PJ Cardinal trio vs. Bannerfish

[Zionas]

I have some good news, after looking at the amount of available space in my apartment, I might be able to do a 5-foot tank instead of a 4-foot. It’s always good to have more swimming space for the fish so they’ll be happier. In my stocking list, this is what I have (in order of Introduction). My tank will likely be 1.5m long, 0.7m wide, and 0.6m tall. That’s 165 gallons to work with which is pretty awesome.

x1 One-Spot Foxface and x2 Ocellaris (Captive Bred) or Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish) -these three will be my first fish once it cycles

x3 Pajama Cardinals OR x1 species of Bannerfish

x1 Marine Betta

x3 Australian Stripeys (Microcanthus strigaster)

x1-2 Flame Hawkfish



So, there really aren’t many changes from my 4-foot stocking plan except the addition of a One-Spot Foxface.

As for the Pajama Cardinal trio, each PJ Cardinal gets to 3.5”, so 3 would be 10.5 inches total. For a Schooling / Black and White / Red Sea Bannerfish (heard the brown ones are harder to keep, Singular and Masked get too large). Now I know that the bioload of one Bannerfish will be much larger than the bioload of three PJ Cardinals as it’s a very active fish, so I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to have one in my tank in place of the three PJ Cardinals.


1. I know it’s still a Butterflyfish, but how hardy are Heniochus compared to the PJ Cardinals and the other fish on my list?

2. Which species is more resilient and disease-resistant?

3. Which species can go into a relatively new tank?


4. Which species is more likely to cause trouble for my other fish?


5. Which would you recommend for a beginner?



Another reason I am considering a faster fish like the Bannerfish is because I’m afraid the trio of PJ Cardinals will have trouble competing for food with the Stripeys and the Foxface, because they’re a slow fish. Also, I am considering the butterflyfish experience but without the fragility of an actual butterfly such as a Chaetodon, Chelmon, Forcipigier etc.


Will my tank be good enough for a Bannerfish, any Bannerfish?


Advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[edsbeaker]

Hi. Heniochus (bannerfish) are my favorite fish. They are very hardy, fast growing, and active, and perfectly fine for a beginner. They are peaceful, and in my opinion beautiful to watch.

One question is do you plan on keeping coral? If so, be careful since there are two different varieties of Heniochus that are typically available. One that is considered reef safe and the other will feed on coral, and they look fairly identical, H. Acuminatus, and H. Diphreutes. The Diphreutes is considered reef safe, USUALLY! The problem is that you might end up with the Acuminatus since they are easily confused.

There is only one place on earth that the two species do not coexist, and that is Hawaii. IF they are actually from Hawaii, then they are certainly H. diphreutes. Since H. acuminatus does not occur there. I’ve previously purchased mine from Pacific Island Aquatics, and they were healthy and happy, and 100% Diphreutes.

 

[Zionas]

Yeah, I do plan to keep corals but only Mushroom Corals and Leather Corals.