What fish would you guys put in a 45 cube?

[csababubbles]

What kind of fish would be your first choice to put in a bare-bottom 45 gallon cube reef tank?

 

[JPG@CFI]

I feel that if someone is to do a reef of almost any kind, one needs a Royal Gramma. They are full of personality, hardy, colorfull, and best of all, can be had for under 25.00! At least that is what I paid for mine 6+ years ago.

J

 

[ajnweb]

True perc, nothing says reef like a clown!

 

[300ZXNA]

purple firefish are a favorite of mine. Even without sand it should be able to find a dart hole in the rock somewhere. If you didn't mind only having room for another fish or two, I'd also recommend a dwarf angel of some sort. Flame angels are pretty stunning. I also love blenny's, tailspot, maybe starry. TONS of personality and really active fish.

 

[brandyrb]

Here's my fish list for my 40 breeder when it's ready:
tailspot blenny
randals shrimp goby (would probably need sand)
pair of bangai cardinals

 

[300ZXNA]

Brandy-
I've got a pair of banggai's in my tank, and they really are fun to watch. Mine get along great with everything, and are inseparable. I'm keeping my finger's crossed that maybe I have a male-female combo and perhaps I'll be able to raise some fry down the road . . .

 

[csababubbles]

Would a clownfish harass Banggai fish and a pipefish?

Anyone ever keep those dwarf filefish?

 

[Pentagona]

Hey J, what part of north bend you in? I live right down-town behind Safeway.

 

[leebca]

A cowfish. They are shaped like a cube. (Sorry, couldn't help myself).

 

[brandyrb]

Would a clownfish harass Banggai fish and a pipefish?

I think it depends on the clownfish. I know maroon clowns can be really mean. A true or false percula may not be.

Here's a compatibility chart. http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

I read not to mix pipefish with clownfish on reefcentral in the seahorse/pipefish forum and most people will tell you pipefish are best suited to a seahorse/pipefish species only tank. I know a lot of people have or have tried dragon faced pipefish in their reefs though.

 

[Sascha D]

I have heard the same thing as Brandy said. Pipefish and seahorses are best suited to a lagoon tank.

 

[brandyrb]

Here's a link I found on RC about seahorse/pipefish and other tank mate compatibility: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates/tankmates.shtml

 

[Darthv247]

Id have to agree with Jason, a royal gramma is an awsome reef inhabitant. though they can be pretty damn agressive so i would probably add it as one of the last fish or at the same time as the others. They are like 15 bucks nowadays

 

[reef18ster]

Pipefish are actually a lot less fragile than seahorses. They are my new fav fishies. I have 3 of them in my 75g reef. 2 dragon face and 1 red or black banded (can't really tell, it seems to change colors on me). Barrier reef has a couple in their reef display tank also.

+1 on the royal gamma as well. great looking fish, very bright. Ours is awesome.

 

[brandyrb]

I have a thread on RC asking if dragonface pipefish would be compatible in my 40B mixed reef. So far I'm told that I can't keep them with acans and clams. I also have chalices, favias, favites, etc. and I'm yet to receive a reponse to those.

Fish inhabitants in my tank would be baby randall's shrimp goby, baby tailspot blenny and a pair of bangaii cardinals (don't have these yet).

Do you have acans or clams with yours? I really don't want to remove my acans.

 

[reef18ster]

Do you have acans or clams with yours? I really don't want to remove my acans.

No acans or clams. Just sps, dendros, balanos, duncans, zoas, hammers, candy canes, mushrooms of different types and a rbta. I didnt realize how fast they can swim but they are smart enough to stay away from the corals they do not like.

 

[brandyrb]

Hmm, on your list I read that the RBTA and hammers aren't compatible. I have an emperor angel in with sps and a lot of people are told they aren't compatible too.

I think the concern with clams is having them close up on the pipefish and kill em. Although I've seen clams with clowns hosting in them and the clams don't close up on them, so I'm not sure how valid that concern is. The one person that said no to acans didn't say why and those are my favorite corals.

On that compatibility site for sea horses in one of my previous posts, acans don't seem to be a threat.

 

[reef18ster]

Maybe they should give more credit to the pipefishies. Barrier has that humungous clam in their reef show tank, but then again it might take an hour for that thing to close up since it's so huge.

Didn't mean to derail thread.
+1 vote pipefish
+1 vote royal gamma

 

[csababubbles]

BrandyRB

In my experience (I have had three randall's gobies) they turn aggressive to many similar sized fish when they get close to their territory. Make sure your tank is large enough to give him his space when he gets larger.

 

[brandyrb]

I have three aquariums (2 40 breeders and a 300 gal) so if it did become a problem, he could go to a different tank. Absolutely no aggression so far. He is very tiny though.

As far as the clams, I touched my crocea all over to see what its reaction would be and it did retract a little, but not close completely then opened up again and stayed that way with me still touching it. I've seen clowns host in clams and the clams not close up on them. I've also seen a pic on RC of an emperor angel stuck inside a clam, but the emporer was nipping at the clam.