Feature Fish Idea
- Thread starter kiwis
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That foot print really doesnt have room for much larger fish imo. If you are looking for a tang tomini tang minimum is 75g.
Smaller dwarf angel species 40 gallon breeder.
Marine beta 55g.
If no other fish some anglers since they dont move much might work in a tank that size. But this would be a species only tank.
Smaller dwarf angel species 40 gallon breeder.
Marine beta 55g.
If no other fish some anglers since they dont move much might work in a tank that size. But this would be a species only tank.
jsvand5
Valuable Member
I think you would be ok with a small flameback angel for a decent amount of time. But with a pair of clowns and two damsels already in the tank it might not be a great idea. Both of those fish will get aggressive as they mature.
ZipAdeeZoa
Valuable Member
You have decent sized scorpionfish in that tank like a rhinopias as long as you can bite the bullet on the price of the fish, deal with the feeders and manage the predator associated levels of nitrates and phosphates. If your looking for larger fish in a smaller tank sedentary species would be the way to go. not really any "reef safe" scorpions but they are coral safe!
Maybe some of the smaller flasher wrasses, Anthias, Long nose hawkfish- If your just going for personality some of the Canthigastor puffers fit the bill pretty nicely. No shortage of options is what I'm trying to say!
Maybe some of the smaller flasher wrasses, Anthias, Long nose hawkfish- If your just going for personality some of the Canthigastor puffers fit the bill pretty nicely. No shortage of options is what I'm trying to say!
maybe shift your thinking a bit? There are so many wonderful small fish with tons of personality and beautiful colors. Some fish that swim that will fit into your tank include: a small group of pj cardinals or red striped cardinals can be beautiful in the center of a tank, a pink streaked or possum wrasse, fang blennies, the tailspot blenny actually swims a lot in the water, a long-nosed hawkfish or a pygmy geometric perchlet won't swim much but are full of personality as well. Then there are gobies like the neon cleaner goby group that are small but don't hide all the time.
edit: I think you already have a royal gramma? if not, they are an option. you can also consider chalk bass, swissguard basslet, yellow assessor...
edit: I think you already have a royal gramma? if not, they are an option. you can also consider chalk bass, swissguard basslet, yellow assessor...
ZipAdeeZoa
Valuable Member
Very well said, this tank size give you great chance yto apreciate the smaller fish in life
Also really interesting point on javing a school of fish being a centerpiece, thats a really neat Idea!
Musovski
Soft Coral Enthusiast
yes! ARM AND LEG PLEASE
Candy basslet
ccombs
Valuable Member
We are kind of split between two threads now with this one and the blue tang thread, I will try to answer both here, assuming it is all about the same tank.
You are 100% free to do whatever you want. Many people have had success getting juvenile fish and re-homing. Heck, if you have already made up your mind that this is what you are going to do, there is nothing anyone on this forum can do to stop you, and that is the beauty of being able to make your own decisions.
That being said, I think most people on this forum are suggesting looking at a reef from a different perspective. When I first started, like you, I loved the idea of one big show fish, something that is the centerpiece of the tank. Now, in my 30 long, I have shifted my thinking into having more fish, but smaller. I actually love this approach much more, everything in the tank looks more proportional, actively swims, and I do not have to worry about stressing the fish with too small of a tank, or rehoming a pet that I become attached to.
Either way, don't feel like anyone is attacking you, tone is easily lost over posted forum threads. We all wish you the best of luck with whatever route you go, and we all hope that you have found our advice useful. Let us know if we can ever be of assistance with other issues or decisions you run in to.
You are 100% free to do whatever you want. Many people have had success getting juvenile fish and re-homing. Heck, if you have already made up your mind that this is what you are going to do, there is nothing anyone on this forum can do to stop you, and that is the beauty of being able to make your own decisions.
That being said, I think most people on this forum are suggesting looking at a reef from a different perspective. When I first started, like you, I loved the idea of one big show fish, something that is the centerpiece of the tank. Now, in my 30 long, I have shifted my thinking into having more fish, but smaller. I actually love this approach much more, everything in the tank looks more proportional, actively swims, and I do not have to worry about stressing the fish with too small of a tank, or rehoming a pet that I become attached to.
Either way, don't feel like anyone is attacking you, tone is easily lost over posted forum threads. We all wish you the best of luck with whatever route you go, and we all hope that you have found our advice useful. Let us know if we can ever be of assistance with other issues or decisions you run in to.
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One of the things that is tough to understand when starting out in this hobby is that although having a larger centerpiece fish seems like a cool idea when you first start out, once you actually get one in there and see it's level of activity and how cramped it looks swimming around you realize it's just not a good fit. I tried a Flame Angel in my 36 gallon bowfront and although it seemed like a good idea as it was only about 3 inches in length it quickly became apparent to me that this fish needed a bigger tank.
I think the idea of a pygmy angel (ie cherubfish) would be your best bet if you want a highly active and colorful fish with that sort of slender profile look. You can get a smaller one and they don't grow very fast. Flamebacks are good looking pygmy angels but they tend to be one of the more aggressive ones. I had to remove the Flame Angel mentioned above due to aggression issues. It bullied all the other fish in my tank.
FYI this is what a Cherubfish looks like:
https://m.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+2730+455&pcatid=455
I think the idea of a pygmy angel (ie cherubfish) would be your best bet if you want a highly active and colorful fish with that sort of slender profile look. You can get a smaller one and they don't grow very fast. Flamebacks are good looking pygmy angels but they tend to be one of the more aggressive ones. I had to remove the Flame Angel mentioned above due to aggression issues. It bullied all the other fish in my tank.
FYI this is what a Cherubfish looks like:
https://m.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+2730+455&pcatid=455
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