Livestock choices

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Blennies are amazing perching fish!

Are there any specific blennies you recommend? I'm in Australia, and there isn't as much choice with them here.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Thanks to everyone who responded, this was really helpful and made it easier to figure out what I can do.
Unfortunately, the past few days I've noticed the scarlet pinstripe wrasse becoming super aggressive towards my clownfish, especially the female one, trying to get them to jump out of the water. I'm kicking myself because if I had done some deeper research I could've avoided this. I've made the decision to give it to a friend who is happy to take him from me, and I'm catching him tomorrow.
I've decided to change my stocking list to make it more peaceful given how horrible it's been watching my wrasse 'attack' the clowns. I've cut out the dottyback and the hawkfish, and changed the list somewhat, and again, I would really appreciate any advice, suggestions or feedback.
1. Clownfish pair
2. Citron coral goby (not sold on this one, don't know why)
3. Royal gramma
4. Pink streaked wrasse
5. Striped fang blenny
6. Tailspot blenny (first time imported to Aus, which is pretty cool)
7. Lawnmower blenny

Thanks, the help from the last post was super great, I'm glad I know to research highly into fish aggression now.

 

[SaltyT]

Glad you were able to rehome the scarlet pinstripe. The pink streaked wrasse will make a much better tank mate. I think your revised list looks good except the lawnmower blenny doesn't mix well with other blennies so if you got him you'd have to drop the other two blennies off the list... or you could get the other two and drop the lawnmower.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Glad you were able to rehome the scarlet pinstripe. The pink streaked wrasse will make a much better tank mate. I think your revised list looks good except the lawnmower blenny doesn't mix well with other blennies so if you got him you'd have to drop the other two blennies off the list... or you could get the other two and drop the lawnmower.

Thanks, I want the other two blennies more than the lawnmower, so I'll take that off the list.
The tailspot blenny was the fish that brought me into the hobby, and I was so upset that we couldn't get them in Aus, and then my LFS got the very first ones in the country!
Also, do you have any wrasse recommendations? I think that you're probably the person to ask about wrasse...

 

[SaltyT]

Thanks, I want the other two blennies more than the lawnmower, so I'll take that off the list.
The tailspot blenny was the fish that brought me into the hobby, and I was so upset that we couldn't get them in Aus, and then my LFS got the very first ones in the country!
Also, do you have any wrasse recommendations? I think that you're probably the person to ask about wrasse...

That’s awesome about the tailspot! They’re such a fun little fish to watch, you’ll enjoy it.

I’m not sure what wrasses are available to you in Australia so I’m not sure what to recommend. If you have any that have caught your eye at your LFS you can tell me what they are and I’ll be happy to tell you if they’re a good fit.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

That’s awesome about the tailspot! They’re such a fun little fish to watch, you’ll enjoy it.

I’m not sure what wrasses are available to you in Australia so I’m not sure what to recommend. If you have any that have caught your eye at your LFS you can tell me what they are and I’ll be happy to tell you if they’re a good fit.

Yeah, we have pretty limited options, but there are a couple I saw that I was wondering about.
The radiant wrasse (Halichoeres iridis), the royal pencil wrasse (Pseudojuloides severnsi), the lubbock's fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus Lubbocki), and the carpenters flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus carpenteri)
I've seen these at my LFS recently, and I know some basic info about them, but I had a hard time finding much about the royal pencil wrasse, which to me says that they are not a great option. If you know anything about these wrasse I would love to hear it, thanks.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Done more research on the royal pencil wrasse, and it needs way more specialized care than I can provide, and is way more difficult in its care needs compared to other fish. Not a fish that I really want, sorry about the annoyance.

 

[SaltyT]

Yeah, we have pretty limited options, but there are a couple I saw that I was wondering about.
The radiant wrasse (Halichoeres iridis), the royal pencil wrasse (Pseudojuloides severnsi), the lubbock's fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus Lubbocki), and the carpenters flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus carpenteri)
I've seen these at my LFS recently, and I know some basic info about them, but I had a hard time finding much about the royal pencil wrasse, which to me says that they are not a great option. If you know anything about these wrasse I would love to hear it, thanks.

All of the wrasses you listed, except the pencil wrasse as you already found out, will work in your tank. The radiant wrasse is one of my favorites, peaceful and very pretty. Here’s mine

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Just an update, I successfully caught the wrasse yesterday, and it was much harder than I expected, but it's alive and with the new owner, hopefully not too stressed.
I also went to my LFS today to see if they had any of the fish on my list, and they had the last 2 tailspot blennies. I asked when they were getting them back in stock, and they aren't going to, because this was because the suppliers had extra, and didn't send them to the US or UK.
Is it worth me getting them now rather than waiting until they maybe come back in a couple years? They're pretty pricey for a fish, but the LFS is doing a 25% off sale on fish, and it would be $190 AUD if I got it now.
I'm feeling quite torn about this, because I really want this fish, and I had budgeted $250 AUD for it, and the price right now is better, but I was going to add it later in the stocking. If I got it now would it mess anything up in my future stocking?

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Also, I asked about the radiant wrasse at my LFS, and they said that it is one of the more difficult halichoeres wrasse to keep, because they don't ship well and are more prone to diseases, so they try to avoid ordering them in. Are there any other halichoeres wrasse that you could recommed? Thanks

 

[SaltyT]

If the tail spot blenny is one of your dream fish I say go for it. There shouldn’t be a problem adding a fang blenny in with it later.

That’s a bummer about the radiant wrasse. I agree that they are poor shippers, but they aren’t prone to disease any more than other halichoeres wrasses. Some other good options are Halichoeres chrysus, biocellatus, and claudia. They all stay smaller and are mild-mannered.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

If the tail spot blenny is one of your dream fish I say go for it. There shouldn’t be a problem adding a fang blenny in with it later.

That’s a bummer about the radiant wrasse. I agree that they are poor shippers, but they aren’t prone to disease any more than other halichoeres wrasses. Some other good options are Halichoeres chrysus, biocellatus, and claudia. They all stay smaller and are mild-mannered.

Thanks, I like the chrysus, and my LFS can get them in pretty readily because of their popularity here. I saw an earmuff wrasse recently, and I'm having a hard time finding much info on them, especially about how large they get and how large their tank needs to be. Do you have any experience or know anything about this wrasse?

 

[SaltyT]

Thanks, I like the chrysus, and my LFS can get them in pretty readily because of their popularity here. I saw an earmuff wrasse recently, and I'm having a hard time finding much info on them, especially about how large they get and how large their tank needs to be. Do you have any experience or know anything about this wrasse?

I have a lot of experience with earmuff wrasses. I wrote a detailed article about them in Reef Hobbyist magazine:

Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q3 2022

Read Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q3 2022 by Reef Hobbyist Magazine on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

issuu.com

Earmuffs are one of the larger halichoeres wrasses, they grow pretty fast, so it's not an ideal candidate for your tank. They're peaceful towards other wrasses and smaller fish unlike most of the larger halichoeres wrasses. They will eat most of your clean up crew, but will leave trochus snails, conchs, and urchins alone. I have one in my 90g tank he's about 5.5" now and still maturing.