What fish to Add?

rustybucket145

rustybucket145

New member
I have a 90gal reef tank. The left and right corners are almost vertical mountains and a small island in the middle. Vast cave system on each side and an arch under the middle island. Various corals soft/SPS/LPS. All fish are very mild mannered and NOT Aggressive. They include a Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Spotted Mandarin Goby, Pearly Jawfish and Thornback Cowfish. I am in the process of removing a Royal Dottyback because of its aggressive nature. So I am looking for a small fish to replace the Dottyback.

My requirements:

-Fish MUST Be very friendly toward other tankmates.
-Fish must be unique in looks and/or character (as obvious by my other choices of fish)
-Fish must be either colorful or uniquely colored (bright like a tang or unique like the mandarin)
-I have a 40gal refugium teaming with pods (ami & cope) and polychreate worms
-Tank is very healthy and well established
-I am in no hurry so if the species is hard to come by I can wait
-I would like for the fish to be small <4" full grown
-I have looked at some wrasses but I am not really happy about all the pastel colors. But if there is one that I have missed.....

Over the last few weeks I have looked at several species. One of my fav's so far is the Firefish but I am not sold on it yet.
I am open to all ideas and suggestions. Thanks to all for your help.
 
good to know about the chalks, I will definately check into them. Any more ideas? I don't mind spending a little extra money for something that is going to be a really great long-term addition to my tank.

Anybody know anything about pipefish?
 
karid, I see you have a firefish. What are your experiences with them? How long have you had it? Does it get along with your other tankmates?
 
Firefish can be territorial over time like other fish, but shouldn't cause any problems with existing tankmates. I have mine with a scott blenny, fang blenny, and a number of gobies. I'd say go for a fairy wrasse or yellow assessor.
 
Like I said before I have never seen a fairy wrasse in person but from the pics on the internet they just don't do anything for me. They look to much like a Freshwater Betta. I'm not trying to put them down, I'm sure they are beautiful fish and I might change my mind if I saw one in person. But right now I am just not feeling them. Anybody else got any ideas? Has anyone ever had any experience with a Flaming Prawn Goby? One site I visited said they dig burrows and another said they didn't. Here is a pic of what they look like.

GobyFlamingPrawn.jpg


I would love for someone to comment on this fish. They are pricey, ranging from $50-$150. They only reach 1.5-2 inches and only do well with non-aggressive tankmates. They are also non aggressive toward other species.
 
My firefish is great. I've had him almost 2 years now.

He's gotten along with all the fish I have ever had, no problem (current fish listed below in my sig, but other fish I've had include a chalk bass, a lawnmower blenny, clown goby, shrimp goby, and brownbarred goby). Not an ounce of agression out of him. Everyone once in a while I'll see the wrasses have a go at each other, or the clown fish with the chromis, or the chromis at each other - but never with the firefish.

He's also always been a good eater. Never a problem eating.

He was in a 20g at first for a while and he hid all the time - we hardly ever saw him. I think that was because the tank stand wasn't terribly sturdy and it would vibrate when we walked by scaring him. Now that he's in the 90g he's out all the time swimming around.

I wish I could get a mate for him, but I think it is too late. He was a gift from a friend, and the friend bought him as a pair but the other one died before he gave them to me.

Anyway, great fish. Very peaceful.
 
Here are some picts of my fairies. But you might want to just take a quick look at Broco's fairy wrasse thread at the top. I know the lineatus fairy wrasse (not too common because it is so expensive) is really awesome.

My labouti (second pic) is much brighter, but I just haven't gotten a good pic.

RubyHeadFairyWrasse.jpg


labouti.jpg


That goby above is really cool looking! I do love your fish selection so far BTW. Very interesting fish. I love the Thornback cowfish! How is he with the other fish?

If interested in a larger fish, maybe a doliatus rabbitfish (7"). They are super cool looking (definitely unique). I wanted one, but decided to get another fiary wrasse instead. I wish I had a huge tank so I could get all the fish I want (also a Watanabei pair).
 
I have no idea how to tell the difference between male/female firefish. Some people say you can by the length of the flicker at the top - but I don't really trust that. So, I think you have to buy them as a pair to be sure you have one female and one male.
 
Thanks for the compliment (on my fish seleciton). The thornback has been a great addition. I had been looking for him or a Longhorn for over 6 months and finally last weekend the LFS got one in. So now he is in my 90gal. He was going to be my last fish but my Royal Dottyback started being a Royal *ss and harrassing the cowfish. So he is getting evicted and that opens up room for another fish or two if small & mated. The dottyback never really fit in with the others anyways. He was really an *ss.

But back to the fish, I really want to try to stay away from bigger fish. I want my tang and my Cowfish to be the centerpiece fish for my tank. But then when you look close you will see all the other unique fish 'hanging out'. Is the fish in the top pic a fairy wrasse?
 
I hear you about wanting to keep the YT and the cowfish as the centerpiece. I'm glad to hear he's been a good addition. I was scared off getting one because of the whole toxic slime thing, but I'm thinking that isn't a very common occurrence.

Yea, the top pic is a Cirr. cyanopleura. They are usually called "blue head fairy wrasses", but mine is a color morph called a "ruby head fairy wrasse". LiveAquaria has them for $30. My friend had him for about a year and then I've had him for about 2 - so he's about 3 years old and is about 4" or 4.5".
 
cool, I actually like the colors on that wrasse. Yeah I did alot of research on the cowfish before I purchased. From my research I have gained some knowledge that will, in case of toxin release, protect other tankmates.

#1 during the first month in a new tank run ALOT of carbon and change it weekly. I have been running about 2 cups of carbon at a time. No one really was able to state what ALOT of carbon was.
#2 Keep a Large amount of carbon on hand. I currently have over a gallon of activated carbon on hand.
#3 Keep a few poly pads handy
#4 Be prepared at all times to perform a 50% water change. So I keep RO/DI water and salt on hand.

You are right about the toxin release being rare and it usually only occurs under major stress. When being attacked by other fish (this is the reason the dottyback is being evicted) or when the fish is near death. I talked to several people who have housed cowfish for years and I never encountered anyone who had a 'toxic event' occur in their tanks. But I think that anyone housing a cowfish should be as prepared as possible for a toxic event.
 
Take a look at the Four-lined wrasse. Often overlooked, but nice coloration (green, purple, blue, red) and good temperment. Pictures don't do it justice so try to find one at your LFS. Not as nearly as common as Six-lined (which have dull color in comparison), so may be harder to find.
 
I hear the 4-line can be as aggressive, if not more so, than the 6-line. I wouldn't chance another aggressive fish in the tank.

The tailspot wrasse (H. melanurus) is also a good looking peaceful wrasse. I got mine from a fellow reefer a month or so ago and he's about 3.5".

TailSpotWrasse.jpg
 
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