CHEAP Schooling fish

[Jeremy K.A.]

Hey Reefers, I've always wanted a large school of Bangaii Cardinals, they're the fish that got me into reef keeping/ marine aquariums! Sadly I can't afford to make a large school of them since they're $26 per fish at my LFS. That being said, I'd still love to have a decent school of fish in my aquarium, especially something that is NOT Aggressive. What are some good schoolers that are cheaper? Right now it's looking like I'll get some Chromis but am curious if there are other good alternatives

 

[ScottR]

Chromis aren’t really schooling fish but shoaling rather. But I guess bang for your buck wise, they’re the best. They can be aggressive and some have luck, some don’t. For me they work.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Hey Reefers, I've always wanted a large school of Bangaii Cardinals, they're the fish that got me into reef keeping/ marine aquariums! Sadly I can't afford to make a large school of them since they're $26 per fish at my LFS. That being said, I'd still love to have a decent school of fish in my aquarium, especially something that is NOT Aggressive. What are some good schoolers that are cheaper? Right now it's looking like I'll get some Chromis but am curious if there are other good alternatives

You have one of those stores that sell everything almost 50% more expensive than anybody else lol. Bangaiis have gone up in price, but I can still find them here $17 and up. I currently have 7 in my 120. Love them!

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Chromis aren’t really schooling fish but shoaling rather. But I guess bang for your buck wise, they’re the best. They can be aggressive and some have luck, some don’t. For me they work.

I always forget about schooling vs shoaling. Yeah I've tried them in the past and bought six and they all killed each other or died and I was left with one -.- I LOVE them but like you said they're 50/50 haha

 

[ScottR]

You have one of those stores that sell everything almost 50% more expensive than anybody else lol. Bangaiis have gone up in price, but I can still find them here $17 and up. I currently have 7 in my 120. Love them!

Not trying to poke fun but they’re $1.50 at my LFS. How things get marked up that high baffles me... There really aren’t many cheap fish out there. Some damsels will swim together. Not really shoaling but they look good and will swim around each other.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

You have one of those stores that sell everything almost 50% more expensive than anybody else lol. Bangaiis have gone up in price, but I can still find them here $17 and up. I currently have 7 in my 120. Love them!

Pff figures. What makes it even more sad is that they're the cheapest store around here! Lately though I've noticed how much their prices have gone up on corals. Half inch frag of green slimer is $40. Palm sized Devils hand is $60. Firefish are $16. Illinois at it's finest LOL! But yeah Bangaiis are the coolest haha my dad always calls them the hornetsbecause they remind him of White faced hornets, which I can definitely see when they're in a group haha

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Not trying to poke fun but they’re $1.50 at my LFS. How things get marked up that high baffles me... There really aren’t many cheap fish out there. Some damsels will swim together. Not really shoaling but they look good and will swim around each other.

WHAT... 1.50!? Thats insane, thats my type of deal haha. It really disgusts me how much some stores charge for their livestock. The LFS I'm talking about is waaaayyyy cheaper than others.. another one about 20 mins away sells them for $50 a piece

 

[ScottR]

WHAT... 1.50!? Thats insane, thats my type of deal haha. It really disgusts me how much some stores charge for their livestock. The LFS I'm talking about is waaaayyyy cheaper than others.. another one about 20 mins away sells them for $50 a piece

Where in Illinois are you? Northern, middle, southern?

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Where in Illinois are you? Northern, middle, southern?

Northwestern Suburbs about 40 Mins from Chicago

 

[pgravis]

ORA Black Cardinal
I saw these on liveaquaria. I think around $15 or so. I’ve contemplated a few, but have no actual experience.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

ORA Black Cardinal
I saw these on liveaquaria. I think around $15 or so. I’ve contemplated a few, but have no actual experience.

I thought about ordering some Flame Cardinals from them once but they sold out before I ordered them. I ordered 6 Bangaiis instead and 4 died within 2 days soooo it's unlikely I'd order from them again because they made it a real pain to get money back even though it was their fault. The fish arrived in super low salinity, cold water and barely moving. I Love Liveaquaria as a company but just think it's too difficult when things go wrong. I will say that I use their salt on my nano tank and looooovvee it

 

[pgravis]

Yeah l, I’ve never ordered with them, but if your local store can get ORA, then maybe they could bring them in cheaper than bangaiis?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Cheap? There’s something Cheap in this hobby?? LOL

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I’m done with liveaquaria.com
Made me sick to be apart of that side of the hobby. I make sure they’re healthy, before I sentence them to the last bag they’ll ever see.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Cheap? There’s something Cheap in this hobby?? LOL

What? Where!?

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

What about approaching your lfs saying that you want quite a few and maybe they can order them in for you. They might have to pay more because they only order 2-3 at a time? I'm not sure if that's how it works. Failing that how about contacting an online company and ordering through them?

 

[hawk82]

I’m done with liveaquaria.com
Made me sick to be apart of that side of the hobby. I make sure they’re healthy, before I sentence them to the last bag they’ll ever see.

Same. I was going to order from them, but the post ive seen on here in the past few days i think ill pass. Regular red firefish are $25 at my LFS vs $10 at liveaquaria, but Id rather buy local where I know the fish are taken care of.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Same. I was going to order from them, but the post ive seen on here in the past few days i think ill pass. Regular red firefish are $25 at my LFS vs $10 at liveaquaria, but Id rather buy local where I know the fish are taken care of.

Cheap for a reason no doubt

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

What about approaching your lfs saying that you want quite a few and maybe they can order them in for you. They might have to pay more because they only order 2-3 at a time? I'm not sure if that's how it works. Failing that how about contacting an online company and ordering through them?

I wish that was the case but my LFS probably gets 20+ on average order, yeah might try talking to one online

 

[mort]

I'd seriously research the longevity of bangaii groups if your set on them because unless you have a very large tank they tend to either kill each other off or avoid each other as they mature.
We bred them and had a 8x2x2 that had about 200 in it and as they matured we knew because a pair would have about 2ft to themselves. When this happened we had to try and scoop them out before they killed anything.
In general they look great when young and happy in each others company but mature into nasty pieces of work. Some have luck but that's few and far between ime.

As and alternative blue streak cardinals play nice together and form good groups for and few years. They do tend to spread out more as they age but don't seem to kill one another off. You could also consider chalk bass, they should be cheap and although they won't tightly group you can keep multiples in the same tank without much issue.