[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Hi

When it comes to picking fish for the aquarium it pays to find out what there like to keep .One good way is to get a good book that tells you how hardy the fish is .
We use a book called marine fishes 500+Essential to know Aquarium Species ,The Pocket Expert Guide Series For Aquarists and Underwater Naturalists.
The book gives you a scale from 1 to 5 on how hardy they are To keep,It also tells you a little about the fish i.e What they like to eat ,what there like to keep with corals and so on .

Picking good fish for you aquarium does not come down to what a book says about how hardy it is and will it eat your corals.
One big factor is the health of the fish when you pick it from the tank at your local fish outlet .

These Animals have a lot to deal with in a short time .One minute there in the sea ,Then there in holding tanks ready to be sold to wholesalers all around the world .The trip is not over for them yet as they are then packed off to the trade shops like myself and then within as little as a day there final stop is your tanks (WOW WHAT A TRIP STRESSFULL OR WHAT).

Before you buy a fish take a good look at it to see if it is in good shape or bad shape .Also a good idea is to ask if you can see it feed.
For a lot of fish the hardest thing is to get them feeding ,and if they dont its going to lead to one thing, death .

I know books are good but there is another way to find out about how hardy a fish is, and or if it will cause problems in a system .
The answer to that is you guys and gals .
I know for a fact that most of the guys that come to our place are well up on most fish and would love to give advice on a fish or coral in question .

Im going to have a chat with the other mods and see if we can put up a dedicated page Called how hard are they to keep .
Then once a week add say 6 fish to it and get all your views about the fish added .

jas

[ben]

good idea ja, books are great but you cant beat experiance.

ben

[WAZ_M]

I agree with you Ben. There's nothing like good old fashioned experience.

Jase, I think thats a great idea.

Waz

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Ok a few fish for you to give your views on .
Also if you are after a fish but are not sure if he or she is going to be a good tankmate ,post a pic and members will get back with views on the fish

jas

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

A lovely wrass

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Midas

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Chromis Viridis ,Or green chromis

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Jawfish - Yellowhead

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Longnose Hawkfish, Oxycirrhitus typhus

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

If anyone would like to add to the list of fish ,post the pics up .

jas

[ben]

just_me said:

Midas

my views on the midas are its a perfect reef fish with lots of personality and a great splash of colour . very easy to care for.

[ben]

just_me said:

Chromis Viridis ,Or green chromis

my opinion on this fish is i wouldnt buy any more unless i had a huge system and could have a big shoal but then they wouldnt be at the top of my list. they are nice to look at but can be nasty to each other and after having 5 go down to 1 because of bullying i dont think they are the hardiest of fish.there are better choices out there.

cheers
ben

[Kevang]

Quote

my opinion on this fish is i wouldnt buy any more unless i had a huge system and could have a big shoal but then they wouldnt be at the top of my list. they are nice to look at but can be nasty to each other and after having 5 go down to 1 because of bullying i dont think they are the hardiest of fish.there are better choices out there.  

I agree with bens comments, They just bully the weakest member until it dies then start on the next one :cry:

Not on my list of fishes anymore.

But many others are

Cheers

Kev

[Kevang]

I had two of these and although appearing to feed they slowly wasted away .

The first one lasted about 4 months and the second nearly 18 months :? . Even though it had a good sand bed to feed on and was target fed you could see it getting thinner and thinner.

They are major sand sifters so not everyones cup of tea.

Cheers

Kev

[ben]

agree about the blue cheek, another nice fish to look at and watch sifting the sand but if you want a sand cleaner thats a bit more considerate then one of these is a good choice

[ben]

COPPERBAND BUTTERFLY .
at first i thought this fish was ok to have as long as its feeding in the lfs but mine sadly died . mabye it was ill or mabye my system wasnt big enough for it as they continuously peck at the rock as well as eat frozen brine. a beautiful fish but not one i would try again unless i had a big system.

[ben]

HI FIN RED BANDED GOBY AND PISTOL SHRIMP COMBO.
great pair to have in a tank of any size as long as you have at least an inch of sand. the shrimp is almost blind and has constant contact with the goby while it hovers at the mouth of a cave. it touches the goby with its antenna and if the fish brakes contact the shrimp thinks its a sign of danger and retreats into the cave. for the service of a body guard the shrimp makes and cleans the cave non stop. this is a pic of an old pair i had and i now have the same fish with a tiger pistol shrimp. there are a few other gobies and shrimp that make great pairs.every tank should have one.

[ben]

hi josh, welcome. your in the wrong part of the forum at the mo but dont worry one of the mods will move you. any help you or your dad need just ask. its good to put up pics and info of your tanks so we can help better and although this is a reefers forum no-one will mind talking about freshwater. jason who is one of the mods was a big freshwater angel and cory breeder.

cheers
ben

[Nubbins]

hiwian hawk fish

one of the funnyest fish to watch ...known to act much like a dog!!....got to love him