What Fish?

[sedman_d]

I have finally decided to start stocking my tank with fish. Up to now I have only had a yellow tailed damsel who will be going back to the LFS (bit sad, as I rather liked him.)
What I am after is a bit of advice/recommendations on the sort of fish you think would be suitable for a 36x18x15 reef tank. The fish I am thinking about are:

Goby (neon, blue banded)
Royal Gramma
Six Line Wrasse
Flame Angel
Percula Clown (pair)
Short finned Lionfish (Turkeyfish)

Now I realise that I can't have all these fish (well not until I get a bigger tank) so if anyone has any experience of these fish or suggestions of good combinations please let me know. I would especially like to hear from anyone that has a flame angel as I have read in one book that they are reef safe and also read in another that they are not reef safe.

Cheers

Dan

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I would not put the lion fish in this tank but everything else is OK. Yellow tail damsels are fine in reef tank. They are not agressive at all and will not bother any of the fish you listed. Add the flame angel last. You may have to remove him due to coral picking but the rest are OK for your tank.
Lion fish can eat fish that is more than half their lenght. That is the reason you don't want the lion fish in your tank.

 

[Barbie]

You might also consider clown gobies and firefish for your color in the tank. They aren't as aggressive and have a much smaller body mass to lessen the bioload on the tank. The clown gobies are adorable, they like to perch on mushrooms and will stake out an individual that is their personal favorite. There is also a yellow banded variety of neon gobies that add alot of color to the tank.

HTH, Barbie

 

[Green Lantern]

Yellow tail damsels are fine in reef tank. They are not agressive at all and will not bother any of the fish you listed.

,
Minh,
Really? Knowing you, this is personal experience but are you sure its not just the size of your tank that keeps their aggression down? I'm curious if others have had this experience as well.

 

[Neal358]

i still have my first yellow tailed damsile in my tank that i used to cycle the tank he bother no one and is one of my favoret fish. when i good light the coloring and paterns when looked at closely are really awsome

 

[SPC]

Minh, do you happen to know the scientific name of the Yellow Tail Damsel? Max size?
Thanks,
Steve

 

[Dawlfandav]

Chrysiptera Parasema
Yellowtail blue damselfish 2.8 inches
As stated in my Marine Fishes Book

 

[Minh Nguyen]

It is true that many Damsels can be sold under the common name of Yellow Tail Damsels. The specific species that I have is Chrysiptera parasema. I had three of these in my 100 g tank. They are one of the first fish in to the tank after the cycle. I never have a mortality of this fish. They breed in my tank all the time. When I first keep reef tank, I saw the larvae fish but did not know which of my fish spawned. Through the process of elimination, I deduced that these are the ones. I now have three in my 400 g tank. I have yet seen them attack any other fish including Ocellaris clown, Fire fish, Mandarin, Royal Gramma. I have never have a reef tank smaller than 100 g, so I cannot comments on these fish in a small tank. Seeing their behavior in my tank, I doubt that they can be very aggressive even in smaller tanks.
Scott Michael stated in his book that they could reach size up to 2.8 inches. My matured Yellow tail damsels (2 years in my tank, after at least spawn every two weeks for more than one year) are only 1.5 inches. My damsel should have plenty of space in a 400 g tank and is very fat and happy. Healthy C. parasema colors are brilliants iridescent blue color with bright yellow tail. I have yet seen and fish, marine or otherwise, with more brilliants blue than my damsels. Even my Blue tang, Paracanthurus hepatus color is not as nice. They are very active are among the very best fish for a reef tank, IMO of course.

 

[ging]

I have a flame angel and he does nip a bit, have tried to catch him, but have not been successful. I have a bi-color blenny -aka. benny

that is really cool and is becoming one of my favorites in the tank.

ging

 

[SPC]

Thanks guys for the info on this fish.
Steve