What fish/invert "makes" your tank and why

[Cthulukelele]

Well my sand bed is not deep. The jawfish has lots of shells and moves the sand to create his own deep spots!

Well in that case I may have to add a new fish to my wishlist! Does it bury your sandbed corals?

 

[stefanm]

Mine is an orchid dottyback, beautiful colour and great personality only been in the display for 3 days, getting bullied by the tang hopefully that'll calm down at least he doesn't hide, the tang was on his own for 5 months so established the whole tank as his territory.

 

[eggplantparrot]

My possum wrasse. It started off super shy, but now roams all around the tank even with 2 clowns.

In the lfs they were kept with royal grammas, and while the other possums were mostly hiding in pvc, this guy was super intrigued and fascinated with 1 particular gramma. It would follow this gramma around sticking really close, nose pointed right at the gramma, studying it, much to the grammas annoyance.

He swims gracefully and with ease, and cruises around the rock work looking for pods all day.

He is super cute when pointed right at you and looking at you with his big googly eyes.

 

[Cthulukelele]

My possum wrasse. It started off super shy, but now roams all around the tank even with 2 clowns.

In the lfs they were kept with royal grammas, and while the other possums were mostly hiding in pvc, this guy was super intrigued and fascinated with 1 particular gramma. It would follow this gramma around sticking really close, nose pointed right at the gramma, studying it, much to the grammas annoyance.

He swims gracefully and with ease, and fighting the current of the power heads with ease, cruising around the rock work lookimg for pods.

He is super cute when pointed right at you and looking at you with his big googly eyes.

Wrasses are definitely my favorite broad category of fish. There is so mucy vareity in look, temperament, and personality!

 

[Cthulukelele]

Mine is an orchid dottyback, beautiful colour and great personality only been in the display for 3 days, getting bullied by the tang hopefully that'll calm down at least he doesn't hide, the tang was on his own for 5 months so established the whole tank as his territory.

Choosing between an orchid dottyback and a royal gramma is a real struggle. I will probably go with the gramma for the sake of my peppermint shrimp lol

 

[stefanm]

Choosing between an orchid dottyback and a royal gramma is a real struggle. I will probably go with the gramma for the sake of my peppermint shrimp lol

My first choice was a royal gramma, very rarely available in my parts and sell out quickly.

 

[OldManSea]

My favorite fish of all time was a yellow and red frog fish that grew to about 5 inches before I had to leave it behind for a move - I later saw pix of it at 8 inches. It was like a dog in that when someone it knew came into the room it walked to the front of the tank (hoping for food) and followed along as you moved around.

Two other past favorites were an adult niger triggerfish (great personality) and an adult imperator angelfish, truly the most regal fish in the sea. Both of these are for fish only tanks.

My current favorites are my two flame hawk fish. They have such great personalities. However I do have issues with cleanup crews with them. No snail, no matter how large, lasts more than two or three days. Hermit crabs and shrimp are usually gone in minutes. They also eat any other fish that is small enough to swallow and they have amazing ability to open their mouths far wider than expected. At least they leave tuxedo urchins alone.

 

[Jesterrace]

Wrasses are definitely my favorite broad category of fish. There is so mucy vareity in look, temperament, and personality!

Agreed. The most underrated fish in the hobby and most overlooked by newbies (they simply don't know about them) and I take every opportunity that I can to educate them on the Wrasses.

 

[JRAD]

+1 for flame hawk. Cool color and plenty of personality!

 

[Maritimer]

Those fish are unbelievably beautiful. I haven't heard much about the long term health of a parrotfish in a reef setting. Do the Quoy's thrive? Also selfish question how do you feel about a blue throat trigger in a medium stocked mixed reef 120g? I see you all over the place on the forum, and you SEEM to know what you're talking about

Some of it's experience, some is research, some is informed hypothesis (aka: educated guess).

Quoy's are probably the best parrotfish for a reef - but that doesn't make 'em a sure thing. I've had one go for several months (lost to what I believe to have been brook, during a "fallow" exercise), while another never fed in my care. I've had the one I've got now for a few months, and he appears healthy. I've heard of them living to a few years - but I've heard of them appearing healthy for six months or so, and turning up dead on the sand one day. At this moment, I would have to consider them a somewhat risky proposition.

A blue-throat in a 120 might work. I tried one in a smaller tank (65 gallon, while the 220 gallon upgrade was sitting empty on the other side of the room), and the fish darkened to female colors - while all of my shrimp disappeared. It is a fish that gets to decent size and likes to eat and move, so the longer your 120 is, the better, I suspect.

~Bruce

 

[Cthulukelele]

Some of it's experience, some is research, some is informed hypothesis (aka: educated guess).

Quoy's are probably the best parrotfish for a reef - but that doesn't make 'em a sure thing. I've had one go for several months (lost to what I believe to have been brook, during a "fallow" exercise), while another never fed in my care. I've had the one I've got now for a few months, and he appears healthy. I've heard of them living to a few years - but I've heard of them appearing healthy for six months or so, and turning up dead on the sand one day. At this moment, I would have to consider them a somewhat risky proposition.

A blue-throat in a 120 might work. I tried one in a smaller tank (65 gallon, while the 220 gallon upgrade was sitting empty on the other side of the room), and the fish darkened to female colors - while all of my shrimp disappeared. It is a fish that gets to decent size and likes to eat and move, so the longer your 120 is, the better, I suspect.

~Bruce

Kind of the response I expected! Thanks! Basically I think I'm going to stock the tank with everything else I want, see where my bioload and available space is, and then maybe take the risk on a blue throat or sargassum I particularly like that Sargassums can be found all the way to the coast of where I live!

Sending all my good vibes to your quoy