What Type of Fish?

[The Saltwater Kid]

I just wondered what other types of fish to put in my tank? I like the really brightly colored ones but need them to grow no larger than 2 1/2" - 3". I've thought about a purple Firefish but Jason at Pet Advantage told me that they are very shy and hide a lot. I would like to have a total of 4 or 5 fish in my tank and need them all to get along and be peaceful with each other (which is why I will be getting rid of my Blue devil damsel soon...he is a little aggressive compared to my Flame Angel and Pecula Clown), gotta' have that good tank chemistry! Any idea's would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

[Tom Berry]

Hey Justin

Welcome to the GMR forum. An orchid dottyback is a great fish that doesn't grow larger than 3". See my earlier post.

Orchid Dottyback (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=175160)

Tom Berry

[The Saltwater Kid]

Thanks for the info Tom. That Orchid Dottyback is one beautiful fish! I'm going up to Pet Advantage tomorrow, maybe I'll order one. I unfortunately have had bad luck with Flame Angels...I've had two within the last week and a half and BOTH have died on me. The first one I had less than 12 hours before it died and the replacement I bought lasted 3 1/2 days before it started looking poor and was dead this morning. I've tested my water and it comes out good and my damsel and clown are looking good so I don't know what the heck is going on (but those Flame Angels ain't cheap). I'm going to stick with $25 and under fish for now :eek1:.

[fishfarmer]

I wonder where those flame angles are being collected from. I had a similar experience about two years ago. I had heard about several months prior to that, flame angles weren't surviving too well. I had heard this from Inland Reef Aquaria who stopped carrying them because of low survival rate. I wonder if this is still happening with flame angels in general.

[Tom Berry]

Justin,

flame angels generally don't do well in newly established tanks. A tank should be running for several months and have live rock with algae for it to graze on before one is added.

If you like the color of your blue devil damsel, you could swap him for a yellow tailed blue damsel. They are one of the less aggressive damsels.

There is a book called Marine Fishes by Scott Michael that I highly recommend. It contains one page profiles with photos of most of the available fish. It gives a hardiness rating for each one and information about diet, aggressiveness, compatibility with other fish and any special care requirements or considerations. I have attached a photo of the cover.

They have one or more store copies floating around at Pet Advantage that you can look at, but I would get your own copy. The $25 investment will save you money and grief over the long term.

Tom Berry:fish2: