Groups of fish - what?

[guserto4]

I am constantly scratching my head about what I could do in groups of 5+ . I say harem of flame angels, I hear wow proceed with caution. I say raised from the same clutch, clowns to adulthood, I hear wow not more than a pair per tank. Tangs? One variety per tank. Damselfish, haha not unless you call them all gladiator.

If I wanted a group of the same fish (not necessarily to school bc good luck with that in our sized tanks) what are the options? Are Anthias sort of it? What else survives, thrives in a tank in groups (let's pretend tank size is adequate).

Don't say green chromis or you get hit with the dunce stick :hammer:

 

[kw22]

You can keep some butterflyfish and angelfish in groups.Bellus and watanabei would be your best shot for the angelfish.Copperbands and pyramids can be kept in groups.Yellow tangs,black tangs and purples can be kept in groups,if the tank is big enough.Gobies like clown gobies in larger tanks.Fuzzy lionfish and leaf fish ect can be kept in groups.Cardinals do well in groups.

 

[avandss]

Anthias also

 

[SDguy]

I am constantly scratching my head about what I could do in groups of 5+ . I say harem of flame angels, I hear wow proceed with caution. I say raised from the same clutch, clowns to adulthood, I hear wow not more than a pair per tank. Tangs? One variety per tank. Damselfish, haha not unless you call them all gladiator.

Are you looking to observe any particular sort of interactions between the fish? Just multiples that ignore each other? Many smaller damsels from the genus Chrysiptera are great choices, due to their color, and behavior. Each will basically set up a small territory. Harems of dwarf angels like flames can also work (sure, everything is "proceed with caution"... these are living animals, so nothing is 100%).

Overall, for anything larger than damsels or anthias, I actually prefer keeping multiple different pairs (if at all possible) instead of groups. I would REALLY have to like a fish to get 5 of them

 

[HPark]

Buying some frags awhile back, I saw a tank filled with dartfish and firefish...tank was no larger than 50-60 gallons and had probably 12-14 of them -- all swimming in water column. We discussed how he stocked the tank and his comment was that almost like cichlids, the more he added, the more the aggression was spread around...it was a very cool tank. Not sure if they would have been so out in the open in anything other than a species tank but very cool.

 

[Dmorty217]

Pyramid butterfly's, yellow tangs, purple tangs all will work in groups as long as the tangs are bought together at the same size and added together

 

[eatbreakfast]

Convict tangs as well. Pearly jawfish are colonial. So are garden eels. Barnacle blennies are social, trimma and eviota gobies for small tanks.

 

[Dmorty217]

+1 to the convict tangs, they are somewhat delicate until acclimated and eating well... But I guess that's all fish

 

[guserto4]

Hmmm these are some reasonable suggestions. I'm beginning to lean towards dumping all of the tanks I currently have and picking up a 125 6'L tank- I'd like to do a whole bunch of smaller fish, and I'd love to see a bunch of similar/same species doing their thing and/or interacting so long as that doesn't mean mass murder. What are your thoughts if I get that tank? What's out??

 

[OrionN]

A harem of Royal Gramma, the very best fish in group.
You can also get a harema of Flame angels. One male and 4 04 5 females in a 120 gal tank. Flame angels are dimorphic so you can easily tell them apart.
Three or 4 Watanabe angels also a great display.
Garden eels can be keep in a great looking group

 

[Stevenliu9]

You should do a harem of genicanthus, 1 male with 4-5 females, that would be a sight.

 

[o2manyfish]

Royal Grammas are nice to have in groups. Frimandi are nice.

I currently have a trio of Springeri Pseudochromis that are entertaining. I have a trio of Tail spot blennies that are cute.

To be trendy I bought a group of glass cardinals. They look just like bleeding heart tetras in a salt water tank. But they stay together in a close knit group although they don't really move around the tank.

I have a group of 5 yellow assesors, and while they are not a tight knit group having them, all out 'hanging' off the back wall of the tank is pretty cool.

I have a group of 5 dispar Anthias. I started out with 6 females. I jumped and 2 became males. I enjoy the anthias because they are out and active.

I have 8 Bangai, 4 are old and mature, and 4 in the display tank are babies that were raised in the outside rock sump (rock sump has about 10 more).

I have a trio of Multi-Bar Angels. Watching them move along the rock work together is really cool. But they are shy, and tend to stay as close to the caves and overhangs as possible.

Then there are the damsels. I have about 8 of the Kupang, which are colorful and well behaved and active. I also have about 10 of the Springeri damsels. These guys are totally mellow and cruise in and out of the corals.

And something new I am going to try are getting groups of the (12+) of the Eviota and Trimma gobies. These are just starting to come out of Bali. I spent a bit of time at MACNA talking to one of the collectors from Bali, discussing how these gobies home themselves inside the acropora, and discussing how they protect the corals, and are a great food source for the corals. These fish are tiny, so I am a little worried with my wrasses. But if they were to help protect the acros from pests and feed them. It might be worth it to risk a few.

Dave B

 

[kw22]

In a 125

2 lamaracks angelfish,or watanabei
A trio of flame angelfish
5 azure damselfish
5 royal gramma
And 5 clown gobies

Or you could add 30-35 percula or false percula clownfish and a group of anemones.that would be an interesting tank.

 

[Stevenliu9]

My school of six longspine (blue eye) cardinals sticks together and not aggressive. They also dont take crap from other fish and retaliate as a group.

 

[mbauma]

I have 5 banggai cardinal in my 140 and they hang out together for the most part. Not what I would call schooling, but they do hang out with each other.

 

[bryn.sessums1]

I have a school of 5 fire fish, love the look and way they keep pace in the current.

 

[pinnatus]

Green Chromis.

 

[Marshall O]

I have a school of 5 fire fish, love the look and way they keep pace in the current.

How long have you had the group? Most groups of Firefish eventually turn into one

 

[mjs61290]

Chalk basslets. Very peaceful fish that get along well together.

 

[mjs61290]

In a 125

2 lamaracks angelfish,or watanabei
A trio of flame angelfish
5 azure damselfish
5 royal gramma
And 5 clown gobies

Or you could add 30-35 percula or false percula clownfish and a group of anemones.that would be an interesting tank.

Wow grammas? Really? I thought they couldn't stand the sight of each other?