Large Passive Reef Safe Fish?

[ponokareefer]

Regal angelfish are my favorite and I'd never have a reef without one, but mine is not passive at all. I've had others that were, but the one I've had for the past several years is very hard on newly introduced fish and even bites me when I put my hands in the water. I think I have the meanest regal in the world, haha.

I got rid of my regal tang when it started slapping my 3 foot zebra eels in the face with its tail whenever they came out to eat.

 

[pfan151]

Not sure if you would consider them giant but a few big pyramid butterflies would be sweet. I've got one and it's passive and incredibly easy to care for.

 

[Kremis]

I have 2 pyramids in my 180. Massive pigs. Mine eat xenia, not sure about other softies, watch out just as a warning

 

[ponokareefer]

Thank you for everyone's help. I'm going on the hunt to get a marine betta pair and foxface pair. Foxface are readily available in my area for relatively cheap. Marine betta's have always been one of my favorite looking fish but I always thought they ate anything that fit in their mouth, which my research has shown otherwise.

 

[ThRoewer]

I've had more than five pairs of Marine Bettas over time and none of them ever ate a fish, not even frozen feeder fish.
These guys are very specialized in hunting softshelled crustaceans like shrimps and pods. You will actually see them a lot picking tiniest pods of rocks. My current two pairs also eat flakes just fine.

There are of course relatives among the other Plesiopidae that will eat fish, but those are more fast ambush predators of the genus Plesiops.


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[Blue spot]

i have a tassled file fish . completely on accident but is a real show stopper in the tank, everybody loves her, including me, good with shrimp, fish and large crabs, did eat an arrow head crab once.

 

[Myles]

How are the tassled files with coral? I've had good experiences with files from the genus Pervagor in my reefs.
Myles

 

[ponokareefer]

I've had more than five pairs of Marine Bettas over time and none of them ever ate a fish, not even frozen feeder fish.
These guys are very specialized in hunting softshelled crustaceans like shrimps and pods. You will actually see them a lot picking tiniest pods of rocks. My current two pairs also eat flakes just fine.

There are of course relatives among the other Plesiopidae that will eat fish, but those are more fast ambush predators of the genus Plesiops.


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Did you buy the Betta's as pairs, or did you pair them up yourself?

 

[ThRoewer]

The first three back in Germany I paired from adults. All spawned within a month.
With the two pairs I have now I just put two differently sized juveniles together. They are all still too small for spawning.

Unless you can sex them I would go with a small juvenile (1.5 - 3") and a clearly larger subadult or adult and let them work it out on their own.

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[ponokareefer]

The first three back in Germany I paired from adults. All spawned within a month.
With the two pairs I have now I just put two differently sized juveniles together. They are all still too small for spawning.

Unless you can sex them I would go with a small juvenile (1.5 - 3") and a clearly larger subadult or adult and let them work it out on their own.

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Thank you for the info. I will know what to look for now.