kevinpo
Expert
I also like the Dispar Anthias as they are smaller and have cool looking mouths.
Regards,
Kevin
Regards,
Kevin
Recommendations for reef safe schooling fish
- Thread starter osterman
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aquariumdebacle
electrolyte addict
I set-up a 90 gallon tank in a barber shop on Queen Ann. I put five yellow tangs in with alot of rock and a trickle filter. They immediatly started to shred each others fins. A week later I put in four more and they mellowed out. He eventually lost two. but the aggression never returned. The key is simutaneous placement of about ten that are all similar in size. This might work with the blue tangs at the juvinile stage. I wouldn't reccomend it for any other tangs.
The green chromis are the most economical school. I think a couple hundred in a big tank would be awesome. They do best on decapsilated brine shrimp eggs. I think this is as close to their natural food as we're going to get in the hobby.
The green chromis are the most economical school. I think a couple hundred in a big tank would be awesome. They do best on decapsilated brine shrimp eggs. I think this is as close to their natural food as we're going to get in the hobby.
osterman
Larry
Dan, I'm tempted on the tangs, not sure if I'm that brave. My school of 10 chromis does look a bit small, may add 10 more. For the second school, am leaning toward lyretail anthias, but sounds like there's a number of good anthias choices. Have to try to get out and see some, though being in Kirkland I'm an hour from Chris Crow (the sweet guy from whom I got my 240) in Bonney Lake. I know Salt Water City has some Truncate in stock, again kind of plain IMO. If anybody's seen other species in local shops in the last week or so, would like to know.
BTW, am feeding my chromis mostly frozen cyclop-eeze, they love them. Also hatching non-decapsulated brine shrimp, sounds like ingesting the egg capsules is not good for them? They won't eat flake, at least for now, nor even frozen mysid, which must be too large for their mouths. In any case, their bellies are a bit rounder now than they were in the LFS.
BTW, am feeding my chromis mostly frozen cyclop-eeze, they love them. Also hatching non-decapsulated brine shrimp, sounds like ingesting the egg capsules is not good for them? They won't eat flake, at least for now, nor even frozen mysid, which must be too large for their mouths. In any case, their bellies are a bit rounder now than they were in the LFS.
Crows Ridge
Well-known member
I see lots of things in that tank I want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Including the Cardinals.
WOW! Chris
Including the Cardinals.WOW! Chris
osterman
Larry
Robz, thanks for reminding us of the cardinals, any of several species would make a nice school, from what I'm reading. That school of yours does look lovely. If I didn't have a school of blue fish already....
osterman
Larry
Alice, hadn't heard of the chalk bass, thanks for pointing it out. There's a picture here and here , it does look attractive. There's also a chapter on the dwarf seabasses in the Scott Michael big book. The seabass, anthias, groupers, hamlets, grammas, and basslets are all in the same family (Serranidae). Of the dwarf seabasses, the Caribbean chalk bass is the only planktivore, therefore probably the only truly reef safe seabass. Michael describes it as shy, but it will spend a lot of time in the open, usually near the bottom (which may make a nice contrast to a school which spends time high in the water column, like chromis). Max size is about 3 inches. It's a simultaneous hermaphrodite (both male and female at the same time), unlike the anthias. It's very hardy, and it may be possible to get it to spawn in captivity.
Maybe three small schools, one each of chromis, anthias, and chalk bass....
Maybe three small schools, one each of chromis, anthias, and chalk bass....
Crows Ridge
Well-known member
Thats what I was thinking too Larry! I have Chromies and Anthias already. Thanks for the tip Alice!
Ray Pollett
Well-known member
Sealab2021 said:
While dottybacks are aggressive and some eat small crustaceans, small fish and bristle worms. I know of none that eat corals of any type. The sankey (P. sankeyi) is completely reef safe IMO and considered an excellent reef tank inhabitant.
But they do not school.
Ray
osterman
Larry
Fishbase.org (thanks for pointing that out in another thread, Kevin) says of P. sankeyi that it "inhabits rock and coralline ledges and caves. Occurs in colonies. Has been reared in captivity". So at least the group hangs out together. Maybe in a large enough tank it will inhabit one portion of the live rock, hopefully leaving some for the other fish to shelter at night. And since it only grows to 7 cm it presumably can't eat anything too awfully big. Not the most colorful fish in the world though, some of the other dottybacks are prettier.
So anyway I know I said "schooling", which the dottybacks don't, but they do satisfy the desire to see multiple inviduals of the same species together.
So anyway I know I said "schooling", which the dottybacks don't, but they do satisfy the desire to see multiple inviduals of the same species together.
osterman
Larry
BTW Chris, if you do add the Chalk Bass to your chromis and anthias, please let us know what you think of the combination.
Ray Pollett
Well-known member
\osterman said:
You can have multiply dottybacks of a number of them in the same tank.
Ray
Sealab2021
Puffer
i was under the impression "reef safe" also meant "safe for shrimp, most crabs, hermits, & snails".
reedman
Well-known member
Sealab,
I think this is why there are so many discussions about "reef-safe fish". If you do not plan to keep shrimp in your tank then a shrimp eating fish is perfectly reef safe. There is no clear cut definition for reef-safe. I think most of the time people call fish that don't eat corals "reef-safe".
Just reinforces doing your research before a purchase and not just taking someone's word for it.
I think this is why there are so many discussions about "reef-safe fish". If you do not plan to keep shrimp in your tank then a shrimp eating fish is perfectly reef safe. There is no clear cut definition for reef-safe. I think most of the time people call fish that don't eat corals "reef-safe".
Just reinforces doing your research before a purchase and not just taking someone's word for it.
Crows Ridge
Well-known member
Larry, I found this about the Pearl Scales in Saltwaterfish.com. I guess they do school and you can keep more than one. Wooooohooooooo!
''The Pearlscale Butterfly is one of the few Butterflies that does extremely well in the home aquarium. These exquisite fish are white in color with black markings, as well as a large yellow-orange patch towards their tailfin. They also have a black eye bar and spot on their nape. These fish will accept many fish foods, but require excellent water quality. The Pearlscale is very docile and gets along well with other community fish. More than one can be kept per tank, and they flourish in larger tanks. ''
I am really excited now! Except now I have to figure out what size FOWLR to have. I ma spoiled with the 350g reef, but dont need one that size for the new one.
Later, Chris
''The Pearlscale Butterfly is one of the few Butterflies that does extremely well in the home aquarium. These exquisite fish are white in color with black markings, as well as a large yellow-orange patch towards their tailfin. They also have a black eye bar and spot on their nape. These fish will accept many fish foods, but require excellent water quality. The Pearlscale is very docile and gets along well with other community fish. More than one can be kept per tank, and they flourish in larger tanks. ''
I am really excited now! Except now I have to figure out what size FOWLR to have. I ma spoiled with the 350g reef, but dont need one that size for the new one.
Later, Chris
Ray Pollett
Well-known member
Scoot Michael disagrees about the Pearlscale Butterfly. ( Chaetodon mertensii ). " May behave aggressively towards conspecifics and other members of the " Xanthurus complex""
So I guess it' is sometimes yes and sometimes no. But they are not reef safe.
Ray
So I guess it' is sometimes yes and sometimes no. But they are not reef safe.
Ray
osterman
Larry
Obviously it could be that a school of butterflies does well when it has lots of room, but fighting leads to injury when the victim has no place to flee. Certainly we see lots of pictures of wild reefs with seemingly harmonious schools of butterflies and tangs. Maybe it's not space per se but rather the number of sources of food, or the number of mates, or the number of places to shelter, etc. It does no good to flee if there's only one source of food.
I've even lost a couple of members of my little school of 10 chromis, the only occupants of a 240G tank (besides lots of live rock and a few corals), which I believe was due to fighting. Over what, I can't be sure.
On another topic raised here, I was thinking that rather than use the term "reef safe" (since as we've see it's somewhat ambiguous), we could describe a critter in terms of what it does, or doesn't eat. For example, if a fish is a planktivore or herbivore, it probably eats neither corals, nor crustaceans or fish of any size. If it's a carnivore, you may or may not have a problem. So you'd need a term like "coralivore", or something, to describe a fish (or other animal) that we know for sure does eat corals. So rather than saying that dottybacks are or are not "reef safe", we'd say that they are carnivores, but not coralivores.
Not to argue against myself or anything, it does occur to me that a fish might not be a coralivore, but still not be considered reef safe. Consider for example the Rockmover Wrasse. It doesn't eat corals--but instead goes around flipping over rocks and coral heads trying to find something to eat under them.
OK, how about a different approach? How about "coral compatible"? Not quite the same ring to it as "reef safe", but less ambiguous.
Sorry to ramble on so .....
I've even lost a couple of members of my little school of 10 chromis, the only occupants of a 240G tank (besides lots of live rock and a few corals), which I believe was due to fighting. Over what, I can't be sure.
On another topic raised here, I was thinking that rather than use the term "reef safe" (since as we've see it's somewhat ambiguous), we could describe a critter in terms of what it does, or doesn't eat. For example, if a fish is a planktivore or herbivore, it probably eats neither corals, nor crustaceans or fish of any size. If it's a carnivore, you may or may not have a problem. So you'd need a term like "coralivore", or something, to describe a fish (or other animal) that we know for sure does eat corals. So rather than saying that dottybacks are or are not "reef safe", we'd say that they are carnivores, but not coralivores.
Not to argue against myself or anything, it does occur to me that a fish might not be a coralivore, but still not be considered reef safe. Consider for example the Rockmover Wrasse. It doesn't eat corals--but instead goes around flipping over rocks and coral heads trying to find something to eat under them.
OK, how about a different approach? How about "coral compatible"? Not quite the same ring to it as "reef safe", but less ambiguous.
Sorry to ramble on so .....
