I've been doing some reading on fish compatibility, and am planning out a reef tank that won't be set up for 6 months or so (trying to plan things out in advance). As for the fish . . . I've kept ocellaris clownfish and royal grammas, but haven't had success with a sixline from years ago (they didn't do well in my old tank, a 65 gallon soft coral reef with the common clown and royal gramma. No fish aggression that I recall, just . . . disappeared).
My understanding of the posts I've read is that a sixline wrasse is generally considered an aggressive fish as it gets older/bigger, and can turn on other fish even if they are bigger. This is especially true if other wrasses are present.
However, a minority have sixlines without problems, although I think that many of those people added the sixline last.
I guess my question would be - how many people would try adding a sixline to a 38 gal mixed reef with an established ocellaris clown and royal gramma (and a cleaner shrimp)? The only other options that I can think of that I'd be interested in would be 1) chrysiptera damselfish; behavior wouldn't be like a sixline but a nice blue color and would fit in, I think; 2) small reef safe fairy or flasher wrasse; or 3) pair up the clown or the gramma just to watch the behaviors. That would probably mean buying a mated pair.
I would like to stick with aquacultured, if possible.
A candy basslet would be a really nice 3rd choice if I knew that the gramma wouldn't be aggressive, would eat well, and I won the lottery to be able to afford one. ;-)
My understanding of the posts I've read is that a sixline wrasse is generally considered an aggressive fish as it gets older/bigger, and can turn on other fish even if they are bigger. This is especially true if other wrasses are present.
However, a minority have sixlines without problems, although I think that many of those people added the sixline last.
I guess my question would be - how many people would try adding a sixline to a 38 gal mixed reef with an established ocellaris clown and royal gramma (and a cleaner shrimp)? The only other options that I can think of that I'd be interested in would be 1) chrysiptera damselfish; behavior wouldn't be like a sixline but a nice blue color and would fit in, I think; 2) small reef safe fairy or flasher wrasse; or 3) pair up the clown or the gramma just to watch the behaviors. That would probably mean buying a mated pair.
I would like to stick with aquacultured, if possible.
A candy basslet would be a really nice 3rd choice if I knew that the gramma wouldn't be aggressive, would eat well, and I won the lottery to be able to afford one. ;-)
