Centerpiece Fish...?

Hi, after a couple years of dabbling in FW community tanks, i've come accustomed to having a "centerpiece" fish like a dwarf gourami or an angelfish to add a little "flavor" and mix things up amonst a group of schooling rasboras/tetras. i was wondering if the same concept can be applied to SW tanks?

 

obviously, nano's aren't suitable for tangs or angels, both of which would be good centerpiece fish if it weren't for our size constraints.

 

so my question to you nano-reefers is: what makes a good centerpiece fish?

 

personally, i don't consider clowns or other small fish (6-line/bicolor pseudo/firefish) to be centerpiece fish unless they're the only fish in the tank. for example, clowns don't swim too much if they're hosting something and they kind of just hug the corner... firefish and blennies are always hiding, the 6-line is a bit too common for me. i'm looking for a fish that's exotic yet capable of living in our nano-reefs...hopefully looking for a fish that doesn't get any larger than 3'' and can be housed in something around 20 gallons.

 

the only fish i can think of that is ATTRACTIVE as a centerpiece would be a dwarf flame angel, as much as i want to get one for my 18g, we all know it can't and shouldn't be done. any other suggestions?

I like the Yellow Tail Damsle, they have the same body frame as a flame angel, but some can be quite aggressive.

2" Yellow Tang. Just don't tell anyone about it here.

pretty much ANY flasher wrasse. THEY ARE AWSOME!

haha

lol ... hmm i wonder what hell would break loose if i put a yellow tang or flame angel in my nano

 

jk jk

 

what's a flasher wrasse? i have noticed a couple wrasses that are beautiful like the "scott's velvet wrasse" and the "exquisite wrasse" i'm not too educated on wrasses...are these considered "flasher wrasses" and are they suitable for nano tanks?

someone I know has a bartlett anthias, they're pretty cool and don't get too big. but I don't know how they like such a small space..

NOT the anthias, they need several of their species w/ them, which is unsutable for the nano. here is a link to a flasher wrasse;

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Displa...cfm?pCatId=1400

 

Also look up the Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse, and the Lyretail Flasher Wrasse.

In really small nanos... A fish, is the centerpiece. Like my neon goby in my 5 gallon... I've seen a really cool set-up at my LFS with a yellowheaded jawfish as it's only inhabitant. It was a minibow 7, and the fish had it's little cave right front and center so you could usually see it's head pokeing out. the rest of the tank was mostly soft corals... it was neat.

i'm aware that in really small nano's the only fish in there would be the centerpiece...

Originally posted by uchiha

personally, i don't consider clowns or other small fish (6-line/bicolor pseudo/firefish) to be centerpiece fish unless they're the only fish in the tank.

but for slightly larger tanks (18g as opposed to 5g), where you can have 2-3 fish housed comfortably, is there ANY hope of having a "centerpiece fish" ?

personally, I like predatory fish. Perhaps an angler or a scorp. Both come in smaller species well suited for nanoreefs. Wrasses are also a good suggestion. Possums, mysteries are among my favorites. I also like some of the basslets. The swalesi bass is very hardy and absolutely gorgeous, however a little shy. It's all subjective though.... if money were not a problem, small red rhinopias frondosa...drools

Yeah, uchiha...I've been doing the same research thinking about "centerpiece" fishes...kinda sucks that we are so limited. I would have to agree w/ you that more "centerpiece" types of fish that come to mind would be things that have more discus-type body shapes w/ vibrant color...something hard to get by more "normal" body-type fish. The fish needs to really swim about more out in the open, unlike many of the options above. So if you come up w/ something, give me a holla cuz I have done the same research to no avail...

 

They are either too big for nanos or unsafe for corals.

Oh...and it's funny cuz the few nano-reefers that have seen my tank in person all have said to some extent, "oh, and you don't even have any fish..."

 

I have like 4, but they all just hide or stay in one spot. So swimming out in the open and in the upper regions of the tank is key.

What about a cherub angel or flameback angel if you had a tank 30+ inches long?

It's an 18g.... it's not 30+ inches long. that's his problem. I would say a long fin fairy wrasse or a strawberry pseudochromis both have great colours and movement. Better yet, bangaii cardinals look like fw angelfish;)

What about a hawkfish, perhaps? They don't swim too much, but it's colorful and might be okay in a smaller setting.

 

[if we ever find a good fish, I'd like to know also...]

SCOOTER BLENNIES

Cherub angels make good centerpieces.

I agree...but dont they nip corals and clams?

What about a swiss-guard basslet, Liopropoma rubre?

 

Or if you want to spend some $$ a candy basslet, L. carnabi.

yup flasher wrasses are awsome.

any type of fairy wrasse....long filaments, gaudy colors, reef safe. Otherwise I would say a dwarf angel, but they do nip at clam mantles and some polyps. Dragonets...but we know the difficulties in them... My personal fave for a centerpiece in a nano would be a rarer jawfish...like a black cap or my favorite...the tiger jawfish...a real looker. Otherwise, another centerpiece for a nano that would be great would be a yasha haze and pistol shrimp pair/trio/group. Cant go wrong there!

i've been doin some research and visiting some LFS to see some of the suggestions u guys have made about the wrasses & other fish (dwarf angels) in person...

 

for my personal preference, i do not like wrasses. some of em get like 3-4 inches and that just won't cut it in my tank. after seeing them in person, and marvelling at their crazy colors, i'm not diggin the shape of their bodies... it's just too ugly

 

after reading a bunch of threads from reefcentral & wetwebmedia, i have decided to carefully monitor and try to find a juvenile atlantic pygmy angel (aka Cherub Angel, Centropyge argi). i haven't bought one yet because i'm still researching, but from what i've read and learned so far, these fish adapt well to smaller tanks, and are great candidates for a "centerpiece fish"

 

here are some other things i've learned....they will completely dominate a tank that's under 30g. they are fairly aggressive towards tankmates and should be the last fish added to the tank. i have read of them being kept in 10g tanks but it's not recommended, the agreeable tank size for the Cherub is a 20g, but it would obviously be best in a 30g+. i've also read that while other dwarf angels might nip LPS and Clam mantles, the C. Argi is rarely ever seen nipping at corals, in the wild their true diet consists of mostly plant material. if they do nip at corals, it is because they are probably underfed and in a tank which does not have adequate plant matter for them to graze on. my favorite aspect of this fish is, the size. in the wild they grow up to 3'' ...but in captivity, most stay 2'' and reaching MAX size of 2.5'' in captivity, the ones my LFS sell are all 1'' very small and not to mention beautiful...a perfect size for smaller tanks.

 

anyways, since i got massive amounts of hair algae, and being that my tank's been setup for quite some time, i think i will try a Cherub Angel out. i probably won't get it for a while because i would like to learn just a little more before i add it into my tank, so when i do get one i will be monitoring it like crazy to make sure he doesn't lay 1 fish bite on any inverts. anyways, if/when i get the fish, i will definitely write a comprehensive reply to let u guys know if this is a good reef-safe fish which is suitable to be called a "centerpiece" fish for aquariums around 20g.

 

btw, here's a picture of the lil fish from WWM, it looks about 10x more attractive in person... very stunning fish

it does like to nip at SPS, had one once.

Originally posted by Undertheradar

it does like to nip at SPS, had one once.

That's unfortunate. They are such awesome fish...oh well, I guess the centerpiece fish quest continues for me since I'm not sure I want to risk that.