Next fish (1 Viewer)

[cypho]

LA is 20% off this weekend and I have an itch for a new fish. But I can't make up my mind what fish to add next. Anyone have an opinion?

I currently have a small blue hippo tang, a pair of mcculloch clowns, a pair of potters angels, and a pair of aurora gobies living with a pair of tiger pistol shrimp.

I like to keep things in pairs. I also prefer fish that are not too common. These are my current top contenders, but feel free to suggest something else.

Golden Angelfish http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=285317
Pros: Great looking fish that is not too common. From DD = will arrive in great condition and already adapted to aquarium life. I love cryptic fish.
Cons: They only have one. I would have to wait for the other half of the pair. Does it look too similar to my potters angels? Would it get along with the potters?

Multibar Angelfish http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+16+431&pcatid=431
Pros: Great looking fish that is not too common. I love the stripes and it looks very different than the potters, and is less closely related. Perhaps more likely to get along.
Cons: They only have the large size in stock. I would have to wait for a smaller one for the other half of the pair. Reputation for being difficult to get eating.


Swalesi Basslet x2 https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?did=1&cid=11&pid=354
Pros: Uncommon, looks cool, I love cryptic fish. Very unlikely to fight with any fish currently in the tank.
Cons: It's a bit of a gamble if two random fish will end up a pair. If they don't pair up, I'll end up needing more than 2. Will it get along with dottybacks? (I don't have any yet, but dottybacks are my favorite fish).

Yellow Assessor x2 http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3352+3353+3429&pcatid=3429

Pros: I don't have anything bright yellow. Not as expensive as the others. Babies are fairly easy to raise. Very unlikely to fight with any fish currently in the tank.
Cons: Even though I don't see them much it just feels more "ordinary" and less exciting as others. It's a bit of a gamble if two random fish will end up a pair. If they don't pair up, I'll end up needing more than 2. Will it get along with dottybacks? (I don't have any yet, but dottybacks are my favorite fish).

 

[marty9876]

Golden- you'll rarely ever see the fish, if that's your thing have at it. It's got a lot of similarities to a Potters but they are really different in color to me. Odds are a Potters would kill a Golden pretty quickly even if the Golden was there first.

Multibar- I think those are pretty difficult long term (6+ months). Kyle T. on the forum had some I think. Neat fish, more work than it's worth to me personally.

Basslet- should be a pretty easy fish to care for, no first hand experience with them myself. As you said, good community fish, safe add now if you'll adding more later.

Assessor- You won't see them much. I had one, can't recall if he didn't make it through QT or vanished in the DT... latter I'm pretty sure. Not exactly a open water swimmer fish. I thought they were cool as heck until I had one and it was pretty meh personality/activity wise.

 

[marty9876]

Just read you had a pair of Potters, careful with adding most any other angel. Pygmies are giant pricks to other pygmy angels.

Divide the tank, use acclimation boxes, pull the Potters short term etc.

For me, Potters rock and I'd not want to mess up a pair.

 

[cypho]

Thanks for your thoughts marty.

I have always found dwarf angels extremely easy to pair. One big, one little and they are instantly best pals. That said, I have never tried mixing species. It does worry me a bit.

My thought for the golden angels is: out of sight-out of mind. If the Goldens hide all the time, they might not even be noticed by the potters that are always out and about.

As I write this, I wonder if my mind is made up, I should just order them all....

 

[jlanger]

Since Marty covered your list, here's some new options.

If you want something yellow, the Midas Blenny is a great choice. Even though it's a Blenny, they spend a lot of time swimming in the water column.

If you're thinking you want a pair of something, what about a pair of wrasses?
Leopard wrasses are great fish! And I think I've seen somwone with a pair of Banana (Yellow Coris) Wrasses; a pair and yellow.

 

[cypho]

Thanks for the suggestions Jason.

Midas Blenny is another good yellow idea. I have considered that. Most blenny's are easy to pair up if you start with two juveniles. My big concern about midas are that I've heard they have a reputation for being jumpers. My tank is rimless and topless so that is a big risk there. They also feel even more common than assessors which already seem a bit too ordinary.

I do like how wrasses are so easy to pair. But wrasses are definitely on hold for now. They tend to decimate the pod population and the pods are reserved for a future pair of mandarin dragonetts. Perhaps after the mandarins are established. My favorites are potters leopards or flame fairys. Do you know if any of the wrasses are less jumpy than others? Especially with expensive flames, I would be really annoyed to find one on the floor.

 

[cypho]

Too bad these are not still available. https://twitter.com/LiveAquaria/status/663839329114918912

 

[marty9876]

Every tank needs a wrasse and a blenny. I never found Midas to be jumpers.

You can certainly mix dwarf angels just excessive caution is my point. I added a potters to a pair of flames in a 450g tank, they killed him. Pair of potters added via eggcrate separation for a week and they still had a really bad time but are fine now. I had a flameback in a 180 I gave away he was such a prick to any new small fish.

Anytime I work up how something 'might' work in my head it rarely works when the these plans involved living things. There is a difference between out of sight out of mind and seek and destroy... In a 2' cube it's always the latter

 

[cypho]

Storys about different species not getting along in 450 gallons does make me question the sanity of trying it in 75.

I will defiantly take into consideration that it might end up being a sump-fish.

 

[Fiver]

I'm new to the hobby so everything is interesting to me, but I have to say that I saw a small group of yellow assessors in their own small display tank at Saltwater Empire, and it was really cool. There were 4-5 of them shoaling together upside down right up front against some rockwork. It was a really cool sight.

 

[cypho]

I decided to take your advise and hold off on tempting fate with more angels.

Just placed an order for two swalesi basslets and two red mandarins.

 

[cypho]

And they arrived. I don't think I will regret this decision. Really cool fish. It is interesting that one has two spots on the tail and the other does not. I don't normally name my fish, but I'm going to have a hard time not calling the one spots.

Acclimating


6 hours later - the new fish are still chilling out together in the same cave. They are look healthy and active but showed no interest in the pellets I fed this evening. I may have to pick up some frozen mysis this weekend and see if they are more interested in that.






After months of waiting to find red mandarins locally, I gave in and ordered some online. I ordered a large male and a medium female. Not much difference in size, but it's definitely a male and a female. They look a bit thin, but not too bad - fingers crossed.

 

[eschulist]

Beautiful looking fish

 

[Mandarin_Jake]

And they arrived. I don't think I will regret this decision. Really cool fish. It is interesting that one has two spots on the tail and the other does not. I don't normally name my fish, but I'm going to have a hard time not calling the one spots.

Acclimating
View attachment 22112

6 hours later - the new fish are still chilling out together in the same cave. They are look healthy and active but showed no interest in the pellets I fed this evening. I may have to pick up some frozen mysis this weekend and see if they are more interested in that.

View attachment 22111




After months of waiting to find red mandarins locally, I gave in and ordered some online. I ordered a large male and a medium female. Not much difference in size, but it's definitely a male and a female. They look a bit thin, but not too bad - fingers crossed.

View attachment 22113

Do you have a plan for the mandarins as far as care is concerned?

 

[cypho]

Do you have a plan for the mandarins as far as care is concerned?

My plan is pretty simple.

• Lots of live rock in the tank
• Lots more live rock in the sump
• No other fish in the tank that will compete with the mandarin for pods
• Wait until the tank is overrun with pods before adding the mandarins

 

[Mandarin_Jake]

My plan is pretty simple.

• Lots of live rock in the tank
• Lots more live rock in the sump
• No other fish in the tank that will compete with the mandarin for pods
• Wait until the tank is overrun with pods before adding the mandarins

Sad to hear that. You have a 75 correct? Where will you be keeping the mandarins in the mean time?

 

[cypho]

Yes it is 75-ish gallons. 36.5x24x20

I think expecting / relying on mandarins accepting prepared food is a recipe for failure. The last 11 months was the mean time. They are in there - hopefully feasting on the overpopulated mysis colony.

Sad to hear that. You have a 75 correct? Where will you be keeping the mandarins in the mean time?

 

[acharpenter]

MIDAS BLENNY - MIDAS BLENNY

My favorite fish - would be yours too

You can easily still have one with your current LS load - and trust me - likely to become your wife's fav fish : ) which is always a huge plus for those of us in the hobby trying legitimize an expense for the tank to our SO's

 

[acharpenter]

After months of waiting to find red mandarins locally, I gave in and ordered some online. I ordered a large male and a medium female. Not much difference in size, but it's definitely a male and a female. They look a bit thin, but not too bad - fingers crossed.

View attachment 22113

Past tense but - did you throw a thread out looking for Mandarins?

What I have found is that anytime you are looking for something specific - more often than not someone has it and is thinking of, or willing to sell but hasn't taken the time to post a FS thread. Everyone waits for a FS thread for what they are looking for - but if you throw a WTB thread out - I am always surprised by how many people reply

 

[cypho]

I realized that I had some angelfish cubes I purchased before when the baby potter was too shy to come out to eat and that they have mysis in them. I dropped one of them in to see if the swalesis would be more interested interested in something more natural than a pellet. And they were. They each ate several mysis. Two down, two to go. Fattening up the mandarins will probably take a bit longer.

It was really funny, all of the other fish had absolutely no interest in the the frozen food. They just spit it back out, I guess they forgot what real food tastes like after eating nothing but pellets for a while. Which was actually good because it gave the swalesis more time to eat.