What fish should I buy?

[AnthonyA9953]

Hey everyone, I've got a 125 reef with 145 lbs of LR. Tanks been up for almost 2 years now
Current livestock is
Cleaner shrimp
Mandarin goby
Melanurus wrasse
Blue linkia star
3 clownfish
Bangai cardinal pair

I wanna achieve a "œa lot of small fish" look. Any suggestions for fish?

 

[first29gallon]

Cromis or Anthias schools


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[Jason9488]

Chromis school will always get down to 1. Unless you keep buying some.

 

[Jason9488]

Chromis will kill each other

 

[Crooked Reef]

What size do you consider small and by reef do you mean corals or just rock?

 

[AnthonyA9953]

Yea I have mainly lps and soft. It doesn’t hav be small I just don’t want anything aggresive.

 

[lagatbezan]

Anthias fish are extremely active and add lots of life. A small haram would be nice. Also maybe a Kole tang, royal gramma or a firefish.

 

[Crooked Reef]

Normally I would say do a couple of fairy and flasher wrasses, but they will outcompete your mandarin for pods. The melanarus may as well though the tank should probably support both as long as you have a lot of rock.
A pair of clowns, royal gramma, Kole or yellow tang, small ranbitfish may work, Midas blenny, a dwarf angel may work. Angels can eat coral but some are safer than others. I have had two coral beauty’s over the years. One didn’t touch coral and one stripped a birdsnest and left all others alone. Flame angels can be coral safe sometimes. I currently have an African flameback angel that hasn’t touched a coral yet.

 

[Joshua I.]

Royal Gramma

 

[Joe0813]

Anthias

 

[AnthonyA9953]

Don’t anthias have to be fed like 3 times a day?

 

[AnthonyA9953]

And won't the gramma eat my shrimp?

 

[devimik]

How about a group of Red Stop Light Cardinalfish, Yellow Striped Cardinalfish, or Ochrestriped Cardinalfish? LiveAquaria says a larger aquarium can support a group of these and they'll establish a hierarchy without aggression.

 

[AnthonyA9953]

Are they compatible with my bangais?

 

[devimik]

From what I've read, they should be, but I am far from an expert on Cardinals - the ones I suggested don't look anything like the Banggais, so they should work, especially in a large tank, but perhaps some others who are more experts on them should chime in.

 

[AnthonyA9953]

Ok thx so much when I get some money I’ll definitely splurg on a school of those guys. But for now I just bought a Royale gramma and a blue lined rabbit fish from live aquaria. From my research the blue lines rabbitfish look pretty good anyone have any experience with them?

 

[Crooked Reef]

I searched liveaquaria and don’t see a blue lined rabbitfish. Can you get the Latin name off of the description?

 

[sacremon]

Blue lined rabbit = Siganus puellus

Live Aquaria calls it the Decorated rabbitfish

 

[Crooked Reef]

That’s what I was thinking he meant, but unless it was off of divers den they don’t even have an entry as sold out. Anyway, if it is the doliatus I have the virgate rabbitfish, Siganus virgatus which is very closely related. A little bit different on the color patterns. Peaceful fish, gets along great with everyone. Eats bubble algae and hasn’t touched a coral. Eats frozen food and nori sheets like a pig. Also these fish take on a very different color pattern when stressed or bedded down for the night. They can change colors quickly, in a second or two. Neat fish.

 

[Crooked Reef]

And won’t the gramma eat my shrimp?

Apparently it is possible though I have never experienced this. A lot of times if the shrimp is there first fish ignore it. I think the melanarus has a better chance of going for the shrimp than the gramma. That being said, every fish is an individual so nothing is guaranteed.