Fish advice

[SquidHC]

Alright so my tank is about a month and a half old now and going strong. Its a 75 gallon tank, 4ft long. All I have in there right now are a pair of black Saddleback Clowns that are around an inch long. They dont really use the space atall and just kinda chill in this one area they like. I am looking to get a few more fish but not sure what would be best.

Heres a list of a few fish I would like.

1. Pair of Black Saddleback clowns. Already in and doing very well.

2. Hippo Tang (Yes my daughter is obsessed with Finding Nemo)

3. 6 Line Wrass (Cool fish and I seem to have an over abundance of bristle worms, but Im concerned that it will mess with my clowns abit since its a semi agressive fish)

4. Flame Hawkfish (Says reef safe but will eat small shrimp. Will it eat mature sized fire shrimp?)

5. Spotted or Green Mandarin Dragonet (Dont know if it will compete with the Hawkfish, also I know i cant have one untill my tank is much better established. Still just an interesting fish overall.)

6. Royal Gramma Basslet (Honestly not my favorite fish but its nice and bright and Im sure would be a great addition. Concern is that its primarily a bottom dweller and I really want a few fish that are going to be up and about swimming around.)

Well thats kinda my idea as far as fish goes. I would love some suggestions as to interesting fish that would do well in a peaceful reef community. I prefer very bright fish, or fish with a good level of contrast because my disabled son, who is the primary reason for making this tank, doesn't have the best vision and can see the contrast much better than a fish that blends in well. Thanks for your time.

 

[team2jndd]

The only fish you really can't handle is the hippo. It will outgrow your tank relatively fast. The rest sounds good to me it is all personal preference.

 

[SquidHC]

Most people say the tank will do decently well in a 75 gallon tank. Is this incorrect?

 

[poppin_fresh]

A smaller Hippo might be ok, but they are tough to keep.

A Sixline, can be a bully, but not always. Mine only ever bullied a Purple Firefish, it never payed any attention to the other fish I added. I have never seen mine eat a bristle worm, but they are pod eaters. This would cause a serious problem for a Mandarin.

Hawkfish (and Sixlines) will prey on shrimp if they feel the need. Just depends on the individual I guess.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

"most people" i assume you mean most stores recommend, even good online stores. unfortunately they are wrong, as they are in alot of recommendations. tangs like alot of distance to swim. while a juvenile tang would do just fine, a full grown one would be cramped. also mandarins eat pods, and usually wont eat prepared foods. without a very mature tank they usually starve to death. some have luck with prepared food, but its hit or miss. you should definitely wait till at least the 6 month mark if not the year for that one. 6 lines also eat pods, and will out compete a mandarin alot of the time, but will also eat prepared food readily, so u dont have to worry quite as much.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

btw the gramma eats bristle worms very readily, prob more so than the 6 line, and is small enough that it wouldnt really take much bio load away from u. also 6 line mess with a clown?? clowns are a form of damsel, trust me, they can hold there own and often are the ones picking on other fish 4x their size

 

[PhilOlsen]

The general rule of thumb fo stocking is 1" of fish per 5 gallons of water, this needs to be calculated at the full mature size of the species.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

that general rule also doesnt hold much water. you will hear that a bit, but most that ive seen disagree. stocking limits have many factors. tank size/dimensions, amount of feeding, amount of skimming, fish compatability, ect. could u keep a 12" fish in a 60g cube? no how about 4 3" fish? sounds like a way understocked boring tank to me if you like having something other than just coral. but to each his own

 

[moon jelly]

stay away from the mandarins at this time. you need a WELL established tank with lotsa copepods. its not too often that mandarins eat fish food. they eat the pods and if don't have a food source, they will starve.

 

[peterkay]

I would steer clear of the dragonets too. They very often starve to death. They need very established tanks, and tons of LR (100lbs+). Also the Hippo will definitely outgrow the tank; surgeons need ALOT of free swimming space to be happy. Try a nice little goby of some kind. Very peaceful as long as nobody challenges them for their space on the bottom. They've got great characters too.. always digging around and sifting the sand through their gills..

 

[SquidHC]

Re: Fish advice

Ok so here is my original list. and with new comments

1. Pair of Black Saddleback clowns. Already in and doing very well.

2. Hippo Tang Cant have cause tank is too small

3. 6 Line Wrass Seems like a good choice still as long as I have no interest in any other fish that are scavengers

4. Flame Hawkfish Noone said anything other than it might or might not eat shrimp depending on its personality.

5. Spotted or Green Mandarin Dragonet Out of the question for now for various reasons. This I expected.

6. Royal Gramma Basslet The fish I really didnt care for that much. But seems like a good tank addition and good for eating the worms



So, can anyone make a list or at least a few suggestions as to some good fish for a tank early on. Im getting kinda bummed out because my LFS's really dont have much of a variety of fish and what they have dont seem to be very compatible. I try looking at the fish stores online but I dont know too well what I should be looking for because they seem to give alot of unclear information. I dont want to go put a bad fish im my tank but Im just not seeing very many options I guess. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sk8r]

Also, mandarins and wrasses don't get along. I have a mandarin in a year-old 54: she's small and my tank has a lot of rock.
Bristleworms are a good thing. Don't deplete them entirely. I have over a hundred, several 10 inchers, and they've saved my tank from nitrate on more than one occasion.
A fish that 'can' eat shrimp will eat shrimp.
You could have a yellow tang in that size tank. They only get 10" long.
And if you want a wrasse, you might try the flasher wrasses: very colorful, lot of interesting behavior. Not good with small fish like blennies and gobies or dartfish. Wrasses can be pretty aggressive.
My own preferences run to blennies and gobies, which mind their own business and get along with most other species, except those of their own subspecies. They often pair up with other fish of similar size, but often NOT those of their own kind.
My recommendation for where to get fish if your lfs doesn't stock many is liveaquaria.com ---subdivision of foster/smith. They have a guarantee, they ship healthy fish, [cost a bit more than some places] and if you examine their site carefully, they have a compatibility guide.

 

[SquidHC]

bump

 

[hootie51]

I recently got a royal gramma, which I wasn't too excited about either b/c it's so common and I had heard that they hide in the rock a lot, but it has quickly become one of my favorite fish. Mine is very active swimming all around the tank and the colors are very vibrant. You might end up liking it more than you think you will!

 

[techigirl78]

Have you looked at getting a blenny? I have a canary fang, orange spotted, and midas. They all are great fish. Having one blenny would be a nice addition and the canary fang and midas are a very bright yellow.

Also, if you don't love the basslet I wouldn't get it just to eat worms. Does your son have a favorite color?

Also, I agree with Sk8r - liveaquaria.com is a good source for livestock and the information seems to be on the more accurate side when it comes to online vendors. Just be careful, as it can be off at times, so don't trust it completely.