Unique fish for 65 gallon??

Cassian · Jan 12, 2019

Looking for some nice center piece fish for my 65 gal tall reef tank. I want some rare/unusual fish that you don't see ever day. Leave any suggestions that you think might work with my system.
Current stock list:
2 naked cinnamon clowns
1 skeletor eel

filtration:
bubble Magnus curve 5
three stage filtration sump w/ 400 micron filter sock

Foot print:
3 foot by 18 inches
65 gallons and 20 gallon sump.

James M · Jan 12, 2019

Dwarf lion fish

DSC reef · Jan 12, 2019

With your current live stock its gonna be tough. That eel will get 2' on it's own and the clowns will be pretty aggressive in that size tank.

Cassian · Jan 12, 2019

I have considered lion fish, but I tend to keep my hands in the tank.

I agree with you @DSC reef, thats why im looking for something unique because I cant have too many more fish.

lion king · Jan 12, 2019

Lionfish are not going to attack you, I have lion's in 3 tanks, and my lions are very friendly. I've even had them brush my arm when working in the tank, it's easy to get use to them while you are working. If you are looking unique that you don't see every day, try an antennata or a mombasa, here's my antennata. They are a medium body lion that gets just a tad larger than a dwarf. Other thoughts a dwarf angel, something like a venustus, that you don't see every day; or if want to spend some money a colin's. I find the joculator boring and way overpriced, and there's always the interruptus if you have a couple grand laying around.

ReeferReefer · Jan 12, 2019

Dwarf angel might work.

DSC reef · Jan 13, 2019

LukeWolf said:
I have considered lion fish, but I tend to keep my hands in the tank.

I agree with you @DSC reef, thats why im looking for something unique because I cant have too many more fish.

I understand. We kept a few lionfish before and 2 out of the 3 were always sketchy. They would always back up slowly when my hands were in the tank and you could see the tips poking through the sheath on their spines. To much of a risk in the long run but were very cool fish.

Pbh-reef · Jan 13, 2019

Perhaps a lantern or orangeback basslet? I don’t have experience with these fish but seem to perhaps fit your bill?

Would a Toby puffer pick on the eel? If not perhaps that could work?

Cassian · Jan 13, 2019

that is a gorgeous lion @lion king ! thanks for the pic! I love antennata lion fish.
@Pbh-reef, I would be afraid to put a toby with my eel because I have had that problem with a past eel. a basslet is a good suggestion though!
thank you everyone for your suggestions! I think I may end up going with a lion or a dwarf angel for my center piece. Do you think the lion would eat my clowns @lion king?

lion king · Jan 13, 2019

LukeWolf said:
that is a gorgeous lion @lion king ! thanks for the pic! I love antennata lion fish.
@Pbh-reef, I would be afraid to put a toby with my eel because I have had that problem with a past eel. a basslet is a good suggestion though!
thank you everyone for your suggestions! I think I may end up going with a lion or a dwarf angel for my center piece. Do you think the lion would eat my clowns @lion king?

Cinnamon clowns do get pretty beefy, how big are they. The mistake that happens many times is that people don't size them appropriately and introduce a larger lion direct from the ocean, that's a disaster waiting to happen. Be prepared with any dwarf or medium body lion you may get for a challenge to convert to dead food. While I feed live food I do recommend to put them in an observation tank initially and get them eating dead food when keeping in more of a community tank, not a tank that is primarily a predator tank. If you get a smaller lion eating dead food, these dwarf and medium body lions usually top out at about 6", they will likely not be able to take down a 4" broad bodied clown, and they get lazy after being fed dead and won't even try. You could also consider a fu manchu, maybe more of a challenge to eat dead food, but smaller and his spikes are like tiny. The fuzzy will be the best candidate to get eating dead food, but you did want something you don't see everyday.

A dwarf angel is a good choice as well, I recommended the venustus, a bit pricey but you don;t see them everyday. the venustus can be a difficult fish. I recommend an observation tank for this fish also, set up with a piece of mature live rock with pods and algae, be prepared to feed live brine shrimp, live black worms, and pods; and treat for internal parasites. The go to dwarf angels are the flame and the coral beauty, but you do see them everywhere. The flame is usually more aggressive and with the coral beauty, I would recommend a captive bred, more expensive but much more hardy. https://fishybusinessaquatics.com/fish/angels-dwarf/venustus-angelfish-centropyge-venustus/

soflmuddin · Jan 13, 2019

DSC reef said:
I understand. We kept a few lionfish before and 2 out of the 3 were always sketchy. They would always back up slowly when my hands were in the tank and you could see the tips poking through the sheath on their spines. To much of a risk in the long run but were very cool fish.

Been stung by a lionfish and bitten by a moray eel and I'll take a lionfish sting any day.

DSC reef · Jan 13, 2019

soflmuddin said:
Been stung by a lionfish and bitten by a moray eel and I'll take a lionfish sting any day.

I'll take neither! Lol.

tomxreef · Jan 13, 2019

I understand. We kept a few lionfish before and 2 out of the 3 were always sketchy. They would always back up slowly when my hands were in the tank and you could see the tips poking through the sheath on their spines. To much of a risk in the long run but were very cool fish.

Those secondary infections are no joke!

soflmuddin · Jan 13, 2019

Tmr8188 said:
Those secondary infections are no joke!

A lionfish sting isn't much worse than a hornet sting. In a couple of hours you will forget it ever happened. No really much risk of infection.

My 8" porcupine puffer leaves my 5 eels alone and my wild caught lion fish only took 2 months to get him eating "dead" food. Lion fish has not eaten any tankmates though I have seen him doing his attack approach to my 3 flame cardinal fish but they never really swim away and he hasn't eaten any yet.

tomxreef · Jan 13, 2019

soflmuddin said:
A lionfish sting isn't much worse than a hornet sting. In a couple of hours you will forget it ever happened. No really much risk of infection.

My 8" porcupine puffer leaves my 5 eels alone and my wild caught lion fish only took 2 months to get him eating "dead" food. Lion fish has not eaten any tankmates though I have seen him doing his attack approach to my 3 flame cardinal fish but they never really swim away and he hasn't eaten any yet.

I meant the eel. An lfs owner here had to get some antibiotics after one of his missed the silverside.

DSC reef · Jan 13, 2019

Tmr8188 said:
Those secondary infections are no joke!

I'm highly allergic to bee stings so the risk was not worth it. Plus, if a fish can fit in a lion fish mouth, it just might end up there.

soflmuddin · Jan 13, 2019

Tmr8188 said:
I meant the eel. An lfs owner here had to get some antibiotics after one of his missed the silverside.

Yeah eel bites can be serious. Mine was from a 4' green moray when I was diving. Got lucky as he was just as surprised as I was and let go immediately. Just had about 8-10 1" slits in my hand. Could of been way worse.

Cassian · Jan 14, 2019

Wow! I always thought a moray would hurt less than a lion. I have always had pebble tooth morays, but I've never been bitten, luckily. Thanks for all of the great info guys! @lion king, The female clown is about 3 in and the male is about 1 1/2". I think the male might get eaten. I like the look of the fu Manchu, but I have heard that they are difficult to wean onto dead food. I'll have to research them more. Im kind of leaning towards the dwarf angel, but im not sure about putting that in my reef.

lion king · Jan 14, 2019

LukeWolf said:
Wow! I always thought a moray would hurt less than a lion. I have always had pebble tooth morays, but I've never been bitten, luckily. Thanks for all of the great info guys! @lion king, The female clown is about 3 in and the male is about 1 1/2". I think the male might get eaten. I like the look of the fu Manchu, but I have heard that they are difficult to wean onto dead food. I'll have to research them more. Im kind of leaning towards the dwarf angel, but im not sure about putting that in my reef.

Oh, I missed the part about a reef, sorry, or I would have never suggested an angel. Most success stories are short lived, but it also depends on the type of corals you have. I did have a cherub pygmy in reef for a couple of years, and he was fine the whole time; but I would not consider him a centerpiece. I do like basslets and am looking for a black cap for my nps reef, but I wouldn't consider them a show fish either. Even as beautiful as some of them are, they just aren't "in your face" wow.

I do agree with the difficulty in feeding with the fu; I have 2. One is 7 years old and has stopped eating any dead food at all almost a couple of years ago. I primarily feed my lions live so it doesn't matter to me.

For me basslets tend to be more secondary "wow" because the ones I've had cruised through the rock work more, do you like wrasses. Scan through the wrasse lovers thread to see if something catches your fancy, some even do a trio, which can be pretty eye catching, like a trio of leopard wrasses.

Cassian · Jan 14, 2019

lion king said:
Oh, I missed the part about a reef, sorry, or I would have never suggested an angel. Most success stories are short lived, but it also depends on the type of corals you have. I did have a cherub pygmy in reef for a couple of years, and he was fine the whole time; but I would not consider him a centerpiece. I do like basslets and am looking for a black cap for my nps reef, but I wouldn't consider them a show fish either. Even as beautiful as some of them are, they just aren't "in your face" wow.

I do agree with the difficulty in feeding with the fu; I have 2. One is 7 years old and has stopped eating any dead food at all almost a couple of years ago. I primarily feed my lions live so it doesn't matter to me.

For me basslets tend to be more secondary "wow" because the ones I've had cruised through the rock work more, do you like wrasses. Scan through the wrasse lovers thread to see if something catches your fancy, some even do a trio, which can be pretty eye catching, like a trio of leopard wrasses.

thanks! yes I do like wrasses and I plan on having a few. I was looking for something a bit larger as the center piece, but I may be limited on that with my size tank. I love leopard wrasse but I heard they are difficult to wean on to dead food. As for the lion, what type of live food do you have to feed yours?