Pairs/Groups

[ponokareefer]

I am upgrading to a 240 gallon and wanting to add some pairs/groups of fish/inverts to the system. I know of some, but am looking for some additional ideas. Here's what I have
1. clownfish - have a pair, so not considering any more
2. common firefish(had a pair until one dissapeared) - too shy with larger fish though
3. pajama cardinal - have a breeding pair
4. bangaii cardinal - can they be mixed with pajama's?
5. pistol/goby pair - consider too small for my system as they will get "lost"
6. zebra eel - read on how to pair them and will probably try to add, but hard to find in my area
7. anthias's - consider to fragile and not a good long term idea
8. chromis's - kill each other off over time, so not considering
9. neon goby's - too short of a life span
10. cleaner shrimp - will be getting a pair
11. Genicanthus angel's - will try to find a pair
12. Siganus doliatus - try to find a pair
13. Flame Angel - try to find a pair

Are their any other reef safe fish/inverts I am missing out on?

 

[ca1ore]

Some species of anthias are fragile, others are not - unless you don't plan to feed them more than once a day. Chalk basslets are among my favorite group fish. Pyramid Butterflyfish would work in a 240.

 

[ponokareefer]

Some species of anthias are fragile, others are not - unless you don't plan to feed them more than once a day. Chalk basslets are among my favorite group fish. Pyramid Butterflyfish would work in a 240.

I haven't seen that kind of Butterflyfish before. I'll have to keep my eye out.

I forgot to add that I am also looking for a bluethroat triggerfish pair.

 

[pledosophy]

Ime anthias if fed are pretty hardy. Also my 5 chromis have been together for 5+ years. Harlequin shrimp pair up and are pretty awesome

 

[Dmorty217]

Some species of anthias are fragile, others are not - unless you don't plan to feed them more than once a day. Chalk basslets are among my favorite group fish. Pyramid Butterflyfish would work in a 240.

+1 to the pyramids, also there are plenty of Genicanthus angels that work well in pairs and harems

 

[o2manyfish]

I loves pairs and groups.

In Pairs I have:
Target Mandarins
Red Scooter Blenny
Red Mandarin
Dragon Faced Pipe Fish
Jans Pipe Fish
Australian Blue Line Pipe Fish
Venustus Angel ( I have 2 that hang out but don't follow each other constantly)
Flame Back Angels
Hippo Tangs
Lubbocks Wrasse
Naoko Wrasse
Stegassi Damsels
Traceys Damsels
ORA Indigo Pseudochromis
Skunk Pseudochromis (Have 2 but they stay on opposite ends of the tank)
2 pairs of Cleaner Shrimp

For Groups I have:
Yellow Assesors
Royal Grammas
Blue Eye Cardinals
Fire Fish
Tri of Multi-Bar Angels
Bangai (9)
Group of Dispar Anthias


Pairs and groups are great to add to a reef. In the past 2 months I have seen the Flameback Angels Spawn, the target mandarins spawn, the red scooter blennies spawn and tonight we found a batch of eggs from a trio of percs living in an elegance.

One of the most enjoyable pairs is the Dragon faced pipefish. If you have a thriving and sustainable pod population these are an amazing and entertaining creature to add.

Dave B

 

[ponokareefer]

I loves pairs and groups.

In Pairs I have:
Target Mandarins
Red Scooter Blenny
Red Mandarin
Dragon Faced Pipe Fish
Jans Pipe Fish
Australian Blue Line Pipe Fish
Venustus Angel ( I have 2 that hang out but don't follow each other constantly)
Flame Back Angels
Hippo Tangs
Lubbocks Wrasse
Naoko Wrasse
Stegassi Damsels
Traceys Damsels
ORA Indigo Pseudochromis
Skunk Pseudochromis (Have 2 but they stay on opposite ends of the tank)
2 pairs of Cleaner Shrimp

For Groups I have:
Yellow Assesors
Royal Grammas
Blue Eye Cardinals
Fire Fish
Tri of Multi-Bar Angels
Bangai (9)
Group of Dispar Anthias


Pairs and groups are great to add to a reef. In the past 2 months I have seen the Flameback Angels Spawn, the target mandarins spawn, the red scooter blennies spawn and tonight we found a batch of eggs from a trio of percs living in an elegance.

One of the most enjoyable pairs is the Dragon faced pipefish. If you have a thriving and sustainable pod population these are an amazing and entertaining creature to add.

Dave B

Thank you for the information Dave. Was there any trick to getting a firefish or royal gramma group?

 

[lutz123]

Jawfish pair for sure. Check out kpaquatics. I buy from them (got my jawfish pair there) and I would highly recommend. I think they usually have rusty goby pairs, neon goby pairs, and some shrimp pairs. They may have others.

 

[ponokareefer]

Jawfish pair for sure. Check out kpaquatics. I buy from them (got my jawfish pair there) and I would highly recommend. I think they usually have rusty goby pairs, neon goby pairs, and some shrimp pairs. They may have others.

Unfortunately I am unable to as I live in Canada.

 

[o2manyfish]

Ponokareefer,

The firefish I have always bought in quantities of 6 or more. Once they find a common burrow they are happy. But you are never sure how many you have. For weeks you can count 8 of them everytime there is food in the water. And then one day all of a sudden there are 11 out and hanging out together.

I have never had any luck with the purple firefish, not sure why, but I avoid them. The other similar fish is the bar gobies. Bar Gobies are great fish, you can keep a group of them, and they are really strong and seem to live through lots of tank issues. However in my tank once I went barebottom, they just didn't seem to do well. They shoot under the rocks to hide on the bottom of the tank, and without a soft sand bottom they don't seem to adjust to tank life in my tank.

With the Royal Grammas I buy them in 3's. With a 400g tank they have lots of room to get away from each other. The back wall of my tank has slab/shelf rock mounted to it. And the Grammas and Assesors love hanging onto the back wall of the tank.

Last summer I had 5 grammas that I had had together for over a year. I caught one pair spawning one evening, and it was kind of neat I was able to follow them on the web cam and a couple of friends were online as well and we all were able to be peeping toms from our laptops at 2 in the morning (when the lights are dimming down).

With the Grammas if you have 2 they can fight, even in a big tank. But odd numbers seem to make life less competitive.

The grammas I have at the moment have found a place in the back of the tank, behind and under the return outlet under a rock. So I only catch a glimpse of them. And they have a trio of cleaner shrimp that hang out in their area. This particular pair of grammas never come out into the open water area of the tank.

Dave B

 

[BigDog]

Green Chromis' are great if you feed regularly, multiple times a day

 

[ponokareefer]

Thank you for the info. Dave. Royal gramma's and firefish are 2 of my favorite fish so I'll definitely be going for groups of both.