# Fish-only compatibility?



## datfish (Sep 7, 2012)

I'm considering a large fish-only tank. I'm not familiar enough with the species to know who would handle the more aggressive fish. 

I'm curious about the potential issues that would arise in a tank where there is plenty of places to hide and breaks in line of sight with these fish (I don't want them all together, I'm just seeing my potential options):

Marine Betta, Jackknife Fish, Moorish Idol, Anglers, Snowflake Eel, Volitan Lionfish, Achilles Tang, Sailfin Tang, Picasso Trigger, and Niger Trigger.

Thanks!


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## Severum (Jan 4, 2012)

This your first saltwater tank? From what I've heard Moorish Idols are almost impossible to keep alive.

I saw your thread a little while back but figured I'd leave it for someone with more experience but since that hasn't happened I can at least pass on what I know! Sadly I don't think there are too many people on here that do saltwater. I've only had my saltwater tank for about a year now and it's only a 26 gallon so I don't have any first hand experience with the larger species. I've done some research out of curiosity though. Don't know anything about the first two, but I think anglers are best off being kept alone. Snowflake eels are primarily crustacean eaters unlike other species so they are usually pretty safe to keep with other fish. Some people even keep them with inverts and they're often okay as long as they're fed but ymmv. I think lionfish are okay depending on size - they will eat anything smaller than them (those mouths are biiiiig) - but I wouldn't take my word for it, I've only really looked at the dwarf species. Keeping more than one tang seems like a "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't" sort of thing. Introduce them together and you have better chances, but it depends largely on your tank dimensions and sailfins get huge. (There is so much debate on tank sizes for tangs but I'm not going to get into that.) Can't say I know anything about triggers though, sorry.

One of my favourites are the foxfaces (the lo in particular because I love the colours). They have the venomous spines like lionfish so other fish tend to leave them be but they're generally quite docile. Just a suggestion in case you haven't seen them  (again assuming this is your first foray into the salty side of this hobby, but I could be off the mark there.)

If you look up saltwater compatibility charts, they're actually quite helpful. Not the be all and end all, of course, but they're a good starting point! They helped clear up a lot of my own confusion when I first started looking.

I did notice you had another thread asking about inverts as well? If that's still the plan, I'd scratch the lionfish and although I said I didn't know much about triggers I don't think they are a good combination either.

Good luck!


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## datfish (Sep 7, 2012)

Severum said:


> This your first saltwater tank? From what I've heard Moorish Idols are almost impossible to keep alive.
> 
> I saw your thread a little while back but figured I'd leave it for someone with more experience but since that hasn't happened I can at least pass on what I know! Sadly I don't think there are too many people on here that do saltwater. I've only had my saltwater tank for about a year now and it's only a 26 gallon so I don't have any first hand experience with the larger species. I've done some research out of curiosity though. Don't know anything about the first two, but I think anglers are best off being kept alone. Snowflake eels are primarily crustacean eaters unlike other species so they are usually pretty safe to keep with other fish. Some people even keep them with inverts and they're often okay as long as they're fed but ymmv. I think lionfish are okay depending on size - they will eat anything smaller than them (those mouths are biiiiig) - but I wouldn't take my word for it, I've only really looked at the dwarf species. Keeping more than one tang seems like a "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't" sort of thing. Introduce them together and you have better chances, but it depends largely on your tank dimensions and sailfins get huge. (There is so much debate on tank sizes for tangs but I'm not going to get into that.) Can't say I know anything about triggers though, sorry.
> 
> ...


Would be my first personal, but I've been working with them for a few years.

I've actually been offered the opportunity to raise and breed some crocodile skinks, so I'll be turning the tank into a paludarium instead of saltwater. Thanks for the reply though!


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## Severum (Jan 4, 2012)

Never heard of those before, so I had to look them up! They are so cool!! Good luck with that!


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