Talk to me about fish (inverts will be later) :wink:

[chorn74]

OK all you reefers, give me a good number and types of fish for a 58 Gal reef tank with a 10 or 20 gal sump.

I was thinking about (1) manderian Goby,(1) yellow Tang,(1) clown,
(1) Blue damsel,and im not quite sure what else yet.

give me your favorites! but I want to keep the fish as peaceful as possible but i want good color and I would like to see them at least some part of the day. :wink:

I know the damsel is a pain in the rear end (sometimes called the devil fish) lol

but give me your best list. The above list is open for change
the only (2) I will not give up on is the Goby and the yellow tang.

all Ideas are welcome!

Thanks,

-John

 

[ricky1414]

I hear the Tang police coming!!! Might be a little small for the tang, I wouldnt venture keeping a Tang in anything less than 100-120 gallons. I have always fancied Blackcap Basslets. Gobies are cool too, but your Mandarin will need copious amounts of pods or he will starve to death. Many cannot get them to eat frozen or flake.

 

[Anonymous]

Let your tank mature some time before investing in a Mandarin fish...I believe IMO that a 58gal could easily support a mandarin BUT only if you allow the tank to mature...with you not giving up on the Tang, be prepared to be chastised...a nice fairy wrasse or basslet would be a nice addition to that tank...a pair of clowns, maybe skunks or tomatos..(everyone has maroons,clarks and ocellaris/perculas)..Firefish are pretty, especially once they adapt and become familiar with their home...Even some of the Pygme angel fish are worth looking into

 

[hillbilly]

You won't give up on the mandarin or tang? Well, good luck to you then, they may or may not live long. Firefish,basslets, 6line, clowns, and others would be much better choices.

 

[hdtran]

Take a picnic paper plate and hold it next to your tank. That will be the grown size of a yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), which is one of the smaller tangs (about 8" adult size).

The yellow tailed blue damsel is a very nice looking fish. Mine is actually very peaceful (contrary to reputation).

As for the mandarin dragonet, you'll need at least 100# of well-aged LR and/or a separate refugium to grow pods for it, but if you're willing to go the distance, that's great. Check out what wetwebmedia has to say about mandarin dragonets.

Ditto LordNikon's recommendation for firefish & pygmy angels. Pseudochromis are very colorful with engaging personalities, as are royal grammas. You might also think about a school of chromis.

 

[Anonymous]

good call, forgot psuedochromis

 

[chorn74]

HI all,

everything I read says that a yellow tang needs a 30 Gal tank or larger so I thought a 58 Gallon would be fine. That kinda upsets me that a 58 is to small I really wanted a yellow tang. I belive they are one of the best looking fish out there.

-john

 

[HClH2OFish]

I would think a 30gal might be fine for a baby but only temporarily. Tangs like to swim and need longer tanks IIRC....Can someone from the tang police verify for me please?

I never believe anything I read about designated tank sizes for any fish...I get on here and ask You get the benefit from others experiences as well..

As for the mandarin, they are *great* little fish, but they do need a nicely established reef system with lots of pods to do well in. I learned the hard way with a Scooter Blenny

For fish lists, I've always loved the dwarf angels and firefish...maybe one of the smaller wrasses as well....

And fireshrimp! Gotta have the fireshrimp

Peace

 

[Dubge]

I got lucky when I picked up my Scooter, it took to frozen mysis right away. If I had known back then I would have never bought it

 

[drywallguy29]

Excellent input now my thougts :wink: . Please be aware if your mandarin gets sick it can starve to death during quarintine speaking from experience,what a bummer that was . In fact I swore I would never have another fish I was unable to medicate/quarintine due to possible starvation. However they are still some of the most interesting and beautiful fish for the reef. When I had my 110# I setup a rock garden/refugium behind my rock face just by using small pieces of rubble large shells ect. So my critters could multiply in peace without the mandarins predidation because they can eat. My wife loves them and I have actually thought about putting one in my 150 even against my better judgement. Being my sons six now maybe he won't pour an entire bottle of lotion in the sump again. Good reefing

 

[HClH2OFish]

Being my sons six now maybe he won't pour an entire bottle of lotion in the sump again. Good reefing

Did you put *him* into quarantine? :lol: :lol:

 

[drywallguy29]

All I can say is I know how my father felt when I washed the car with rocks something about karmac retribution hum.............................. good reefing

 

[krullulon]

i love the debates about tangs.

from the hundreds of things i've read about minimum spaces for yellow tangs long-term (as opposed to the much larger tangs), the closest thing to consensus seems to be 6 feet of length -- which loosely translates into a 180g 6ftx2ftx2ft. anything smaller than that and eventually the tang will outgrow it.

however, that doesn't mean that a 58g won't be able to hold a smaller tang for a while -- you'd just need to be vigilant about watching for signs of cramping as it grew (e.g., racing behavior) and committed to finding it a new home when it outgrew your tank size.

i'm actually of the opinion that if you can commit to the above that it's not a bad thing for an experienced, dedicated aquarist to foster a tang for a year and then give a healthy adult to someone with a larger system -- if you take excellent care of a juvenile tang for a year, then that's a healthy, strong fish that might not have made it in the system of someone less capable or conscientious.

but you do need to be committed to making sure that it finds the right home when it's outgrown your system.

 

[Anonymous]

Yup..ditto to what krullulon says. A nice yellow will good great in that tank.
~wings~