small alien
The fungus is among us.
Greg, is that the natural build of that filefish? It looks really thin.
Cool Fish Suggestions
- Thread starter bmw_zoan
- Start date
BeanMachine
Active member
I don't think a 57 gallon tank is large enough for a blotched anthias. They are also not that easy to keep. Definitely beautiful though.
I don't believe that the orange spot is Reef Safe, picks on corals and can be a difficult fish to get eating.
I have a yellow canary wrasse (half yellow and half white- sort of uncommon) and it is always out and about swimming. Nice and fat. Easy to keep.
I also have, which are a bit more challenging but attention getters-
Australian Banded Pipefish
M. Meleagris (Blackspot Leopard Wrasse)
M. Potteri (Potters Leopard Wrasse)
Blue Spotted Jaw Fish (requires a deep sandbed, or Jaw Fish motel)
small alien
The fungus is among us.
Nice fish list, BeanMachine. Any pics of your leopards and your pipe?
cside
New member
this would be awesome if you have experience with finicky feeders
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?c=720&pCatId=2224
Jawfish are pretty cool. I also don't know many people with coral crouchers, and hawkfish seem to have interesting personalities.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?c=720&pCatId=2224
Jawfish are pretty cool. I also don't know many people with coral crouchers, and hawkfish seem to have interesting personalities.
joejoe1055
New member
a blue hamlet would be differnt
BeanMachine
Active member
I got lucky I got both the leopard wrasses to eat prepared foods. You can get them from LiveAquaria eating mysis. The eat pellets, flakes, mysis, basically everything.
The pipefish also eats mysis and cyclops.
Took some with the cell phone tonight for ya. The wrasses are quick I cant get any good shots!
Pipefish
Potters
Blackspotted & Canary
**And heres another of the pipe and the Blue Spotted Jawfish and the Motel I made with PVC and a barnacle.
The pipefish also eats mysis and cyclops.
Took some with the cell phone tonight for ya. The wrasses are quick I cant get any good shots!
Pipefish
Potters
Blackspotted & Canary
**And heres another of the pipe and the Blue Spotted Jawfish and the Motel I made with PVC and a barnacle.
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I agree that you should get a fish YOU want and appreciate, rather than looking for something to wow others in the hobby. Other than being an unusual fish, I understand you are looking for one that is reef safe, easy to care for and suitable for a 57 gallon tank with some smaller fish. I'm assuming you have a cover, as most fish can and will jump, eventually.
As others have mentioned, a wrasse may fit the bill. Radiant wrasses are beautiful, pretty hardy, compared to some others, and I don't see them much. They do need a sand bed.
Mystery wrasses are also one of those that aren't really rare, but I don't think they are super-common. They are active and really "pop" in a tank. Not sure if one will be too aggressive for your firefish.
I don't know how much flow or what types of corals you have - but if flow is moderate and you have corals without aggressive stings, you could consider captive bred seahorses (disease free, acclimated to captive conditions, trained to eat frozen). I buy from seahorsesource.com. They have excellent stock and great service and support. Seahorses have specific requirements for flow, food, tankmates, so be sure you research first.
Have you considered a pair of ORA captive raised mandarins? They are healthy and are used to eating frozen or pellets. I have a male target mandarin from ORA. He is thriving in my 44 pent. Wild caught mandarins often starve to death in smaller tanks because they don't recognize frozen or pellets as food, and quickly decimate any pods.
They have several species. It's not so uncommon to see mandarins, but a vibrant, healthy pair is spectacular, and not necessarily common. In a peaceful tank, they are really noticeable and active.
I would avoid fish that will hide, like assessors, and any that are especially picky eaters or have a bad record of survival in captivity (WC pipefish, moth fish, shrimpfish, orange spot filefish).
I have a marine betta, which would work in your tank. It's not rare, but I don't see a lot of them. It is hardy, not aggressive, and really spectacular looking. They have a reputation for hiding a lot, but mine is out quite a bit more than I expected. Being in a peaceful tank helps a lot.
I hardly ever see mature engineer gobies in reef tanks. If you have a good foundation of rockwork (resting on the glass, not the sand) consider an engineer goby. They are really cool looking when mature, very peaceful and hardy. Interesting burrowing behavior. Great eel "substitute" for a peaceful tank.
Good luck with your search for the perfect fish! I am partial to puffers and filefish for their cool personalities and looks, and to lionfish for their predatory elegance. Not sure either would be a good fit in your tank. If you could find a pretty reef safe small filefish, it would be a great additions. I like these.
Mimic filefish (mimics a puffer - beautiful, small, I suspect reef safe). Nice in pairs, but buy them as a pair.
Bristle tail (aiptasia eating) filefish - small, peaceful, do well in pairs, great personality. Not sure how reef safe they would be.
I had one of these. Very active. Though not big, not sure your 57 would be large enough.
As others have mentioned, a wrasse may fit the bill. Radiant wrasses are beautiful, pretty hardy, compared to some others, and I don't see them much. They do need a sand bed.
Mystery wrasses are also one of those that aren't really rare, but I don't think they are super-common. They are active and really "pop" in a tank. Not sure if one will be too aggressive for your firefish.
I don't know how much flow or what types of corals you have - but if flow is moderate and you have corals without aggressive stings, you could consider captive bred seahorses (disease free, acclimated to captive conditions, trained to eat frozen). I buy from seahorsesource.com. They have excellent stock and great service and support. Seahorses have specific requirements for flow, food, tankmates, so be sure you research first.
Have you considered a pair of ORA captive raised mandarins? They are healthy and are used to eating frozen or pellets. I have a male target mandarin from ORA. He is thriving in my 44 pent. Wild caught mandarins often starve to death in smaller tanks because they don't recognize frozen or pellets as food, and quickly decimate any pods.
They have several species. It's not so uncommon to see mandarins, but a vibrant, healthy pair is spectacular, and not necessarily common. In a peaceful tank, they are really noticeable and active.
I would avoid fish that will hide, like assessors, and any that are especially picky eaters or have a bad record of survival in captivity (WC pipefish, moth fish, shrimpfish, orange spot filefish).
I have a marine betta, which would work in your tank. It's not rare, but I don't see a lot of them. It is hardy, not aggressive, and really spectacular looking. They have a reputation for hiding a lot, but mine is out quite a bit more than I expected. Being in a peaceful tank helps a lot.
I hardly ever see mature engineer gobies in reef tanks. If you have a good foundation of rockwork (resting on the glass, not the sand) consider an engineer goby. They are really cool looking when mature, very peaceful and hardy. Interesting burrowing behavior. Great eel "substitute" for a peaceful tank.
Good luck with your search for the perfect fish! I am partial to puffers and filefish for their cool personalities and looks, and to lionfish for their predatory elegance. Not sure either would be a good fit in your tank. If you could find a pretty reef safe small filefish, it would be a great additions. I like these.
Mimic filefish (mimics a puffer - beautiful, small, I suspect reef safe). Nice in pairs, but buy them as a pair.
Bristle tail (aiptasia eating) filefish - small, peaceful, do well in pairs, great personality. Not sure how reef safe they would be.
I had one of these. Very active. Though not big, not sure your 57 would be large enough.
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sasharotty
Moved on to my couch
Those candy basslets are sweeeet!
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
We hadn't had the fish very long when the pic was shot...altho, I can't say I've ever seen a really fat specimen in person. They eat fine, but aren't what I consider voracious. IME, they're fairly timid in general.
Here's a pic of the leopard wrasse we had for a good 8 years:
We kept a pair of Janss' pipes in the same reef. Altho they weren't truly "out and about" fish, it was cool when they would come out to feed or groom their tankmates:
Pic fomr QT:
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