Fish for the top of the water column?

[Rhetoric]

Now that I am setup and everything is going smoothly, I have been adding fish slowly. My first fish were 4 Green Chromis because they were inexpensive and I was nervous that I hadn't let the cycle finish, blah blah blah.

Needless to say, they are doing well, as are the rest of my fish. I want as peaceful a tank as possible as reef-compatible as possible.

Now to the nitty gritty. I want to replace the Chromis. They are fine fish but I would like something more striking or interesting in the tank to look at and the having 4 Chromis is taking up a lot of the "fish inches" available in my tank. The great thing about the Chromis is that they constantly swim at the top of the water column which takes up a lot of dead space up there and gives it some movement.

I plan on taking the Chromis to the LFS and would like to replace them with something that will inhabit the top of the water column as they do, but that are prettier to look at or cooler to watch.

I have considered some other species of damsel, but the aggressiveness that everyone says they have has kept me away to this point.

Can anyone make a suggestion?
Thanks!!

_________________
Tank:75g Reef/38g Sump
4X96 FL; 4X96 Actinic
Protein Skimmer

Livestock: 80lbs LR; 4 Green Chromis; 6Line Wrasse; BiCo Blenny; Diamond Goby; Cleaner Shrimp; Assorted Snails/Hermits/Emeralds; Assorted Mushrooms; Leathers; Zoos; Hammer; Xenia; Star Polyps; Acropora

 

[roka64]

How about a clown fish. I personally love the yellow stripe maroons, but they can be aggressive.
Check out liveaquaria.com or any of the other sites. Your question is very openended. I say, check out some fish, see what you like and post your "wish list". It seems to be easier that way, otherwise you will have folks throwing out fish name like crazy.....

 

[angelscrx]

I don't think there are a lot of fish that would fit his needs. Most SW fish live among the rock work or lower water column for protection from predators. Schooling fish that woud look nice and are in all levels of the water column are Anthias and they come in a variety of colors. I don't know everything there is to know about fish so there may be more or I might just be talking out the side of my neck!

 

[afishyonados]

Look into the Nemateleotris genus. Cool fish!

 

[flanque]

I had a pair of those and they were cowards that hid in the bottom back corner of the tank. They eventually died because they were too scared to come out and eat.

 

[melosu58]

I just added these to my main. They are good schooling fish They are bartletts anthias. I`m going to give the regular names instead and keep it simple. They swim in schools near the top. Little bit on the pricey side compared to the chromis. Here is a pic of them.

There is also a red fairy anthias there also.

 

[afilter]

When I read your title I was thinkung chromis. I love mine. Not sure how big your system is, but I equate a small school of chromis to 1 larger fish (tang/butterfly) since they do not seem to produce a lot of waste.

If you tank is large enough I say keep the chromis and add a few other compatible fish assuming you have a 75g or larger.

HTH,

 

[flanque]

I wish I could have a small school of chromis.. my damsel I suspect would have a problem though.

 

[afilter]

I wish I could have a small school of chromis.. my damsel I suspect would have a problem though.

What type of damsel? I had a domino that used to school with my chromis.

 

[melosu58]

I have my 5 chromis and 5 anthias all schooling together

 

[flanque]

It's an orange tail damsel.

http://www.ecoanimal.com.br/site/fotosup/produtos/damselorangetail.gif

 

[afilter]

With a larger tank 75g or bigger I would say try it if you are daring, but with a 46g I would not risk it with the damsel. If the damsel were removed you could try 3 chromis.

 

[flanque]

Yeah... it's a 55G but I just think the damsel will have some attitude about it.. I have removed the damsel so he's on his own for the moment.. wasn't sure if adding him after the chromis are in there for a while would help.

 

[afilter]

It could as it is usually recomended to add damsels last because of territorial agression. In the end you may need to decide how much you want to keep the damsel. I think it may be an issue with adding any other fish.

 

[austinsdad]

Melosu58, those anthias are beautiful!! I've always thoguht they wouldn't stand up to my every other day feeding. Would they?? I've always heard they shuld be feed "often".

My vote is to keep the chromis and add another top swimming fish or two.

P.S. - good luck catching the chromis.

 

[melosu58]

Well we are going to find out. I think since they are eating flake food we might be Ok. Thanks for asking though.

 

[Finatic]

P.S. - good luck catching the chromis.

Hah spot on with that comment.

My wife bought 3 chromis a coupleof weeks ago while I was out of town, which overstocked me with fish. So, I had to get them out and take them back to the LFS.

Well, it turned into a reaquascaping event with having to pull out 100lbs of LR, but it gave me a chance to get to a small corner of algae I had on the glass.

Good luck catching them. Just when you think you've got 'em...

 

[FishFrik]

The thing with anthias is they dont eat big meals. That is why it is recommended to feed them often with small meals to ensure they get enough food. Now, if you can get your anthias to eat alot at once, you don't have to feed them that many times a day. But anthias RARELY eat that much because in the wild they feed primarily on tiny phytoplanktons from the water column all day long.

If you decide not to feed them at least 2 times a day, chances are their coloration will fade away.

HTH

 

[austinsdad]

Good stuff Fishfrik! Thanx.

 

[melosu58]

I understand what you are saying and yes it would be couple times a day if it was phytoplankton but I do have them eating good amount of Flake and mysis which will stay with them longer than the phytoplankton. They are also nipping at the seaweed selects that I have on the clip for the tang. But thanks for the concern as we will check them out.