Schooling fish

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by TheRealBigAL

My good friend WHATIGOT has a school of chalk Bass in his tank. Very nice looking fish. I think he has 5-7 in his 72Gallon. Just have to watch because they can sometimes be jumpers.

I will have to check on Chalk Bass, anyone know if they are easy to keep and how large they get (can't find much about them online, they might go by another name), I have managed to pick up 4 Zebra Dartfish (with plans to get 8 more), and they are currently schooling, so it looks like i will not have to try anthias, but Chalk Bass look cool to, so may have to get them as well.

[TheRealBigAL]

Chalk Bass Serranus tortugarum (dwarf seabass)
Max length - 3.1 inches
Range-Tropical western atlantic

Very peaceful fish. It is better to keep them in odd numbers ex. 3, 5, 7. Best kept in 70gallon and up.

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by TheRealBigAL

Chalk Bass Serranus tortugarum (dwarf seabass)
Max length - 3.1 inches
Range-Tropical western atlantic

Very peaceful fish. It is better to keep them in odd numbers ex. 3, 5, 7. Best kept in 70gallon and up.

Thanks, this will make it easier to do my research. My tank is a little over 125 gallons and I like to get my fish in the 3 inch size so this may work for me.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

Thanks, this will make it easier to do my research. My tank is a little over 125 gallons and I like to get my fish in the 3 inch size so this may work for me.

They are really easy to keep, just have to watch for the jumping.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

I will have to check on Chalk Bass, anyone know if they are easy to keep and how large they get (can't find much about them online, they might go by another name), I have managed to pick up 4 Zebra Dartfish (with plans to get 8 more), and they are currently schooling, so it looks like i will not have to try anthias, but Chalk Bass look cool to, so may have to get them as well.

Chalk bass, sel. stkg. 12/24/07


Here is the thread on fish expert Robert Fenner's website www.wetwebmedia.com


Hey crew!
<Mike>
I have a 55 gallon reef with around 60 lbs of rock that I was thinking about adding some chalk bass to.
<Some?>
At current I have 2 Ocellaris clowns, 2 green chromis, a Scopas tang
<Needs more room>
and a scooter blenny. Do you think that one, or even two would be pushing the limits?
<Two too likely... Serranus spp. are territorial...>
It is a show style tank so it is 4 feet long and 20 inches deep and offers a good amount of space to swim with plenty of rockwork for cover, though I more concerned about the biological limitations. your thoughts?
Thanks
Mike
<Think a four foot by one foot bottom is pushing it too much psychologically here. One specimen is all I'd place. Bob Fenner

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by naesco

Chalk bass, sel. stkg. 12/24/07


Here is the thread on fish expert Robert Fenner's website www.wetwebmedia.com


Hey crew!
<Mike>
I have a 55 gallon reef with around 60 lbs of rock that I was thinking about adding some chalk bass to.
<Some?>
At current I have 2 Ocellaris clowns, 2 green chromis, a Scopas tang
<Needs more room>
and a scooter blenny. Do you think that one, or even two would be pushing the limits?
<Two too likely... Serranus spp. are territorial...>
It is a show style tank so it is 4 feet long and 20 inches deep and offers a good amount of space to swim with plenty of rockwork for cover, though I more concerned about the biological limitations. your thoughts?
Thanks
Mike
<Think a four foot by one foot bottom is pushing it too much psychologically here. One specimen is all I'd place. Bob Fenner

Thanks for sending me that writeup, it will be helpful in making my mind up.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Hmmmmm....well as of this morning my "school" of chromis and other damsels is looking a little thin. And my grouper is looking kind of portly. I think he has a "damsel gut".

Darn...I guess you were right Untamed...schools may not last too long with an eating machine in the tank. Weird thing is, he only ate two in his first month in the tank and then suddenly he ate I would say four between sometime yesterday and this morning. The rest (about 4) are now in disarray but still stick together most of the time. Not quite the same as before though.

Well I don't know if I will add any more. I think they will just keep becoming midnight snacks. Too bad because they really added some nice colour and movement to the tank

On a side note, this grouper is NEVER full. He ate a prawn and a half last night for dinner and still ate damsels all night...jeez. I don't know how this is going to work when he hits 20 or 22". I hoped the 240G would be enough but now I think he may need a bigger tank

[tang daddy]

just a thought but if you still want to try schooling fish you could try some blue eyed cardinals.... I had 3 chalk bass in my tank and they would pick on each other maybe if you added it all the same time they may get along however the B.E. cardinals school for sure. I recently bought 7 and they're all doing well the first few days they all hid but now they are out more frequently if you feed them a mix of mysis and colour enhansing flakes they glow a nice blue in their eyes and belly also get orange stripes. Aftr seeing how well they school I want to add another 13 to make a total of 20. Here is a pic I googled to give you an idea. Hope it is helpfull.http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...%3D2%26hl%3Den

[TheRealBigAL]

Odd numbers are always better for schooling fish. I would go 19 or 21.

[Trigger Man]

Thanks everyone for the info, in the end I went with 4 Zebra Dartfish, (they hide till the evening but then all 4 school together) and have purchased 3 Look Downs (2.5ish inches each). I figure this gives me a good reason to have to upgrade to a larger tank later on.