Looking for a mid-sized reef fish

blennybabe

Member
Anyone know of any colorful fish that would be 4 or 5 inches? I am going to get a tang, but what else is there that is reef safe?
 

shadow678

Member
Royal grammas are VERY colorful, although a little aggressive toward tankmates, but are reef safe.Yellow assessors would be excellent for the reef, as well as blue assessors. Banggai cardinals are very interesting and are reef safe. Damsels come in a wide variety of colors and are reef safe, but are also rather aggressive. As WinGNut said, fairy wrasses are incredibly colorful fish, and are completely reef safe, but they can be a bit expensive, as well as flasher wrasses. A six-line wrasse would be an excellent addition. In addition to being colorful and reef-safe, it will also control pyramidellid snails and commensal flatworms. Midas blennies would also be an excellent choice. HTH
 

blennybabe

Member
Thanks for your responses. I already have a royal gramma. i havent seen anyone around here that has any acessors thought i would like to try tat. i have a blue damsel too. but all these fish are relatively small. I could fit all of them in my palm. Im looking for something a little bigger. I like the pygmy angels , but which are reef safe?
 

shadow678

Member
All angels are only reef-safe to a certain extent. Most will occasionally nip at coral polyps and clam mantles, and may eat soft corals, but usually do not do irreparable damage. Angels are also very sensitive to water quality, and many do not fare very well in the aquarium setting. Cherub angels are one of the better aquarium fishes, although once established can become rather aggressive toward doscile tankmates. Coral Beauty angels are another decent fish, and are somewhat less aggressive than many other angels.Flame angels are fairly good fish, but to be less aggressive, should be the last fish introduced into the aquarium. The watanabe's angel, although not a pygmy at 6" max length, is an excellent agnel for the reef aquarium, but sadly most in the aquarium trade suffer from swim bladder damage and should be avoided. Healthy specimens readily acclimate to the home aquarium, moreso in a deep-water tank.
 

clarkiiboi

Active Member
It just may be me but, I just added my coral beauty back into the main tank yesterday (had a bout with cloudy eye) and I do not see my baby feather duster no more. it was only --- that long. But I'm not sure if I should blame the CB, but I have not added anything for a month or more, but I do love my CB, glad she made it through the rough time. Just my 2 cents worth, still keeping her though. She's my trooper!
 

jonthefb

Active Member
i would say no to pygmy angels altogether. I had a cherub angel in my 20 that did fine for about a month and then began to nibble at my giant electric green moon coral that is the showpoece of my tank. Needless to say, he was out of there in a heartbeat and back at the lfs. I have had the same problem with an eibli angel in my parents 135. Did fine for about a year, but picked at two open brains so much that it killed them. Now hes moving on to a couple frogspawns. He would be out of ther eif i could catch him, but hes a smart little booger!
jus my experiences
good luck
jon
 

jonthefb

Active Member
id agree with wing nut. Get a fairy or filament wrasse. They are pricy, and kind of delicate, but once they get comfy with your tank they put on a beautiful display, and will swim around constantly!
good luck, again
jon
 
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