Fish that can live in groups?

[Royalturtle]

I have a 75g softie/lps tank that has been up and running for about a year now. Long story short, I had a fish that went through qt with copper treatment and still managed to bring disease (I believe ich) into the dt. I lost a kole tang, royal gramma, and fire fish in addition to the new fish - this was about 6 weeks ago. So currently I have a pair of ocellaris clowns and that is all (in addition to coral and inverts). I really enjoyed all those fish but thinking about mixing it up this time. I would still like to replace the kole tang as the centerpiece fish, but was wondering if there are any recommended "group" fish that would work in my system. They don't need to be shoaling fish, I just want to simplify the look by adding several colorful fish of the same kind. I have read conflicting things about a group of royal grammas in a system this size, and of course about chromis and some of the more "docile" damsels. In an ideal world I would put a group of yellowtail damsels as I think they're gorgeous, but I'm probably too afraid. Any suggestions or experiences? Thank you!

 

[Betta132]

Threadfin cardinals or anthias are the only two real guaranteed schoolers an aquarist can find without a lot of trouble.
Yellowtail damsels stay small and are fairly peaceful, for damsels. They puff up and dance around, but they run away if something retaliates. I'd add them last, just in case, but I wouldn't consider them aggressive... Well, unless you add something that's under an inch long. They'll chase that.
Do NOT get a yellowtail with any yellow on its stomach. That's a yellowbelly devil, which lives up to its name.
They won't school, but I've seen them halfway shoal around prime spots. Something to consider.
Chromis are bad ideas. They often carry disease, and they'll actually kill each other off. If you look, you can find LOADS of stories of people who started with a bunch and ended up with one or two.

 

[eatbreakfast]

There are a number of cardinal species that are social, just not bangaiis, but small slender species are generally good. Barnacle blennies, eviota and trimma gobies are small and peaceful. A small anthias choice is the randalls that does well in grouos. Pink bar, scissortail, and blue gudgeon gobies are personal favorites are mine.

 

[Royalturtle]

Thanks for the info! I have read a lot of mixed reviews on the chromis in terms of killing each other off - had not read about diseases, after my latest experience that's probably enough to scare me off right there. Don't want to lose another tang (or my clowns, for that matter). Interesting to hear your perspective on the yellowtails - I keep reading they're nicer than other damsels, but then keep getting scared off just because they're still damsels. This would be my first choice, so I like what you're saying . Do they do better in evens or odds?

I had not seen the blue gudgeon goby before - love the color! Definitely gives me something to think about. Thanks again!

 

[CBsurfrider]

I started off with six Chromis and ended up with two over the years. They were hearty as far as disease though.

 

[formsix]

If you think your tank has ich you might want to think about moving the clowns to a QT tank for 9 weeks before you add anything else back into the DT. It would be a shame to add new fish and have them succumb to ich from your tank. The clowns though should be pretty hardy and handle 9 weeks in another tank w/o any problems (either a cycled tank or an uncycled one w/ frequent water changes and an ammonia neutralizer).

 

[Royalturtle]

Thanks for the advice - I am considering using one qt for the clowns and another for the new tang, get it all done at once and clear any ich, hopefully. The sick fish appeared to develop some ich-looking white spots, I took him out and into hospital tank, but a few days later the kole tang and fire fish died, no symptoms seen. The royal gramma had a crazy fluffy white growth on his face and died within a few hours of that appearing. The original sick fish developed cloudiness over his eyes then a large growth on his head which sloughed off and left a somewhat raw area underneath, before eventually dying - all this was back in the hospital tank. It was a yellow tang, btw. So based on the initial spots I assume there is ich in my tank, but don't know if ich can create the weird fluffiness I saw on the gramma or if there was more than one disease going on.

 

[Betta132]

Perhaps some kind of fungus?
CLEAN THAT QT TANK. As in, sterilize it. Twice.

 

[Royalturtle]

Lol, believe me it has been obsessively taken apart and scrubbed with a toothbrush. Soap, bleach, air dry, etc. And the fluffiness certainly did look fungus-y, but I don't know enough about fish diseases to ID much. That fish was a disaster.

 

[Betta132]

I'm gonna guess fungus that maybe left the fish open to ich when it stressed them?

 

[Royalturtle]

That would make sense. I've got a long process ahead of me to de-ich and restock, thank you all for the input!