Smallest Schooling Fish

[sschafer]

Hi All,

I'd like to a school of fish to my 120 in the future, but I'd prefer to go with something a little different than Chromis. I also don't want the school to have a dramatic impact on the bioload of my tank. Any ideas on what other very small fish would work? I have seen some photos of Japanese tanks with small Cardinals that were almost all silver. If there isn't anything smaller than Chromis that would work I would consider some anthias, but is a 120 big enough for a small school of them?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[LFS42]

Firefish school pretty good.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
I don't feel firefishes school well. They seem to stay in the same spot, even in group. Schooling means they go around the tank, right???

There are a few smaller fishes that school well. However, because they are not common, it is very difficult to get importer to send them here. Charlie DeVito and others had mentioned a few smaller fish that I would like to try to see if they will school well in captivity, but after a few years, I never heard anything about them except a pic or two.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I always respond to these threads with Apogon leptacanthus! Nice small schooling fish. They don't always show up at the LFS but you can order them.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
That's one of the fishes that I feel will be great for schooling. Who does, and how much?

 

[ChrisIsBored]

They're listed here 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I was lucky enough to stumble across em at my LFS for around $20 ea. I was at a reef store and was told they could order them, for that price or a bit more. Sorry, thats all the specifics I have.

 

[Modo]

Here is a pic and a small description of the Apogon leptacanthus....
http://www.reefimages.com/cgi-reefimage ... =A9633.jpg

Here is what Bob Fenner states about them off his website...
Apogon leptacanthus Bleeker 1856-57, Threadfin Cardinalfish. Indo-Pacific including the Red Sea. To a little over two inches in length. Found in dense school in the wild. This group in a friends aquarium.

Here is the link to that page...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cardinal.htm

I couldn't find any dealers except for the link above to Walt's who is only a wholesaler (as far as I know). I'm interested in this as well so I went ahead and posted the above info. Thanks Dan for the rec.

 

[sschafer]

Dan,

Which store had them? I haven't seen them in Rochester, but then again I really have not been looking very hard. How many did you get and do they stay in a relatively nice tight school? I removed all of the fish in my tank recently (except for the unfortunate death of my Z. desjardinii ) and have started building the fish community from scratch. The only fish in there now are a pair of Lineatus fairy wrasses and a Mueller's butterfly. I wouldn't think that any of these fish would be very agressive towards a small school.

Thanks for the info,

Steve

I was lucky enough to stumble across em at my LFS for around $20 ea. I was at a reef store and was told they could order them, for that price or a bit more. Sorry, thats all the specifics I have.

 

[Anonymous]

Eddies in Latham (near albany)

I wanted 5 but ended up with 3. They had em in with a trigger...

 

[Anonymous]

Why not just get some small chromises or bannagai cardinals(who may reproduce). I'm gonna add six green chromises to my 125.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, the original poster was looking for something a little different. I don't think bangaii make good schooling fish as adults, however.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think bangaii make good schooling fish as adults, however.

They don't, I wish fish stores would stop displaying juvie banggai in groups, because it makes people think you can keep them that way. Put 5 banggai in a 125, once they start to hit sexual maturity, you will end up with a pair, and the other males will be killed or driven into the overflow. I suppose you could keep a group of females in a large tank, but good luck figuring out who is who!

I have tried to use my 90 to see if I could reduce the risk involved in establishing pairs, thinking the additional room would be enough of a buffer from fishie violence, but no luck. I still had to pull mangled fish out after a day of them getting to know each other.

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe a small grouping of Chalk Basslets(Serranus tortugarum).

 

[ChrisIsBored]

Maybe a small grouping of Chalk Basslets(Serranus tortugarum).

Some added info I found on these....

Serranus tortugarum is one of the smallest members of the sea bass family (Serranidae sp.). They're from the Caribbean, and attain a maximum length of 3", although I rarely see specimens much larger then 2" in captivity.

They're planktonivores, and live in small aggregations in the wild. Like most members of this family, they're true hermaphrodites. A pecking order is established, and the dominant specimen becomes the male (much like anthias).

They spend the majority of their existence close to the substrate, and seldom venture far from the sandbed/rocks.

A moderately hardy species, on par with some of the hardier anthias species. Feed often with fatty/meaty foods. 2-4 times a day is preferable. Live foods (eg artemia "brine shrimp") may be needed to initiate captive feeding.

 

[ChrisIsBored]

Orangestriped Cardinalfish
Apogon cyanosoma

These guys might be a good pick too...

EDIT:

from Scott Michaels Pocket guide....

One of the most ubiquitous cardinalfishes in the marine aquarium trade, in part because it is very colorful and hardy. It is a bolder species than some others in this family, spending much of its time in the open. By its nature, it usually does not move far from cover. Best kept in small groups of five to seven individuals, all of which should be introduced to the tank simultaneously

 

[trigger0214]

Does anyone have any experience with fire damsels? I am using some to cycle a new fish only aquairum for the mrs. I like them because they are active and wouldmake good dither fish in my 125 gallon reef. I am worried about how they will behave in my reef once they get bigger. They are about 1/2 inch right now....I've seen refernces saying they get as big 4 inches! I have also come accros some info. statin g they turn more brown and black when they get older. There is nothing particulalry small in the 125... 2 3-4 inch swallowtail angels, neon dottyback, 2 perculas, a chevron tang, and a small royal blue tang. Any thoughts?

 

[npaden]

Apogon leptacanthus are commonly known as Blue Eyed Cardinals in the trade. I've seen them available for $5 - $10 retail at local stores.

Your LFS might not know what a Apogon leptacanthus is but they should be able to see Blue Eyed Cardinals on their wholesale lists.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[Anonymous]

Good point. Watch out however, as there is a beautiful but much larger cardinal (ochre-striped?) with a brilliant blue eye.

By the way, mine have started displaying to each other- I think they're in the mood....

 

[Bobzarry]

IME Fire damsels grow rather quickly, lose all of the brilliant coloring and become a rather ugly grayish brown, they will also become extremely territorial, choosing a large territory (the whole tank in some cases) and harass any other fish it can bully to the point of its demise.


Bob