Thought on the fish I just ordered?

carlson · Nov 24, 2017

I have had my 75 gallon tank for 4-5 years now, it crashed last year, and has been empty of fish for some time. I just placed an order on live aquaria that should be here Tuesday for 6 fish. I am hoping that the boxfish I got will be similar to the helmet cowfish, which I found very easy to take care of.

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Also, I am aware that boxfish get large and change their color when they get older. I have done my research and will be upgrading before it gets too big. My main concern was keeping the boxfish and the puffer together, but my tank has a lot of swimming space. Does anyone have any tips or past experience/ recommendations? I am most excited about the captive bred blenny

phillygeeks · Nov 24, 2017

I had a sixline wrasse. It was a major bully. Caused a couple clowns to go carpet surfing.

carlson · Nov 24, 2017

phillygeeks said:
I had a sixline wrasse. It was a major bully. Caused a couple clowns to go carpet surfing.

Thanks for the input! I've never heard this before, but I'll definitely keep an eye out

Flippers4pups · Nov 24, 2017

Sixline's can be holy terrors. Nasty little fish when they mature. They will attack fish more than 3 times their size. Go rouge all of a sudden.

Flippers4pups · Nov 24, 2017

http://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/write-up-wednesday-six-line-wrasse/

Countless stories of aggression throughout the internet on these guys.

Velcro · Nov 24, 2017

sixlines are awful. Was fine for a year with my mandarin then all the sudden started trying to kill it. Was an easy decision on who to keep.

Dsnakes · Nov 24, 2017

Yes, as previously stated they can be nasty little guys. I do have a buddy with one though that has never had any issues of aggression over the last 2 years. Now that I say that...he'll call tomorrow to tell me it turned rogue!

SashimiTurtle · Nov 24, 2017

Had a six line a for about a year with no issues. My coral banded shrimp caused him to go carpet surfing... make sure you have a screen top.

savetheocean · Nov 24, 2017

What about this boxfish? I would love to have a boxfish or a cowfish but I have a 75 gallon tank and I dont know if I am going to upgrade. How fast do they grow? My tank also has a lot of swimming space.

SashimiTurtle · Nov 24, 2017

Cowfish get over a foot long... I always suggest buying the tank before the fish.

carlson · Nov 24, 2017

savetheocean said:
What about this boxfish? I would love to have a boxfish or a cowfish but I have a 75 gallon tank and I dont know if I am going to upgrade. How fast do they grow? My tank also has a lot of swimming space.

Apparently they're difficult to keep? I had a helmet cowfish in the past but never had any trouble with it. I think the key is knowing they can release toxins if stressed, stable parameters, and peaceful tank mates. Which now worries me about the wrasse [emoji47][emoji47][emoji47]

Mark Waltermire · Nov 24, 2017

I will also comment on having an aggressive 6 line wrasse that I think we ended up giving away to the fish store. I am now a fan of wrasses again after getting my melanarus wrasse. I was amazed at the difference in the personality's of these 2 fish that are both in the "wrasse" family.

4FordFamily · Nov 24, 2017

Sixline are terrors, I hate to pile on..

carlson · Nov 25, 2017

Well it won't ship until Monday so maybe I can call today and switch that fish for something else

BigJohnny · Nov 25, 2017

Yea, sixlines can be terrors, but I'd be more concerned with the boxfish and the puffer. As you know the box fish could nuke your tank, and a puffer is not reef safe. I personally wouldn't purchase any of the three. There are many alternatives to the 6 line for pest control if that's why you want it. All 3 fish look cool though so I get why you want them!

Webslinger · Nov 25, 2017

6 line wrasse are good alone in a frag tank or sump. I would never keep them in a dt with other fish. By far the biggest jerk fish I ever owned, 20 years ago.

carlson · Nov 25, 2017

I called and tried to swap the wrasse but they said the order had already been sent and I'd have to cancel the whole order to change it. The box fish I got went out of stock after I bought it so I'm going to take my chances as of now

carlson · Nov 25, 2017

BigJohnny said:
Yea, sixlines can be terrors, but I'd be more concerned with the boxfish and the puffer. As you know the box fish could nuke your tank, and a puffer is not reef safe. I personally wouldn't purchase any of the three. There are many alternatives to the 6 line for pest control if that's why you want it. All 3 fish look cool though so I get why you want them!

I've had a blue spot puffer that wasn't reef safe before and he was just fine. I've also has a cowfish that could of nuked my tank and didn't have any trouble with it. My only worry was putting the two together haha

carlson · Nov 25, 2017

Webslinger said:
6 line wrasse are good alone in a frag tank or sump. I would never keep them in a dt with other fish. By far the biggest jerk fish I ever owned, 20 years ago.

Thanks for the input. I don't want a mean fish in a sensitive fish tank.