Active swimmer for 57 gallon

[reefinnewb]

Moving from a 34g Cube to a 57 gallon. 36x18x20 with a Somatic 60 sump. Total water volume is approaching 70 gallons. Looking for a centerpiece fish that's active. Would love a tang of some sort but know the tank is too small to properly house one. There are smaller Angels that will work but nip. Looking for input with experiences. 

[Hobbs]

Best I could think of for fully Reef safe fish are flasher wrasse. I’ve been looking into the same thing though

[lobster876]

how about a fathead anthias

[Tamberav]

Never understood what a centerpiece fish is... when I look at tanks I am never drawn to a particular fish or anything. Maybe that came over from freshwater because every fish looks centerpiece in salt water.  Maybe if a person had a gem tang or something unusual. 

 

For active I was going to say wrasse or anthias which are more impressive than tangs imo. Melanurus wrasse are quite beautiful.

[reefinnewb]

Yea that was probably stuck in my head from a prior discussion. I'm basically looking for an active fish that makes the tank move. Clowns are fun but don't swim a whole lot. Now that I'm going to have 3ft of swimming space, I'm looking for a fish to utilize that space. 

 

I love wrasses so they are on the list. Anthias from what I heard are a bit difficult to keep and can be super picky eaters. Not out of the realm of possibilities though. I've been in the hobby a long time. So I've dealt with a fair share of difficulties... haha

[Tamberav]

Midas blennys are pretty damn active, may be one you want to look into as part of your stock. They have always been semi aggressive for me, not peaceful, not one to chase/harass but will nip the dottyback when it gets in his way. I wouldn't get if you plan on having something like a firefish.

 

Starkii damsel is my next fish when I find one, looks kind of like an angel but without the nipping.

[Jesterrace]

Melanurus Wrasse would do the job (just be aware they will occasionally munch on small inverts).  They will leave corals and cleaner shrimp alone though:

 

Here is a vid of a male and a juvie in my 90 gallon tank:

 

 

 

[Martin Riggs]

My niger trigger and mimic tang are my centerpieces. And by that i mean they rule the tank. Swim everywhere. 

[Nocturnal]

If you don't want to go the tang route I've always found the various wrasses to be active and attention worthy.

[reefinnewb]

I'd love a yellow eyed kole tang, however I believe 57g is a bit too small for it.

[Clown79]

I second Midas blenny.

 

Beautiful fish and they have personality. Also swims around a lot.

 

A nice wrasse or anthias.

 

Anthias are beautiful.

 

 

[ndrobey]

A school of anthias. Or +3 Midas Blenny. Or both.

[Jesterrace]

On 4/12/2018 at 10:17 AM, Martin Riggs said:

My niger trigger and mimic tang are my centerpieces. And by that i mean they rule the tank. Swim everywhere. 

 

True but not for a 57 gallon tank. 

[Martin Riggs]

On 4/17/2018 at 3:02 AM, Jesterrace said:

 

True but not for a 57 gallon tank. 

Both in 55g. ?

[Jesterrace]

On 4/12/2018 at 10:17 AM, Martin Riggs said:

My niger trigger and mimic tang are my centerpieces. And by that i mean they rule the tank. Swim everywhere. 

 

True but not for a 57 gallon tank. 

 

Just me but I would never put either in a tank that small.  I wouldn't even put them in my 90.  Glad they are working for you though. 

[Martin Riggs]

Trial and error. The tang was added earlier. And killed the newcomers. Added trigger and it lost its place as top dog. Keep the trigger well fed and it’s peaceful. 

[RayWhisperer]

On 3/28/2018 at 10:59 AM, reefinnewb said:

Moving from a 34g Cube to a 57 gallon. 36x18x20 with a Somatic 60 sump. Total water volume is approaching 70 gallons. Looking for a centerpiece fish that's active. Would love a tang of some sort but know the tank is too small to properly house one. There are smaller Angels that will work but nip. Looking for input with experiences. 

I’ll be the odd man out. For a 57, I think most any of the Centropyge would be fine, with caution. I’ve had many over the years, and the only one that decided it liked to eat coral, was the cherub. It’s really a YMMV situation. I’ve seen all of them nipping at SPS, but not eating the flesh, or polyps. Only eating something they saw on the coral. Most see this and freak out. It’s usually nothing to worry about.

 

However, if they do decide they like to eat coral.... They go for it with gusto.

 

Beyond the coral nipping, they are fantastic fish for that size tank. Very, very active swimmers, most have great colors, not overly aggressive (unless you have a chromis). I find them to be about the best fish for a medium sized tank like yours. 

[reefinnewb]

I actually had the pygmy's in my sights. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[1891Bro]

How bout this?

 

[reefinnewb]

Ahhh da puppers!