PeeperKeeper Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 My 75G reef tank is in the waiting room of my office and patients are complaining that I don't have enough fish. My response is always, "yeah, but look at all the cool corals!" There are actually 5 fish in it (a Flame Angel, a pair of PJ Cardinals, a firefish and a beautiful fat Mandarin) but they all hide a lot except the firefish. I want something pretty that will stay out front, get along with everyone and not mess with my reef. I'm open to suggestions (even if you don't have one, you can post what you think would fit the bill). What I would really like most would be a Leopard Wrasse, preferably a female bipartitus, but I would need to increase the depth of my sand bed if I get one. I'd love to find one that's been in someone's tank because I understand the hardest thing about Leopards is finding one that can adapt to tank life. I've got lots of soft corals like bright red mushrooms, pink or green zoas, some really great fuzzy shrooms, pumping pom pom xenia, yellow polyps and GSP I would be willing to trade, or if it's something just right I'll pay cash. I'm just starting some SPS, so I don't have any of that ready to frag yet. Here's a shot of part of my tank: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Tank is looking better than ever. I think you should pick up a pair of clowns. Maybe some more emerald crabs too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 How about this one? You can change your marketing to read "Our client see so well, they can now live and function in the dark" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Tank is looking better than ever. I think you should pick up a pair of clowns. Maybe some more emerald crabs too. :) +1 on clowns. An Anemone too. Everyone knows those fish after nemo and the kids would love it. And your receptionist would love hearing "NEMO! NEMO! NEMO!" everytime a kids walks in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 +On the clowns...what about wrassses? Does your tank have an enclosed canopy? If you do, you should try a wrasse or fairy wrasse...IME we had these 2 in different tanks, of course one went carpet surfing and the other one got too big for my 36g tank. They're constantly out an about and the red velvet flashes its brilliant colors....an amazing display to see. I really didn't want them in the main tank w/the 6 line wrasse (since 6 line became the tank boss of wrasses). Velvet wrasse Radiant wrasse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 If you can catch my 6-line wrasse, you can have him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Mark...that is an ugly fish!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Mark...that is an ugly fish!!! not everyone can have pretty fish like you! There is a place in the world for the less than perfect fish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgwiz11 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 There is a place in the world for the less than perfect fish... Yup...bottom of the ocean where there are no lights to see the ugly things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Yup...bottom of the ocean where there are no lights to see the ugly things! a dark room? sounds like a Friday night date for some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 +1 on the Clownfish. My Clarkii's are ALWAYS out and about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Tell them they need to have their eyes checked and that you have plenty of good fish. Everyone seems to like clowns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I like tangs and know that Prof got some smaller tangs in at great prices the other night, only cause I got some of them for myself already. Last I knew he had in clown tangs powder browns powder blue purple sailfin vlamingi flame fin and others Plus some great new corals, at least 6 color variations of $25 acans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I have a 6line 2 that u can have if you can catch him. +1 for the clowns and A Mystery Wrasse is awesome but not with a 6line also!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshman1204 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I love my clown pair and my gbta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 If you can catch my 6-line wrasse, you can have him! I already have dibs! Haha. I recommend a Marine Betta or a Lamarck's Angel. Both are reef safe and friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
versace Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 +1 Clown and~~ how do you think? dori~~~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoneroller Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Sailfin blenny (attractive, active, and out front generally) and a serpent star, who may hide but is generally visible and interesting. Good scavenger too. Little clown gobies would seem compatible in your setup, black, yellow, citron. Cool little beasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I'd suggest either a Niger or houma houma trigger. Both are fairly reef safe and are out in front all the time. My Niger never bothers anything. Well he is a bully to a new fish for a day or two, but once they learn their place, he is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm actually not a big clown fan myself. Well, that's not really true. I like them, but haven't had good luck with them. I wanted to get perculas because of the whole Nemo thing, but whenever I got one, they seemed to get ich easily and didn't make it. This was YEARS ago, probably when Finding Nemo first came out. So I probably could get one now and it would be fine, but I would also have to get an anem, which I don't really think I have room for. I am a big wrasse fan though, so I'm leaning heavily toward a fairy or flasher wrasse as well as my dream of having a Leopard. I may make a separate post about them over in Reefkeeping. I didn't know triggers were reef safe. Really? I'm also interested in a tang. I'll have to call Prof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I recommend the fairy wrasse. I had one and LOVED it. I think dave has it now. Don't forget that most wrasses will compete for food with your manderine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Okay, I got a red fin wrasse and a flame hawk. I've wanted a flame hawk for a long time, even though I know they can get mean. I like the way they perch on top of a rock and the way their little eyes look around. I thought the fish I already had in the tank would be safe, but unfortunately the first night the flame hawk killed my firefish. Dang bully. Luckily he's left the cardinals, Mandarin and flame angel alone. If he had killed my Mandarin, I would have taken every rock out of the tank to get him out and squash him under my foot. Okay, maybe not, but I would have been P****d. So now I have an overabundance of orange fish. So the next thing I want to get is a Purple Tang. I know the flame hawk will be a problem with new fish, but do you think I will have a problem with a PT or do you think it will be able to take care of itself? Same question on if I were to get a largish sandsifter goby (golden eye or blue spot or something like that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Okay, I got a red fin wrasse and a flame hawk. I've wanted a flame hawk for a long time, even though I know they can get mean. I like the way they perch on top of a rock and the way their little eyes look around. I thought the fish I already had in the tank would be safe, but unfortunately the first night the flame hawk killed my firefish. Dang bully. Luckily he's left the cardinals, Mandarin and flame angel alone. If he had killed my Mandarin, I would have taken every rock out of the tank to get him out and squash him under my foot. Okay, maybe not, but I would have been P****d. So now I have an overabundance of orange fish. So the next thing I want to get is a Purple Tang. I know the flame hawk will be a problem with new fish, but do you think I will have a problem with a PT or do you think it will be able to take care of itself? Same question on if I were to get a largish sandsifter goby (golden eye or blue spot or something like that). The flame hawk will be fine with new fish. Mine doesn't bother anything and he was one of the first fish I put in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 You'll be surprise how hardy the PT is.....ours was about the size of a silver dollar and the rest of our tangs were already 4" to 5"....he held his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 You'll be surprise how hardy the PT is.....ours was about the size of a silver dollar and the rest of our tangs were already 4" to 5"....he held his own. That's the same thing Prof told me about the PT so that's good. Not that I doubted him, but it's good to hear it from multiple sources. I really don't want to spend a bunch of money on a fish that just ends up in the skimmer. What do you guys think about the Atlantic Blue Tang compared to the PT? I don't know if I've seen an Atlantic Blue "in real life," but they would serve my purpose of representing the cooler end of the color scale. Are they as striking "IRL" as a PT? Are they as tough/hardy? I was surprised the Hawk killed my Firefish rather than the Wrasse I put in just 10 minutes or so before he went in, but the Wrasse has been fine. On the bright side, I think adding a couple more fish has stirred things up so that even the Flame Angel and Mandarin have been out more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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