What fish to get next?
 

Hey! Here's a question nobody has asked before.

Seriously though, I've done a tonne of research and I've looked at dozens of fish and I still can't decide on new additions. Everytime I see something I like I go home and do some research and find a reason why I shouldn't get it. I currently have a 75G reef with a little over 100lbs of Tonga and some branch rock (lots of hiding spaces and lots of swimming room). I have mostly softies and a few LPS. Current residents are 2 x Oscellaris, 1 Foxface, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Neon Goby (I think, don't see it too often). I am thinking I would like to add a Tang or 2 and maybe a dwarf Angel. I'm looking for a splash of colour, movement and some utility. I'm looking for suggestions as to what you might recommend. The tank has been up for a year and I do have a QT tank.

I'm a huge fan of Sail Fin tangs, the Red Sea are the prettiest in my opinion but I'm not sure if they are as good at eating algae as the regular ones.

Doug

How about a Moorish Idol? Hehe, just kidding. *ducks rotten veggies thrown his way*

I think almost nothing beats a Flame Angel for a splash of colour. Could get a little munchy on the corals, though...it's apparently a hit-and-miss kind of thing. I also like the Mimic Lemon Peel Tang.

it's not an angel or a tang, but right now JL has carpenter's wrasses. I got one a couple of days ago and he's gorgeous. very active too.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/images/new.../carpenter.jpg

Justin, what does he eat? how much $?

http://www.jlaquatics.com/static/liv...noteworthy.htm

they're 22.45$ each. they eat small stuff like brine shrimp. I got a male (the ones with the lateral stripes along their length. If you have the room, you could consider getting a couple of females and a SINGLE male. this will cause the male to "flash" more often, really showing his colours and spreading his fins. I just have a one guy and so far he's pumping his fins up and down pretty often. I am very happy with my purchase.

Reef safe???

I was in a LFS here and found a Blue-sided Fairy Wrasse for sale 35.00 Its coloring was stunning. Hopefully if it is there in a week or so I'll pick it up. Check it out it will definitely add color to a tank.
Kevin
http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/wra...edfairywrasse/

Thanks, everything was looking good until I read that their Jumpers. My current system is a little too open for a known jumper.

h i add some scissor tail gobies, i have 3 in a 90g and they hang out toghter and are always in the open.

Aren't Royal Grammas jumpers as well?

Try several Anthias. I'm not sure if your tank will permit the additional bioload that comes with these fish, but they will bring your tank to life for sure.

IMO there's really no "perfect" fish for an aquarium. If you're looking for a strange fish, a Tassel Filefish would be an awesome choice too. Most of them are fairly docile, but some of the few may nip at corals.

I guess I kind of hijacked the thread when I saw the carpenters wrasse. Not sure if jumpers are a concern or not for bartman.:biggrin:
Shaun.

It would have to be a single small anthias such as a dispar or bartlett....still very nice fish

Scott, I don't see any rock cleaning fish in your list. A small tang like a yellow should be happy in your tank (if not, well you'll just have to get a bigger tank:mrgreen: ) and will work wonders on the appearance of you rock. I like to think about how a fish is going to serve my reef when I'm looking for a new addition.

Not to worry. Any discussion is helpful. I did have a Firefish at one point...but he carpet surfed. I thought there wasn't much jumping room at the back of the tank but apparently there was. My Royal Gramma (5 years with me) has never threatened to get airborn. I do like the look of a lot of wrasses but I would be concerned about jumping and my RG is a little territorial.

Rob, I thought my Foxface would do some rock maintenance but he merely picks and waits for other treats to come his way (from me). I would be interested in a small Tang(s) but I was looking for something to contrast the colours of the Foxface. Also, I like many of the Tang varieties but I want to keep in mind the size they might reach ultimately, considering my tank is only 4'. BTW, that colt I bought from you has an 18" spread now and hosts my 2 Oscellaris.

I understand Anthias are pretty messy so, only 1 for my tank I would imagine? Do they do alright singly as they are a schooling fish?

I appreciate the ideas. Please, keep them coming.

My Foxface is only a so-so cleaner, it will only remove the bigger pieces of macro algae. The little White Cheeked Tang I just put in a couple of weeks ago is a real trooper! It spends the whole day picking at the rock. The max size on them isn't too big, and I think they're too busy to even realize they're in a tank:biggrin: It's not at all like my Regal Tang that spends it's time patrolling the tank, making sure everything and everyone is in order.

Thanks Rob,

Is your White Cheeked Tang the A. Japonicus variety. Where did you get it. How big is it?

Yup, he's an A. Japonicus, about 3" long. I got him as a fixer upper for $20 at King Ed's.

Hi I have a 32 gallon tank, with 2 percs and 1 mandarin. They are all doing fine. I was having trouble picking my next fish. Im thinking either a tiny blue tang or yellow tang. Just a heads up, I will be upgrading this summer to a 75 gallon. My tank is crawling with pods, I have a small refugium and also have 5 side cultures. Whats your advice? Ive read that blue tangs grow larger but need less place to swim(75 gallon) and yellow tangs grow only 7 inches and need 100 gallons. I have had my tank for a full year now. Any suggestions would be helpfull???? Pm with your suggestions please.

Sorry for hijacking

If your still looking for a cleaner tang I would highly recommend a bristletooth tang such as the gold-eye kole tang. Of all the tangs I have it cleans the best! Chevron tangs are also of the same family, it starts off as a bright orange tang with brown or purple stripes, yet as it gets old it will darken to brown.

I also second the recommendation of a Red Sea sailfin tang. I have one and the color changes are dramatic. I also keep it with a fox face. Lots of personality, but its doesn't do a lot of tank cleaning.

Other colorful fish, albeit small, that I would recommend would be a copperband butterfly, and a sixline wrasse. Both are colorful, and have some tank benefits.

Let us know what you decide!

?????

why not try the multicolour angel that J&L has for sale??? They're pricey but they would definately add the splash of colour you're looking for.

Here's what I think I'm going to do, and in this order:

handful of Chromis
Carpenter's Wrasse
Powder Brown Tang - Acanthurus Japonicus
Yellow or Sailfin Tang

Any thoughts?

Any rebuttal to these choices?

I think you picked some good choices. I would just suggest adding the Powder Brown before either the sailfin, or the yellow, as I have found both of those are more territorial then most tangs.

We had a powder brown tang that completely terrorized all the other tank mates, his favorite fish to pick on was our foxface. I am amazed that our foxface didn't die from the stress the powder brown was putting on him. We no longer have the powder brown tang, however we do have a happy foxface. We did add a lavender tang (about a month ago) to our tank and everyone is getting along great. Also our lavender tang has a lot of personality as well as nice colouring. Check out www.themarinecenter.com (you may have to click on the pic of the fish you just searched for, for more info on it) there is a lot of info on many types of fish on this site. Nice to hear someone is doing their HW before buying the fish:biggrin: believe me I learned that leason the hard way!

This would be a concern for me. Is your Powder Brown an A. Japonicus or an A. Nigricans? Has anyone else had this experience?

Rob, how do yours get along?

Our powder brown was an A. Japonicus. I know ours was mean but I also know that the same type of fish can have different personalities. However I would not trust one with more peaceful fish. That being said our powder brown even picked on our cinnamon clown fish:sad: Also our tank at that time was a 65g with the foxface, powder brown tang, 2 clown fish, firefish, & 2 small damsels. Maybe if it was a bigger tank things might of been different, but believe it or not even our damsels (blue with yellow tails) were scared of the tang!!!!