Help me stock a fish only 40 gallon with unique fish...

[Anonymous]

I want a mystery wrasse and a potter's angel. That much is for sure. I was thinking a ventralis anthias or lineatus fairy wrasse but both get too big for a 40 gallon tank....
What else would be kind of different to put in this tank? Would an 8 lined wrasse get along with a mystery wrasse? A pair of orchid dottybacks comes to mind as good tankmates, or maybe a flame hawk...

 

[liquid]

Orchid dottybacks are pretty kew and if you get a pair you might be able to breed them.

Shane

 

[DOGMAI]

They are impossible to find but you should get a Megladon. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I suspect that the mystery might not get along with the 8lined, but no personal experience.

I had an orchid dottyback in a 65 and it was a good citizen; elegant fish.
If you want something a bit more unusual the P. elongata I just got from TMC is really cool, altho it has stayed pretty hidden most of the time so far.

The Ventralis I have seen have all been quite small, they look great in person. Very dayglo. I have a fathead anthias that is great but probably would be too bossy in a smaller tank.

Whats the rep on Potters in a reef?

 

[Len]

Any other Pseudocheilinus isn't going to get along with your Mystery (ask NKT ) so I say avoid putting congenors in your tank. A Ventralis should fit a 40 gallon just fine; they don't grow very large and don't swim very much. Just make sure to keep it constantly fed. A fathead/sunburst anthias has always been one of my favs too.

If you don't mind hiding fish, Liopropomas are nice. These basslets are small, unaggressive, and colorful.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, OK maybe I'll consider a ventralis then. I've never had an anthias before, so maybe I shouldn't start with such a hard one. As far as I understand, though, I should add it first, feed frequently, have lots of hiding spaces, and have the tank dimly lit, yeah? Any other considerations specific to this particular anthias I should be thinking of?

The potter's shouldn't be a problem. I have a virtually endless supply of macroalgae even if I can't wean it to prepared foods.

I think the mystery wrasse, the potter's angel, and the anthias would probably be it for the tank....unless you guys know a smaller fairy or flasher wrasse I could add. Thanks for the replies!

 

[Anonymous]

IMO, Scott Michaels recommendations that certain species do better in dimly-lit tanks probably has some merit, but isn't a critical issue. At least, with the species I'm familiar with. My fathead hangs out directly under 900 watts of halide and appears to like it; there are plenty of shady spots it could go to....

That might be enough to start with, but flasher wrasses are cool. I went with a pair of those instead of fairies because I like mostly small fish. They are doing great.

Are potters supposed to be reef safe, or with what you are planning?

 

[Anonymous]

Matt - no idea what the common name is but C. rubiventralis is a type of fairy wrasse I saw the other day in a LFS and it's absolutely gorgeous.

Also maybe consider one of the small colorful blennies, I have a red spotted blenny which is really cool. This link from foster and smith doesn't do the fish justice:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... &pCatId=89

 

[Anonymous]

You know, I saw some of those in the LFS the other day and was stunned by them. I Len's article on fairy wrasses I think he calls them on of the "less colorful" species.....?

Blennies, and gobies also. There are so many cool gobies.

 

[Anonymous]

A flasher wrasse pair would be a cool addition as well, but it may be pushing it for bioload. This will be a FO, so the potter's isn't a concern. I may add mushrooms or polyps for looks, but this tank will be centered around the fish. I take it everyone thinks the lineatus wrasse will get too big?

 

[Anonymous]

Matt was such a noob. ;-)

 

[Anonymous]

Ha! I moved some sevengill sharks into a big tank and fed some Mola mola this week. Kinda crazy how much life has changed. Thanks for the flashback. :mrgreen:

 

[Anonymous]

Nice walk down memory lane.

 

[Anonymous]

I would have told myself to stick with the wrasse and the angel and leave it at that.

 

[Anonymous]

I'be been going through my own old posts from the past to rediscover opinions I used to have but forgot in my years off from reefkeeping. :lol: