Fish catch-all thread

[gray808]

OK, several questions here.

I live on the west coast. Near the Oregon/Cali border, and the nearest LFS I can find are in Redding, CA and Roseburg, OR, both ~2 hour drive away.

1) What are some good online places to order fish, preferable on the west coast?
2) Is LiveAquaria reputable, or do they still have the stink of PetCo on them?
3) Am I somehow missing an awesome LFS closer to me, say Ashland, Medford, Grant's Pass area?

Fish I like:
Blue Sapphire Damselfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
Starry Blenny
Black Axil Chromis
Bangaii Cardinalfish, or maybe a Pajama
Orchid Dottyback
Clownfish - Bonded Pair (these are basically a must, and I plan on them being the stars of the tank).
Royal Gramma Basslet

4) Given my tank will be newly cycled when I start getting fish, how would you sort that list from "Put in first" to "Put in last"?
5) How would you sort them by "Sure, it's fine super early after the tank has cycled" to "Yeah, you better wait until the tank has matured more for that one"? How long for the ones at the end of this list?

Specific fish questions (a hair under 50g DT with a 20g sump)
6) Will a Yellow Watchman Goby pair up with a shrimp? Which gobies will/won't?
7) are any of that list super bullies, generally?
8) I've heard the maroon clowns can be really mean. However, the GoldxLigthning Maroons are very, very sharp. Would a pair of these, captive-bred, bought young, be a horrible choice?

and finally
9) Do you expect the fish market to get better anytime soon, or has COVID put a long term whammy on it? (I'm having issues finding even some of the more common fish listed as in-stock anywhere.

--Gray

 

[TriggerFinger]

Hi Gray,
I have a starry blenny, lightning maroon (from divers den) and a carpenters flasher. They are all great fish, the wrasse is a little jumpy still. The lightning maroon is pretty mellow but I expect it to change anytime now; she’s a single clown and will remain that way. A mature pair of maroons will dominate a 50g tank so maybe only get one or look at non maroon pairs.
the dottyback and chromis are likely to cause problems in the long run.

 

[gray808]

the dottyback and chromis are likely to cause problems in the long run.

In what way? I'd read that the Black Axil Chromis were very mellow. The dottyback I'm kinda on the fence about, so if it gets dropped from consideration, not that big a deal.

Meh, I feared that about the maroons. That particular cross is so very pretty. But oh well, I like some of the snowflakes nearly as much.

--Gray

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m sorry, I meant to say the dottyback and damsel are likely to cause problems and it’s due to aggression as they grow. In a very large tank they are fine sometimes, but usually not in smaller tanks. I dont have experience with either, what I’ve read on here has kept me away from them. There’s a couple of “what fish do you regret” type threads and damsels are always listed the most along with 6 line wrasse. There’s always someone who chimes in to say they have a good fish though it’s not the norm.

 

[Angel_Anthias lover]

None of those fish really need a very mature tank to.do.well, i imagine the blenny may benefit from the algaes and biolife that come with mature rock though.

A watchman goby will pair with shrimp, they just need to find each other. Ambleyeleotris, stonogobiops and cryptocentrus are the typical goby genera associated with alpheus partner shrimp. Just make sure the shrimp species you have is a pistol that will pair with gobies, some members of the pistol shrimp family will not pair with gobies and may hunt them and other fish /inverts. There are some other goby families that will pair with shrimp, theyre just not always as common. Members of the families valenciennea and koumansetta dont pair with shrimp, but that list certainly isnt exhausted. If you are uncertain, you can always look it up.

I.would add the clowns and blenny last due to the fact they are generally more agressive than the rest. The blue sapphire damsels are very peaceful in my experience, though will stand their ground if need be. I dont believe any are super bullies

I dont think.mixing the gramma and dottyback will end well, they are too similarly shaped and coloured that they will.most likely fight in that size of tank, from what i have heard. It may work but im not sure its worth the risk, if you end up having to rescue one from the rocks.

The chromis may be worth being skipped and replaced with something different, they tend to pick each other off, though not always, so if its something you like tou may as well go for it.