe 400, I forget. Anyway a beautiful tank with 30+ damsels. Really add a splash of color and speed. Very under rated fish if truth be told.

I feel like their temperament is what scares a lot of people off from damsels. I’ll probably get a few, but keep an eye out for aggressiveness from them.

ca1ore · Sep 28, 2018

No school …. schoal maybe … loose association probably. Key to the mellowed damsels is adequate space and at least a small group.

Maritimer · Sep 28, 2018

I've got five zebra dartfish in a 6' 220. They've basically separated into two pairs, with the largest two near the bottom on the left and the next smaller near the top on the right.

The smallest one hides under a rock until feeding time.

~Bruce

Steve1500 · Jan 18, 2019

ca1ore said:
No school …. schoal maybe … loose association probably. Key to the mellowed damsels is adequate space and at least a small group.

Hi Ca1ore, I have been following your posts on damsels. Very interesting and informative...thanks.
I've upgraded to a 180 DT and would like to have shoaling fish but I realize it is hit or miss on whatever I chose. Right now, I have no livestock in the 180 but I will be transferring my fish from the current 75G to the 180 in about 1 month. I realize damsels might not really shoal but I was wondering how yours we're doing. I am also thinking about dispar anthias but my gut tells me otherwise. Not thrilled about their appearance and due to my work travel, I am not sure I could handle the feeding regimen.

Couple of questions:
1) Do your damsels shoal or just do their own thing?
2) I have one springeri damsel in my current tank, if I added it to the 180 at the same time as the other damsels would their be a problem (I will QT the other damsels for about 30 days before)?
3) Assuming I have about 18 other fish (4 tangs, clowns, one trigger, fox face, cardinal, basslet and a few others), how many damsels do you recommend in the 180?
Last question...sorry: Can I mix azures, springeri's and yellow tails?

Thanks for your help!
Steve

ca1ore · Jan 18, 2019

They mostly just hang out in their chosen spots, pretty evenly distributed amongst the corals; so no real shoaling. I've not kept Springers so cannot really offer much in terms of wisdom. I currently have azure, yellow tail, Talbots. Rollands and one starki; and they all get along fine.