pretty fish that occupy higher water column?

[atraperegrinus]

right now i have a scooter blenny and an engineer goby, looking for something that occupies the higher end of the tank and is very visually appealing.

tank is a 55g, mostly soft corals, a few lps, zoas palys, mushrooms gsp etc.. But, I have a 4 foot 110g DT /w and 125g sump being setup right now, so if its a fish i can buy smaller that will grow into the 110, i'm good with that, new tank should be up within 2 months, hopefully.

shoot me your ideas, guys, post a pic if you can! i tried searching and didnt see many ideas that i found appealing.


edit: other tank inhabitants include, bunch of snails, serpent starfish, cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, hermit crabs of multiple sizes, and an urchin, sally light foot crab, porcelain crab, few elephant slugs aswell. im sure im missing some things.

 

[Mark9]

Anthias.

 

[RGS2]

Almost any wrasse. +1 on anthias.

 

[Bent]

A dart.

Red fire, purple fire, helfrichi, zebra barred, lined, scissor tail. All will occupy the mid to upper level.

Edit:
Notice I said a dart.

 

[Isaacs55]

My coral beauty is always swimming at the top of the water column

 

[atraperegrinus]

A dart.

Red fire, purple fire, helfrichi, zebra barred, lined, scissor tail. All will occupy the mid to upper level.

Edit:
Notice I said a dart.

no worries, I'm only looking for 1 fish at the moment, so anything requiring groups to be happy is out.

honestly i'm happy with just 2 fish, but i hate that nothing ever swims up high. Thats the only reason I want one more right now.

even with my 110 up and running, i'm only planning on 4 maybe 5 fish tops all said and done.

thanks for the ideas so far guys, keep them coming!

 

[firemountain]

+1 on the dartfish. My Helfrichi is a showoff and likes to surf the alternating current all day long. More expensive than a regular dart, but worth the extra $$.

 

[CStrickland]

Chalk bass!
Darts are good too, but my chalk bass has waaay more personality than my darts. Anthias are cool but you have to feed them a lot.
I like my melanurus wrasse, but it does eat inverts. I don't think all do, but mine does.
Clown fish are another option. Nemo is whack, but they are cute happy fish.
Maaaaybe a kole tang if you're suuure you will be upgrading.

 

[JGao]

Had the same question, +1 on dart hahha

 

[atraperegrinus]

Chalk bass!
Darts are good too, but my chalk bass has waaay more personality than my darts. Anthias are cool but you have to feed them a lot.
I like my melanurus wrasse, but it does eat inverts. I don't think all do, but mine does.
Clown fish are another option. Nemo is whack, but they are cute happy fish.
Maaaaybe a kole tang if you're suuure you will be upgrading.

the upgrade is a for sure, i'm just working on finishing up the skin for the steel stand, then buy plumbing.

I'll look into everythign mentioned, seems like darts are the most popular vote here.

 

[CAPSLOK]

Flasher wrasse or peaceful fairy wrasse would be very active and colorful.

 

[droog]

My cleaner wrasse hangs often swims in the open/upper area (esp. when hungry). Blue eyed cardinalfish also hang out in the open - I have a 5 of them that always hang out together in my 120g.

Wanted a zebra barred dart for this reason but can't find locally

-droog

 

[CStrickland]

Cleaner wrasses are very difficult fish to keep. They have a really specific diet, and a terrible record of surviving in captivity.

 

[atraperegrinus]

Im between one of the dart types, a chalk bass, or possibly an exquisite fairy wrasse, would that be a good option? The colors on them are amazing.

 

[droog]

Cleaner wrasses are very difficult fish to keep. They have a really specific diet, and a terrible record of surviving in captivity.

Really? I must be lucky in that case. I've had mine for a year, he seems to eat most anything.

Mine does offer a cleaning service to community fish, but also competes with my Yellow tang when I put Nori or NLS "Marine Grazer" ring in there. I might not have bought it had I known it they were considered difficult. Will look into what they are supposed to eat. Thanks for pointing out

-droog

 

[CStrickland]

Some people get lucky and have them for years. I heard that the ones that come from Africa are more adaptable to aquariums, but I don't know how to tell where they're from. Maybe it's a safer bet if you can watch it eat pellets in the fish store? It's mostly getting them to eat stuff besides whatever they pick off the other fish, since there's not enough to "clean" in our tanks. Like in the ocean they'd clean all day I guess.

 

[Marinus]

I had a few Bangaii Cardinals and absolutely loved them. They are very pretty and non aggressive. Also many people think Chromis are simple but I love how school and move around. Chromis are very durable, Cardinals are a bit more sensitive to water conditions.