Favorite larger reef safe fish

Ardee · Mar 15, 2016

what is your favorite large reef safe fish?

Let's say 7"-1'0

I'm looking to stock 3-4 larger fish and looking to be as unique as possible.

Kershaw · Mar 15, 2016

Blond Naso tang!! One of the least aggressive tangs too.

eatbreakfast · Mar 15, 2016

They can be aggressive and are sensitive, but achilles tangs are awesome.

Humblefish · Mar 16, 2016

^^Love both of the above! Also, some rabbitfish get pretty large and are very useful for eating nuisance algae. I've never had one nip at corals, but I've read some have.

JMacedo · Mar 16, 2016

I had a Platax Teira in the 90´s. Bought him as big as just two inches in size but ended outgrowing my then 200gl. He was hand fed with 25 small clams per day otherwise other fish would have a hard time getting their share! Awesome fish! It is my favourite fish but I can no longer have one as my tank is too small. I still have a video of him:

Humblefish · Mar 16, 2016

@JMacedo Cool fish, but not reef safe (inverts)!

Coral safe, maybe.

McMullen · Mar 16, 2016

A cool wrasse-sooooo many to choose. I would love to have a bird wrasse. Perhaps not reef safe but worth the sacrifice.

JMacedo · Mar 16, 2016

Humblefish said:
@JMacedo Cool fish, but not reef safe (inverts)! Coral safe, maybe.

Oh, Sorry. Got carried away and forgot that detail. My apologies.

revhtree · Mar 16, 2016

Kershaw said:
Blond Naso tang!! One of the least aggressive tangs too.

Agreed!

Ardee · Mar 16, 2016

Have any of you had any luck with a blue tip Longfin grouper?

eatbreakfast · Mar 16, 2016

Ardee said:
Have any of you had any luck with a blue tip Longfin grouper?

They are an extremely hardy, really peaceful fish. I have a customer that has one that is at least six years old.

Rlynch818 · Mar 16, 2016

I agree with the Achilles Tang. Awesome! Anyone know how hardy and aggressive they are?

eatbreakfast · Mar 16, 2016

Rlynch818 said:
I agree with the Achilles Tang. Awesome! Anyone know how hardy and aggressive they are?

They are quite sensitive to ich and other parasites, but if they are put through proper qt protocols can be quite hardy. They are quite aggressive as adults, comparable to sohal and clown tangs.

ReefWithCare · Mar 16, 2016

Nano Tang or Blue Throat Trigger (They are considered reef safe with caution). I love triggers. Such active and lively fish.

TheEngineer · Mar 16, 2016

A bit on the common side, but I think a sailfin tang is really fun to watch.

Eckolancer · Mar 16, 2016

My regal tang is fun to watch. But I would have to agree with just about any trigger if you can find a reef safe one.

ReefWithCare · Mar 16, 2016

For Triggerfish here would be a general list:

Bluethroat, sargassum, crosshatch are the three known ones. Below is a sargassum

More risky - but with some success stories - Melichthys like pinktail

Everything else is a no. They must be added last to the tank. They love to play with tangs. My experience is with blue throats and never had an issue. I know there are many success stories of sargassum triggers in reef tanks.

Humblefish · Mar 16, 2016

eatbreakfast said:
They are quite sensitive to ich and other parasites, but if they are put through proper qt protocols can be quite hardy. They are quite aggressive as adults, comparable to sohal and clown tangs.

+1 An Achilles is unlikely to survive (long-term) in a "ich management" tank. They also are typically collected in crest zones, where oxygen levels are high. So, they need heavy flow, lots of dissolved O2 in the water... IMO; They do best in an SPS reef.

Zoey · Mar 16, 2016

ive gotta go with the Achilles Tang!

Ardee · Mar 16, 2016

I am new in the hobby so hearty is probably best for me. I am wanting 2 triggers and 2 tangs with possobly one more larger fish, but looking for a more rare type.

Or even a rare tang (not sure if there is such a thing)