Peaceful Reef Safe Fish

[Pik]

Yeah.. I'm not sure about the "sand sifter" in your reef tank.

How about a Purple Tang??

I also have a Cherub angel in my tank, she's very cool! doesn't really bother any of my corals at all. But she's pretty small.

[Pik]

haha.. I totally understand the LONG lunch thing. Right now, I wish I can take an 8 hr lunch because my workload is extremely low. I haven't done a thing in the past 2 days. Anyways....

Powder blue... You can probably keep a small one in your tank for a while. But the most important part of this is that make sure it eats before you take it home. Many powder blue die from not eating after the purchase. So.. if it eats. you're in luck.

[Kinesthesia]

Well, for what it's worth, I've spent the last year and half in this hobby for almost the sole purpose of getting a Powder Blue. Ok, not the sole purpose but the number one reason. Anyway, it was originally my plan to get a 125 gallon after my 75, but I had got my 120 gallon for a steal. I'm still heading towards a 125...

Anywho, my plan... "Project Powder" as it sounds in my head, involved getting all the different kinds of Tang Heaven and putting them in a refugium prior to getting the blue hoping that would help entice him to eat.

Hey wait... this is perfect, I can get a small Powder and when he gets bigger, I'll be driven to a 125 by guilt! What perfect pre-meditated self-manipulation !

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I was sure that anything this expensive and addicting was illegal... I keep waiting for the ATF to kick my door down and grab my protein skimmer...

My 120 Pseudo-Reef

[postie]

I don't see anything wrong with a powder blue in a 120. I think it will do fine as long as your maintenance is good. But, DO ADD IT LAST so that it won't harrass any other new fish additions. Also, I don't see anything wrong with having a sandsifter in a 120. I have one in my 90 reef and my sandbed is plenty busy with LOTS of life. Watchman gobies for instance grow large enough to enjoy, and in my experience do not deplete a sandbed, at least mine hasn't and he is huge. The sandsifters I've owned have readily accepted prepared foods and maybe they don't need to do so much sifting.

One tang that is interesting to own is a regal, or hippo, tang. Especially if you are going to keep perculas, either false or true. There is some sort of strange relationship between these tangs and clowns, they become best friends quickly and literally live together. I have had this happen and many others have as well...maybe some others will have some input on this as well. Hope this helps and again, good luck.

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Through perseverance, even the snail made it to the ark!
www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hub/4898/salt.html

[Alice]

Ooops; got me on that one Dick, I didn't remember the coral beauty after reading through the posts.

I think that's neat about the hippo's and the clowns, postie. Sounds like a circus though, lol.

A 120 is only 4' long? I don't remember tank dimensions worth a darn, there's just something about numbers..they don't want to stick in my head! The sides must be really tall...get your armpits wet when you clean the tank Kinesthesia I think you could probably keep a small Powder Blue in there for a while but I'd make sure that your upgrade was in the budget soon.

~Alice

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too! My specs: www.thereeftank.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000029.html

[Pik]

Kin,

Upgrade, yeah! hehe. I'm up to my last upgrade... I'm upgrading from a 40 to a 150 gallon. that's my limit. Don't think I wanna deal with another upgrade again.

[Kinesthesia]

Alice,
The 120 is 4'x2'x2', I bought mine because I couldn't pass on the deal and afterwards I read posts about it being the "perfect" reef tank because it's so wide at the bottom but I'll be happy to move to a 125... As for being too deep... it's funny because I never thought about it when I got it, but if I hadn't made the 4" sandbed, I'd have to shower to put my arm in !

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I was sure that anything this expensive and addicting was illegal... I keep waiting for the ATF to kick my door down and grab my protein skimmer...

My 120 Pseudo-Reef

[Drew]

If I could make a few suggestions...

Get either false or true percs. I have 2 of each and they can entertain me for hours! They have to most interesting behavior. Also, I only saw them mentioned once, but Banggai are also very cool fish. Mine have laid eggs twice, and I've only had them for about 5 months. Unfortunately, Mr. Banggai doesnt know how to carry eggs for more than 5 days I have read many times that these fish are nocturnal but have found the opposite to be true. They are always out! Just wanted to say that they are really great fish

BTW, regarding the Hippo tangs. I really love these fish, and really hope to care for one in the near future, but I fear that my tank will be too small. It will only be a 55 I know they get big, but how big? Too big for a 55?

Drew

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"Im learnding"
"Thats my sandbox, I can't go in the deep-end"

[Kinesthesia]

Drewman,
I think I'm sold on a pair of True Perc's and a pair of Banggai's for that matter.

Postie,
Thanks for the suggestion, but I've never been crazy about Blue/Regal tangs, I think mostly because I've never really seen one in good condition at any of my LFS'. They always seem beat up for some reason.

So... by the time I add a couple more Anthias, replace my big Maroon with a pair of True Perc's, add a pair of Banggai's... probably replace my Coral Beauty with a Pygmy... but you know what Dwarf Angel I really like? a Potter's... anyone have one ?

Anyway, let's say total: one Tang, one Dwarf Angel, a pair of Perc's, a pair of Banggai's, and some Anthias... at that point, I'll probably be looking at the smaller gobies, if anything at all. This has been very educational though, I really appreciate the input. I am still curious about the Potter's, now that I thought of it. And any other input anyone would care to add...

Thanks !

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I was sure that anything this expensive and addicting was illegal... I keep waiting for the ATF to kick my door down and grab my protein skimmer...

My 120 Pseudo-Reef

[tdwyatt]

Unfortunately, Mr. Banggai doesnt know how to carry eggs for more than 5 days I have read many times that these fish are nocturnal but have found the opposite to be true. They are always out! Just wanted to say that they are really great fish

Drewman,
The bangaii will do better with a commensurate relationship with a longspined black sea urchin (Diadema setosum) in which the fry, when expelled by the male, then settle into the spines of the urchin and are protected from both the parents and other fish in the tank. I would isolate the bangaii in a 30 long breeder tank and put the urchin (and plenty of live rock with coraline algae) in with plenty of alkalinity and calcium and adequate lighting to promote the growth of the coraline (this is what the urchin feeds on). I think there should be more info at the breeders reg.

Just thought you'd like to know.




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Tom <"{{{{>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato

[Kinesthesia]

Ok... so I'm looking at... replacing my Maroon with a pair of True Percula's and replacing my Coral Beauty with a Pymgy. I hope no one things I'm fickle, my fish purchases so far haven't been about what I wanted, but rather recommendations from my LFS.

Other future considerations are: Six line, Neon Goby, Firefish, and BiColor Blenny. I think I'll skip the Jawfish and the Lawnmower seems to have "3 for and 1 against".

I'd really like to re-visit my Powder Blue desire. I don't doubt anyone's opinion, but we are talking about drawing a fine line on "cruelty". I mean I watch a DVD I have of reefs and see Anthias schooling over a reef and then look at the little guy swimming in my 16 cubic foot box of water and feel a twinge of guilt. Balancing that out, of course, is my love for watching these fish in my little microcosm. I went to a LFS on my (seriously long) lunch today and saw three Powder Blues in little boxes of maybe a cubic foot of water. And then I think about who might purchase them, and what size tank the "average" person has. I spoke to the owner about this, including the responses here and he seemed sincere in telling me that while he would probably tend to agree, he said that they grow very slowly and that I could get a small one (which he did not have) and have it for quite some time. Any thoughts on that ?

(to everyone, esp Alice: thanks for not only making suggestions but explaining the traits that lead you to make them)

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I was sure that anything this expensive and addicting was illegal... I keep waiting for the ATF to kick my door down and grab my protein skimmer...

My 120 Pseudo-Reef

[Brooke]

Another cool fish that no one mentioned is the midas blenny. It's a really cool eel-like fish that darts in and out of rocks and seems pretty peaceful.
I've read where they only get to be 4" or so..but ours was about 6" long. I would only buy one locally, though, that way you can see that is is eating. I like true percs better than ocellaris as far as looks go. Also, if you like your coral beauty and it is behaving itself, then why get rid of it?? Speaking from experience, if you are going to get an ich prone tang like a powder blue or powder brown, please consider getting a UV sterilizer for the tank. We had a beautiful powder brown that got ill and eventually led to the demise of most of our fish. They are the most beautiful tangs, no doubt, but it seems quite hard to find a hardy one.

Brooke

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Help protect our reefs! Support companies that sell captive-bred and aquacultured products.

[Kinesthesia]

Well... I jumped the gun, as usual... and picked up a pair of Banggai's. But I'm still interested in this thread, because I want to add more fish in another month or so (I assume that's the usual waiting period).

No feedback on the Potter's Angel ?

What's the diff between a Flame Goby and a Firefish, other than a slight difference in appearance ?

I've still got the Pygmy, Clowns, Six line, etc floating around in my melon as candidates.

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I was sure that anything this expensive and addicting was illegal... I keep waiting for the ATF to kick my door down and grab my protein skimmer...

My 120 Pseudo-Reef

[Drew]

Tom-

Thanks for the advice. I have read a few articles where a "fake" urchin was used. Both methods seem to work well. The only spare tank I have available right now is a 20 gal breeder. Obviously this is smaller than a 30 gal breeder. Do you think this would work too? But there is another problem, this tank was once treated with copper, although I do have crabs and snails living in the tank so I don't think its that bad. I just don't know what copper would do to the eggs. Maybe when I get the case I'll go buy a new tank. Or maybe run a poly filter on the 20? What do you think? Thanks.

Drew

Also: What size tank does a hippo tang need?

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"Im learnding"
"Thats my sandbox, I can't go in the deep-end"

[fsa]

Kin, my two bits worth. If you are looking for a tang, a red sea sail fin is very nice. Just a slightly different color than the normal brown sailfins. I had one before I tore my tank down. I loved him. Reference your Coral Beauty and adding a second angel. Tom Neal in the July 2000 Marine Fish Monthly magazine details an article where he kept two separate angels (a flame and a bicolor) in the same 125 gallon reef. He stated he had plenty of live rock for hiding places and eventually they got where they tolerated each other and quit fighting. Just something else for you to maybe think about. Most people don't advise having a sand sifting gobie with sessile inverts and in DSB. Good luck on your decisions and enjoy.