what are the most disease resistant small fish? (<4")

[nemo g]

what are known disease resistant fish. i know mandarins are known to be hardy due to the slime on their body's.

any other small "strong like bull" fish? with emphasis on keepability, color, and good social manners?

 

[Wolverine]

Blue and yellow assessors are both quite disease resistant.

Dave

 

[nemo g]

thanks wolv,

ive never seen that guy before. although i do like the fact that its small, got color, is a mouth brooder and peaceful, it just doesnt grab me.

reminds me of my african cichlid tanks. doesnt have that "unique" or "saltwater" look.

but it definitely merits consideration!

thanks for sharing

 

[Ironsheikh]

neon gobies are disease resistant because they eat parasites--come in blue or yellow and sometimes hybrid

 

[nemo g]

thanks for the heads up on a quality cleaner fish iron

 

[Sk8r]

Gobies and blennies in general are ich and fungus resistent. Dartfish don't get it much, though they're not quite as tough. That's a pretty large array of types and colors.

 

[reefD]

mandarins

 

[reefD]

mandarins ........................sorry repeated.

 

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7440168#post7440168 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ironsheikh
neon gobies are disease resistant because they eat parasites--come in blue or yellow and sometimes hybrid

Actually it's not uncommon for neon gobies to get ick. Eating the parasites doesn't necessarily mean their immune to infestation.

Dave

 

[mandrin13]

thats how mine died.I didnt think they could get it,then one day he had ick,I came home from school and he was dead.

 

[Sk8r]

mmm, I saw bioballs in there somewhere: four very good ways, besides picking ich-free fish, to minimize the occurrance of disease:
1. water parameters fit for corals: 0,0,0 nitrate/ammo, cal 400, mg 1200, alk 8.3-10, temp 80, good flow.
2. total berliner method, no bioballs, no sponges, filters, etc, all live rock and sand.
3. 20% lower fish load than you could get away with.
4. minimize aggression and stress in the fish mix.

 

[mark97r6]

PJ cardinals are pretty hardy, and most damsels.

Mark

 

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7445013#post7445013 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mark97r6
PJ cardinals are pretty hardy, and most damsels.

I figured the mention of "good social manners" eliminated most damsels.

Dave

 

[mark97r6]

OOps missed that part!

Cheers Dave.

Mark

 

[3.99AfterTaxes]

Starki damsels are very mildly mannered in my experience.

 

[nemo g]

dont the Starki damsels have to be paired with Hutch gobies?



ill take a looksy at the starks, never heard of them before.

 

[violaceous]

Zebra Bar Goby in my experience is extremely hardy. Lost two fish to a major ich outbreak a few months after setup and he never had a spot. He was my first fish last September, and hes still doing fantastic. He eats like a horse too.

Very peaceful, friendly fish with loads of personality. Ive seen him bond with shy or sick fish [Kole tang and a very shy skunk clown] and he gets along swimmingly [bad pun] with everyone in the tank. Pretty coloration too.

 

[Torno]

I can also confirm about neon gobies getting ich. I purchased two, added them to my tank, and they gave it to my royal gramma. Both the royal gramma and gobies soon died. however, I did notice the only fish in that tank who did not get the ich was my firefish, and they do stay small and are very beautiful!