Helfrichi in a larger, active community tank?

[LobsterOfJustice]

Hey all,

How do helfrichi firefish do in a large active community tank? I have had reds and purples in nanocubes before. I know they can not handle any aggression from my experience with the other firefish species in smaller setups. What kind of fish would be likely to pick on a firefish in a larger community tank? Wrasses? Clowns were a problem in the nanocube but I don't think they would be a problem in a larger tank. And I would expect angels, tangs, and butterflies to ignore them. I do like a busy tank with lots of activity, the majority of my stocking is anthias, would too much activity intimidate them?

Edit: and yes, I have a sealed canopy lol

 

[RayL]

I have a 150 which might be a little over crowded, if you want a breakdown of my inhabitants let me know, but one of my favourites is my helfrichi, he sits dead centre of my tank for the entire time the lights are on and for a portion of time when they are off. He eats great and is not scared by anyone, I thought I might have issues and was willing to remove anything that did bug him but so far its been great. So far hes been perfect for about a year now, I hope nothing changes

 

[triggerfish1976]

I had a group of 5 in a 240 with a few tangs, angelfish, blennies, anthias, wrasses, and clownfish and they were fine. They found a nice home under an overhang and just hovered in the water column all day long.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

I've had one for a year and a half in my 125. He started coming out about 2-3 months ago. and is getting bolder and bolder. Now one really pays him any mind, and I dont know why he hid for a year. Probably had something to do with high flow. Tankmates are 3 tangs, 3 wrasse, a YTB Damsel, Clown, and fridimani dotty.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Well, I went ahead and picked one up since they were on subscriber sale at LA this week for $65. After acclimating him to the QT he never even hid, he's out swimming around with 6 anthias and 2 clowns in the crowded QT tank so it seems like he might do alright.

 

[RayL]

That was exactly the same with mine, absolutely gorgeous fish, hands down one of my favourite. Good luck and enjoy yours

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Just an update on my guy, he went through QT for a month and has been in a DT for 3 months, he is doing great. He is out and about 100% of the time, not intimidated by lots of active fish at all. I will say though that I have all pretty mellow fish, nobody pays him any attention. I'm sure if I had any scrappy little fish it might be a different story.

 

[peasofme]

in my experience they are easy to scare.

 

[triggerfish1976]

They will tend to do better with more aggressive tankmates if kept in groups. If kept alone, they can get a little stressed unless they are with other docile fish which seems to be what you are experiencing.

Great water column fish.

 

[tcmfish]

We have a pair of the orange firefish, Nemateleotris magnifica, in an ~8,000gal. display with huge tangs, a parrotfish, butterflyfish, wrasses, anthias, etc. Does fine.

 

[64Ivy]

I've a got a lone Helfrichi in my 500g with Tangs, Anthias, Fairy Wrasse, and Chromis. And while it gets along fairly well with its tank mates, it prefers to stay close to 'home', which is in a cave created by an encrusting chalice and the bare bottom. I've never seen it swim farther than maybe half the length of the tank, in fact. Otherwise, it's out all of the time and eats well. But if it's going to get spooked, it usually gets spooked by movement OUTSIDE of the tank. Fast as all get out but will pop back out in a matter of minutes. Very cool addition.

 

[triggerfish1976]

We have a pair of the orange firefish, Nemateleotris magnifica, in an ~8,000gal. display with huge tangs, a parrotfish, butterflyfish, wrasses, anthias, etc. Does fine.

In a tank that big I would imagine it would do fine as you don't get the territory issues that most see in a MUCH smaller tank. Do you have photos of the tank posted anywhere?