Tank mates for a six line

[cgthebeast]

I have a six line in a 10g for now but I'm upgrading to a 55g here in the upcoming months an really have no idea on what to stock. It's has to be reef safe an be able to handle the six line

[Pseudomugil]

When you get the 55 gallon, you could do a few more fish actually. A possible 55 gallon stock would be:

- 2 ocellaris clownfish (introduce last)
- 1 six line wrasse
- 1 royal gramma basslet
- 1 yellow clown goby
- 1 watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair

[cgthebeast]

Originally Posted by Pseudomugil

When you get the 55 gallon, you could do a few more fish actually. A possible 55 gallon stock would be:



- 2 ocellaris clownfish (introduce last)

- 1 six line wrasse

- 1 royal gramma basslet

- 1 yellow clown goby

- 1 watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair

That's a good idea to add clowns last. I'm thinking of adding something bigger such as a dwarf angel an the such.

I'm a bit worried in adding things such as gramma as I'm afraid the six line an them will fight

[54seaweed]

until you move into the 55g I wouldn't add any tank mates ,
live aquara has one of the best compatibility charts

I wouldn't add a royal grammar with a wrasse they'll tear each other up bass and wrasse not a good combo look into a dotty back

[cgthebeast]

Oh no, you miss understood me. I'm only talking about future plans. I would never add any more fish into my 10g with it, only coral.

I though that was the case with the gramma an the wrasse though.

Would a pair of cardinals be good tank mates for the little demon or would he fight them also?

[PB_Smith]

The wrasse should actually be the last one added to the tank as it will likely end up being the most territorial (the entire tank) and aggressive.
So far mine has killed any fish I have added that was not considerably larger or already established in the tank first.
The latest victim was a royal gramma that was easily almost twice the size of the wrasse.
They go for the stealthy ninja moves and then strike with a flurry of as many blows as they can get in. They also don't waste time targeting worthless stuff like fins, they go straight for the soft sides and belly.


I now regret getting a six line wrasse.

[cgthebeast]

Dang, what al have you tried adding to the tank?
I'll keep some dry rock on hand to mess up the scale when I add livestock. My throw him off

[cgthebeast]

What about a dwarf angel?

[Sniperhank]

When it is a 55 one would work. I'd give my coral beauty to just about anyone after it went postal on SPS and clam...model citizen atm, but still.

[PB_Smith]

Originally Posted by cgthebeast

Dang, what al have you tried adding to the tank?
I'll keep some dry rock on hand to mess up the scale when I add livestock. My throw him off

Two royal grammas, a yellow clown goby and a firefish.

One thing to keep in mind when stocking, fish MAY and often do change from a little angel into a holy terror as they get bigger.
Territoriality and aggression is all about who is the biggest and toughest.
So while my wrasse was a cute little guy when only a couple inches, now that he is double that size, he "tolerates" the fish that were in the tank before him and kills and harasses anything new, unless like my powder brown tang, the size difference is huge.
I do have a yellow coris wrasse that was added after the six-line. That is the only one he hasn't killed, but I fear that is only because he wants to keep it around to torment it because he does many times a day.

Maybe I just got the Hannibal Lechter of wrasses and yours will be fine.




oh, and rearranging the rockwork hasn't helped one bit with this guy.
as I said, according to him the ENTIRE tank and ALL the rocks are his...LOL

[cgthebeast]

Did you add anything while he was younger? Did he attack it with the same vigor? Mine is still young, only over a 1in an a half.
Maybe there's hope. What I think I'm going to end up doing just in case I have Hannibal also is keep the 10g up an running bare with the filter an a couple of decorations I have lying around while I order an revive some if not most of my livestock an then proceed to watch the parms very carefully. Then add the wrasse last. I'm afraid about swings in the system, but by the time i do that I'll have over 49 lbs of live rock, 40 lbs of live sand, my skimmer up an running along with my crazy sump build. Hopefully this will stop any crazy swings.

[cgthebeast]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

When it is a 55 one would work. I'd give my coral beauty to just about anyone after it went postal on SPS and clam...model citizen atm, but still.

Man, that sucks. I really like the coral beauties too. Did kill the clam or just take a chunk out of it?

[cgthebeast]

So I called my fave SW fish store an asked if they do trade ins. They usually don't but in some special cases the owner has taken in a few bullies for in store credit. Next time I'm in the store, I'm going to talk to him about it as I really don't want to risk this thing being a Hannibal even though I adore the little guy

[54seaweed]

I have both coral beauty and flame angel coming up on almost 5 years in my reef I never once had a issue , my wrasse seems to be the only one with the nipping issue , not 100% sure if it was cause I added them young and they just never got that bad habit or what , or if I just got lucky , but like hank said some can just be a holy terror , all my friends cant understand how I dont have problems , as there's rips there tank apart
may just be a roll of the dice

[cgthebeast]

My Lfs has a coral an a flame in their major coral display tank. I was talking to one of the guys that work their an they said they never have had a problem with any of their dwarves nipping at coral. Hopefully I'll have the same luck if I buy a dwarf from their.

[54seaweed]

I think it's more the draw of the dice , as they are unpredictable mine are angels but I've seen many others that were holy terrors , it's a hit or miss kind of challenge ,

[cgthebeast]

I agree. That's why I was kinda amazed they were keeping them in their main Coral display. I'll make sure to keep an eye on the one I go with for sure, if I go with one

[Sniperhank]

When coral is the big money in a reef system, a roll of the dice isn't worth a fish deciding to go postal out of the blue.
There are other ways to get the look with patience and research.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[cgthebeast]

True, alrighty then. Back to drawing board.

[cgthebeast]

Would a carpenters flasher wrasse be a better choice?