What are the best schooling fish out there??

[Steelerfan747]

Hey guys. I have recently began planning stages of a larger tank and have thought of getting some schooling fish. I know most will say chromis but was wondering what other fish would be recommended. The tank will be between a 90g and 120g and I would like a school of around 5 to 7. Please let me know your recommendations and why you recommend them. Pics would be greatly appreciated.:bigsmile:

 

[Pappy]

Lyretail anthias or purple fire fish IMO


Mike D "like the beastie boys" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wysiwyg]

pajama cardinal fish and most of your cardinal fish family

 

[Steelerfan747]

pajama cardinal fish and most of your cardinal fish family

I have to admit that I do like the Bangaii cardinals quite a bit. It's pretty cool how they just seem to hover

 

[m88a2]

from what i have heard, fish tend not to school in the aquarium environment. I believe it has something to do with the lack of need (no preditors). However I also have heard that the cardinals have a higher schooling probability than other with the threadfin having the least likelyhood of killing each other off. Again, this is all what i have heard or read somewhere along the line.

 

[strange33w]

go with a few Bangaii cardinals they are really cool when they are in groups.

 

[Lateral72]

Bangaii cardinals will eventually pair up and kill of the rest of the group.

Honestly, in an aquarium that lacks proper predators, fish tend not to school (better yet, shoal). The confines of any aquarium < 1000 gallons, is simply too limited a space to allow a school to form, plus a lack of a true threat to the fish will likely cause them not to school.

 

[Tabasco1]

Generly speaking there are not many options for truly schooling fish in aquariums. There are some cardinals that school. There is a tank thread on here of a sweet tank that is dedicated to schooling cardinals. Unfortunately banggaii are not one of them. They will school as juveniles, but as soon as they mature they will fight to the death until there is just a single pair left. Unless you have a very large tank. They still won't school but you might be able to have a couple pair.

 

[EcoFrags]

i've gotten bartlett's and lyretails to school pretty easily...also if you get enough tangs in a large enough tank they will school but they will hid in the rocks a lot...anthias if you dont want chromis are your best bet

 

[Steelerfan747]

from what i have heard, fish tend not to school in the aquarium environment. I believe it has something to do with the lack of need (no preditors). However I also have heard that the cardinals have a higher schooling probability than other with the threadfin having the least likelyhood of killing each other off. Again, this is all what i have heard or read somewhere along the line.

Thank you for your input and welcome to R2R

 

[Steelerfan747]

i've gotten bartlett's and lyretails to school pretty easily...also if you get enough tangs in a large enough tank they will school but they will hid in the rocks a lot...anthias if you dont want chromis are your best bet

Thank you Eco, its not that I don't wasn't chromis as I think theyre great I mean they are nice looking and cheap and will still keep them. Its just that they have a tendency to also kill each other off by means of starvation

 

[FaviaFreak]

I like Cardinalfish and chromis (a bit on the cheaper side) anthias are nice too..I'm particular to apogon leptacanthus and parvulus

 

[MIKE NY]

I posted to a thread simular to this one on another site...most anthias are a shoaling fish not schooling there is a difference..the main being a schooling fish will move together in the same direction...either shoaling or schooling is a social order or a defense mechanism that fish use in the wild and soon lose once in our tanks basically because our tanks are small in comparison to the wild so they can still see each other and because they feel safe from predators. I agree with Kevin the only fish that I have kept that will school and not kill each other off is the Blue eyed thread fin Cardinal ( Apogon Leptacanthus)..they are also mouth brooders like Bangaiis, but don't fight like them.

 

[Paul_N]

Thank you Eco, its not that I don't wasn't chromis as I think theyre great I mean they are nice looking and cheap and will still keep them. Its just that they have a tendency to also kill each other off by means of starvation

I tried chromis twice and the same thing happened. They just keep harassing the weakest in the bunch until there is only one.

 

[landlord]

I know what my answer would be, but I am a cardinalfish freak so I am biased

Kurt

Below is a shoal of 10 Apogon parvulus

 

[FaviaFreak]

very nice!

I know what my answer would be, but I am a cardinalfish freak so I am biased

Kurt

Below is a shoal of 10 Apogon parvulus

 

[FaviaFreak]

I posted to a thread simular to this one on another site...most anthias are a shoaling fish not schooling there is a difference..the main being a schooling fish will move together in the same direction...either shoaling or schooling is a social order or a defense mechanism that fish use in the wild and soon lose once in our tanks basically because our tanks are small in comparison to the wild so they can still see each other and because they feel safe from predators. I agree with Kevin the only fish that I have kept that will school and not kill each other off is the Blue eyed thread fin Cardinal ( Apogon Leptacanthus)..they are also mouth brooders like Bangaiis, but don't fight like them.

yup I just love the threadfins...I use small schools in the frag tanks at work to keep the corals nice and colorful