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hello, i have a 45 gallon tank, that i have cycled and am ready to add the fish. i am wanting a clown fish and am wondering what other fish would be suitable to add with a clown fish. i would preferably like to have a feature fish that is a bit bigger than the clown fish.
any suggestions would be a great assistance.
thankyou.

Marine Betta, Calloplesiops altivelis is my first thought, though that can get a tad big for a 45G. It's a 16cm fish when fully grown. Also, my other choice - namely a Centropyge angel - is best left alone till you've got at least a year's experience under your belt, because if you lose it, it's a very expensive and heartbreaking loss.

Let's see ... colour contrast with the clown, something nice and showy that will live peaceably with the clown. I'd avoid certain Tangs, even the hardy ones, because some of them come with a nice collection of parasitic Turbellarian worms when they reach the LFS. Particularly Hawaiian imports.

Hypoplectrus gemma the Blue Hamlet, is a nice choice. Solid blue Grouper-type fish, but it only grows to 11 cm. So it shouldn't trouble your clown if you get a juvenile specimen. Especially if your clown is already around the 8 cm mark. Plus, Serranids are tough fishes, able to stand fluctuations in water chemsitry parameters provided they're not catastrophic. Basically, if you kill one of these, you'll be doing something seriously wrong. I'd do some research though and check its invertebrate compatibility in case it snacks upon any inverts you have as a cleaning crew. Which is always a possibility with Serranids, even small ones.



Last edited by Calilasseia at 23-Feb-2005 22:20

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

A flame angle, or coral beauty will give a lot of color, and should be OK in a tank that size.

Dan

What about some firefish, grammas, blennies, or gobies? Those are all mostly small and commonly found. Pretty hardy too.

The purple and red firefish are very pretty IMO, and they stay small and are fine with clowns. The only thing with these guys is that they can be jumpers, so you need to make sure you have a tight lid on your tank. I'm planning on putting two of [link=these]http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=173" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link] in my tank. And the [link=red]http://marinedepotlive.com/493834.html" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link] version is nice as well.

Blennies... IMO the [link=bicolor blenny]http://marinedepotlive.com/374034.html" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link] is just the cutest. They are known to hide out in the rock work, it really depends on the personality of the fish you get.

The only problem with these guys is they wont really be centerpiece fish, they're just nice beginners fish.

Then of course, there is my favorite fish, the [link=6-line wrasse]http://store.yahoo.com/marinedepotlive/795054.html" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link]. These guys, to quote Calfo/Fenner, are "cuckoo for copepods" and IMO just have the nicest coloring, and they don't get too big either, only about 3" or so. If you can have the proper food for them, I def. recommend 'em.

HTH a bit...if you're interested in more beginner marine fish, there's a special section at [link=http://www.liveaquaria.com]http://www.liveaquaria.com" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link] that shows just that.

G/L...

[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]"I know that you are something special, To you I'd be always faithful
I want to be what you always needed, Then I hope you'll see the heart in me"[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish