Next Fish should be??

[jaodissa]

Help me pick out my next fish. Every time I find something I like I read its to aggressive or it wont be happy in my 40 gallon. So help me pick a fish. What I would like in the fish is for it to be an active swimmer. I would like it to attempt to pal up with the clown in the tank. I'd rather it not be a skittish fish that hide in rock work every time you walk by the tank too. (If thats possible) Im asking for a lot but I hope you guys can help. Thank you.
Oh these were my ideas and why I think they might be bad..
Strawberry Chromis-Aggressive, likes schools of 5 or more.
Fire Fish- Jumper. Also skittish
Dasmels- Aggressive
Coral Beauty-needs bigger tank
fire angel- needs bigger tank
tangs-needs bigger tank
So as of now all I have is my clown who needs a friend and I dont know who would be a good match except for another clown and don't think I want that.

 

[contraband629]

Why not another clown? 40g is a pretty decent size tank to accommodate another clown and much more. I would recommend a purple fire fish. At first mine was always hiding in the rocks but after less than a week it runs around just like my two clowns. If you want something with serious personality you could get a cleaner shrimp (which is not a fish but yeah).

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Jaodissa
http:///forum/post/3150491
Help me pick out my next fish. Every time I find something I like I read its to aggressive or it wont be happy in my 40 gallon. So help me pick a fish. What I would like in the fish is for it to be an active swimmer. I would like it to attempt to pal up with the clown in the tank. I'd rather it not be a skittish fish that hide in rock work every time you walk by the tank too. (If thats possible) Im asking for a lot but I hope you guys can help. Thank you.
Oh these were my ideas and why I think they might be bad..
Strawberry Chromis-Aggressive, likes schools of 5 or more.
Fire Fish- Jumper. Also skittish
Dasmels- Aggressive
Coral Beauty-needs bigger tank
fire angel- needs bigger tank
tangs-needs bigger tank
So as of now all I have is my clown who needs a friend and I dont know who would be a good match except for another clown and don't think I want that.
I had a Coral Beauty in a 40G, and you can put in a Flame Angel, but you won't be able to add much more. Here's the catch, both are going to be aggressive towards anything you want to add after them. I have issues with my Coral Beauty (now in a 155G after upgrade, not because she out grew the 40G). She attacks new residents quite often, but will leave them alone, she has killed a few from scaring them. You definitely can not have a tang in your size tank. I don't recommend damsels or the strawberry chromis. Firefish are not that skittish once acclimated. You might also want to look at Cardinals, Royal Gramma, Anthias (although only a couple will fit your tank size), Blue Reef Chromis. There's a ton of fish you can put in that tank.
Your clown is not going to be friends with anyone else more than likely, so just add fish that you like.
If you want a fish with lots of personality, take a look at some blennies. They hang out on rocks, but can almost always be seen and really have a lot of "spunk".

 

[browniebuck]

I agree, you should be perfectly fine with a dwarf angel (my wife had a coral beauty in her 29 before we moved it to our 55...because my angel died). She currently has a half black in the 29 and it is doing fine...I have always LOVED the eibli angel, it was my first fish in my 55 and he did wonderfully.
I know that they say that they need established tanks, but if you supplement the algae that they get from the rock with algae sheets, a dwarf angel should be fine in your 40 gallon.

 

[cajonez]

My last fish was a bi-color psuedochromi. Its small, colorful, active and nonaggresive. Its becoming one of my favorites.

 

[tjnitro]

Even though firefish are jumpers i would totaly recomend them. Make sure your tank is covered with glass or egg crate. I would add 3 of them because they seem to do better in small groups. I have a couple and they are so fun to watch. You just have to make sure you don't have any realy aggressive fish with them.
I also agree with the cleaner shrimp. they are realy fun to watch.

 

[browniebuck]

totally agree with the cleaner shrimp...I plan on having a few skunk cleaners as well as a couple of fire shrimp in my 150 when I get it going (they are the reason that I won't be getting aggressive fish)

 

[jaodissa]

my husband and I are in a fight over harlequin shrimp. He wants one but I dont want to have to feed it star fish. Im thinking some of the shrimp who have the huge arms that stick out in front if them (coral banded i think) They are so funny to watch eat.

 

[browniebuck]

just beware that the coral banded shrimp will not be compatible with other shrimp...unless you want to watch them bother them and eventually enjoy a nice shrimp cocktail (not always, but in a smaller tank, you would probably have problems).

 

[browniebuck]

thinking of your situation with your clown fish, you really may want to consider a cleaner shrimp as they will clean parasites and other undesirables off of your fish (and it is fun to watch them when they set up their cleaning stations). I have had times in the past that I had my hand in the tank to remove powerheads for cleaning and had the shrimp "clean" me...a neat tickly feeling!

 

[geckoxp]

I would highly recommend getting a skunk cleaner or blood red...my skunk is in with my coral banded and they get along...however from another post I am getting rid of my coral banded shrimp as I believe I have had 2 firefish, royal gamma, bicolor blenny, flame angel and neon goby all eaten by the CB shrimp...all fish were fine til I did not find them any more OR half of them in the tank....yah I have a renigade shrimp on my hands.
I was battling an ich issue but the fish that died showed no signs of it...just the tang and hippo so who the heck knows...either way hes gone!
btw my skunk comes right up to my hand and cleans it when I feed my corals so its a neat thing to watch and experience!

 

[nick0685]

cleaner shrimp are great i would also consider a sixline or in the blennies maybe a midas blenny mine a show off and is always out and active

 

[btldreef]

I definitely recommend getting at least one Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, if not two. I kept two in my 40G. I don't recommend getting a CBS in that size tank, and they're not nearly as beneficial as the SCS.
A blenny would be a good addition, but keep in mind that their are two separate types of blennies, algae and fanged. A midas blenny is a great fish with lots of personality, but they do not clean algae like a Lawnmower Blenny will, just a thought.
A highly discourage a Sixline Wrasse. If you ever want to have a mandarin, the Sixline and the mandarin will fight over copepods. Sixlines can also be very aggressive, they're actually one of the most aggressive fish I've ever added to my tank. I had one kill a Koran juvenile, a Mandarin, a hippo tang juvenile, and a blenny. Here's the isssue, if you do get one that's aggressive, they're near impossible to get out of your tank. I finally got mine caught in the overflow and brought him as a "gift" to my LFS, within two weeks the owner told me that he had to separate the fish from all others because it killed over 10 fish he placed it with. Just more hassle than it's worth, especially in a 40G.

 

[oceandude]

Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3150915
I definitely recommend getting at least one Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, if not two. I kept two in my 40G. I don't recommend getting a CBS in that size tank, and they're not nearly as beneficial as the SCS.
A blenny would be a good addition, but keep in mind that their are two separate types of blennies, algae and fanged. A midas blenny is a great fish with lots of personality, but they do not clean algae like a Lawnmower Blenny will, just a thought.
A highly discourage a Sixline Wrasse. If you ever want to have a mandarin, the Sixline and the mandarin will fight over copepods. Sixlines can also be very aggressive, they're actually one of the most aggressive fish I've ever added to my tank. I had one kill a Koran juvenile, a Mandarin, a hippo tang juvenile, and a blenny. Here's the isssue, if you do get one that's aggressive, they're near impossible to get out of your tank. I finally got mine caught in the overflow and brought him as a "gift" to my LFS, within two weeks the owner told me that he had to separate the fish from all others because it killed over 10 fish he placed it with. Just more hassle than it's worth, especially in a 40G.
I agree and as soon as I move and bag my sixline it's being donated to my favorite LFS. I've had my "Mandy" way too long and the sixline is a major pig on the pods. I have to continue to add pods and it's an established tank. Jeez...
You had a great post with this advice.

 

[fretfreak13]

How about a Royal gramma? I think they're pretty, and that's going to be my next addition in my 29 gal. =)

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Fretfreak13
http:///forum/post/3151133
How about a Royal gramma? I think they're pretty, and that's going to be my next addition in my 29 gal. =)

Would also be a good choice. If you don't have a covered thank, the royal gramma would be a better choice than a firefish.
By the way, if you look on the forum today, there's someone who is having a problem with a CBS eating a whole bunch of fish he's added to his tank and others are responding that they've had the same issue.

 

[jaodissa]

Can you have two types of Blennys together in a tank? I wanted a red scooter blenny and after reading about the lawnmower blenny it sounds like a great addition.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Jaodissa
http:///forum/post/3151340
Can you have two types of Blennys together in a tank? I wanted a red scooter blenny and after reading about the lawnmower blenny it sounds like a great addition.

A scooter blenny is not actually a blenny, it's a dragonette, like a mandarin. So you can have a scooter and a lawnmower in the same tank. That being said, you can't have two "real" blennies in a tank together, i.e. 2 lawnmowers, 2 midas or a mixture of the 2.
Also, if you want a mandarin, you can't have a scooter blenny. They eat the same food source (copepods) and they'll completely deplete your tank way too fast.
If you're thinking of either a scooter or a mandarin, you're tank is not old enough for either yet. They need really established setups (at least 6 months old), unless you plan on spending a fortune on copepods to seed your tank (which is what I did).

 

[jaodissa]

I can buy the pods from the LFS for 20 dollars. I don't know how many were in it but I was willing to buy a few each month to support the scooter. (If that was enough) This is my tank ideas tell me if its over stocked or if it can be done with extra maintenance or whatever your thoughts are..
1 clown (maybe two if I'm not overstocked with whats to come)
1 flame Angel
1 royal gramma
1 red scooter blenny
1 lawn mower blenny
1 bta (hopefully for the clown to host. If after 6 months or so of them not hosting I would prob get rid of it. I really only want it for them relationship the two have. I think its entertaining)
1-2 cleaner shrimp. (prob the skunk everyone mentioned)
Ricordea
2-3 different zoo's
Pulsing Xenia
and how ever many snails/crabs clean up crew I needed
This seems like to much though. IDK tell me what you think. Oh also I was thinking 5-6 gallons of water to change once a week. (little over 10%)

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Jaodissa
http:///forum/post/3151351
I can buy the pods from the LFS for 20 dollars. I don't know how many were in it but I was willing to buy a few each month to support the scooter. (If that was enough) This is my tank ideas tell me if its over stocked or if it can be done with extra maintenance or whatever your thoughts are..
1 clown (maybe two if I'm not overstocked with whats to come)
1 flame Angel
1 royal gramma
1 red scooter blenny
1 lawn mower blenny
1 bta (hopefully for the clown to host. If after 6 months or so of them not hosting I would prob get rid of it. I really only want it for them relationship the two have. I think its entertaining)
1-2 cleaner shrimp. (prob the skunk everyone mentioned)
Ricordea
2-3 different zoo's
Pulsing Xenia
and how ever many snails/crabs clean up crew I needed
This seems like to much though. IDK tell me what you think. Oh also I was thinking 5-6 gallons of water to change once a week. (little over 10%)

If you're willing to seed the tank, you'll be fine. Good luck with the Pulsing Xenia, I never have luck. I can keep the hardest corals and fish alive, but not that, LOL.
I think that the Flame Angel might me a little much in your tank, if you do decide to do it (which it can be done) definitely make it the absolute last fish you're going to add or it will more than likely be aggressive towards new additions. My Coral Beauty was like that in my 40G and is now doing it in my 155G.
You may even be able to add a few other fish (firefish, some pretty blue reef chromis or cardinals would probably be the best choice) if you really stay on top of it.
Water change is right on for what you need. Do you run a protein skimmer (you may have mentioned this already).