fish mix

[mercedes]

hello,

we are getting ready to setup our 50 gallon reef tank and were scoping out some new inhabitants we'd like to add in the not so distant future. we'd like to get fish that would get along w/ our current crew:

• yellow clown goby (chuck)
• starry blenny (kazoo)
• purple reef lobster
• fire shrimp
• peppermint shrimp (posting for sale or trade soon)
• misc snails + crabs

these are the new addition candidates:

• blue spot jawfish (LOVE their personality but may not go w/ this one since our first bsj was VERY determined to get the F out despite the cover we installed + our new tank will be topless)
• catalina goby
• 4 line wrasse
• bar goby OR sunburst anthias (OR neither... i'm not sold one either just yet)

we were wondering if anyone out there had experience mixing same or similar fish. also, looking for other reef safe fish suggestions. thanks in advance!

 

[seattle989]

Reef lobster :O how is that working out for yah? i hear they like to snack on fish?

I'd personally get a anthia or purple / fire fish gobies.
Bar gobies get pretty big and not as cute imo.

 

[beoks]

we have a purple reef lobster at work with a pair of clows and a six line and so far we have had no problem with him but like any crab or lobster that are scavangers you roll the dice

 

[seattle989]

how big is your(beoks and mercedes) lobster? ive always wanted one but don't want to risk my precious clowns.

 

[mercedes]

Reef lobster :O how is that working out for yah? i hear they like to snack on fish?

I'd personally get a anthia or purple / fire fish gobies.
Bar gobies get pretty big and not as cute imo.

i read that too, but so far so good w/ the lobster. he hides in his little cave for the most part. i drop him a little frozen bay shrimp every now and then to ensure he doesn't snack on chuck or kazoo.

also, thanks for the input! i was unsure about the bar goby + didn't want anything that would get too big. as far as the fire fish go, aren't they known jumpers? it breaks my heart to find little fish mummies on the ground so i'm doing my best to stay away from the suicidal fish.

 

[mercedes]

how big is your(beoks and mercedes) lobster? ive always wanted one but don't want to risk my precious clowns.

maybe 3 inches? rough guess-timate

 

[gotfish]

catalina gobies are cold water fish. If I remember right, somewhere in the high 60's to low 70's temp range.

 

[mercedes]

catalina gobies are cold water fish. If I remember right, somewhere in the high 60's to low 70's temp range.

i read that too, but saw one in a reef tank @ barrier so i was hoping i could acclimate one like they did. maybe not such a good idea then.

 

[Chichas01]

I have one of those reef lobsters as well. Make sure you target feed him a couple times a week and he might be ok.
He once took a chunk out of my gramma but that's 'cause my gramma is a little bastard and always try's to steal his food.

 

[mercedes]

has anyone been able to keep a blue spot jawfish with a starry blenny? our two fish duked it out for the first week, but the bsj jumped out the 2nd week we had him so i didn't get a chance to see if they resolved their differences. this was in our little 15 gallon. hoping the 50 gallon will provide each w/ ample space and reduce the anxiety of both. what do you think?

 

[gotfish]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[mercedes]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

36 x 18 x 18 i think? it's an aqueon 50 gallon breeder. also, we bought 3 bags of sand to be added to our 1 bag of sand in the 15 gallon + 40 lbs of marco rock to be added to our 15 lbs of LR. should be plenty of sand for creatures to burrow in.

 

[gotfish]

Is your starry blenny pretty active? Mine is constantly scootin around all over the place. He doesn't perch very much like they are supposed to. I've never had a jawfish, but when I see them in tanks at stores, they don't move very far from their burrow. If your blenny does move around a lot and gets close to the jawfish, they could go at it since they are close to each other in looks. If you had a 4 or 6 foot tank, I don't think you'd have a problem. A 3 footer could be an issue.

 

[jag3534]

Yeah, the goby's and blennys can be territorial towards others with the same body shape. we have a lawnmower blenny, diamond goby and citron clown goby all in our 46, and when the LB (carlos) gets to close to big goby he'll give carlos a goosing and chase him off. Big goby also likes to grab the hermits and drag them into his lair. he's a little creepy.

 

[mercedes]

Yeah, the goby's and blennys can be territorial towards others with the same body shape. we have a lawnmower blenny, diamond goby and citron clown goby all in our 46, and when the LB (carlos) gets to close to big goby he'll give carlos a goosing and chase him off. Big goby also likes to grab the hermits and drag them into his lair. he's a little creepy.

our bsj used to decorate this burrow w/ anything w/ a shell --- empty or occupied. the crabs + snails would crawl away and he'd round them up again the next day. it was hilarious. i miss him!

i'm trying to convince brad to build me one of these so we can get another blue spot for the new tank:

 

[braddo]

I am avoiding building one of these so I don't have to spend $100 on another fish.

 

[jag3534]

yeah, i would definetly make one of those. So many fish are jumpers, even unexpected ones....

 

[jag3534]

Haha, thats too funny....

 

[Bored4ever86]

Talk about random jumpers, my female mandarin tried to jump several times while I was acclimating her though since she got into her spot in the 125g she's been fine

 

[mercedes]

Talk about random jumpers, my female mandarin tried to jump several times while I was acclimating her though since she got into her spot in the 125g she's been fine

our male + female mandarins would do the humpa humpa dance towards the surface of the water and we'd hear a big splash every now and then. he jumped ship at some point. we found his mummy a week later. our female was broken-hearted and refused to eat after his departure.

catalina goby + bar goby + sunburst anthias are out. pipefish are now in the running...

does anyone out there have a pipefish or two in the same tank as a starry blenny? are these two species compatible? i figure they're different enough in body shape that our blenny will leave it alone if we added one. please correct me if i'm wrong.