Suggestion for next fish

[hampsterblade]

In all my research on saltwater fish, I've learned most fish don't seem to get allong well with other fish. I feel walking around the fish store I keep saying this ones cool, but it would kill my tang, or this one is pretty, but it would wreck havoc on corals. How do you go about choosing the right fish, especially early on when the water parameters might not always be stable.

Also because this is fun, here's some pictures of the
And some info.
55 gallon with 20 long sump. Aquatic systems skimmer. 4xt5ho 48" on DT. Looking at new bulbs in the next few months. LED HO on sump.
Fish 2 black oculus clowns. 1 scopus tang.
Cleanup crew 4 snails. 1 emerald crab. 1 sand sifter starfish.

 

[peasofme]

get actual experiences from owners of the fish. google helps. only buy compatible fish. liveaquaria.com is a good starting point.

 

[Waters40]

I have learned to be disappointed and just accept the limitations lol. I know how you feel.....having a smaller reef tank (60 gallons) eliminates all of my favorite fish. The fish are either aggressive, get too large, eat corals, have specialized diets, etc. I normally find a fish that I like and just research it. Once I find out it won't work (which it usually does not), I move on and find another one that interests me.

 

[Shawn O]

From Liveaquaria:
compatibility_chart

 

[shesacharmer]

I'm so glad you're checking into this instead of buying fish willy nilly! There is a sticky in the New Forum to help you "Sticky: PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!"

Draw up a wish list, then check compatibility and full adult size, as well as what it eats, and once you come up with a list that is compatible with your tank size then post your list for feedback in the forum. It's a great help.

For instance, your Scopas will grow to be 12" long. As a tang it needs a really long tank for swimming room. Lots of fish don't require a great deal of swimming room, so that's why this research is important.

You are headed in the right direction!

 

[formsix]

I did a lot of research, and got a general sense of the types of fish I can keep in my tank, and those that are just pretty to look at in the store. Also, before I set up my tank I made sure I was getting the appropriate tank for the types of fish I most wanted to keep.

I chose to build my 75g 4' tank around small peaceful fish, in part because I love inverts and wanted to keep lots of them as well. We have 7 shrimp in our tank (2 fires, 2 striped cleaners, 1 peppermint, and 2 sexy shrimp) and ALL of them are visible throughout the day. Other people like bigger more aggressive fish (which can be gorgeous as well), and choose to build their tank around them. Or build a separate species-specific tank, for some of the really unique ones

In any case, I think you need to decide on an overall plan for your ecosystem, and then get a sense of what types of fish will complement it. Snorvich's thread at the top of this forum is fabulous, and I would definitely suggest posting your stocking plan there for feedback.

 

[fishhuman]

Scopas tang gets to large for your tank. U might look into a dwarf angelfish not all are coral killers

 

[TangySushi]

What I did was look on liveaquaria and found fish that are suited for my tank size, then picked my favorite ones. If I were you I would take back the tang, that thing will get ginormous for your tank.

Check these out on liveaquaria
Dwarf angelfish- maybe a cherub
blennis- midas blenny
reef safe wrasse- flasher wrasse
gobies
dartfish

I always go to a fish store knowing which fish I want and would stick to my fish list because allot of fish at the fish store won't work out in my tank.

 

[hampsterblade]

I did read that they recommend a 125+ gallon tank for the Scopus. Luckily I do plan to get a bigger tank down the line and I don't think he'll grow 10 inches overnight. What are nice peaceful species? I don't really like gobies and don't feel my tank is mature enough for blennies.

As for overall ecosystem. I am more interested and inverts and coral, but love fish swimming through the rocks. I find the clowns tend to stick around the top half of the tank. The scopus does what I like in weaving in and out of rocks and picking at algae. What would be something with similar behavior that doesn't get so large?

 

[pyithar]

flasher wrasse? they don't get too big but they need 55G minimum i think. they might not pick algae off rocks but they do swim a lot all over the tank.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

Flame hawks are great! Maybe my favorite fish, always looking at me when I watch the tank.

 

[hampsterblade]

I think I'm going to look at some flashes wrasses.

 

[reef4life07]

I have learned to be disappointed and just accept the limitations lol. I know how you feel.....having a smaller reef tank (60 gallons) eliminates all of my favorite fish. The fish are either aggressive, get too large, eat corals, have specialized diets, etc. I normally find a fish that I like and just research it. Once I find out it won't work (which it usually does not), I move on and find another one that interests me.

+1, I totally agree...