reef safe?????

[stevej]

hi everyone. i'm trying to get some advice on wat fish i can get. rite now i have a clarkii clown and a yellow tang. i'm eventually going to turn my tank into a reef tank with corals,anemones,polyps, and live rock. i'm putting a mandarin, a blue tang, and an angelfish and i was wondering if i could put a nigertrigger in with tht group if i dont add any shrimp. i was reading a lot of websites and some say i can and others say not to. any advice would help a lot

-thanks

 

[1979camaro]

Before we start talking about reef compatibility, let's talk about fish because you have a pretty high fish load planned in there. How big is this tank? Are you sure it can handle the space needs of the inhabitants you have planned? Also, the mandarin is going to have a really difficult time surviving with those tankmates - they are already notoriously difficult to keep alive due to their feeding tendencies, and with those aggressive tankmates I think it is unlikely to get enough food.

As for the reef compatibility, angelfish generally eat coral polyps (though that can vary by variety, generally with dwarfs being more compatible). The trigger will likely eat pretty much any crustacean (crab, snail, and shrimp) eat can put in its mouth so it will also be tough to maintain.

The fish (less the mandarin) you are looking at are, in my opinion, better suited to a large fish only display.