I have only kept three marine fish so far, though these have generally been model citizens and easy to care for:
- Blue reef chromis (
Chromis cyanea)
- Blue green chromis (
Chromis viridis)
- Tailspot blenny (
Ecsenius stigmatura)
They will all take flake and pellet foods. The
Chromis also enjoy frozen food while the blenny will consume film algae. Notes that
Chromis are susceptible to the disease
Uronema and I would quarantine all marine fish I take in.
Conchs and brittle/serpent stars (not true starfish) are also fun to watch and relatively straightforward to care for. Conchs should consume algae and brittle/serpent stars can scavenge/consume meatier foods. Avoid the green brittle star (
Ophiarachna incrassata) which may consume sleeping fish.
you're probably not going to see any cleaning activity between a shrimp and the size fish you'll be keeping....my full grown fire shrimp approached my gramma and pretty much scared the crap out of it...
Maybe this just depends on the individual fish, but my Atlantic blue reef chromis, which is about 2 inches long, will occasionally visit my Pacific skunk cleaner shrimp (
Lysmata amboinensis) for some dental work. Oddly, my Pacific fish have never sought out the shrimp.
Interesting! I'm reading mixed things about Nassarius about some of them being toxic/hunting other fish and other places saying neither of those things?
Sounds like you are referring to the cone snail (
Conidae), which are rare in the hobby and are known to kill other invertebrates, fish, and even humans.
Nassarius snails should be fine as they eat decaying matter and food remains.
...and maybe Blood Red Fire Shrimp if they're also a good choice (unless there's others? again don't know a lot about this category).
I regret purchasing a blood red fire shrimp (
Lysmata debelius) because it is by far the least active and interesting of my tank's livestock; it only emerges in the dead of night, when there is no light, and avoids interacting with all of its tankmates. My skunk cleaner shrimp and peppermint shrimp (
Lysmata boggessi) are, personally, much more fun to watch and will even clean my hands. Again, behavior might vary between individuals and
Lysmata boggessi is sometimes known to eat coral.
I'm calling out the most underrated...the Freshwater Molly.
1. Doesn't need to be quarantined as the pathogens from fresh to saltwater don't transfer.
2. Does a heck of a job eating all sorts of nuisance algae.
3. Tons of colors and shapes.
4. Very friendly fish.
5. Super cheap
6. Pretty hardy and good for starting up your tank
+1
Guppies (
Poecilia reticulata) and some other freshwater/brackish livebearers can be acclimated to saltwater, though, unlike many marine fish, they may struggle to fight the strong currents found in reef setups.
I've never had any problems with squirrelfish.
D
How large did your squirrelfish get?
That said, quick google search says gobies are notoriously hard to keep?
I think some sand sifting gobies (
Valenciennea) can starve in captivity, but true watchman (
Cryptocentrus) and neon (
Elacatinus) gobies seem pretty easy to care for, to name a few.
Elacatinus macrodon has even been reported to survive as a hitchhiker in live rock. Perhaps you were looking at dragonets or scooter blennies.
...and Bumble Bee snails feed on left over food or?
I have heard reports that bumblebee snails (
Engina sp.) may consume pest and beneficial microinvertebrates, so I would be cautious with these.
