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Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
People might think I am nuts but after talking to the folks at my LFS, I went with a Flame Angel (Dwarf Angelfish). Obviously I will be following it closely for aggression towards tank mates and soft corals but everything else about it seems to fit what I want.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Your not nuts. Is it going to work? Well time will tell. Flames are notoriously tough in new tanks. There also one of the more aggressive. That said I've almost gotten one myself. I always air on the side of caution tho.
 
iidylii

iidylii

Active Member
I had a flame and got rid of it because he was an ass lol but I'm pretty sure forbis will tell u hers is quite the opposite
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Yep mine is quite nice. He doesn't mess with coral either. I've heard the can suddenly turn though.
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Well it's in my tank and he has shown a little bit of intimidation behavior towards the others but generally leaves them alone. The only concern is my Purple Firefish as the Flame has taken over the cave where he is in and the Purple Firefish now likes to hide most of the time (he will poke his head out to eat though) and he has chased the purple Firefish a little when he sees him in the cave. I'm still on the fence whether to return this guy but I might give him another day or two.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
The one down side to sw fish. They can be very diff in personality even with in the same species
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Well after several days of giving the flame angel a shot, I finally decided to get rid of him. He began taking little nibbles at my corals and was blatantly bullying my purple firefish and took a nip at my scissortail. After several days of attempting to remove him with no success my wife and I devised a home made trap with a plastic water bottle. I stood it up in a corner of my tank and weighed it down with a little bit of sand and put some mysis shrimp pellets in the bottom. After about 10-15 minutes the flame swam into it and I quickly put my hand over the bottle and pulled it up. I transferred him to a gallon ziploc bag and took him back to my local LFS where I bought him. The Flame was in good shape and swimming around and even eating the remaining mysis pellets that fell into the bag, so the store can resell him. They are willing to work out some kind of exchange with me on it since they were the ones who recommended the Flame Angel. I considered a black ice osellaris, but I have heard that even the most peaceful clownfish can be territorial with their dens and that would put me essentially back in the same boat with another firefish bully. The other good news is that although my Purple Firefish was put through quite a bit, it is more persistent than the average Firefish and would make an effort each day to come out of his hole and sneak food during feeding times when the Flame Angel was distracted. I saw him come out a couple of times into the tank after removing the flame today and the Diamond Watchman Goby seems to have regained his confidence and is more mobile than he has been and the scissortail has recovered from his nip. Unfortunately I can't seem to find what I am looking for. I want an active fish that is peaceful and won't nip at corals and is brightly colored.

Right Now, I am looking at a Neon Goby, Tailspot Blenny and possibly an Orchid dottyback
 
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jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I have 4 clowns. A pair of occ. A black and white occ and a maroon. Honestly none are overly aggressive. Don't keep an anemone with a maroon and even there not bad. They are best kept single tho. Now that said, its either a pair to start or a single to never be paired. Its tough to add a new clown to an established female clowns territory
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
jay0705 said:
I have 4 clowns. A pair of occ. A black and white occ and a maroon. Honestly none are overly aggressive. Don't keep an anemone with a maroon and even there not bad. They are best kept single tho. Now that said, its either a pair to start or a single to never be paired. Its tough to add a new clown to an established female clowns territory
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The concern I have with the occ is getting territorial in my tank as it's only 36 gallons and it would be the only occ/clownfish in my tank. I really only have 1 real cave in my live rock formation (and after a number of rock shifts, etc. I am done moving my live rock as it took my wife and I many readjustments to get it stable) and that cave currently has the burrow that my scissortail and purple firefish share together. The issue with the Flame Angel began when it tried to take over the cave and then progressively got worse from there. I don't see the occ chasing the firefish around the tank but I can see it denying him the entrance to his burrow, which would be just as bad if not worse. Actually after thinking about it, I am seriously considering the Yellow Prawn Goby/Yellow Watchman Goby. It's not the free swimmer that the Flame was but it is brightly colored and likely wouldn't bother anything in my tank. The only possible concern is how it would interact with the Diamond Watchman in my tank. Also is the Yellow Goby a sandsifter? I know they will burrow, but I don't want another sandsifter as the Diamond Watchman Goby stirs up the tank plenty already.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Yes there a sifter. Not to the extent of a diamond but they will move sand. Clowns wont just pick the cave. My host the heater. Meaning thats there area, top of the tank next to the heater lol
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Crap, my Diamond Watchman Goby can make the tank super cloudy on his own. I also know it's ridiculously expensive, but does anyone have any experience with a Dracula Goby?
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Okay, so here is a list of candidates that I have come up with:

Neon Goby
Tailspot Blenny
Bicolor Blenny
Harptail Blenny
Dracula Goby
Carpenter's Wrasse
McCosker's Wrasse
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Red Head Salon Fairy Wrasse
Hoeven's Wrasse

Any Suggestions for an active and colorful, yet peaceful fish?
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
The thing with wrasses is they change sex so to have a better chance of getting a male you'd need 2. Personally I'd go with a very small ocelaris. You can get them in the 3/4 inch range. You wouldn't have any issues with it tormenting others. I've never found them to be very aggressive and I've had one in my tanks for close to 20 years, not the same one. I did have one for over 10 years though. They have a lot of personality.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
I also dont find clowns inhabit caves. Mine have always kind of layed in a depression in the rock or sand. They have different enough habits than fire fish that you should be ok.
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Among my top picks after talking to my wife are:

Neon Goby
Dracula Goby
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Purple Tilefish

I know many people have good luck with OCC but I know in smaller size tanks they have more of a tendency to get territorial and as such I am hesitant to add one to an aquarium with
 
Jesterrace

Jesterrace

Active Member
Okay now I am down to the following in this particular order

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse-Might be difficult to find
Red Head Fairy Wrasse-I know a store that actually has one in stock for $35
Hoeven's Wrasse-I can get one fairly cheap, but these guys are known to eat snails and crabs and should be fairly peaceful
Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia)-might eat snails and crabs, but is a beautiful fish and should be fairly peaceful
 
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