Need a new-fish suggestion

[TA]

Many of you have seen my tank at the last meeting, so while its fresh in your minds, maybe you can help me with selecting a new fish.

I'm thinking of adding 1 to 3 new fish (not necessarily all at once, but will if suggested/recommended). Looking for small-ish fish; compatible with those below; easy to feed; nothing as boring as my cardinal; and colorful. I like wrasses/angels, but not sure which I can add....suggestions highly appreciated. Current fish include:

Powder blue tang
6-line wrasse
PJ cardinal

[Mandarin is/will be relocated, so not included in the list above]

Inverts include 2x cleaner shrimp and as many as 5 small peppermints (almost never visable).

TIA

 

[DanConnor]

My 4 newest fish are my faves:

I love my radiant wrasse. He so cute I want to pinch his little cheeks! Doesn't bother anything.

My african flameback angel is hands down the brightest colored fish I've ever owned. Really nice. I notice some at Eddies are just yellow, while some are this rich saturated orange. I have the latter.

Tuskfish- great fish, probably too big for your tank.

I just got a springer's dottyback. I don't see many of these around. Really small for a dottyback, and jet black with electric blue lines. Orchid dottybacks are great too, very stylish.

The last think I want to get is a trio of Allen's damsels. I think they are the pretties of the mild mannered small damsels; but they are hard to find. Saw one at eddies once.

 

[xian]

Tops on my list

Bicolor or midas Blenny
Scott's Fairy Wrasse

 

[DanConnor]

Matt, look into the long term coloration on the scotts. I had a solarensis wrasse once (alone) and it faded very badly.

 

[TA]

So Dan, are you saying that any one of those fish would be compatible with the fish I already have and not be too large (other than the Tuskfish)? Did you find the radiant wrasse/flameback angel locally or have to order online (where?)?

Matt...does the blenny like/require substrate?

Thanks for the suggestions...looking into each one.

 

[TA]

Dan, does your angel nip at your corals?
They all look to be very nice fish....but.....should I worry about my tang or 6-line beating on them when introduced? Also, if I wanted more than just one, would you (or anyone) suggest adding at the same time or not?

 

[xian]

Blennies like holes (rather than sand) Midas is elongated and swims around quite a bit. Bicolor might keep off the radar better.

You could try anthias

Unfortunately as far as when to put them in you already commited the cardinal sin of adding the powder blue first.

If he doesn't like something its not likely to last long.

 

[TA]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7285392#post7285392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xian
..you already commited the cardinal sin of adding the powder blue first.

I know. That's been my biggest concern.
When I added the 6-line, the PBT beat the heck outa him for about a day...now they're best buddies!

The PJC....well.....he's just....there. Sometimes he 'spars' with the 6-line. Its always a stand-off. Kinda interesting to watch. Thats the most excitment I get to see from him.

As you probably know, I had to take advantage of the PBT offer at that time. Thats why I posted the question first. I really would like a small angel, but I'm not sure if I should/could. A couple of nice wrasse would be nice too!

I'm gonna get something, so I might as well get some opinions as to what might/most likey be compatible with the fish I have.

Thanks for your input.

 

[xian]

Well shape is a concern, the PBT is more likely to dilsike an angel than a blenny. there are always dartfish, I like firefish. Gramma's are very nice. Black cap and royal versions I'm also fond of Diadema Pseudochromis.

Another blenny I've liked in the past is the harptailed fang blenny.

 

[DanConnor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7284011#post7284011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TA
Dan, does your angel nip at your corals?
They all look to be very nice fish....but.....should I worry about my tang or 6-line beating on them when introduced? Also, if I wanted more than just one, would you (or anyone) suggest adding at the same time or not?

That angel is pretty tough, probably can stand his own. Not a problem with corals at all.

If you add new fish I think I would add them all at once to diffuse the unwelcome attention.

The fish I got all came from Eddies, but I had to request them and keep checking. Except the angel; that was just there.

 

[TA]

Thanks Dan.

 

[michaelg]

Tony-
The singapore angelfish I have is awesome. Started eating from my hand in a week. I think most photos do not show how nice the coloration is on these fish. In a tank full with sps, lps, and some softies.
Fairy wrasses are another great choice- but you really should have a sandbed for them.
Blennies are very personable fish.
I think Dan's suggestion of adding them all at once might be a good plan- especially with the powder blue situation.

 

[DanConnor]

That's the good thing about the radiant wrasse; sandbeds are optional with that species. Mine seems fine without one.

 

[michaelg]

Interesting. From my understanding the "fairy" wrasses sleep in them, and I know the old leopard wrasse I had in DC did.... not sure how they would do without one, but it seems that their natural instinct is to dive into the sand at night. Perhaps it is an adaptation? I really haven't heard that the sandbeds are a "requirement"- so maybe they can adapt to rockwork just fine??? and the same holds for other types? Have many people tried the fish in tanks without sand (all the wrasses in this discussion).

 

[xian]

I had an unidentified juvenile fairy wrasse in a QT tank for six months. It died in my move but it was healthy up until then.

 

[vmiller]

So much for not adding new fish, eh?

Your Powder Blue picking on a fish for a day is NOTHING! I think your Powder Blue is an ameteur bulley in comparison to my Achilles.

The key to adding new fish with these guys is making them forget their territory. If the fish is different enough fron the tang, like the wrasse, you can let it go through it's initiation day and things should be fine after that. Although, if you quarantine the fish and fatten it up, it will be better equipped to stand up to the abuse. Adding all the new fish at once will divide the aggression and give each fish a little more peace. It will also reduce the chances of any of the new fish fighting with eachother.

If you happen to get a fish that the tang will be displeased with indefinitely, there are a few things you can try. If it is a fish that is known to be difficult to get eating, I would highly recommend quarantining it just to get it eating well before adding it. Otherwise the abuse from the Powder Blue will make it less likely to eat. I've gone through this several times with Copperbands. If the fish is small, chances are it will have an easy time fleeing and hiding from the Powder Blue. Just make sure you add the fish at night to give it a head start finding it's way around the tank. I added a Scopas Tang to my tank and because he is a lot smaller than the Achilles, he has no problem getting away from him, and gradually the aggression is subsiding between the two. If the fish is bigger, try using egg crate to divide the tank in half and leave it this way for a month or two. This allows the new fish to acclimate to the new surroundings in peace, helps the Powder Blue forget about that half of the tank being his, and will get the Powder Blue accustomed to seeing the new fish without being able to attack it. It can be a pain to set up the egg crate, but I think it works great. I've done it several times and I think it's the only reason why I was able to add a second Acanthurid to my tank.

If you consider getting an pygmy angel, be prepared for your sps polyps to always be retracted.

For some smaller fish, how about an orchid dottyback, a royal gramma, a clownfish, or a midas blenny? They are all small fish that are colorful and/or fun to watch. Things to consider - the dottyback is aggressive, but it's small, the gramma is timid, and the blenny is a jumper.

If you can find a wrasse that doesn't burrow, that would be a nice option too, but you might have aggression problems with your 6 line.

Or how about an Anthias? They need to be fed a lot and tend not to do as well in brighter lighting, but they're very colorful.

 

[michaelg]

Blennies are jumpers. The one I had in DC jumped out of the tank, a foot high and a foot over and landed in the opening of the refugium I had set up. When I didn't see him in the tank for a few days, I looked in there, and there he was smiling at me for all the pods he was pigging out on. That was the only instance he jumped that I'm aware of...He was sold to me as a black sailfin- never got a specific ID. He had Blue "tribal" like markings on his face that he could brighten of totally fade out. Was very cool fish and one of my daughters favorites. When I put an airlift tube in the tank for an emergency backup air system, he made that pipe his home.

 

[TA]

Lots to think about.

Thanks guys....

 

[xian]

Not to give you any more to think about but how about a longnosed hawk?

 

[DanConnor]

The orchid dottyback I had was very mild-mannered; I think I've heard that captice bred ones are more docile.

My Springer's dottyback is also no hassle, but he's so much smaller than any fish in the tank I doubt he could ever be a problem.

The group of pygmy angels that includes the cherub and the flamebacks have a pretty solid rep in a reef- I've had both with no problems; but I'd probably never risk any of the other species.