fish compatibility

[Marsey]

Just thought I'd ask for suggestions on my next move. I have a 70 gallon with a
yellow tang
3 green chromis
1 pseudochromis
emerald crab
peppermint shrimp
chocolate chip starfish
My thoughts are to add 2 percula clowns and a cleaner shrimp, then maybe a goby of some sort. I love the dragonets, but I want to wait until my live rock has been established for longer- I understand it should be at least a year.
Can I add another type of tang, maybe a regal blue or purple?
Also, I have read that my chocolate chip star may eat a lot of the copopods that the dragonet would need. Does this mean I shouldn't mix the two?
Thanks for your input,
Marsey

[Ltspd]

IMO another tang will be too much for a 70g tank. I am also under the impression that choc stars are NOT reef safe. I checked your profile and it doesnt mention if your tank is reef or not, but you do mention LR so I am assuming it so.

The clowns, shrimp and gobie should be fine though.

[organicreefer]

ime clowns and some gobys eat copepods and amphipods too,alot of things eat this readily available food in our tanks,especially if you dont feed youre fish that often

also youre pushing it with one tang,but imo 1 yellow in a 70 isnt too bad
hmmmmmm you have 5 fish and youre thinking about 4 more
maybe its time for a bigger tank?i know how it is to want to have all these fish but you just have to chose carefully and get the ones you really want.just trying to help

[Marsey]

Yeah, it is a reef tank and I'm thinking long term- don't worry, I wasn't going to dump in 4 new fish next week or anything.;;
I think I'll eventually add the perculas though.
So, since I already have the c.c. star, what about him isn't reef safe? In other words, what should I make sure not to add? The only corals I have are yellow polyps and a few button polyps and the star leaves those alone. Thanks again for all the info... Marsey

[Ninong]

Hi Marsey ~

I agree that your tank is not large enough for another tang of any sort and even if it were, you would want to avoid putting two of the same genus together, such as a yellow and a purple.

Get rid of the chocolate chip starfish right now! They are not reef-safe for a number of reasons. They do eat coral polyps and they eat everything else that they can capture, including small fish and crustaceans. It is the worst possible choice for your tank.

Keep a close eye on the emerald crab. As these guys get larger they can become a problem and are a threat to attack small sleeping fish.

As long as you have a pseudochromis in your 70-gal tank, you will not be able to support a mandarin, too. They have similar diets with the exception that at least the pseudochromis will take regular food. What species of pseudochromis do you have? Most of these are a threat to take out shrimp, but some, like Pseudochromis fridmani, are less of a threat.

Ninong

[Marsey]

I don't know what type of pseudochromis I have- he's pretty small- maybe an inch and a half. Do you know of a websight with photos that might help me figure it out? I am looking for options to relocate the chocolate chip star fish. I don't think the store I got him from will take him back. Too bad really, he's been fun to watch and very active. Thanks again- Marsey

[Marsey]

Okay- the chocolate chip starfish is gone. Everyone misses him though- could you suggest another type of starfish that would be reefsafe and comfortable in my 70 gallon?

[tendar]

Blue links are reef safe but are touchy when they first come in and tend to die due to that they are very sensitive to salinity changes.

[Mobious]

Not sure of the right name.. But try a green serpent star.. I have 2 of these in my 75gal.. 1 is about 9 inches across and the other is about 3.. These guys are great.. And they will eat food you feed you fish. Mine like brine cubes the best...Prime reef?

[organicreefer]

imo and ime,the green serpent will eat anyhting it can.when i used to put food in my tank,my green serpent would go crazy and pick up snails ,samll hermits,or whatever and eat them .he now resides in my fo.otheres have had the same exp.green brittles are not "reef" or "community" safe.hth

[Marsey]

Thanks! I have seen those blue linka stars and they are beautiful! I think I'll keep that in mind.
I added a cleaner shrimp about two weeks ago. He was very shy in the beginning, but he's really warming up now. Today he actually stepped all the way onto my hand for the first time. I am hoping that as he learns to "clean" my hand, he'll get brave enough to clean the fish too. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[organicreefer]

ime most cleaners,shrimp,wrasse,etc.will provide you with"service" if you aproach them in a slow calm manner .some are very "agressive "cleaners that will jump on you everytime you put youre hand the aquarium.