55 Gallon

[hubbard_shark]

despite being gone from this forum forever, im back. (damn school)

but anyways, still workin on my tank, startin to get coral frags here and there from the LFS I work at now, so the tank is gonna be stocked with corals in a year or so.

now im just workin on my fish list.

so far i got: 2 clowns
1 blue tang (juv)
and this is what im thinkin bout:
1 flame angel (when we go to wholesalers with work they have flames bout 1-1/2 in, tiny ones, so im gonna go with these. and im not worried bout coral nippin, i know)
1 longnose hawkfish (have no shrimps, so im fine there)
*what else would ppl recommend? i got plenty of LR, but just lookin for sumthin else to add. anyone with ideas let me know

 

[Lynden]

Sounds good. Just so you know, longnose hawks almost never eat reasonably sized shrimp, especially if they are introduced before the hawk. So feel free to add a group of large cleaner shrimp (Lysmata or Stenopus would be best; though of course the latter is best kept in mated pairs; never groups).

Be aware that baby grazing fishes (flame angel in this case) have a small mouth and a fast metabolism; they can't go long without food. Make sure you feed at least twice, but preferably three or four, times a day.

My recommendations for further stock would include a baby puffer or "pelagic" trigger, and any of the smaller wrasses.

 

[hubbard_shark]

ive tried a puffer before, i had a small like 2in valentini, but he kept eatin my nassarius snails, so i returned him

yea i heard the same bout longnoses, so im thinkin between 2: either a blood shrimp, or a coral banded? any suggestions

and i know the flame is gonna be a beast to feed, just gotta keep him happy, and thats not on my corals, lol.

whats some good wrasses u recommend? i just bought a lantern basslet yesterday, awesome fish, lookin real good.

thanks

 

[shibby]

my little valentinis a nightmare but i still wouldnt part with him!!!


as for wrasses my usual ..... blue spotted leapard warsse, carpenters or filamented flasher wrasse, labounts fairy wrasse and mystery wrasse check them out!



i like blood shrimps but they seem to be more nocturnal and as for coral bandeds i find them ugly but other people love them!!

 

[Lynden]

Canthigaster valentini is probably not the best choice for a reef puffer, from what I've heard; though one could easily co-exist if not kept with tiny snails, shrimp or the wussiest of fish. Try C. solandri or Tetraodon fluviatilis/nigroviridis, as these are even less likely to cause trouble; my leopard puffer hasn't touched any of my livestock yet, excepting a tubeworm.

Though at what point, shibby, did yours become a terror? In the other thread you posted about him, you didn't really have any conclusive evidence against him...

I don't like blood shrimps a whole hell of a lot, mostly because they cost an arm and a leg, and are rarely seen in a brightly lit reef tank. I would recommend either of the two skunk cleaners over them, though if you bought a group of blood shrimp they would make a sweet display.

I would recommend coral banded shrimps as well, especially if in a pair (nowadays I would only buy a pair). The vast majority of shrimps commonly kept in aquaria are way cooler in a pair or group.

 

[shibby]

he became a terror after i caught him red handed trying to eat my shrimp and biting the clowns tale, the things you see when lights go out ! he ate the whole shrimp in the end!!

 

[hubbard_shark]

after what happened with the valentini, i plan on stayin away from puffers. i know i want the flame and the longnose, just wonderin what else to get? i like the small basslets, but who knows.

 

[Lynden]

after what happened with the valentini, i plan on stayin away from puffers

Well, have fun... there isn't much that can match a puffer in terms of "personality".

 

[hubbard_shark]

i hear u on that, despite how terrorizing my valentini was, it was hard only after a few days to get rid of him.
since on the topic, not sure if u mentioned it or not, what r some puffers, which r not prone to eating snails/crabs/etc, if there r even any, not to my knowledger there is but who knows.

 

[Lynden]

Most, if not all, puffers are capable of killing small snails/shrimp, so it is really a matter of convincing them not to. They will consistently not bother attacking inverts if they are kept stuffed, but there are some species lazier than others. Arothron are the least "lazy" and on rare occasions will even eat mushroom anemones. Tetraodon in my experience seem to be totally reef safe, as they rarely inhabit reef ecosystems in the wild and so do not know what to make of little red shrimps or speedy snails. These species are known to have an attitude problem towards fish when they mature, though so far my guy is a big baby.