Whats a cool schooling fish type?

[travis136]

looking at getting some schooling fish but not sure whats all out there? i was thinking anthias but not sure if i could commit to their feeding schedule. was also thinking about getting a few chromis but are there any others i should consider?

 

[roosterchef]

Number of threads on this. Search for "shoaling fish". One thing you'll read a lot is that many fish that will in shoal in nature won't in a tank.

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[reefbroao]

check out glass cardinals they stick together hard! Anthias are fun too got my squareback's eating pellets and they'll watch me across the room.

 

[Sapelo]

One thing you'll read a lot is that many fish that will in shoal in nature won't in a tank.

^This.
Schooling or shoaling is an instinct to avoid predators. Unless you have a predator tank, nothing is going to school or shoaling long term. I keep anthias and chromis in my 300 gallon; while you might see them together from time to time, they do not swim together as a general rule.

 

[Spectorman]

My yellow tangs hang together all day. I have 6 chromis that stick close. Then they spread out......then group up.

 

[mokeyz]

Atlantic Chalk Bass, beautiful and stay small.

 

[davocean]

Chromis and anthias are my favorite shoaling fish suitable for our tanks, and I agree they do not always stay tightly grouped, but for me it's eye catching and nice when they do, especially when the chromis group w/ the anthia as they often do.
This group I had in my last 150g stayed pretty tight most of the time, and a predator fish, or even just a large tang may help encourage that.

 

[moatdaddy]

my 8 yellow tangs roam and school. its a combo thing.

 

[lifeoffaith]

Atlantic Chalk Bass, beautiful and stay small.

I like chalk bass, but I would say that I had three in a tank, two stuck together fairly well, but the third was an outcast. If you have the space to add a bunch of them, you would probably have better results. There are also a few others that will stick together from the bass family (lantern bass, royal grammas).

 

[maroun.c]

Blue Eye Cardinal (Leptacantus apogon). rarely see one swimming alone in my tank. they're always nicely packed.

 

[CafeReef]

one concern for Anthias is since they are hermaphrodite fish, the one that becomes the male will potentially always be aggressive to assert dominance in the group, this could result in killing off any females that may threaten his "rule" to the point you may only have him or him and one other female, not exactly a "school" unless you have a large enough tank.

 

[ezerasurfr]

If you have a large tank, you can acclimate half a dozen to a dozen mollies in your tank. They will look like they are always schooling because they'll constantly be trying to mate.

 

[davocean]

one concern for Anthias is since they are hermaphrodite fish, the one that becomes the male will potentially always be aggressive to assert dominance in the group, this could result in killing off any females that may threaten his "rule" to the point you may only have him or him and one other female, not exactly a "school" unless you have a large enough tank.

This may be true w/ bartletts in particular, but other species of anthia are not that difficult to have a harem, or even several harems of different species.

 

[E46Twist]

For the most part this will be hard to accomplish without a large tank and at least one fish that is large enough to convince them to group up even then it is not a done deal. Personally I would try some small cardinals or chromis. I would also try a decent sized group and make sure your tank can take the bio hit. On a side note i still dream of a school of purple firefish. Good luck!

 

[davocean]

My 120g I have now is still fairly new, I only have lyretail anthias at this time, just have not found others yet that look healthy and clean enough for me, but this is my last 150g, I had lyretails, dispars, and carberryi's, and my chromis would hang pretty close to them as well.

 

[ponokareefer]

My yellow tangs hang together all day. I have 6 chromis that stick close. Then they spread out......then group up.

What size of tank are they in?

 

[karimwassef]

Silversides

Cardinals

Chromis

Anthias

You will need one big aggressive reef safe fish to keep them in line

 

[Sk8r]

schooling is often a protective response, safety in numbers, often involving a larger or more threatening fish. Once everybody is happy, they break the school and spread out.

 

[davocean]

I think even just having a large tang can be enough for them to still want to group tightly, and while they may spread out as they gain some comfort, it doesn't take much to bring them back, a couple aggressive passes or fast swim spurts of a tang and they quickly bunch together again

 

[mokeyz]

I like chalk bass, but I would say that I had three in a tank, two stuck together fairly well, but the third was an outcast. If you have the space to add a bunch of them, you would probably have better results. There are also a few others that will stick together from the bass family (lantern bass, royal grammas).

The same thing happened to me and the other day after months one jumped out of the tank. I just ordered 7 so I am hoping that there won't be the same problems.