Fish compatibility questions

[Eric_n_Ga]

Ok so I see the regular compatibility charts , I read what you can and can't have in a reef tank , what will eat your shrimp , eat corals , all kinds of issues....then I see angle fish , multiple wrasses, and lots of other fish that are either non compatible or eat corals in tons of tanks ? What's the deal here.

Do you just roll the dice and hope you get a vegetarian angle fish ? Just feed them a lot and hope they don't eat the corals ,or just deal with it .

Stocking a 75 gallon mixed reef with fish .
So far my 2 small clowns ,watchman goby and shrimp , tomini tang out of my 29 gallon are going in .

Looking at a yellow corris wrasse ( going to pick up sat ) , maybe a court jester goby , but man the angles and butterflies are hard not to want . Any suggestions

 

[Rainblood]

+1 on the yellow coris - I love them.
But for everything else, it seems like for every person that has a problem with a particular type of fish, there is another who says its been a model citizen.
For the most part, I just kind of go with the general consensus.

 

[Adam]

It's a crap shoot. But yes, keeping potential trouble makers well fed is a good strategy. The problem is that one time they're not well fed...

My Blue Throat Triggers were "Model Citizens"... until they weren't. I usually feed every morning, and if I don't my wife does. She was out of town and I was late for work. I figured they'd be fine till I got home. Well, they were fine, but hungry. When I got to the tank after work I got there just in time to witness the beginning of an entire tank feeding frenzy. The female BTT was in the midst of shredding a Fire Shrimp and everyone got in on the action. I was like, damn, that's the most expensive meal they've ever gotten. That Fire Shrimp costs more than Amaebi Sashimi for two!

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Yeah I have a fire shrimp as well , might be interesting with the wrasse when he gets bigger.

 

[ActiveAngel]

My Blue Throat Triggers were "Model Citizens"... until they weren't.

Thank you for sharing Adam.

This statement is true of all livestock, especially when putting species together that shouldn’t be. For all the beginners out there who want to push the envelope and swear that theirs are different (Aka model citizens)... it most likely isnt. it’s just a matter of time, and they’ve probably only had the fish for a year or less. Someday eventually, your fish is getting a $50, $500, or $5000 meal. Every person that has come to me with a model citizen fish, withdraws their statement within a couple years.

The exception for this is if your prey items, such as coral, can reproduce and grow faster than they are eaten.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Looking like I'm sticking with 1 tang ,1 wrasse for sure.

 

[kullas]

I love my tomini tang and my corris

 

[Adam]

For all the beginners out there who want to push the envelope and swear that theirs are different (Aka model citizens)... it most likely isnt. it’s just a matter of time, and they’ve probably only had the fish for a year or less. Someday eventually, your fish is getting a $50, $500, or $5000 meal. Every person that has come to me with a model citizen fish, withdraws their statement within a couple years.

The exception for this is if your prey items, such as coral, can reproduce and grow faster than they are eaten.

Agree 100%! Some people like to learn from their own experience rather than that of others.

I did my research everywhere I could before buying. No coral eaters allowed. With the BTT's I new the shrimp would be on the menu sooner or later, just happened to be sooner.

1st rule of reefing. The cheap thing will always win against the expensive thing in livestock. Basically, Murphy's Law will always prevail.

 

[Cook]

These replies are so true! This is coming from someone who was in denial. The most recent case and point is our snowflake eel and the now completely disappeared without a trace lawnmower blenny. The eel hasn't been caught red handed but he's number #1 on the suspect list. Coral wise, my Valentini puffer. I'll let the picture speak for itself. He has favorites, the slimeball and some orange montipora that he actually crammed himself under the the frag rack to eat the edges off of when I first put it in. The stuff is like Valentini crack. Of course now I know you can buy a filefish mimic that looks just like him. We can't change the nature of these creatures, that's part of the fun, and stress, of it. Just like gambling though, don't bet more than you are willing to lose.