Schooling fish

[mps9506]

BTW,
Regarding th anthias, the reason I don't recomend them, is simply their need for food. When people recomended feeding a few times a day, they aren't kidding when it comes to anthias.
There are some beutiful anthias no doubt, one of the reasons I got into SW aquaria, but after researching them, I came to the conclusion they were a bit too high maintence for me, my girlfriend is about the only high maintence thing I can handle.

Cardinals are pretty low maintence in my experience, they aren't a very "interactive" fish though. I would have to say they seem to be one of the "dumber" fish I have ever kept. They don't seem to recognize me and react the way other fish in my aquariums tend to. They do prepare to eat when I walk up to the tank, but all my other fish tend to dance or start swim back and forth, etc. These guys just sit and stare They are fun to watch dart around the tank though.

All this talk about fish, keeps making me realize I don't have anyfish in my tank anymore... Guess I should start looking around for some fishies for the sps tank.
Mike

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Mike,

Did I say a male and harem of Flasher Wrasses?

 

[mps9506]

Originally posted by Craig Manoukian
Mike,

Did I say a male and harem of Flasher Wrasses?

What's that? You suggest longspine cardinals?

J/k
I love flasher wrasses, I just wish I had a tank big enough to keep a few hundred of them.
Only wrasse I ever kept in a personal tank was a lubbocks fairy wrasse, he was such a wimpy fish too, let the tang and the clowns boss him around. He finally decided one day he had enough and decided to jump towards that bright halide in the sky, and found himself on the dry carpet on the floor.

Mike

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Mike,

All you need is a buff Carpenter's Wrasse with some ladies to impress and you won't believe the coloration and display. Your tank should be able to handle four or five 3.5" fish, eh?

 

[wooddood]

go look at playa's pic in the photo gallery and tell me the green chromis are'nt the way to go i dont know exactly how many he has but thier not in a school thier in college

 

[mps9506]

Originally posted by Craig Manoukian
Mike,

All you need is a buff Carpenter's Wrasse with some ladies to impress and you won't believe the coloration and display. Your tank should be able to handle four or five 3.5" fish, eh?

EEEK...
Four or five wrasses in a 40 breeder? You really think so?
I know my filtration can handle that, but do you think they will enjoy that size?
Mike

 

[Craig Manoukian]

In a forty breeder I would go with no more than 4 total fish and in a harem situation, no problem. With two males it would be a different story.

 

[sincityreefer]

I really dislike green chromis.. You know a chromis is related to damselfish, so, just like my other damsels i used to have my now elderly chromis have started to act like any other damsel, they dont school up much anymore, they have become VERY teritorial, they nip at everything. I used to have a school of 6 in my 120, but i have been trying to catch them for the last couple weeks. I replaced them with a school of 4 bar gobys, i love em, much more interesting IMO, I might do chromis again but only if i had a BIG tank >300gal, so they could have plenty of their "own" teritory. JMHO. good luck

 

[wooddood]

sincity are you sure your talking about green lyre tail chromis? i have six in my 120 and have for a long time and have never seen any aggression out of them and have naver seen them nip at any of my corals. they are always swimming in the open water. i'd like to see what playa and reefer addict and anyone else that has them has to say. mine have been model tank inhabitants.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Two years and my Green Chromis are a scream to watch, no aggression. When they go to the big reef in the sky, Flasher Wrasse harem for sure.

 

[Ladipyg]

I have a school of 8 and I LOVE them...their colors are constantly changing under the lighting, from lime green, to light blue, then silver and purple...no real aggression...they loosely school together but every once in a while the will school tightly and face into the output from the sump...usually after I've moved stuff around in there so I'm guessing they are lining up for the buffet...any pods or shrimp that get knocked loose and go for a ride...they really are a pretty fish...

 

[Craig Manoukian]

8 what Ladipyg, Chromis?

 

[BoomerD]

I just sold my school of 8 green chromises. At feeding time, they would all school around in the tank, but most of the time, it would have been called a very loose school...some here, a couple there, etc...

 

[Web2000]

I had 5 Green Chromis, which are now 4. They school loosely at times. Very interesting and attractive fish though. No aggression at all!!

Bill

 

[Bubba654]

I have had 4 pennant butterfly(Heniochus Acuminatus) for about 8 months in a 55 gal they love it might be a little bigger then you are looking for.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Bubba,

Not to be the Banner fish police, but at 10" adult length, those fish are way too big and too many for a 55 gallon. At 1" of fish per five gallons of water one Banner fish is at the limit, although a 55 would be cramped for a 10" fish.

Great excuse to move to a 125 gallon which they will need in the future, eh?

 

[Ladipyg]

Sorry, yes reef chromis...very pretty...after a stressing day I like to just go to the basement and watch the "kids" tool around for a while... the blood pressure just drops on down to where it should be...AAAHHHH....great!

 

[dgasmd]

Just so you know, most if not all fish that school will eventually stop schooling in your tank. They may ahng out together for the most part or just sometimes, but they will stop schooling. The schooling behavior is something adopted by fish in natural environments to avoid predation. They will figure out in a few weeks to months in your tank that there is no predators there.

Here are some fish that will "hang out together" in your tank and look nice:

-Anthias: nice, but can get costly and may be hard to get to eat in captivity.
-green chromis: good, cheap, and nice colors actually. My experience with them is that over time, the assasin (there is always one there) will whack the rest one by one over weeks to months.
-royal gramma: if you have enough room and you have enough numbers, you may get lucky. They may develop with one more aggressive harrasing the rest, but it is likely a 50/50 chance.
-Heniochus: requires room for it since they will get bigger fast if fed well. They may break up and go solo earlier than then rest above mentioned, but they are so nice that who really cares.
-Cardinals: good choice for smaller tanks.