Suggestions on fish?

dragonet123

Reefing newb
Hey Everybody!
I was planning on getting a 40 gallon aquarium some time. Anyways I was planning to put in a couple of clown fish and a green dragonet fish. Also I was going to put in one or two anemone and live rock and live sand. Any other suggestions of fish or invertebrates that I should place in this aquarium? I want all of this animals to get along with each other.

Thanks!!
 
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A mandarin may do okay in a forty gallon as long as it eats frozen. A lot of mandarins will only eat pods and need a large tank with lots of live rock to sustain the pod population. Some can be trained to frozen foods, some will not adapt. ORA sells mandarins that they have already trained on frozen foods, you may give that a shot for best results. Other than that caution, you have a good list. Wait about 9-12 months before trying an anemone. They need a mature tank with very stable parameters.
You will need a clean up crew of snails, etc...Good luck!
 
I have two clownfish that hang out together all the time, along with a six line wrasse and an arc eye hawkfish (though I am returning that to the store in a couple weeks, it had nothing to do with the size of the tank).

Mandarin dragonets are awesome, but its pretty rare to find ones that eat prepared foods. They almost always stick to tiny crustaceans that inhabit live rock and sand, and they are constantly eating.

Seems like you're new at this, too. Clownfish are a great option, and a mated pair are fun to watch interacting. Be careful, though, some clownfish are very aggressive, and a lot of clowns can't be mixed with eachother with much chance at thriving.

You could get a Wrasse. Six line wrasses thrive as the only wrasse, have a great color to them, and are very quick. Mine constantly darts in and out of the live rock. There are some other smaller ones that could work, too.

Oh, how about a goby/shrimp pair? There are several species of goby, either called watchman or shrimp gobies in shops, that form a symbiotic relationship with pistol shrimp. You need a deep bed of sand for this, like 4-5 inches, and a pair will use the same burrow and warn eachother of impending danger. plus I think the yellow watchman goby is a brilliant fish on its own.

Inverts I know less about. The obvious answer is to get a bunch of snails. I like astras and bumblebees the best. But go to your local shops, see what's available, and if a fish or invert stands out, research the crap out of it.
 
I always hear people say that Mandarins are hard to train... yet I've trained my Green Mandarin on Pellets, and Frozen. Maybe I just got lucky with a easy going one?

Also, i've trained like 10 different Scooters on Frozen/Pellets as well :mrgreen:
 
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