Bets fish

[N1z]

I was wondering wot sort of new fish i cn get in my tank, so far i have 1 half black dwarf angel but mixed with a red striped , pink spotted goby, 2 green chroms, cleaner shrimp, sand sifting star and 2 hermits.

now im gettign a pair of percs at christmas and then coral beauty but not sure wot else would look nice any ideas for my 32G tank? bearing in mind i can get rid of the green chromos.

[Fishfirst]

you won't want to mix the dwarf angels they can be very territorial to eachother. I'd get a firefish of some sort, lose the chromis's and get the percs with a firefish or royal gramma. Also sand sifting starfish have a fairly poor survival rate... they often eat themselves out of house and home, and can leave your substraight lifeless. I'd get a different type of sand sifter such as nassarius snails.

[N1z]

Originally Posted by Fishfirst

you won't want to mix the dwarf angels they can be very territorial to eachother.

Ok thats fine but how comes in my LFS hes got 3 large tangs (naso,yellow and purple) in main front tank swimming about with each other, and the tank i bought the half black was in a small selling tank with 3 other different types of angels..... just a query cld mine be a girl prehaps then u know less of a bully...

[TheOldSalt]

Well, you can certainly do whatever you want, but mixing the Halfblack & the Coral Beauty in such a small tank is just asking for trouble. Those spines on their cheeks? They do actually use those for something on occasion.

In all fairness, I never was a big fan of Coral Beauties, so maybe I'm biased. However, 32 gallons is still pretty small for two angels.

As for the 3 tangs: It would be pretty hard to pick 3 tangs that looked more different from each other than those 3. That's probably no small part of why they get along, assuming that they indeed do get along when you're not looking.

[Fishfirst]

Also, looking at the long term aspect of angels "getting along" is a lot different than the short term lfs stay. Most likely these angels were added at the same time, or have not been in the tank for more than 2 weeks.

[Electric Monk]

Originally Posted by TheOldSalt

In all fairness, I never was a big fan of Coral Beauties, so maybe I'm biased. However, 32 gallons is still pretty small for two angels.

Just out of interest, why you not a fan salty? Mine gets on with everybody else in the tank, does not attack my corals and even does some gardening in the substrate............

Or are you not a big fan in the same way i'm not a big fan of women with ginger hair **SHUDDER**

[N1z]

i do understand and thanks but my half black has been in a tank with the other angels ( small seeling tank too) for over 2 months befor i bought him.......... just saying theres a coral beauty that was with him now if i was to go about trying to fit both in how would u go about it personally and not being biast :P

i would of gone by putting the older angel in a box net i have for like a few hours so the other cn get to grips with the place or change scenery.. but dont wnt to do that too much as there is a soft coral in there and it h8s being poked at lol

[Fishfirst]

you fail to see the big picture here... long term, it will not work... long term does not mean 2 months... it means 2 years or more. As the angels mature, things will get more and more violent until it becomes a game of life and death. 30 gallons is a very very small tank in saltwater terms, angelfish are territorial by nature.

However, in order for it to be a short term occupancy that is moderately peaceful, you need to rearrange rockwork, get the coral beauty larger than the half black, and let him out of the bag when the lights go out. That is my best advice for attempting it, HOWEVER, I do not condone this inappropraite mixture of fish. If you want someone patting you on the back for making this choice... go visit reefcentral, theres a bunch of newbies on there that will probably say "good job for stocking what you want in your tank" but not here.

[TheOldSalt]

ouch. harsh.

Anyway, yeah, rearranging the rockwork right before adding the new angel is a good idea. That will make the old fish have to forget about their old territories and start looking for new ones right along with the new fish. That way, the new fish won't be seen so much as an intruder in the old fish's turf.

I don't like Coral Beauties because it's so freakin' hard to find one in decent shape. The morons who collect them where they are common must not have any clue about how to do it, resulting in fish which are either poisoned, banged-up, or highly infested/infected. Maybe things are a wee bit better nowadays, but not by much, I'd bet.

Two Centropyges in a 30 gallon tank is a boneheaded move if ever there was one, but feel free to ignore our advice if you must. Sometimes people just have to learn the hard way.

[N1z]

ok thanks i probs wont now seeming as ur so nice but k then wot would u prefer to keep in my reef....

Coral beauty or my half black mix with red stripe.

but just to let u know my LFS is getting like Coral Bs from hawai next month so like the colouration is much bolder and nicer.....

and old salt ive had an idea of what fish to keep in my tank wot would u propose so i cn get an idea of wots decent... cheers

[Fishfirst]

I appologize for my unpleasent comment, and I'm not saying that you should get what I want in YOUR tank, however, I don't want you making a mistake you probably will regret in the future. Most people that drop this hobby just don't understand the basic concept I was getting across... compatibility is a key to success and people who make errors, get frustrated, you came here for help, and I provided that help, and I again appologize for my unprofessional response when you challenged my information.

At any rate........
Id choose one or two of the following... if you get rid of the chromis's you could probably have 3 of the following... however there are a lot more fish that are compatible than I can list.

Neon Cleaner Goby

Royal Gramma or Black Capped Basslet or Yellowheaded Jawfish

Any one type of percula clowns

Any one type of dartfish under 4", my personal favorite being the firefish

Any one type of Cardinalfish under 4"

A sailfin blenny, or bicolor blenny, or midas blenny

*also to note; my comment was in no way an attack on reefcentral, however they do have a lot of people that will do anything to distort well known knowledge, there being always an acception to the rule, I still feel that it is not right to stick two dwarf angels together in a 30 gallon.

[N1z]

ok dude np when u mean any one type of clowns how u mean cos like im gettign 2 true percs with month as hes gettign a bunch in and hes setting a pair back for me.. ill look on google thgh, i will admit i like the cardinals how many wld u say 1 or 2?

[Fishfirst]

the perculas are fine as a pair. any one type means any one species. As for getting a single or a pair of cardinal depends on the species of cardinal... bangai cardinalfish don't mind mated pairs but its fairly hard to aquire a mated pair. Pajama's are fine as a single or a pair and they don't need to be a mated pair. Others I'm not sure of because I haven't really encountered them as a group but most will do well singly.

[N1z]

k well i am interested in the bangai so probs 1 then k cheers!

[Electric Monk]

Originally Posted by TheOldSalt

ouch. harsh.


I don't like Coral Beauties because it's so freakin' hard to find one in decent shape.

Yep, exactly the reason I can't be doing with women with Ginger hair ****SHUDDER****

[TheOldSalt]

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!

Don't get me started on reefcentral.