Need interesting things for clients to watch

[Rhetoric]

I'm finally getting to the point where I can begin adding some different things to my tank.

It is in my office reception area for my clients to view while they wait for their appointment. My first priority with this tank is to keep it in the best possible condition and quality I can. My second priority is for my clientele to be entertained.

I now have a Sixline Wrasse and a Cleaner Shrimp. Both of these "do things". The Sixline is constantly zipping in and our of holes in the live rock and the Shrimp is entertaining just standing there being himself.

I was hoping for some suggestions on fish/crabs/shrimp/coral/whatever that will "do something" and not always hide of just sit there. My clients don't get to stare into the tank for hours like I do to watch everything. They need immediate gratification.

I almost got a Diamond Watchmen Goby after seeing him at the LFS because of the cool stuff he does with the substrate, but then the guy there said they could unbalance my LR if it was not on the floor of the tank (which it isn't).

So, what do you think? What are some reef-safe species that are interesting to watch almost any time? (especially during the day)

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

What about a blenny? I have a midus (sp?) and I love their personality. They swim very gracefully and back themselves into holes in the rock. Very entertaining.

I have a diamond goby and he hasn't unbalanced my rock work. He does dig underneath but not enough to topple anything over. JMO

 

[mr_X]

i just bought a percula clown and he is cool to watch!
not to mention ....he's ....nemo

 

[Anonymous]

Get an anenome that is already hosting a small clown or two, that seems to get the most attention from my friends of all the stock in my tank...

 

[DaGoldenChild]

my feather dusters get alot of attention and my new anemone seems to be the life of the party now

 

[SnowManSnow]

Xenia.

people LOVE xenia (if you're doing corals I mean)

they also like crabs and snails.

haha i know there are MUCH more interesting and expensive things in my home tank, but when I have a visitor, they always point out the xenia and say "hey there are crabs in there!"

I think the thing to remember is that this tank will be mostly for NON reefers They don't know and dont care what most of the stuff is..

UNLESS maybe you put a picture of all the stuff over the aquarium with a description... oooo.. cool idea.

b

 

[gate]

my Green Star Polyps gets the most. they can't seem to get over its neon green coloration and how it waves like grass. and then they see my Manadrin fish.

my acroporas and other sps' tend to disappear in the background to them. if only they knew...

 

[Rhetoric]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. We are setup to have coral so the Xenia might be an interesting option as far as coral goes. I hear people talk about it all the time but am still not sure what it is. Will have to do some research.

Clownfish w/anemone is required I believe just to entertain the kids that come in if nothing else.

SnowManSnow also suggested having pics above the aquarium. I actually have a "flip book" hanging on the tank with pics and information about everything in the tank to date. I wasn't sure how much it would be used but I see clients flipping through all the time while peering into the tank. So hopefully they're getting educated too!

I may look into a Mandarin in the future but I understand they need a tank that's been around for 6-12 months, so that will have to wait. Will look into the Green Star Polyps though.

Thanks again for the input. Feel free to include any other fish or coral that does interesting things, moves a lot, or is striking in appearance.

 

[fishinsouthga]

bi color blenny, shes my favorite, or maybe the clowns, oh the cheap school of blue green chromis are fun too, but i like the scooter beeny too, i dunno could be the xenia...

 

[Rhetoric]

So I was looking into Xenia and upon reviewing some pictures, I wonder if I have a small colony growing in my tank already. I just got some new live rock about a month ago and there was a patch of brown on one of the rocks that was unremarkable when we put it in. However, over the past month, a small colony of feathery brown things has appeared. They seem to grow everyday and are getting prettier all the time.

I was worried they were aiptasia at first but they weren't acting like the aiptasia I've seen in other tanks in that it appeared to be a colony of something. After reading some I counted their "arms" and found they have 8 like the descriptions I found said about Xenia. So maybe I got a patch of Xenia as a hitchhiker on the LR? That's awesome if it is.

I think I will definitely get a blenny of some sort next week and follow up with an anemone and a pair of clowns a bit later.

All the blennies I've seen at the store kind of scoot around the bottom. Is this what all of them do? I've seen several varieties mentioned here and elsewhere (Midas, Bicolor, Scooter, Red-Lipped). Would one of these species "perform" better for clients than another or are they just all different?

Thanks again for all your posts! You've been a great help.

 

[Anonymous]

The scooter and midas don't perform the same. The scooter is named for that reason. It scoots everywhere. Entertaining.

I have a midas. Swim very gracefully. They will find a hole in the rock work and back themselves in tail first and all you see is the head. It's quite funny.

I also have peppermint shrimp (i'm from Louisiana) and visitors think it's crawfish.

 

[fishinsouthga]

my bi color is a great fish probably the most entertaining, always looks like its on a mission eating roamer jumping from rock to rock