Bandit Angel Tankmates

[michael_cb_125]

Good Morning Everyone!!

As many of you know I have an amazing pair of Apolemichthys arcuatus.

Here is a video of them in QT prior to entering the Elos 120. You can use the seachem badge as a gauge for size. Such cute little fish.



This happy couple now resides in my Elos 120 along with a Skunk and Blood Cleaner Shrimp and a few urchins. They are a good bit larger now and extremely healthy.

So, here is my dilemma!
I do not know what other fish to add to the display. I have brought in many different species and I am never truly satisfied. I am looking for a small species ( <3" ) that tends to congregate. I have considered anthias, and even brought in quite a few bi-colors. But, they just did not do it for me.

Now I am leaning towards cardinalfish. I want something to compliment my bandits, without "stealing the show" so to speak.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

~Michael

 

[acidmonster]

How about some ventralis anthias? or Blue streak cardinals. Very beautiful fish by the way

 

[d-man]

+1 ventralis

 

[kinlayan]

Very little steals the show from a bandit, it is so unique it just doesnt matter i have many eye catching fish but to me the bandit with its neutral colours just stands out!

When the bandit appears in the video- it just stands out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0eurlo-bzc

 

[Lt.Shineysides]

wow those angels are awesome. do u have any tips for keeping bandits?

 

[rachenbrazil]

yellow assessors ...

 

[MikeandNicole]

What temp is the tank being run at?

 

[skibum9884]

I agree that ventralis would be stunning. If I recall correctly you tried some in the past but they didn't make it. Any idea what it could have been, and would you consider trying some again?

 

[anbosu]

How about a flame wrasse?

 

[MikeandNicole]

You could add some bangaii cardinals and black and white false percs and you have a black tie affair tank.

 

[Yurivd]

Let them grow more
For a year or two then put sum more angels in

Or go for a white an black tank put in a gem tang and a pair of Amphiprion mccullochi

 

[michael_cb_125]

I guess I should post some more information on the system these fish are in.

Tank- Elos 120 rimless (a little over 90 gallons)
Lighting- "minimal" I use a single blue LED Spotlight for the entire tank, plus ambient room light.
Water Temp- Summertime (70-72) Winter (65-68)

I run an Elos NS1000 skimmer and a large media reactor full of carbon. My water quality is near perfect.

Inhabitants (other than the angels)- several pincushion urchins, leopard nassarius snails, tigertail cucumbers x4, blood red fire shrimp (7yrs old), scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp and many many tiny little crabs.

~Michael

 

[michael_cb_125]

David- I got a trio of ventralis from the DD and they did very well for a while, and then for no apparent reason just started dying off. I will try them again, but not in this system.

Lt. Shineysides- I dont find this species difficult to maintain at all, provided a few prerequisites are met....

- obtain a healthy specimen from the get go.
- these fish need cool water, period.
-Feed a varied diet.

Yurivd- One thing is for sure, they are growing very fast.
In this tank, I dont plan on adding any other angels. I do not want to stress the bandits out with the addition of another angel.

For whatever reason, cardinalfish have really sparked my interest as of late....


~Michael

 

[MikeandNicole]

A fish I have always wanted, but never bought due to needing a lower temp, is catalina gobies. Pairs have been popping up on DD and they should do fine in a cold tank. They are beautiful, might be a bit small, and should not bother your angels at all.

 

[michael_cb_125]

I have considered Catalina gobies in the past, but for this tank I am looking for a species that swims in the water column.

~Michael

 

[pinnatus]

I have always liked Royal Grammas, yellow coris wrasse and Firefish to add a splash of color.

 

[michael_cb_125]

Hello pinnatus!
I actually have a harem of 6 G. loreto in an Elos 120xl (along with several other fish ).

As for the firefish, they do well in pairs but not so well in groups.

~Michael

 

[pinnatus]

That is cool you have a group of grammas. I have only ever tried them individually.

Sorry, I didn't read the first post well enough, I didn't realize you were looking for a grouping of fish - my suggestions were really for single specimens rather than a group.

I guess for a group, you are pretty much stuck with cardinals, anthias, maybe flasher wrasses or chromis (although they seem to pick each other off over time)

By the way, beautiful Bandits!

 

[michael_cb_125]

Thanks pinnatus!

~Michael

 

[Cantonesefish]

What LED spotlight are you using?

You probably don't want to do this but I think Pseudanthias hawaiiensis would be perfect. That's just what I would do And maybe some drab red hawaiian cardinals... the "good" kind of drab!