Fish Ideas

I was wondering if I would be ok with having a pair of Black Ocellaris Clowns, a Purple Firefish, Bangaii Cardinalfish, and after the tank has been set up and I have enough copepods in my display and refugium which I plan to add Tigger-pods too, get a Green Mandarin Dragonet. Do you think that these fish will co-exist well in a mixed reef aquarium? If not is there any other suggestions that you would recommend? So far from what I have read and all the research I have done this will be a good list and will be ok together. The only downfall is the Mandarin which I think if I wait 6months to a year to get and start copepods in the tank early that it will be ok. Please let me know if I am wrong about anything here!

I have a 40 gallon breeder with a 29 gallon sump.

Thanks for your help!

 

Seems like you have been doing your research.

Fire fish are great, they are not the most active fish initially but if added first they can become less shy.

Cardinals are known for being somewhat nocturnal so again not an active fish that you see swimming all over the tank during the lighting period.

Clowns are always a good choice in my opinion.

The only advice I can give on a Mandarin is to start with an extremely fat healthy specimen, in my opinion they are not suited for the ideal clean reef tank that has no algae growing. Get some chaeto in the sump and use it to add pods to the display on a routine basis. Attempt to get a Mandarin that is witnessed eating prepared foods. Count on the fact they eat a lot more than most people think, always hunting.

A Royal Gramma or a Dwarf angel might fit in nicely as well.

 

My wife and I really would like a Flame Angel but are kinda afraid of the coral nipping. My favorite part about the reef is the beautiful corals co-existing with the fish and I am nervous about a fish eating them. Unless it is not as bad as I am assuming. I actually don't mind if I passed on the Purple Firefish but it is the only one my wife is set on getting so it is here to stay. I personally want the Black Clowns really bad! Not a fan of the orange but find the black to be unique.

 

I have a black clown (used to be pair :-/) so I understand the attraction.

Angels are hit and miss, the best behaved for me was a Potters and a Coral Beauty but they are sometimes hard to acclimate and provide enough food initially.

Fire fish are one of my favorites, I have kept them in trios, with no aggression problems.

Yellow watchman goby is also good, shares the same zone as a mandarin but eats prepared foods.

 

i would suggest making sure you use egg crate on your top with a fire fish.. i had 3 different ones jump on me of course i had tangs as well... but they can be jumpers

 

Ive got a pair of clowns, 1 firefish and 1 yellow watchman. They're all very docile. Firefish isn't "active" but he/she does spend most of its time out in the open. YWG is a cave dweller but I do catch him out on occasion. The clowns are, as always, very active swimmers. I have no cardinals but from what I can tell in LFS and the forums that they aren't very active. A group of 3-5 chromis might not be a bad idea for a small school.

If you're dead set on a dragonet, I would seed the tank with pods now and keep an eye on the population. As mentioned, find one that has already been converted to prepared foods and you'll have a much easier time, I'd imagine.

 

You may want to look at getting an ORA mandarin. They breed them in captivity, so they all eat prepared foods.

Aquacultured Dragonets | ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

If you call them, they can let you know if there are any stores near you that carry their fish.

 

IMO a Mandarin in that small of a tank will be a struggle. There are many stories on here of mandarins starving to death even when supplemented on prepared foods. The problem is they have a fast metabolism and feeding them the ammounts they need can cause issues with water conditions. Heres a good link to read up on them. They can decimate a pod population in a small tank in short order and buying pods can become quite expensive.Buying an ORA Mandarin would be a must IMO.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/fish-month/mandarin-dragonette-fotm-may-08-a-47991.html

 

The main fish I wanted was a Mandarin but I may change my mind if it is not for the best. So that may take me down to a pair of Black Clowns and a Purple Firefish. Those 3 fish are going to be in the tank. The top of the tank is going to have a clear screen top that I found on this website somewhere so that will keep the Firefish inside. I would like to get 2 maybe 3 more but want them to be fairly colorful and stay fairly small so not to take away from the corals and other fish. I was thinking maybe a Carpenter's Fairy Wrasse instead of the Cardinalfish but not sure about it all that much. I don't know a lot about these fish and want them to be ok with all other fish so need to learn more about them before my decision on them. As for the Chromis, I do really like them and had 3 of them in a 29 gallon fish only tank a few years ago that I only had up for a few months and enjoyed them schooling together but they need as you said 3-5 to really do well together and I don't want to give up that much fish room and bioload in this size of a tank to 1 kind of fish. Again thanks for all the help and more suggestions will be deeply thought over and appreciated!

 

What about type of goby? I have a domino clown paired up with a black misbar, and a dracula goby that's paired with a tiger pistol shrimp. Lots of other beautiful gobies out there too.