Fish for a peaceful 75 build?

kdx7214 · Mar 1, 2022

So my 75 is getting closer to housing live rock, and now I'm starting to think about critters to join the club. I've been reading on this for months, and every time I get an idea I find out that critter isn't compatible with other critters (fish, inverts, etc...).

The fish I've found that seem peaceful and that I like are:

Coral beauty angel
Mandarin dragonet (I'm aware of the dietary issues and am willing to do what is necessary)
gobies
jawfish
dartfish (firefish and purple)
green chromis
a wrasse of some sort
goby/pistol shrimp pair
Ocellaris clown (debatable - the females get MEAN)
inverts for CUC (tuxedo urchin, maybe shrimp or porcelain crab)

Eventually I play to have corals, starting with softies/LPS and after a year or two of maturation, a couple of SPS.

So, what types of those fish are recommended or should be avoided? Specific gobies/jawfish/wrasse ideas are greatly appreciated. The tank only has a 2" sand bed, so digging wrasses are out.

Thanks

Spare time · Mar 1, 2022

Don't forget lawnmower blennies!

ReeferHD · Mar 26, 2022

possum wrasse is as peaceful as it gets, they like to jump so a lid is necessary. Tuxedo urchins are great characters. and if you can meet the care requirements the mandarin is a must have

blaxsun · Mar 26, 2022

Spare time said:
Don't forget lawnmower blennies!

Forget lawnmower blennies. They're going to have a tough time surviving in a new tank and their survivability in captivity is questionable. Get something like a midas blenny instead.

In terms of the other fish, they're all fine (even the evil clowns). The coral beauty may or may not pose an issue with corals down the road (mine is fine, buy YMMV).

PatW · Mar 26, 2022

Coral beauty maybe - they are only semi reef safe (that is tend to nip corals).
Mandarin Dragonet - cool looking fish. But they tend to want to eat live food and that constantly. The problem is that EVERY FISH loves eating live food. So in any tank with other fish, live food is likely to be thin on the ground. Some dragonets will eat frozen food but again, even they need frequent feeding. So I would say think about avoiding this one.
Gobies - there are a pot load of nice gobies that are peaceful, reef safe, small and in different niches so you could have more than one.
Jawfish - I like the pearly jawfish. Lovely little fish. But they need to build burrows and they need a pile of coral rubble and really coarse sand ideally to about 4” deep. Of course, you could localize a rubble pile.
Dartfish - These are great fish. You could have a pair.
Green chromis - I have tried multiples and they always murder each other. You could get a mix of different chromis species and it would probably work. And they don’t always murder each other.
Wrasse - there are a number of fairy and flasher wrasses that are peaceful and brightly colored and really active. Nice fish. You could have more than one.
You might think of having a cardinal or two. They are peaceful.
Another possibility is a fairy basslet.
A shrimp and goby would work.
You might also thing of chaetognathus tang (Like a kole tang). The minimum tank for these is 75 gallon.
And as mentioned above, a blenny could fit in.

vtecintegra · Mar 26, 2022

This is what I have that so far have been peaceful:

Tailspot Blenny, Pink Streaked Wrasse, Possum Wrasse, Yellow Clown Goby, Chalk Bass, Flame Hawk, Hector's Goby.

Spare time · Mar 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
Forget lawnmower blennies. They're going to have a tough time surviving in a new tank and their survivability in captivity is questionable. Get something like a midas blenny instead.

In terms of the other fish, they're all fine (even the evil clowns). The coral beauty may or may not pose an issue with corals down the road (mine is fine, buy YMMV).

I guess we live in different worlds in terms of lawnmower survivability lol. That was a rare fish to have die at the lfs I worked at