fish type question

[fishyrob]

i have had four tanks set up from time to time and i like saltwater fish for the strange,and colorful animals you can get and also i like when people come over and ask what is that . my problem is what kind of fish can i get that gets along so that my tank can look more full getting fed up with why do you have one fish because it was higher in the food chain , i know that with saltwater quality not the number of fish counts but i would like a more full look any help

 

[kambiz]

My Poor attempt at understanding the question has resulted in this responce:
I would start with a couple of damsels, a clown and a cleaner shrimp, few snails, and few crabs.
Although your tank should look full, you should also make sure your fish are happy. And if you crowd them, they will not like that.
A good rule is 1 inch of fish for every 5 gallons of water.

 

[fishyrob]

Thanks for the help ,but the problem that I am having is when my damsels grow larger they are aggressive. My tank is stocked with a brittle star ,clown,and three damsels(were five ). Also anything on the small size that i add gets eaten. I gave up on lfs when i found this board. I would like to have a schooling fish that is reef safe.

 

[dundar]

You can get coral cats as a schooling reef fish but I was told that they can release a poison into the water when they get scared or die. I personaly will never put another damsel into my reef tank. I used to have a reef with one domino damsel and it terrorized everything. Soon I put together a diffrent tank and moved the damsel into it, I found that I could away with almost anything expect damsels and aggressive fish in my reef.
Does anyone else know about Coral Cats and the effects on water when they die?

 

[koiman6]

First of all what are your tank specs. Second of all I would recommend getting rid of the damsels. It probably wont be easy to catch them if you have a big tank. Good schoolong fish are cromis, they are peaceful and colorful. If your tank is big enough you could buy a school of yellow tangs, but if you are just starting i wouldn't recommend getting tangs yet, because they can become very territorial, but they would be good to add as your last fish.

 

[kambiz]

I attest to the mean Domino Damsel fact. Mine killed a yellow tail damsel that I just added.
I am afraid I will have to yank the little beast if I would like to keep anything else that is.