Regarding livestock, what do you consider a must-have?

[Gumbies R Us]

We all have our favorite livestock in our tank, whether it is a personal reason we love them or having them due to how they interact with our tanks. I am wondering what is your must-have livestock when it comes to your tank? Curious to know what everyone says!

 

[Gill the 3rd]

porcupine puffer. They are like water dogs.

 

[Lago]

Sea cucumbers are up there for me. They're just so unusual and neat looking. Along with the added bonus of keeping my sand bed clean.

 

[sc50964]

I must have my rare fish… sorry, common fish just don’t interest me much anymore after 17 or so years. Current stock - male scribbled, Red Sea regal, Venustus, true & false personifer, queen, emp with streamer, masked angel pair, oreni, Dussumieri, moorish idol, bowers parrot, helmet clowns

 

[A_Tired_Shark]

I have found that there are a few creatures/fish that come to mind every time I go to stock a tank.

1. Sexy Shrimp - I've kept a small herd of them for 4-ish months and think they are absolutely adorable. On top of their cuteness they are amazing hosts!
2. ALL THE CRABS - I have a big love for crabs! I have tons of hermits (like blue legged, Halloween, and yellow tipped hermit crabs) and porcelain crabs. I lose track of time watching them.
3. Firefish - I've never had a problem keeping them and find them relaxing to watch. Pair them up with Banggai Cardinals (another absolute favorite) and you can watch them for hours swimming and playing with one another.

I enjoy keeping smaller fish and a wider variety of inverts than other people. And even with smaller sized fish you can find some of the more uncommon kinds. For example, in our 32 gallon we have a red Reef Angler and a dwarf puffer in our 75 gallon. Small size but big personality.

 

[Bob Weigant]

For fish its wrasses and for corals its chalices

 

[o2manyfish]

I think in a reef tank a must have fish is a Chevron Tang. Hard to know if we will ever see a juvenile one again. A juveniles they are striking fish, as adults - they are ugly butts. But these bristle tooth tangs have a specifically unique mouth and are just amazing at cleaning algae in a reef tank.

And they are worker fish. I've had a few over the years that didn't care about food put in the tank, all they wanted was the algae the tank was growing.

Supposedly they are included on the list of fish allowed to be collected if Hawaii ever figures out a permit/license policy so fish can be collected again.

 

[apb03]

porcupine puffer. They are like water dogs.

Came here to say pretty much the same thing. Although not reef-safe, I cannot imagine my tank reef tank without a Puffer in it. They add such a presence, just like a dog.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Came here to say pretty much the same thing. Although not reef-safe, I cannot imagine my tank reef tank without a Puffer in it. They add such a presence, just like a dog.

They definitely have a personality. I keep mine in a mixed reef tank and he has been fine for years. My previous puffer tried to kill everything in the tank lol.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I must have my rare fish… sorry, common fish just don’t interest me much anymore after 17 or so years. Current stock - male scribbled, Red Sea regal, Venustus, true & false personifer, queen, emp with streamer, masked angel pair, oreni, Dussumieri, moorish idol, bowers parrot, helmet clowns

Those are some impressive fish!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

porcupine puffer. They are like water dogs.

I do like the personality they have!

 

[Reefer911]

One day I will get a candy basslet pair.

 

[ReeferHD]

every tank needs a boxfish!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

every tank needs a boxfish!

Love boxfish!

 

[sc50964]

Love boxfish!

One day when I have more space, money, and time, I hope to have one species only tank for a pair of blue or scribbled boxfish…., but honestly this is a mental problem lol

 

[Kapachuka3]

Sea cucumbers are up there for me. They're just so unusual and neat looking. Along with the added bonus of keeping my sand bed clean.

what species of sea cucumber do you own, I have heard they are hard to care for and do not do well in captivity.

 

[ReeferHD]

One day when I have more space, money, and time, I hope to have one species only tank for a pair of blue or scribbled boxfish…., but honestly this is a mental problem lol

they do better with tankmates IME

 

[sc50964]

they do better with tankmates IME

Plastic ones??

 

[ReeferHD]

Plastic ones??

no, real ones LOL

 

[sc50964]

no, real ones LOL

They get spooked easily and have a different set of requirements when it comes to flow, light, & rock structures. I wonder what else would fit well with them? Pls share thanks.