On a mission for the perfect fish

[Tuna]

Hello everyone,Iknow use the search function, but theres too little time:time:

Ive been down the fish road a few times and im sick of wasting my money on fish. My last fish was a blue hippo tang i had it a week to the day.So Im searching for THE perfect fish for my reef tank. I wish for a powder blue or a blonde naso,but i cant have another dead fish.Its just cruel.
The perfect fish for me would be one thats not prone to getting sick easily,lives a long time,very beutiful to look at,grazes algea and eats small pods and what not(but all my snails and hermits-lunar wrasse).


If you were asked what the perfect reef safe fish was what would it be?!
heres a pic of my tank...no fishes,just 130lbs of tonga deep water rock and a bunch of different corals,inverts

 

[lcstorc]

Wow tough question.
It really depends on what you are looking for, what you already have, and what you plan on getting. Also size of the tank is very important.
Sorry to not be much help, but I would really need more info before making an intelligent suggestion.
Peace
Lynn

 

[Witfull]

hmmm,,,,check out a Metallic foxface or a scribbled rabbitfish.

 

[KMP]

Inerested also...

 

[Gina]

Coral Beauty Angelfish?

 

[Jiddy]

Thats easy, a lionfish. They are hardy and beautiful, and if you dont have any other fish, they wont eat them

 

[blue_eyes53813]

I think yellow tangs are much easier, and what about the sassy maroon clowns.

Im just curious what is happening to the fish you had? Can you give us alittle more info on your tank? I

 

[Dragon Wrasse]

What are your tank perameters??? How are you introducing your new fish to your tank???

 

[cheeks69]

What size tank do you have ? How long has it been setup ? What fish do you have currently ? if you want a herbivore then Tangs and Rabbitfish are some of the best grazers but they grow large. If your interested in very active fish then Fairy Wrasses make a great reef addition. Also Dwarf Angels are grazers but can be a problem with some corals and clams.

 

[billyr98]

Coral Beauty Angelfish?

He could be dangerous... He loves my star polyps...

 

[Rougiem]

Royal gramma is a great choice~

 

[powdertang05]

i like the wrasse i love my six line always been good to me and friendly have 3 of them in all three tanks ones even in my frag bare bottom tank with all corals. ITS NEATO

 

[Paendora]

I'll second the suggestions on the Six Line Wrasse and the Maroon Clown. Both are very happy in our reef tank. I followed posts about a lawnmower blenny and he is every delight I read he'd be! The diamond goby is a busy fish and healthy for your sandbed.

I'd want to know what happened to past fish too, before adding new. Did you acclimate? Was it water quality? Was it a LFS issue?

Lots of great help here - READ READ READ!

Good Luck,
Susan

 

[cheeks69]

The diamond goby is a busy fish and healthy for your sandbed.
Susan

Susan do you have a Deep Sand Bed ? If so the Diamong Goby will eat the infauna in the bed and it will affect it's ability to denitrify IMO.

 

[Tuna]

wow its been i while since i checked this thread! sorry
anyways ill try to answer the questions i remembered lol

My nitrates are always close to zero...couldnt tell you the exact number but the tube is always yellow(good ol Doc Wellfish)
i have no sand at all in the tank,its a 65 with overflow,tidepool2 biowheel filter,i just added bio chem stars to it today.
Theres absolutely no fish in the tank,the only fish that died was a blue hippo.
The rest had to be returned because of the problems they created. Oh actually a percula clown died on me but it jumped out of the tank lol
I got rid of my Lunar Wrasse because it ate my entire cleanup crew...shrimp and all. Got rid of a pseudo because he looked up to the wrasse and followed in his shoes.

Im thinking of getting a Midas Blenny to start,I really do like the maroon clowns but I feel it would be out of place without an anemone.
Plus they can be a bit territorial.
I havent looked into rabbit fish...ill check em out tonight
No lion fish for me,my hands go in the tank too often to be bothered

Dragon Wrasse What are your tank perameters??? How are you introducing your new fish to your tank???
--i only check nitrates lol they stay golden,i change the water when i see it climb slightly.It depends on the fish for the acclimation.The tang took a good hour or so but i shoulda done 3. either way i think it would have died...Bad batch i heard
--edit i use only RO DI water for EVERYTHING,and the tank maintains 78 degrees
blue_eyes53813 I think yellow tangs are much easier
i wouldnt mind one,theyre quite plain but will graze nicely...Im scared of surgeon fish after hearing how susseptable they are to illness.
Thanks everyone for all your help so far,if we keep this going i believe the search function will benefit. And i still need a fish!

 

[Paendora]

Susan do you have a Deep Sand Bed ? If so the Diamong Goby will eat the infauna in the bed and it will affect it's ability to denitrify IMO.

depends on how deep is deep. 4" or so of sand. Everything about the tank has looked healthier since the addition of the goby.

What should I watch for? and what can I do to conteract any side effects of this cute guy?

 

[cheeks69]

Well I would classify 4" as a DSB
What will happen is that the bed will not be very effective at converting nitrates to free nitrogen. If you have a shallow sand bed then sand sifting gobies are excellent for maintaining the bed nice and clean but if you depend on a DSB for denitrification the Gobies should be avoided IMHO.

 

[Paendora]

Not brave enough to depend on the DSB for nitrate conversion. I rely on water changes, 15-18 gals every two weeks. I test about twice a week, and my levels have stayed 5-10 most of the time.

and..I'm still adding live rock at least once a month.

 

[Frankie]

Id have to say a yellow tang is a great choice. there hardy and when sick easy to see. They like to graze and are beautiful to watch.

 

[Tuna]

ok yellow tang, good choice I think. I got one today and acclimated it for about 2hrs. Heres a pic...hes a bit shy still lol
So what about another fish to compliment this one? I mean,the bright yellow looks great in the tank,whats a good companion for the yellow tang in my reef? Id like a mandarin but I havent seen any pods in a while,and I have a massive green serpent star that is going back to the lfs too.He'll be replaced with an orange linkia