75g stocking advice?

[Silly clownfish]

My 75g mixed reef (20g sump) has been running for about a year and a half now. *My current fish are:
Ocelaris clown
Flame hawk
Randalli goby
One spot foxface rabbitfish
Green mandarin (newest fish at only 4 months)
I have LPS, SPS, and soft corals and plan to get a clam soon.

I am looking for or maybe 2 fish to complete my stocking. I need something that will not compete with my mandarin for pods.

I lost my McCoskers wrasse a couple of months ago when he finally got what he wanted for over 9 months and found a way out of a tank with a full glass canopy. *My best guess is that the foam I use to "seal" around the return pipe got mashed and left a gap after I did a water change. *This fish was so hell-bent on jumping that has made me gun-shy of flashers. I miss the movement of having the wrasse in the tank thought.

I am sorely tempted to get a coral beauty, and have actually been pestering my excellent LFS for one for a month or 2, but he has not been able to get one from one of his "good" suppliers yet. *I have had time to have second thoughts. I was planning to do part of my QT in my frag tank where it would be easy to remove if is a coral nipper, but the more I read the more I think this is not a good idea. Everything I read says they can be good. For years then suddenly start munching on coral. *Of course the same is said of cherub angels and I had one for 2.5 years and another for over 7 without problems.

So i would like some suggestions. My current thoughts are
Red head solon fairy wrasse (another jumper?)
Royal gramma
Other ideas for a colorful active fish?

Thanks,
Kim

 

[ilikefish34]

I think the Cherubs are on the better end of the spectrum than the Coral Beauty but if it's bugging you now, it'll be bugging you 5 years down the road as well so I'd get--with a back-up plan ready if things don't go well.

If you're looking for movement, those flashers are hard to beat and as long as you are confident that the problem before was a bit of a fluke, I wouldn't hesitate. After all, those Flame Hawks can be jumpers too. The Solon Fairy can get a bit of a temper and I would pass on that one in a 75.

I'm a pretty big fan of the Royal Grammas and have a pair myself. Each one is a little different than the next when it comes to how much they want to stay in the open but I've never had one that always hid. It would mix well with most flashers (not the 8-line) and most fairies (not the Solon or Long-fin) in a 75... the more aggressive the tank mates, the more they hide... mine are always in the open.

Good luck!

 

[Genera]

Two female sailfin mollies. Don't get a male and a female as the male will constantly harass the female, and don't get two males, as they will fight as there are no females. An acceptable ratio of male:female sailfin mollies is 1:3+, so the males aren't continually trying to mate with a single female or fighting over them. They're great at picking at algae and detritus. Not to mention they come in a variety of colors including black, white, dalmatian, orange, yellow, olive, grey, marbled, gold, creme, blue tinted, brown, speckled, and many other different colors/patterns. Quite active too. The only possible downside is that if you do get both sexes, they will breed like rabbits x 10. I started with 6, and a few months later, I now have at least 150. The fry do make good seahorse, coral, anemone, and fish food though. I even feed them to my snake, with a freshwater bath first. :rollface:

 

[Silly clownfish]

I do think that mu McCoskers was especially determined to jump. Everyone who has seen my tank has questioned how he got out. He jumped out several times during feedings and slammed into the glass canopy at least a couple times a week. I can't belive they are all that determined to commit suicide.

Bummer on the agressiveness of the red head fairy. Everything I was adkng said they are peaceful with mon-wrasses. Are fairies in general more agressive than flashers?

I not a huge fan of mollies, I have had them in my FW tank, although not at the moment -possibly tearing that down when my black angel and dwarf pleco from hell go. To me mollies are FW fish.

still undecided. The royal gamma seems like the one that has no negative reviews. I think I could still do one more fish after that.

 

[Genera]

I not a huge fan of mollies, I have had them in my FW tank, although not at the moment -possibly tearing that down when my black angel and dwarf pleco from hell go. To me mollies are FW fish.

Lol. Hmmm, Chalk Basslets (Serranus Tortugarum)?

 

[Silly clownfish]

The chalk basslet is cute. I will look into that one.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[e048]

Get some anthias

Striped fang blenny

Grammas work well as well as firefish

 

[Silly clownfish]

Don't anthias require multiple feedings/ day?

I am concerned that a blenny will occupy compete with the mandarin for food - I haven't had her long enought to be comfortable that she can handle even mild competition. And with the goby, that would give me 3 bottome/ rock dwellers. I think blennies have great e personality, striped blenny even has great color to go with it. Do you really think it is a good idea with my other fish?

I think I am sold on the royal gramma ��