Fish slection ??

[strout]

The man at the LFS said: (when we go to put fish in the tank, we can put in a couple of Damsel fish) I don't really want them in my tank, what are my other options, keep in mind, this is going to be turned into a reef tank as soon as my wife will let me get the lights,lol.

 

[Lorna]

Those lfs will do anything to sell damsels......They are aggressive and shouldn't be put in until the very last if you are going to put them in at all. They are almost impossible to catch once they are in your tank without tearing the whole thing down so be warned.

Do you want a nice community reef? If so good choices are flasher wrasses, dwarf angels (though some are reef safe with caution as they may nip corals) gobies, blennies, cardinals, firefish, clowns, chromis, and if your tank is large enough tangs

I would suggest making up a stocking list of those fish that you would like to have then let us know and we will give you good constructive advice on the stocking order, compatibility etc. Make sure that you research each of your additions PRIOR to buying them so that you know what their wants and needs are which is of utmost importance along with making sure you get healthy specimens that are eating well and show no signs of stress or disease.

 

[strout]

The tank is a 125g. The guy at the fish store had ma make a list, of all the fish I like and he would go thru it. It has way to many fish on it, but he said make the list,lol.

 

[Lorna]

After his advice on the damsels I would wonder what his recommendations are. Tangs are okay in that size though you may not want to have two the same shape or species

 

[strout]

These are the fish I like:

Flame Angel fish
midas blenny
blue mandarin
False Percula mated
fire fish gobies-mated pair
Shrimp Barbershop
yellow watchman gobie
Long nose hawk fish
Flame Hawk fish

Tangs:
Blue Hippo
yellow tang
Blond naso

Wrasses:
mcCoskersFlasher-male
Redheadsolon Fairy.

Theres more but these are the ones I like the best.

 

[1979camaro]

Most of those would be fine in a 125. The Mandarin Goby will likely starve unless you get really lucky and can find one eating frozen food. The only other major question mark I see would be the hawkfish; they do tend to go after your crabs and shrimp if they are small enough, but other than that it should be ok. The Naso Tang will get to big (15" at least) but you would be fine with either of the other tangs. I'm not a wrasse expert so I'll leave that to someone else. You will need to consider what order to introduce the fish to the tank as you have a few fairly aggressive choices on there.

 

[Lorna]

I agree with Camaro....good choices over all, the hawkfish are not generally considered reef safe but I know people who have them in full blown reefs without problems.....hit and miss. The wrasse choices are good and docile fish for the most part, go slow and add the least aggressive fish first and most aggressive last. Save the mandarin for the very end and by then hopefully you will have a good supply of pods to supplement his feeding as these fish are unusually hard to keep long term if they are not eating frozen food. You need to make sure that you see it actually eat at the lfs before you buy it. sounds like a good community mix.

 

[strout]

The one thing I didnt know was, they only gave buying sizes in the places I looked, I don't know the adult sizes, Naso Tang 15inches, I could eat him. I picked the fish by reef compatibly and color, the wife likes color. Guess I need to buy another book. Thanks

 

[Lotus]

A Pocket Guide to Reef Aquarium Fishes or A Pocket Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes (both by Scott Micahel) are pretty good. I prefer the reef book because it notes specific preferences of fish for SPS corals, LPS corals, sessile inverts, etc., and how likely the fish is to go after each. They're commonly sold in LFS.