Butterflyfish/Angels with Coral?

[Gweeds1980]

Longnose, copperband, pyramid and heniochus BFs are generally reef safe. CBBs and heni's will eat feather dusters and other worms though. Longnoses too.

As for angels, most genicanthus are good, reef safe fish. Pygmys are a bit of a gamble... I've got a coral beauty alongside CBB and a huge heni. They are all model citizens.

 

[679x]

Thanks for the replies, I had a strong feeling it was too many fish. My current goal is to have a wide range of colours in the tank, so I'm going to see what my options are. Here are my new thoughts:

First, I think I want to keep the three butterflyfish if possible, because I think three would be more interesting than, say, 1. And I will keep the longnose hawkfish probably, because I really like it.

Next, I will cut out BOTH angelfish for now, and consider adding one later -- I am going to see what the stock list looks like without those angelfish. However, I may try a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them... more on that below.

The damselfish I thought would be fine because I didn't have any small, super-peaceful fish like firefish. But it is now cut out.

This leaves me with:

yellow tang OR kole tang
3 pyramid butterflyfish
longnose hawkfish

So, here's a question: do the pyramid butterflyfish graze as well? Or was it just a problem because I had a tang and two grazing angelfish? If possible, I would like to keep a tang, whether it is a yellow or a kole. If I can't keep a tang, can I keep a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them?

I would like to add a solon fairy wrasse to my list, as well as a single green reef chromis. Here is what my stock list would look like:

yellow tang OR kole tang OR a Genicanthus angelfish
3 pyramid butterflyfish
solon fairy wrasse
green reef chromis
longnose hawkfish

Have I just made my future tank overstocked again? Do I need to take something out?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far, I appreciate it. I think I mentioned it before but this will be my first saltwater tank so the only information I'm getting is from online... I have no experience yet.

 

[clsanchez77]

Thanks for the replies, I had a strong feeling it was too many fish. My current goal is to have a wide range of colours in the tank, so I'm going to see what my options are. Here are my new thoughts:

First, I think I want to keep the three butterflyfish if possible, because I think three would be more interesting than, say, 1. And I will keep the longnose hawkfish probably, because I really like it.

Next, I will cut out BOTH angelfish for now, and consider adding one later -- I am going to see what the stock list looks like without those angelfish. However, I may try a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them... more on that below.

The damselfish I thought would be fine because I didn't have any small, super-peaceful fish like firefish. But it is now cut out.

This leaves me with:

yellow tang OR kole tang
3 pyramid butterflyfish
longnose hawkfish

So, here's a question: do the pyramid butterflyfish graze as well? Or was it just a problem because I had a tang and two grazing angelfish? If possible, I would like to keep a tang, whether it is a yellow or a kole. If I can't keep a tang, can I keep a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them?

I would like to add a solon fairy wrasse to my list, as well as a single green reef chromis. Here is what my stock list would look like:

yellow tang OR kole tang OR a Genicanthus angelfish
3 pyramid butterflyfish
solon fairy wrasse
green reef chromis
longnose hawkfish

Have I just made my future tank overstocked again? Do I need to take something out?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far, I appreciate it. I think I mentioned it before but this will be my first saltwater tank so the only information I'm getting is from online... I have no experience yet.

Looks like a good list to me! I do not think a 75 gallon tank is a good fit for the Genicanthus angelfish though. I have never kept pyramid butterflyfish but what I have read about them is they are open water feeders and not grazers. That's not to say they won't graze; its in their genes. But it if they are fed well, it should not interfere with the tang. And btw, I vote for the Kole Tang; yellow tangs have been overdone over the years, that's just me though Beautiful wrasse choice btw. If this is your first tank, the most important thing you can do is QT and take is slow. The research and dialogue you doing here puts you far ahead most of your peers. Enjoy!

 

[Tphill]

I thought I wanted a yellow tang too, for the color. I was wrong. If this tang I got, which has ick, doesn't make it, or even if he does, I'll be replacing him with a foxface.

 

[ice fish]

Thanks for the replies, I had a strong feeling it was too many fish. My current goal is to have a wide range of colours in the tank, so I'm going to see what my options are. Here are my new thoughts:

First, I think I want to keep the three butterflyfish if possible, because I think three would be more interesting than, say, 1. And I will keep the longnose hawkfish probably, because I really like it.

Next, I will cut out BOTH angelfish for now, and consider adding one later -- I am going to see what the stock list looks like without those angelfish. However, I may try a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them... more on that below.

The damselfish I thought would be fine because I didn't have any small, super-peaceful fish like firefish. But it is now cut out.

This leaves me with:

yellow tang OR kole tang
3 pyramid butterflyfish
longnose hawkfish

So, here's a question: do the pyramid butterflyfish graze as well? Or was it just a problem because I had a tang and two grazing angelfish? If possible, I would like to keep a tang, whether it is a yellow or a kole. If I can't keep a tang, can I keep a Genicanthus angelfish or a pair of them?

I would like to add a solon fairy wrasse to my list, as well as a single green reef chromis. Here is what my stock list would look like:

yellow tang OR kole tang OR a Genicanthus angelfish
3 pyramid butterflyfish
solon fairy wrasse
green reef chromis
longnose hawkfish

Have I just made my future tank overstocked again? Do I need to take something out?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far, I appreciate it. I think I mentioned it before but this will be my first saltwater tank so the only information I'm getting is from online... I have no experience yet.

Looks a lot better. A few suggestions from me on this list though. If you are going to go with a bristle tooth tang maybe look at something other then a yellow eye. I have a two spot and she is a pretty and very active and colorful fish. White tails are another that are great fish. I find the single chromis to be pointless in the tank. They are schooling fish and just seeing one is going to look a little off. Maybe replace that with another wrasse that you find attractive. Wrasse come in so many colors and patterns its hard to not find the colors you want in one. Other then those suggestions i'd say it looks good.

 

[679x]

Looks a lot better. A few suggestions from me on this list though. If you are going to go with a bristle tooth tang maybe look at something other then a yellow eye. I have a two spot and she is a pretty and very active and colorful fish. White tails are another that are great fish. I find the single chromis to be pointless in the tank. They are schooling fish and just seeing one is going to look a little off. Maybe replace that with another wrasse that you find attractive. Wrasse come in so many colors and patterns its hard to not find the colors you want in one. Other then those suggestions i'd say it looks good.

What's wrong with the yellow eye kole tang? Is there a reason why I should change it, or is it just a personal preference kind of thing?

As for the chromis, I read in multiple places that chromis tend to pick on eachother until there is only one or two left. I had an issue where my freshwater fish (Tropheus) were dying one by one over time, and I definitely do NOT want that to happen again in my new tank. If the chromis will feel uncomfortable/stressed on its own then I won't get one, but I also read that they are fine alone. I personally won't mind seeing a single chromis as long as it's thriving. What do you think? Would the fish itself be comfortable if it's the only one of its kind?

For the wrasse I find many of them very attractive, but if I'm not risking angelfish in the tank (which it looks like I won't), then I also won't get any non-reef-safe wrasses, except for the yellow wrasse and green wrasse which may eat inverts (the hawkfish does the same so that's OK with me), but they seem to want a 2-3" sand bed to hide in, and the green one in particular seems to get aggressive in some people's experiences, so I am avoiding both. That leaves me with any reef-safe wrasse, and while they are ALL beautiful, I think the ones I like the most are the carpenter's flasher wrasse and the solon fairy wrasse. So why haven't I added both to my list? Well, I thought I read that flasher wrasses may intimidate fairy wrasses. Is this true??

 

[ice fish]

What's wrong with the yellow eye kole tang? Is there a reason why I should change it, or is it just a personal preference kind of thing?

As for the chromis, I read in multiple places that chromis tend to pick on eachother until there is only one or two left. I had an issue where my freshwater fish (Tropheus) were dying one by one over time, and I definitely do NOT want that to happen again in my new tank. If the chromis will feel uncomfortable/stressed on its own then I won't get one, but I also read that they are fine alone. I personally won't mind seeing a single chromis as long as it's thriving. What do you think? Would the fish itself be comfortable if it's the only one of its kind?

For the wrasse I find many of them very attractive, but if I'm not risking angelfish in the tank (which it looks like I won't), then I also won't get any non-reef-safe wrasses, except for the yellow wrasse and green wrasse which may eat inverts (the hawkfish does the same so that's OK with me), but they seem to want a 2-3" sand bed to hide in, and the green one in particular seems to get aggressive in some people's experiences, so I am avoiding both. That leaves me with any reef-safe wrasse, and while they are ALL beautiful, I think the ones I like the most are the carpenter's flasher wrasse and the solon fairy wrasse. So why haven't I added both to my list? Well, I thought I read that flasher wrasses may intimidate fairy wrasses. Is this true??

In my experience with yellow eyes is that they are more aggressive tangs. Plus most people have them so its a personal preference as well. You are more then fine having just 1 chromis in the tank. But they look better in schools where they can swim together and look cool. Another personal preference there. As far as wrasses go. You have way more variety in reef safe wrasses to choose from. As long as you have sand for them to burrow into a normal 2 inch bed would be perfect. If you are planning on going bare bottom then i wouldnt suggest really any wrasses. One of my favorite fish that i have is my blue start leopard wrasse. She is just starting to turn male but the female colors are amazing with very vibrant blue. As far as aggression goes. You are usually safe with different genus of wrasses. flasher and fairy are different genus. You should be ok. You can always QT and add them together in the tank which normally is enough to keep aggression down. Worse case scenerio you can get a acclimation box and introduce them that way.

 

[Tautog]

LEDs are the cheaper, in the long run, imo, most of the commercial growers are using them. They grow corals as well, run with very little electric, never heat the water. Other lights produce a lot of heat, T-5's or MH, which will cost more $$$ to run yearly, and then the next cost to deal with the heat, a chiller and AC.
As far as fish, I thought long and hard as you are, fish only or corals with fish. Now that I have both, I really could care less about the fish.
If you go for both, wrasses and tangs, but angels and butterflies could be OK, buy them as small as possible, and train them to eat what you feed them for better success.

 

[Maritimer]

Well, I thought I read that flasher wrasses may intimidate fairy wrasses. Is this true??

I've found flashers to be fairly meek - with the solorensis, I'd expect the fairy to be the more dominant. Both groups sleep in the rock, and don't require sand.

~Bruce

 

[679x]

Thanks for the replies.

I will do a little more research on the Kole tang tomorrow and see if it is too aggressive for me. I do agree that a group of chromis would look nicer than a single one, but I am not willing to take the risk of them potentially killing eachother... maybe 2 would be safer, but I'm not sure. I'm fine with a single one. Next is the wrasse topic... If a carpenter's flasher wrasse would be fine alongside a solon fairy wrasse, could I get both without having to take out another fish? I suppose I could replace the chromis with the flasher wrasse but I can't imagine that taking out the chromis would balance things out after adding a wrasse, because the chromis is small and probably won't take up much space or produce much waste anyway, right?

What do you think? Can I fit one more wrasse? (I promise I'll be done adding fish after that!! )

 

[Maritimer]

Carpenter's wrasses are pretty small, too.

I think it's a pretty good trade.

I would add the Carpenter's before the solorensis, and I'd use a social acclimation box when adding the fairy. (Which can be as simple as a "kritter-keeper" hung in the tank.)

~Bruce, who has a kole but hasn't tried any other Ctenochaetus.

 

[BantyRooster97]

I have a pyramid in my tank with euphylia, zoa, sps, lps, and he's a saint... looking to get 2 more.

I've heard that some angels like the goldflake & regal can be reef safe if you don't want zoas.

 

[Joseph Pagnotta]

I have a coral beauty, a Copperband Butterfly as well as A Niger Trigger (Tyrone) in my 55 gallon reef aquarium. I would probably stay away from the Flame Angel as they are beautiful but Seem to not like being with other angels

 

[Michael Montgomery]

good read....