What should be my next fish?

Lynnmw1208

New member
So I have been pondering what my next fish should be!! I plan on having a yellow eye kole tang, but I want to add him last along with an exquisite wrasse. Other than that, I'm up for recommendations! Also I want reef safe fish :)

Here's what I have so far:

green mandarin
yellowhead jawfish
2 ocellaris clowns
3 carberryi anthias
 
What did you have in mind?

lol I dunno. that is why I asked lol. I have all the fish that I REALLY wanted except my yellow eye kole tang, so I'm up for suggestions. As long as they're not aggressive and reef safe! I was thinking about a dwarf angel (either coral beauty, rusty or flame), but they make me nervous. I was thinking of a royal gramma but I hear they can eat ornamental shrimp, and since I really like my cleaner shrimp and peppermints, I don't want that to happen. I also don't want to go too crazy with wrasses as I'd like to keep my pod population booming for my mandarin. I was also thinking of maybe 1 or 2 more bottom dwellers such as a starry blenny and a tail spot if they'll get along. or a blenny and goby. As long as they leave my jawfish alone.

Also what are thoughts on having 2 tangs in my tank? I would do smaller ones like a yellow and a kole. If not I'll just get the kole.
 
I don't think you'll a problem with a royal gramma eating peppermints or cleaner shrimp...just get a small or med sized gramma and put in after the shrimp. I never had problems with mine even with small peppermints. The shrimp most at risk are the tiny anemone shrimps. In your tank you could go two or three grammas if you stagger the sizes and put all in at once.

Gold Assessors and Blue assessors are also very peaceful reefsafe fish and can also be kept in groups or singles.

Flasher wrasses...male w/2+females or singles

group of 6+ small cardinals such as blueeyes, or, orangelined

Pinkbarred goby and pistol shrimp....should be ok with jawfish

Just a few suggestions to look into! :)
 
So I have been pondering what my next fish should be!! I plan on having a yellow eye kole tang, but I want to add him last along with an exquisite wrasse. Other than that, I'm up for recommendations! Also I want reef safe fish :)

Here's what I have so far:

green mandarin
yellowhead jawfish
2 ocellaris clowns
3 carberryi anthias

might consider these :)

Sohal Tang (Acanthurus sohal)
Golden Angelfish (Centropyge aurantia)
Black Cap Basslet (Gramma melacara)

hehehe hope that helps =)
 
definitely dont even consider a sohal tang- 125g doesnt even begin to provide the space needed for these large, hyper-aggressive, hyper-active fish.

I'd be weary about adding a dwarf angel to a reef; IME its a big stresser, constantly worrying that you're going to lose all your coral to one fish. they are stunning fish, though; I had a coral beauty and a rusty- the beauty succumbed to itch recently (along with 90% of my other fish, unfortunately) and I ended up getting rid of the rusty before a long vacation, worried that in my absence feeding might lapse and I'd come home to a no-longer-reef tank.

my vote is for a royal gramma, you'll have no trouble with the shrimp, they're really only a threat to sexy shrimp sized shrimp. starry blennies are great too, as are tailspots, though I wouldnt do both. recently, I've found a new affection to citrinis gobies- larger than the other clown gobies, and still just as adorable.
 
Midas blenny and/or melenarus wrasse?

hmm I'll consider these. My concern with wrasses are their consumption of pods. I do have a huge bunch of cheato in the sump so I know I shouldn't be too weary, but I just love my mandarin so much!

I don't think you'll a problem with a royal gramma eating peppermints or cleaner shrimp...just get a small or med sized gramma and put in after the shrimp. I never had problems with mine even with small peppermints. The shrimp most at risk are the tiny anemone shrimps. In your tank you could go two or three grammas if you stagger the sizes and put all in at once.

Gold Assessors and Blue assessors are also very peaceful reefsafe fish and can also be kept in groups or singles.

Flasher wrasses...male w/2+females or singles

group of 6+ small cardinals such as blueeyes, or, orangelined

Pinkbarred goby and pistol shrimp....should be ok with jawfish

Just a few suggestions to look into! :)
Thanks! It's good to know I should be ok with the gramma. I do love flasher wrasses though! Assessors are a little out of the price range though. My husband would kill me :lol:

Is your tank covered Lynn?
Yep. I have the BRS clear 1/4" mesh. It'd have to be a really small fish to fit through that hole.

definitely dont even consider a sohal tang- 125g doesnt even begin to provide the space needed for these large, hyper-aggressive, hyper-active fish.

I'd be weary about adding a dwarf angel to a reef; IME its a big stresser, constantly worrying that you're going to lose all your coral to one fish. they are stunning fish, though; I had a coral beauty and a rusty- the beauty succumbed to itch recently (along with 90% of my other fish, unfortunately) and I ended up getting rid of the rusty before a long vacation, worried that in my absence feeding might lapse and I'd come home to a no-longer-reef tank.

my vote is for a royal gramma, you'll have no trouble with the shrimp, they're really only a threat to sexy shrimp sized shrimp. starry blennies are great too, as are tailspots, though I wouldnt do both. recently, I've found a new affection to citrinis gobies- larger than the other clown gobies, and still just as adorable.
Yeah I know that the sohal is WAY too big for my tank. I want a kole tang as I love their personality :) My only gripe with the smaller gobies is that they sit on corals and I'm not sure how irritating that can get to the coral. they are adorable fish though. *sigh* I wish there were smaller angels that didn't eat coral lol. I hate how it's hit or miss because once they're in the tank, they're hard to get out! I saw some BEAUTIFUL rusty angels at my LFS the other day. They were the most vibrant versions of these fish!
 
Isn't halichoeres melanurus not reef safe? Says occasional threat to crustaceans and a threat to inverts. beautiful fish though! I'm just worried it would pick on all my snails and hermits or is it only specific to pyramid snails?
 
Isn't halichoeres melanurus not reef safe? Says occasional threat to crustaceans and a threat to inverts. beautiful fish though! I'm just worried it would pick on all my snails and hermits or is it only specific to pyramid snails?

it is reef friendly our island has alot of these little felas!,IMHO does not really pick on any corals, but your CUC and some inverts (fanworms,featherdusters) would have a run for their money with this guy around
 
Yeah I know that the sohal is WAY too big for my tank. I want a kole tang as I love their personality :)
Love my kole. A word of caution, though, about mixing koles with starry blennies or other algae eaters. I had a kole that bullied a starry blenny relentlessly. I doubt that would happen with a midas.
 
get a small group of anthias, they look great and have a pretty good personality. Make sure you have a good lid, a perfectly healthy anthias can turn to a crusty critter if it jumps!
 
The flasher wrasse, Royal Gramma, and Midas Blenny would be great choices in your tank. Pinkbar goby is a good one too!
 
it is reef friendly our island has alot of these little felas!,IMHO does not really pick on any corals, but your CUC and some inverts (fanworms,featherdusters) would have a run for their money with this guy around
A lot of people are saying it's hit or miss with them. Seems like most of these guys will eat snails, and I'm not sure I want to be buying snails all the time since it's hard to find ceriths around here. lol. so tempting though as it is a gorgeous fish!

Love my kole. A word of caution, though, about mixing koles with starry blennies or other algae eaters. I had a kole that bullied a starry blenny relentlessly. I doubt that would happen with a midas.
thanks for the tip! I wouldn't want this at all! How about lawnmower blennies or tailspots? I wonder if the kole would pick on them as well :hmm1:

get a small group of anthias, they look great and have a pretty good personality. Make sure you have a good lid, a perfectly healthy anthias can turn to a crusty critter if it jumps!
I have 3 carberryi anthias already :) I do have screens on top.

The flasher wrasse, Royal Gramma, and Midas Blenny would be great choices in your tank. Pinkbar goby is a good one too!

Any specific type of flasher wrasse you have in mind? I was thinking about some fairy wrasses but only one.

thanks for the responses everyone! gives me a lot to choose from! Hopefully my LFS can order some of these in for me!
 
The flasher wrasse, Royal Gramma, and Midas Blenny would be great choices in your tank. Pinkbar goby is a good one too!

Gramma, midas and carpenter wrasse are the exact three fish I have currently lol. To the op, I suggest a flasher wrasse, it won't destroy pods your mandarin needs. Ill be adding a mandarin to my tank as well and have no fear of my flasher competing for pods. Very rarely do I see him strike a rock for pods.
 
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