Shoaling & Schooling For 125g ?

[427HISS]

My wife and I like symbiotic relationships, like Clownfish with Anemones, so with our 125g mixed reef build, we want a group of shoalingthat will school together.

We like blue Damsels, but they can be a little mean.
Green Chromis's are ok.
Ì'm getting to like the Banggai Cardinals a little more, but not great.

What we like best,....are the Anthias, but for a dozen or so, they are expensive.

I'd like to get a list of choices from you guys.

 

[sc50964]

Butterfly and tilefish if you have a lid.

 

[Roy 9121]

I bought a couple pajama cardinals, but they never shoal or school. I don't think they even like each other at all

 

[427HISS]

We like several Butterfly's, but I forgot to say we want small fish sizes for the schooling effect.
Plus, a lot of Butterfly's species are not reef safe, they like to munch on corals, especially zoe's, to them
is like us eating popcorn. lol

 

[sc50964]

Go with tilefish then. Purple, blue head, skunk, yellow, and flashing are good selection to choose from. Great as main display as well!!

 

[427HISS]

Will Purple Firefish Dart Goby's,.... school/shoal ?

 

[sc50964]

I never tried but have heard that they actually don't.

 

[1.0reef]

Blue streak cardinalfish.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Tilefish are pair-forming when they mature, so don't really shoal.

Scissortail and zebra daryfish are social. Dispar and randalls anthias are easier, less expensive anthias that are more peaceful in their species than bartletts or lyretails. If you can find fusiliers, they are social.

 

[reefs+waves]

Zebra dartfish

 

[Elegance Coral]

Fish do this mainly for protection. They will often school or shoal when first placed into an aquarium because they're nervous. As they learn that there are no predators in the tank, they begin to disperse. You're not really going to get the shoaling behavior in the typical home aquarium. At least not for very long.

 

[Jonty]

Blue streak cardinalfish.

+1 These fish shoal really well in a tank, I have 10 in my 300 and they are constantly packed tight together and move as a group.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've found that zebra and scissortail dartfish and randalls and dispar anthias stay together pretty well in aquaria.

 

[427HISS]

So far, I don't know if I like the blue streak's, but I'll look for some video's.
I'll also look at the other fish listed.

Elegance Coral- I hope we have better luck. Lol...

 

[427HISS]

Have you guys seen video's or have read about the invasion of Banggai Cardinalfish ?
Another fish that when I first looked at this species at a LFS, I did not like them, but as time goes by, I like them better now.

I don't like in the video below, that they can run Clown Fish out of their anemonie !
(we love their relationship so,...gerrrrr) :mad::mad::mad:

Banggai cardinalfish invasion in Lembeh Strait
ZoologicalServices

Youtube video--

 

[427HISS]

Love,.....the Male Lyretail Anthia !

 

[Preme]

I think some type of cardinal is your best choice.
Personally I like the mix of redspot and blue streak cardinals. I've seen many tank that mix the 2 and have a very eye pleasing school.
Here's a picture of the 2.

Red spot - 1.5" Max Size

Blue streak - 2 to 2.5"

Mix of both... you could get a relatively large school of each because they don't get huge.

 

[davocean]

Love,.....the Male Lyretail Anthia !

Me too, and they are a great starter/intro for anthia, and I really like mixing these w/ chromis, and they all seem to group together quite often, love the mix of orange and blue.

 

[erk]

Fish do this mainly for protection. They will often school or shoal when first placed into an aquarium because they're nervous. As they learn that there are no predators in the tank, they begin to disperse. You're not really going to get the shoaling behavior in the typical home aquarium. At least not for very long.

Get a hawkfish and the smaller fish will school real tightly to one another, lol. Especially an angry Archeye Hawk. It did a really good job of keeping my green chromis and firefish schooling together.

OP, firefish school nicely, but they will typically stay low near their burrow. Chromis are better for the open water. I have no experience with Anthias, but have read that many times that they eventually start killing one another. Maybe because of lack of food? Not sure.

 

[davocean]

Get a hawkfish and the smaller fish will school real tightly to one another, lol. Especially an angry Archeye Hawk. It did a really good job of keeping my green chromis and firefish schooling together.

OP, firefish school nicely, but they will typically stay low near their burrow. Chromis are better for the open water. I have no experience with Anthias, but have read that many times that they eventually start killing one another. Maybe because of lack of food? Not sure.

Depends on type of anthia, bartletts are known to peck each other off, but many keep lyretails w/out issues, carberryi's, dispars, ignitus also play well together, but of those lyretails are easiest to get eating properly, eat pellets, and less shy, and actually help more shy species come out.
I have had lyretails, carbs, and dispars together long term succesfully.
I don't think you need an aggressive fish to keep them grouped, just a larger fish may help, like a tang, but even w/out a larger fish both my anthia and chromis have stayed tightly grouped