Which kind of tank, aggressive or peaceful fish?

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courtneyclv

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So my BF and I keep arguing about what to put in our new 78 gallon tank. He says that triggers and more aggressive fish are better, more colorful and more active. I want to have a nice peaceful tank with the following fish...

maroon clown and anemone
purple tang or some kind
flame or coral beauty angelfish
zebra lionfish?
maybe a rabbitfish
firefish
numerous inverts like starfish, crabs, etc.

What do you think..is an aggressive tank necessarily more colorful and active? I think that my choices are good! (I think I'll win this one)
 
Your bf is right. Most colorful fish are aggressive. IMO though, you should start with a peaceful community tank first. Easier than an aggressive tank i believe. Also, there are ALOT of peaceful fish that are very colorful like mandarin and leopard wrasse
 
The problem with having an aggressive tank is that it generally needs to be very big and lightly stocked (comparartively). Aggressive fish need space and tend to be messy eaters. they like big meaty dinners and produce waste accordingly. Water quality issues become a concern quickly. My vote is go for the community tank. There are still plenty of great colorful options for your size tank.
 
I don't see anything about mandarin wrasse online or on live aquaria? My BF does like those fish. Would that be good, a small one, with my stock list?
 
mandarins require an established tank due to the number of pods they can consume. wait for your pod population to grow before adding him. this requires having pods and ALOT of live rock. wrasse's are good fish. some will also compete with the manadrin for food (pods), so youll wnat to be carefull there as well. check out liveaquaria for options and info.
 
Does my list of fish look good so far? What about the zebra lionfish?

I am really thinking about and planning what kind of fish and inverts for my tank. Got the maroon clown, firefish, watchman goby, and cleaners so far. Will bring the damsels back to the LFS after I add my next fish, a small angelfish.

:p
 
well lion lish are anything but a community fish even the dwarf varances and would cause many problems in a community tank. also your inverts wouldnt last long with a lion
 
courtneyclv said:
Does my list of fish look good so far? What about the zebra lionfish?

I am really thinking about and planning what kind of fish and inverts for my tank. Got the maroon clown, firefish, watchman goby, and cleaners so far. Will bring the damsels back to the LFS after I add my next fish, a small angelfish.

:p


Well, for starters all the fish you listed are not peaceful fish.

The maroon clown is arguably the most aggressive clownfish, and the purple tang is the most agressive Zebrasoma, and maybe the most aggressive tang/surgeonfish.

Most of the aggression is aimed towards conspecifics, or other tangs/clowns, but that also means they will defend their territories. I would not put firefish with a maroon clown, but that's just me.

My 55gal is pretty simple: All mildy aggressive fish. I have a neon dottyback, 4 damsels, a tomato clown, purple tang and a French angel. They all keep themselves in check. When you mix very aggressive fish with very passive fish, you end up with problems. You can most likely get away with your fish list in your 78gal, and I'd probably try it myself if the girlfriend insisted, but I'm also not going to say it's the ideal setup.
 
You don't have any problems with that Angel and Tang in your 55G?

When you mix very aggressive fish with very passive fish, you end up with problems.

I definitely agree with this.
 
The tang and angel get along for the most part. They never actually nip or tail whip, mostly just flare their fins and do the shake.
 
Everyone is getting along great! I just added my majestic angel for my larger fish(yes too big..i know) Nobody bothers anyone. Maroon isn't aggressive and the firefish was the first guy added. He seems to like everyone.

:)
 
I agree, stick with the community tank first and ease in to more agressive fish such as angels and tangs. Later on, you can slowly add triggers, puffers, wrasses (that's if you stil have room in your tank).
 
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