Adding another fish

[marquesalan]

I have a 72 gallon saltwater tank with 40lbs of live rock, one yellow tang, one bird wrasse, one maroon clownfish and one coral beauty.
I want to add one more very colorful fish. Any suggestions? I would like to get a regal (blue) tang but I am not sure how the bird wrasse would react.
Also I would like to know if anyone can tell me what a good deitrus eater for my tank would be. I was thinking some kind of star fish.

[Charles Poole]

If the Bird Wrasse is a bit on the pugnacious side, then I would suggest being carefull in purchasing a healthy and active Regal Tang. By "blue" I assume it is the Same Tang as depicted in "Finding Nemo".

Serpeant stars will eat detritus, and have a history of not being fish eaters. Brittle stars are more likely to capture fish when they get larger.

[Macbeth417]

You not only have the bird wrasse to worry about, I would be more concerned about the yellow tang. If you didn't already have the Tang and the coral beauty in there I would have said a flame angle. This is a perfect example of why you should plan far ahead on your stock list and add according to territoriality, aggresion and dietary need in relation to tank age. Let us know what you get and how it goes. Perhaps you have distrupt the enviroment by turning off lights and moving some stuff around before you add the Blue.

-Erik

[ryan]

check out a flame angel, they're very cool looking fish imo

Yes I Also Think The Flame Angel Is An Awesome Fish

[blackangler]

well i am assuming you dont have a reef(the chochlat chip star) so i would go with a black and whick henoicious(sp) butterfly fish. or a long nose butterfly fish. you my also want to look at the various species of anthais.

Good luck,

william tyson

[H3R0]

go go yellow watchmans!!! i have a pair that are great, or maybe some jaws i have a gold speckle thats alot of fun... so much stuff so lil time

[blackangler]

go on to .www.liveaquaria.com and find some choices, then we may be able to help you narrow them down.

[marquesalan]

Can I add a second angel if I already have a Coral Beauty? I thought angels are aggressive toward each other? In the meantime I have added 5 yellow tailed blue damsels. They seem pretty non-aggressive for being damsels. Is it still safe to add the Flame Angel or am I overcrowding the tank?

Now That You Added The Damsels I Don't Think You Will Be Able To Get Another Angel

[blackangler]

get those damsels out :shock:

they are the devil.

i am worning you now that you will wish you had taken them out when they get larger and start to attack you other fish.

[Zack]

Aren't the yellow tail the not so mean ones when it comes to damsels?? I mean if they are small enough they will learn whos boss right?

The Meanest Damsels Are The Domino Ones But The Yellow Tail Damsels Can And Will be Mean

[marquesalan]

Well, I had my damsels in a QT tank and they died so I back to ground zero.
Can I get a Flame Angel now? Even with a coral beauty

[mjc]

Your mile may vary when it comes to keeping same genera's (eg., two centropyges) in the tank. I've seen coral beautys and flames nip at each other when kept in a 150G and I've seen them co-habitat without a problem in a smaller tank.

Furthering this, I've kept two junior Pomacanthus genera's (emperor and koran) in a 150 without incident. However, I currently have a Holocanthus (blue) that would occassionally chase a Euxiphipops (blue face).

Removing damsels can be a PIA especially if you have a lot of LR. Short of removing the LR, someone I know with a reef tank dropped in a lionfish and within a few days, the damsels were gone. :| The lionfish is reef safe, adds to the beauty of the tank and is large enough so removing it won't be difficult ...but keeping any small reef fish would be a problem.

[marquesalan]

So, you are suggesting a dwarf lionfish? What about Pseudochromis like a Dotty Back? I am only worried about the Bird wrasse. I think the maroon clown, tang and coral beauty will be o.k. I just want one more colorful fish. Any other suggestions?

Go With The Lionfish.

[marquesalan]

Are there different colored ones. The black and white one looks so drab.

[Zack]

I have seen red and white, dwarf would be good for your tank. As the volitan may outgrow it. I know many people who are big fans of thier lion fish. Just try to get him to eat frozen food.

[mjc]

Not suggesting a dwarf lionsfish, IMO, they're not as cool as the Volitans. The black and white volitans can be drab when compared to other reef fish, unless however, you find one that's pure black and white. Otherwise they're more brownish and white. The red ones are nice, there are times they change to a very dark red, almost black, color when provoked.

Getting lions to eat frozen takes patience and training. Wean them from live food and onto frozen silversides first and then you're OK. My volitan stays on a diet of frosen silversides, krill, and the occassional squid, all soaked in Selcon or Zoe.

WRT dottybacks, there are some that are just as bad as damsels. I dont recall the exact name, but I had to remove one (dark blue and orange) from someone's tank cause it harassed to no end, others in their tank. The dottyback was placed into another tank with groupers, puffers and lions. Consequently, it has changed it's attitude. This was another incident with a pink / red dottyback which took a fairly good sized damsel in its mouth and bashed it on some rocks.

[mjc]

Charles and Erik are on the right track. Plan your livestock accordingly and you should not have any problems. The bird wrasse, IME, have been pugnatious and even attacked a stars and stripe puffer (6" BW vs. 16" S&SP!!). Are you planning on keeping a reef? Any plans for additional LR? How many # of LS do you have? What type of filtration are you using?

re: comment on angelfish (which applies to others). Generally you cannot mix specimens from the same genera (sp?) eg., no flames, coral beauty's, pygmies together or imperator and annularis, etc. HOWEVER, some folks (me included) have and had success, but only if you have a large enough tank to house them in, provide ample feedings and maintain proper husbandry.

re: yellow tail damsels. If they're not aggressive now, wait a few weeks or months and update us.

re: overcrowding. A guideline is 1" of fish per 5 gallons of water (some will say 2.5g), but base this on their adult size and not current size. If the fish is 2" now and max out at 5", give it 25g to play with and not 10g.