Which fish are the most, least tolerant of fluctuations in water quality?

[Zionas]

Generally speaking, which fish are the most forgiving of fluctuations in water parameters, and which fish are less or the least forgiving? As a first time reef keeper, I want to know because I don’t want to keep any species that are too demanding. Fenner puts it quite well, that a lot of marine life can handle much more crap than we give them credit for, due to having endured millions of years of natural disasters, climate change and more.

Which species / general types of fish should a beginner like me avoid?

Some of the species I’ve chosen are: Pajama Cardinals, Marine Betta, Ocellaris Clownfish- CB, YWG, Royal Gramma, One Spot Fox Face, Heniochus Bannerfish, Flame Angel, Flame and LNH, Yellow Tang, Yellow Eye Kole (if available), a wrasse.

Do any of these need especially mature, well-established tanks? In terms of compatibility and mitigating aggression, my fish like the Foxface and Heniochus will have to go in fairly early but I am worried about the resilience of the Foxface and Bannerfish in a new tank. Will they have problems?

 

[Difrano]

How big is your tank? Based on my experience:

YWG + pistol shrimp can live in mud hole, once i neglected for months a tank with them and they grow fat and happy even if I remembered to top off the water once every month and feed them only when crossed my mind.
OC clowns, same as above I had a pair of them in the same tank.
Considering you have a big enough tank 65+ gal tangs are finicky and prone to disease mostly due to stress, the bigger the tank the better on this case.
On the other fish in your list I don't have experience, Firefish is also a easy fish to keep but they don't have long lifespan, and are prone to be bullied and die.

 

[Zionas]

My tank’s 6 foot custom made, 183 gallons. 72” long, 28” wide and 22” tall are the approximate dimensions. I really like the YWG + Pistol shrimp combo but unfortunately I’m not sure if any inverts in my tank are a good idea considering the high priority of getting 2 Hawkfish and a Marine Betta on my stocking list.

 

[Difrano]

My tank’s 6 foot custom made, 183 gallons. 72” long, 28” wide and 22” tall are the approximate dimensions. I really like the YWG + Pistol shrimp combo but unfortunately I’m not sure if any inverts in my tank are a good idea considering the high priority of getting 2 Hawkfish and a Marine Betta on my stocking list.

You need to keep a CUC of Inverts on the tank to keep algae and detritus at bay, so you will need to keep refilling them as they are consumed.

Regarding YWG and pistol, if your tank has a sand bed will be almost impossible for your fish to get the pistol, YWG is awesome watching over for the pistol.

 

[Zionas]

I see. That’s new to me, but I’ll try looking more into invertebrates. So far I’ve almost focused entirely on fish and corals because the presence of the Marine Betta and 2 Hawkfish have made me hesitant about getting any inverts. Will do.

How deep of a sand bed would you do for the Goby and shrimp combo? Would 2-3” be enough?

 

[Difrano]

Thats perfect

 

[NeptuneRjo]

My tank’s 6 foot custom made, 183 gallons. 72” long, 28” wide and 22” tall are the approximate dimensions. I really like the YWG + Pistol shrimp combo but unfortunately I’m not sure if any inverts in my tank are a good idea considering the high priority of getting 2 Hawkfish and a Marine Betta on my stocking list.

I wouldn't worry too much about the hawkfish going after CuC (peppermint shrimp and other small shrimp MIGHT be the only ones at risk), I've kept both an arc eye and a flame hawkfish in my tank and neither picked at snails or hermits.

Consider a royal gramma and/or ocellaris clowns. Both are nice fish but gramma's can be territorial.

 

[Zionas]

That’s nice, good to know.

For my full stocking list:

1 YWG + Shrimp combo

2 Ocellaris Clownfish- Captive Bred

1 Royal Gramma

1 Marine Betta

6 Pajama Cardinalfish (2 trios, 2 trips to the LFS)

2 Long Fin Bannerfish (was originally considering Yellow Eye Kole Tang but.... with the virus situation + trade war going on, their imports are becoming sporadic)

1 One Spot Foxface

1 Flame Hawkfish

1 Long Nose Hawkfish

1 Flame Angelfish

1 Yellow Tang

1 wrasse of some kind



Due to aggression and compatibility issues, I want to add the Bannerfish and Foxface before the Hawkfish, Flame Angel etc. but I am afraid they’re going to be sensitive to water quality fluctuations in a new tank.

I wonder if any of my fish are unsuitable for a less-than-mature tank.

Can I add the Royal Gramma, Goby and Clownfish pair as 4 of my very first fish, all added together?

 

[ca1ore]

Easier versus harder to keep fish is generally not a function of fluctuating water conditions (as long as the fluctuations aren’t too extreme). It’s much more likely to be shipping problems or diet. Pistol shrimp are tough little buggars. I had one for years with fish that would have happily made a meal of it.

 

[Zionas]

That’s awesome. Which species is the easiest to pair with a Yellow Watchman?

The last time I read, none of these fish on my list are hard to feed. Shipping, I hope to find the healthiest specimens at the LFS. I’ll have to get the store owners to feed them in my presence, even for a basic Clownfish.