What fish (except clownfish) is best for a saltwater aquarium?

[elephantnose3334]

Just asking, that's all.

 

[Colin_T]

Most small species of damselfish do well in aquariums, however most species are highly territorial when mature. Blue chromis are a type of damselfish that is normally peaceful and does best in groups.

Blennies and most gobies are great in tanks. They eat just about anything, don't get too big, and have really big personalities (especially the blennies, they are real characters).

Cardinalfish do well in aquariums. Eat anything, live in groups, easy to breed. The main drawback to most species of cardinalfish is they are nocturnal and usually have drab brown or red colours.

Small to medium sized (4-12 inches) wrasses do well. They eat anything and are pretty tough fish. Mature males can sometimes get nippy but mainly towards other wrasses.

Leather jackets/ triggerfish do well but most triggerfish are evil and will kill other fishes in the tank. Leather jackets are the temperate version of triggerfish and much more pleasant natured. Leather jackets normally live in groups with a dominant male guarding a territory containing females. The males can have some nice colours (blue, green yellow) while the females tend to remain brown.

There are 2 species of rainbowfish that can live in saltwater. Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis needs saltwater to thrive and adult males are stunning to watch. Pseudomugil signifer is found in fresh, brackish and seawater. If you get the ones from seawater, they do extremely well in marine aquariums as long as nobody eats them. They are small (1-2 inches).

Mollies can live in seawater and used them to keep the filters alive (they produced ammonia to feed the filter bacteria) in the quarantine marine tanks when we didn't have marine fish in the tanks.

 

[Magnum Man]

the Oscar of the ocean, was most durable... Lion Fish... ( they are invasive in most areas they inhabit anymore...you almost can't kill them... in my experience before, & as Collin said Damsels I had 3 spot & blue, both very very hardy... I also had yellow & blue tangs & they were pretty durable

 

[Alice B]

My favorite fish from my reef tank were my yellow tang and my marine betta. Especially my marine betta, with his false eye spot tricking the guppies into swimming past his mouth.
He also had a lovely skinny fish dance when he wanted a guppy. He only did it for me.

 

[Alice B]

I also loved my mandarinfish, and those you can get tank-bred in Florida I think