What would be a good next fish?

[Dan Bee]

Hello everyone. I've had my 20 gal. tank set up for about a year and a half now and have only one Banggai Cardinal. I thought about mating the fish but can't tell the sex and don't want to risk it. I'd like to get another fish in there and would like your advice on what to get. I've tried unsuccessfully to keep a Royal Gramma because the Banggai was way too aggressive and thought the Gramma would do alright. What fish, if any, could I keep successfully with the Banggai? I was thinking a mated pair of Oscellaris Clowns (no anemone) or something that could hold it's own (no damsels of course). I definitely don't want to overload my tank. What do you think? Thanks!

 

[Jimmy G]

I think you should go with the Ocellaris clowns.You should be able to find captive bred specimens. If you get juveniles just pick 2 of them and they will eventually decide which will be male and which will be female.If they are older make sure you buy one that is smaller than the other. Good Luck

 

[scooterr]

How big is this cardnal? Most clowns wuold hold there own. Maybe try a single maroon clown instead of a pair of occelaris or perculas.
Either should work.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't know about cardinals or small tanks so I won't give any advice, but I just wanted to welcome you aboard!

 

[Dan Bee]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tangirl:
<strong>Don't know about cardinals or small tanks so I won't give any advice, but I just wanted to welcome you aboard!

</strong><hr></blockquote>

Thanks tangirl! I used to post as "Danny B" but I forgot my passowrd. Thanks everybody for the advice. It looks like I'm going to go with the Clowns. Not sure which species yet. I might go with the pair 'cause don't Maroons get really big? Thanks to all of everyone's help my tank has really improved over the last year and a half and so has my knowledge on the subject. I was about ready to ditch the whole thing. I'm glad I didn't!

 

[Anonymous]

Ask chucker to give you your old name back if you'd like. Then you'll get your posts ack as well.

 

[Anonymous]

P. fridimani would be my choice. Small, colorful, and rather peaceful. I have one in my 7 gallon nano here at work.
Cheers
Jim

 

[Dan Bee]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JimM:
<strong>P. fridimani would be my choice. Small, colorful, and rather peaceful. I have one in my 7 gallon nano here at work.
Cheers
Jim</strong><hr></blockquote>

Hey Jim,

I'm trying to find out what P. fridimani is without any luck. Please give me a common name if possible.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[aakks]

Pseudochromis fridmani is an "orchid dottyback".

You should have lots of luck searching for that.

Peter

 

[pez]

Reefkeeping.com has an article on dottybacks in the Feb issue. They cover p. fridmani and others. I would recommend you get a tank raised one though. They are generally cheaper than the wild caught ones .

-Tom

 

[FishDaddy]

Dan,
I go along with the 2 Percula/Ocellaris. Captive bred or tank raised is the way to go. I love my Okies! As Jimmy mentioned, getting two juveniles and letting them grow into a pair works and is another interesting phenomenon to observe. Watching to see which one will be the Boss Gal is fun.

I've not heard of any territorial issues between Cardinals and Perks or Okies, but Maroons are certainly more agressive.
A new addition is always a tense moment; fish don't always follow the script!

Here is an excellent article by J. Charles Delbeek on fish suitable for small aquariums:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/library/articleview.asp?Section=&RecordNo=267
Dick

 

[M.E.Milz]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr> P. fridimani would be my choice. Small, colorful, and rather peaceful. I have one in my 7 gallon nano here at work.
Cheers
Jim <hr></blockquote>

That would have been my suggestion as well. Any of the dottybacks would be a good choice. Please note, however, that P. fridimani is very similar in appearence to the strawberry basslet (sorry, don't know the scientific name). The fridmani has a more cylindrical body, a dorsel fin that runs the full length of the body, and a better disposition (and of course, is twice the money - around $40 vs. $20 for the other).

Another good choice would be a yellow, green and black stripped fang blenny (one of my favorites).

 

[M.E.Milz]

Yellow or green clown gobies are also pretty neat.

 

[yabby]

I have

1 Cardinal (medium size female, which killed the larger male I added to keep her company , only the second fish I have ever lost.. bummer)

It gets on well with:
1) Powder Blue Tang
2) Hippo Tang
3) Queen Angel
4) Flame Angel
5) 6-line wrasse
6) Mated Pair of Maroon clowns


I would not try 1)-3) with your smaller tank,
I would suggest on my experience
4)-6). The wrasse has a neat personality but the flame (i think) is the best looking. The clowns have the most interesting interaction with their
environment once they find a host.

The clowns use a green tree soft coral as their host. They are seriously in love with that soft coral, which stands up well to their abuse.

PS The only other fish I have lost was a cleaner wrasse which someone (perhaps the cardinal) attacked and inflicted a fatal bite. The cleaner was a wonderful fish but I would not go there again.

 

[VESKAS]

Dwarf angel.....flame or lemonpeel. I had both with banggai cardinals & no problem!

 

[Modo]

In a 20g I would recommend staying small. One pair that I have always found as interesting to watch as much as clown/anemones is the gobie/pistol shrimp symbiont (sp?)

You must have at least 2-3in sandbed for the shrimp to dig a cave under you LR. Once established and they become secure in your tank watching them cruise around together in front of their hole is awesome. The shrimp never takes an antennea off the gobie.

Check out this link for more info on species and some FAQs.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shrimpgobies.htm