Reef safe fish list?

[BaaMNYC]

Hello everyone, Im pretty new to manhattan reef. A couple of friends recommended i join and im looking forward to talking to experienced hobbyist.

I am looking for recommendations for reef safe fish. I know the clowns, and tangs, gobys are reef safe for the most part. I was wondering if anyone had experiences of some of the more beautiful looking fish being reef safe.

 

[Pedro Nuno Ferreira]

Hello everyone, Im pretty new to manhattan reef. A couple of friends recommended i join and im looking forward to talking to experienced hobbyist.

I am looking for recommendations for reef safe fish. I know the clowns, and tangs, gobys are reef safe for the most part. I was wondering if anyone had experiences of some of the more beautiful looking fish being reef safe.

Hi and welcome to MR

The best way to help you is by comenting a list of your fish preferences

So you should choose the possible fishes you would like to have and we can comment both as far as reef safe and also to the size of your tank ... so please tell us what is your tank size and volume...

In the mean time here are some non-reef safe fishes:

Pomacanthus xanthometapon - Blue Face Angel fish

The majority of Chaetodons - Butterfly fish

The majority of Balistidae - Trigger fish

and there are many more, but please present us your list of fish you would like and it will be more easy and direct to comment and help you

Pedro Nuno

 

[BaaMNYC]

thanks for replying pedro! what i currently have. is a 110 tall with about 180 lb of live rock. a lt anemone, true clown, one blue hippo tang, and one yellow tang and some corals. not sure of the names of them. soft corals and xenia tree.

as for a list of fish I am interested in.
leopard toby?
sailfin tang?
Koran Angelfish or a fish that looks similiar?
sailfin tang? i heard that i shouldnt have too many tangs.
are their any butterfly fish that are reef safe?

 

[jaa1456]

The Koran is not considered reef safe. If you want an angel you will have to go with the Pygmy varities to be safer, but there is no such thing as a truly reef safe angel. I had a Flame in my reef that was fine and one day started picking. I have a cherub in there now and no problems. A 110 tall is not an ideal tank for a sailfin as they get pretty big.

 

[Pedro Nuno Ferreira]

thanks for replying pedro! what i currently have. is a 110 tall with about 180 lb of live rock. a lt anemone, true clown, one blue hippo tang, and one yellow tang and some corals. not sure of the names of them. soft corals and xenia tree.

as for a list of fish I am interested in.
leopard toby?
sailfin tang?
Koran Angelfish or a fish that looks similiar?
sailfin tang? i heard that i shouldnt have too many tangs.
are their any butterfly fish that are reef safe?

Hi

Forget the Canthigaster leoparda - leopard toby ... it is not at all reef safe
Forget the Zebrasoma desjardinii - sailfin tang, because although it is regarded as reef safe, as mentioned, your system is to small for it, and has for having many tangs, well not really unless you have a really large system. Ctenochaetus strigosus could be a good choice.
Forget the Pomacanthus semicirculatus - Koran Angel - as mentioned it is not reef safe and grows to large for your system.
As for the butterfly fish well Chelmon rostratus (Copperband buterfly fish) or the Forcipiger flavescens are good possibilities ...

Pedro Nuno

 

[BaaMNYC]

pedro

Ctenochaetus strigosus, Chelmon rostratus , Forcipiger flavescens .

they all look great. ill look into those and see if they are right for my tank. thanks alot

 

[OOtzie]

Look at fairy wrasses they are small and they come in tons of color variants. Check out liveaquaria.com for you fish info needs

 

[LatinP]

Hi and welcome to MR

The best way to help you is by comenting a list of your fish preferences

So you should choose the possible fishes you would like to have and we can comment both as far as reef safe and also to the size of your tank ... so please tell us what is your tank size and volume...

In the mean time here are some non-reef safe fishes:

Pomacanthus xanthometapon - Blue Face Angel fish

The majority of Chaetodons - Butterfly fish

The majority of Balistidae - Trigger fish

and there are many more, but please present us your list of fish you would like and it will be more easy and direct to comment and help you

Pedro Nuno

Triggerfish are NOT considered reef safe at all, with the exception of maybe one or two the majority will cause problems in one way or another.

 

[marrone]

You want to stay away for the Copperband Butterfly, as even though they're reef safe they have a terrible tracking record, and should really only be keep by experts, and even then you'll find most die.

Any of the tang in the Ctenochaetus family will be good additions, the problem is your tank isn't that large, and you have quite a bite of LR, which cuts down on the space in the tank. You already have a Hippo & Yellow tang, so you really shouldn't be looking to add anymore tangs. You should probably look at the some of the reef safe wrasse, like the fairy wrasses, Gobies and Blennies. Also a Pygmy Angel will work, something a long the line of a Flame Angel, but, as stated above, there really isn't any reef safe Angels.

 

[Pedro Nuno Ferreira]

pedro

Ctenochaetus strigosus, Chelmon rostratus , Forcipiger flavescens .

they all look great. ill look into those and see if they are right for my tank. thanks alot

Hi

You asked about which fish were not reef safe and we told you some examples, you also asked of some which could be alternatives and we told you..., but you did not tell us about your experience and husbandry so before you buy such fish, and you should not buy them all as your system is not big enough and you could end up with more than it and you can handle, tell us about your experience and husbandry you presently do to keep your system in good condition.
Example, if you buy a Chelmon rostratus, the Copperband buterfly fish, you should know that it can be quite difficult to keep and you should have some experience with finicky eating fish ... you have to study each fish habits and learn from the experiences of success so that you can be ready before hand for what you might have to deal with, the same goes for corals, etc.... Also if successful with any of the fish mentioned above, you have to remember that they will grow and in doing so they will increase the biological load of your system and unless you and the system are ready to deal with that, problems may be experienced. So please plan carefully. The same goes for invertebrates ... example, anemone's should not be kept if at least the lay-out is not set in such way that they do not touch other invertebrates such as Acropora corals for example, because if they do touch them, they might destroy them and anemones do move from time to time and could do so, also feeding anemones might put more biological load in your system than what it can handle ... this is just an example but there are many more like having non photosynthetic corals mixed with some delicate corals such as Acropora, etc... the basic food needs of non-photosynthetic corals demand heavy feeding which in turn will put heavy organic load in the system and if the system and you are not prepared for such, it will have problems and so will the corals that demand very low organic load, so it is not a good combination in a closed system and also non-photosynthetic corals do require different and demanding conditions and a considerable experience from the person that keeps them ... Basically one has to plan ahead what one wants and what one can deal with according to experience, life style, what the system can handle.
Again, please tell us about your experience and present husbandry as well as your system equipment ... and what is your plan or idea for your system... from that we can help you to adjust and prepare, and then you do the purchasing, etc...

Pedro Nuno

 

[BaaMNYC]

pedro, actually my question what specific fish other than the types i mentioned WERE reef safe. not the opposite and my response did state that i was going to look into them before deciding on a purchase to ensure i can handle the responsibility. I appreciate your concern.

my experience is limited, i have been in the hobby for only approximately 6 months but i prefer to do as much research as possible to find out exactly what needs to be done prior to any purchase. I know to take it slowwwwwww.

My equipment consists of a coralife skimmer 220g, 3 koralia evolution 750 powerheads (purchasing a koralia evolution 1400 soon), 4 bulb t5 lights (purchasing ati bulbs soon), 40G eshopps sump, 1/10 hp chiller, & spectrapure ro/di unit.

I test my water with both test kits (saltwater and reef) every sunday, and top off every other day. i feed my fish alternating between formula 2 flakes , frozen brine shrimp, omega one marine flakes, and feed my anemone frozen prawn once a week.

im only planning getting photosynthetic corals. but im taking it slow.

any advice would be appreciated.

 

[LatinP]

pedro, actually my question what specific fish other than the types i mentioned WERE reef safe. not the opposite and my response did state that i was going to look into them before deciding on a purchase to ensure i can handle the responsibility. I appreciate your concern.

my experience is limited, i have been in the hobby for only approximately 6 months but i prefer to do as much research as possible to find out exactly what needs to be done prior to any purchase. I know to take it slowwwwwww.

My equipment consists of a coralife skimmer 220g, 3 koralia evolution 750 powerheads (purchasing a koralia evolution 1400 soon), 4 bulb t5 lights (purchasing ati bulbs soon), 40G eshopps sump, 1/10 hp chiller, & spectrapure ro/di unit.

I test my water with both test kits (saltwater and reef) every sunday, and top off every other day. i feed my fish alternating between formula 2 flakes , frozen brine shrimp, omega one marine flakes, and feed my anemone frozen prawn once a week.

im only planning getting photosynthetic corals. but im taking it slow.

any advice would be appreciated.

You forgot to mention what size tank you have.

 

[BaaMNYC]

its a 110 Tall AGA with about 180 lb of LR