Help Picking Fish

S

SpookyMcSpooker

New member
Okey doke, I recently moved my 40 gallon reef tank 2 hours across town from where it was originally. It was a pain but, in the end, the tank looks much better.

I kept everything except my fish. I had no where to keep them while I moved the tank : (. In a way though I'm kind of glad I did because I had a cherub angel and a 6 lined wrasse that were so evil the devil would hide from them.

Now that the tank is in working order again, I'd like to get some more fish. I have already put together a list of lots of fish but, I'm needing a bit of help figuring out the compatibility and care requirements. I'd also like to keep the numbers down to 5 or less fish.

Clownfish-
percula
ocellaris(love these guys)(priority)
any other peaceful clown

Anthias-
sunburst(so far the only one I've been told can do well alone in a smaller tank)(priority)

Basslets-
royal gramma(worried about compatibility with the anthia)
chalk bass(same as the gramma, also worried about shrimp)

Blennies-
starry blenny(had one before I moved the tank)
midas blenny
black combtooth blenny
bi-color blenny
any other suggestion

Goby-
twospot goby
yellow watchman goby
hifin goby(never had one, looks cool)
red head goby
any other suggestion

Cardinals-(worried my friend had no luck with these)
PJ cardinal
any other suggestion

Wrasses-(don't want a repeat of the 6 line wrasse)
McCowskers
Carpenters
Linespot
any other suggestion

Chromis-
green chromis

Other-
anything else that might work but, I'm concerned mostly about the anthia as my family has their hearts set on having one now :headwallblue:
 
Here are my choices for your categories...


Clownfish-
percula pair. Smaller and more peaceful than ocellaris

Anthias-
sunburst(so far the only one I've been told can do well alone in a smaller tank)(priority) agreed

Basslets-
royal gramma(worried about compatibility with the anthia not sure on this..maybe)

Blennies-
tailspot... nice and small

Goby-
aurora

Cardinals-(worried my friend had no luck with these)
orange stripe

Wrasses-(don't want a repeat of the 6 line wrasse)
Linespot this one is my favorite

Chromis-
green chromis pass...much better choices above IMO
 
Should I maybe skip basslets in general? I'm still reading stories about them being aggresive.

Also in an effort to keep numbers low, if I do a pair of clowns, should I do a goby and a blenny or go with a cardinal and a blenny/goby?
 
no, i personally have a firefish (type of goby), tailspot blenny, and a few gobies (clown and diamond). They all hang out in different parts of the tank.
 
my royal gamma is the punk of the tank (but totally harmless). i'd say load up on the wrasses (coolest fish of the bunch), but yes avoid the devil 6-line :-)
 
lol yeah, figured that out the hard way. I'm not sure if it'd be smart to have multiple wrasses in such a small tank. But then again I don't know much XD. Hopefully I'll have no issues with gobies and blennies though, interesting fish and I"ll maybe try a firefish.
 
SpookyMcSpooker said:
Clownfish-percula More peaceful than ocellaris IME, a pair would work.
Anthias-
sunburst(so far the only one I've been told can do well alone in a smaller tank) Should work out well

Basslets-
royal gramma(worried about compatibility with the anthia) Never heard of people having grammas being aggressive.

Blennies-
any other suggestion Tailspot, personal favorite blenny.

Goby-
any other suggestion I would suggest Randall's Watchman Goby

Wrasses-
McCosckers
Linespot
My two favorite flasher wrasses

Chromis-
green chromis Skip, IMO they get pretty ugly when full grown.
Click to expand...

These are my suggestions. I don't really like cardinals very much, it may just be the ones sent to MN, but they look quite odd. Chromis don't look very good when fully grown, especially the green varieties.
 
SpookyMcSpooker said:
Okey doke, I recently moved my 40 gallon reef tank 2 hours across town from where it was originally. It was a pain but, in the end, the tank looks much better.

I kept everything except my fish. I had no where to keep them while I moved the tank : (. In a way though I'm kind of glad I did because I had a cherub angel and a 6 lined wrasse that were so evil the devil would hide from them.

Now that the tank is in working order again, I'd like to get some more fish. I have already put together a list of lots of fish but, I'm needing a bit of help figuring out the compatibility and care requirements. I'd also like to keep the numbers down to 5 or less fish.

Clownfish-
percula <-----less aggressive, maybe you might want to look in designer clowns
ocellaris(love these guys)(priority)
any other peaceful clown

Anthias-
sunburst(so far the only one I've been told can do well alone in a smaller tank)(priority) No expiernce

Basslets-
royal gramma(worried about compatibility with the anthia)Had a royal Garmma for 2years in my reef tank and was very peaceful and reef safe

chalk bass(same as the gramma, also worried about shrimp)
Blennies-
starry blenny(had one before I moved the tank)
midas blenny<---- My favorite, has alot of personalty and very beautiful
black combtooth blenny
bi-color blenny
any other suggestion

Goby-
twospot goby
yellow watchman goby<---- Only had this type of goby paired with a pistol shrimp, neat pair
hifin goby(never had one, looks cool)
red head goby
any other suggestion

Cardinals-(worried my friend had no luck with these)
PJ cardinal
any other suggestion<------ Never had cardinals but maybe you could get a school of redspot glass cardinals

Wrasses-(don't want a repeat of the 6 line wrasse)
McCowskers
Carpenters
Linespot
any other suggestion<---- Same as you had a sixline and i hated, besides that no other experience

Chromis-
green chromis<----- Boring and get dull when older, if you want a damsel get a starki

Other-
Maybe a a red hawk fish
This is just my experience and suggestions,GL with your choices : P ::
Click to expand...
 
What is a starki?

Also, the randal's goby is an interesting suggestion. I've read that they and the Hifin goby will sometimes share burrows with other species. That'd be quite a neat pair if I could pull it off in a 40 gallon.
 
That would be interesting to see, but I don't know if a 40 gallon will be big enough for the two if they get into a fight.

This is a starcki damsel(they are one of my favorite fish, damsel wise)
 
That's what I figured, maybe a wrasse expert will chime in XD

That's a pretty damsel, I wouldn't mind having one but, I'm concerned it might be a bit of a jerk to the clowns or anthia. Have you had any experience with them?
 
You mean goby?

For damsels, they are true brutes when they are kept in smaller aquariums. The minimum is actually 50 I think, but 100+ is where you should have way reduced aggression from them.
 
yes goby, sorry lol.

That's what worries me, and damsels are good at hiding too. I'd have to tear all the rocks out AND my sand just like the last time I had to catch one if it caused problems X /
 
Yeah just plan on it being aggressive so you don't get one that is nice for two weeks then becomes the devil's king. Currently I am trying to sell a three stripe damsel that came with my 125 gallon set up and you look at him and think he is cute. He is submissive to the female perc I have, she is queen and she will have it stay that way. So you still think innocent right? Well guess again. When feeding my inverts(two bleached BTA's, feather duster, peppermint shrimp, snails, etc...) he goes after my hand and arm. 75% of his charges are bluffs where he swims as fast as he can at you and rubs against your hand or arm. The rest are bites. Watching him he looks like a swarm of bees :) Can't wait to get rid of it lol.
 
Ok, so I've narrowed it down to 5 or so fish. Some of these say and/or, that's because I'm not sure if I can mix them or not, probably not, but am not sure which I should get.

1 fathead anthia

1 redfin fairy wrasse and/or 1line spot flasher wrasse

1percula/occellaris clownfish(want this to be a black morph)

1midas blenny/tribal blenny/forktail blenny(for the blue)

1randall's goby and/or 1hifin goby
 
Looks like a fine mix to me. Your midas may get a bit larger than you expect.
 
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