Looking to start stocking my 65g

[Angel*Fish]

No need to apologize. No offense taken

I think a firefish pair might be a good option. Since they must be a pair is there a way to tell at the LFS between male and female? Also, you can only had one pair of dartfish in the tank since they can become territorial amongst their own kind?

I really like the zebra barred dartfish which should be ok if I skip the wrasse right? I'd like a mandarin at some point so as suggested above I'd hate for the wrasse to pick on either of them.

What is this? 1 Red Common Starfish - I don't know odf any starfish that are appropriate in a reef tank for a beginner.

The thing with the 6-line in terms of picking is that they will literally pick the mandarin's eyes off - just to be clear

I don't know anything about dartfish other than that you have to keep the tank tightly covered, which is true of most fish anyway. As for sexing firefish, I've never heard of ways to do it. I think you just have to buy an established pair unless you're wiling to pair them through trial and error yourself and have the time and resources to do it in separate tank.

 

[NickRummy]

As for snails, for a 65g, I'd say 3 of the big mexican turbos. 3-4 nassarius. A fighting conch, and a bunch of trochus, probably 10-15.

Maybe 10 blue leg hermits, too.

Wow really? That's A LOT of Trochus! Those things are pretty big! I'm about spot on for the amount of other items you listed besides the turbos. What benefit do the Turbos bring? Also, how about snails in the refugium? I have 1 trochus and 4 nassarius in the fuge right now.

What is this? 1 Red Common Starfish - I don't know of any starfish that are appropriate in a reef tank for a beginner.

Got it from a friend who had it in a bare 20g tank. I'll agree it's probably not the best thing for me to be looking after but probably better than being in a bare tank...... I've been reading up on care for them and if there are ways to target feed it. Haven't had much success with it eating from me which seems to be an issue with most people. I signed up for a DIY fish food workshop through my local club this weekend. I'm hoping this fish food we're making will be appealing.

The thing with the 6-line in terms of picking is that they will literally pick the mandarin's eyes off - just to be clear

I guess I did put it lightly in my own words, "picking" should have probably been "torturing" but yeh, I'm with ya

 

[Angel*Fish]

Wow - it's very cool looking - don't know a thing about them. It's possibly better off in your tank, but your tank may not be better of for it. Some stars will never eat any foods you give them as they're specialized feeders. I assume you know that some can be starving and not show signs of it for like a year. Anyway good luck with it. Fwiw, I'll tell you what I would do with it - I'd get it out of my tank unless I knew exactly what it was and exactly what it eats and I was ok with that.

I figured you were just being delicate in your wording about the 6-line, just making sure.


That sounds like a lot of turbo snails to me, too I think the emerald crabs are known bad guys, maybe fish killers or something like that. Since I don't like any crabs (except filter feeders like porcelain crabs) I don't spend too much time worrying about which ones to avoid.

 

[NickRummy]

I've been trying to keep a good eye on him. He seems harmless? Of course things could change in an instant... I'm hoping I can learn more about him. If not maybe I'll have to play it safe.

What do you think of the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp? Seems like a lot of people are against anything with claws. I've always wanted 1 or 2 of these guys in the tank and was told to wait until the tank is really matured which is what I'm planning for.

I stopped at the LFS last night to look around and see what they had. They had some "Kupang Damsels" which looked really neat. I was told they aren't aggressive but something told me to look into more as I thought I had seen one before.

The Damsel suggested earlier in my post is an Azure Damsel and apparently these two are different. It looks like the Kupang is a Chrysiptera parasema and the Azure is a Chrysiptera hemicyanea.

Any input on these fish? LFS has a shipment coming in tomorrow so I'm going to see what they get in.

 

[NickRummy]

Ok, looking for a last opinion. I think I've sorted out what I'm after finally. The LFS is trying to get me in some firefish this week so I have a few questions. I really like the Purple Firefish but there really is no way to tell if you'll get a pair that will be pair up right? You just have to try and give it a shot and if it doesn't go well move one to a separate tank? I don't thikn I want to take that chance so I'm going to go with a single purple firefish.

Next question, can I add a normal firefish in with the purple firefish without any problems?

Last question, Zebra barred dartfish. I still really like these guys and since I won't be getting anything that will mess with them I think this is still an option. I read they do better in small groups, say two or three. Is this true? can these be kept with the firefish and purple firefish? I'm going to call the LFS today and see if they can get these in as well.

The only other fish I am looking to add in the future after the tank has been up and running for a while longer will be a flame angel and possibly a mandarin. The mandarin would be a long time away still. The FA maybe a few months.

 

[Angel*Fish]

I really think that's the only only way to do it with firefish. You could try them in QT and if they didn't work it out, the other would be easy to catch. I think divers den may sell mated pairs from time to time. Maybe your LFS will do it for you. I don't know how long you have to wait before you know if they are a pair. (or if they'll fight immediately)

The dartfish doesn't sound like something the firefish would get along with, but I don't know much about dartfish. You might want to try starting a new thread about them as sometimes when a thread gets to a full page like this one, the responses slow down.

Azures seem to be the same as kupang from what I googled (hemicyanea). If you get one, just make sure it's that same fish in the pic with the same coloration(when you google Chrysiptera hemicyanea) . An elongated body with a more royal blue color is a different species. Usually those don't have a definite line of separation between the yellow and blue. The C paresemas are yellow tailed damsels and the same selection advice goes for them - google a photo. If the fish doesn't look exactly the same, it's a different species. The paresemas are supposed to be ok also, but I've never personally had one. The C. hemicyaneas, I can vouch for.

This fish is NOT a C. hemicyanea

I like skunks, but you're right anything with claws is suspect lol. I had one and it didn't seem to cause any probs.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Ok, I looked it up- that fish above is a Pomacentrus auriventris which is supposed to also be somewhat peaceful. And there's a similar one with a little less yellow P caeruleus which should have a similar disposition. They stay small - the auri being the smaller of the two. I like the C hemicyaneas best because they are the smallest of all (along with the P alleni) . With damsels, small is a desirable trait

 

[small alien]

I think you are smart to do a single purple firefish. I don't think you can add a different firefish but I could be wrong. But you should be fine with the zebra darts and a purple firefish from what I've read. And, yes, the zebras will probably do better in a trio.

 

[NickRummy]

Did a lot of reading and found quite a bit of info and picked up a couple new tank mates.

The Zebra bar actually dug out a cave under one of the rocks in the tank and both the firefish share it with the Zebra at night! It's crazy! As soon as the actinics pop on they all come out and start scavenging haha