fish compatibility

Question
I have two clownfish, a diamond goby, 4 small hermit crabs, and 6 snails. I was wondering if everything would get along if I put two firefish and a royal gramma. I was also thinking about adding a flame angel instead of the firefish and gramma.

Answer
Hi Jon,

Good question.

Every species you mentioned, has a high rate of co-existing together without issues...

My advice is: When possible add everyone together, this gives all fish the opportunity to develop their own little territory in the aquarium, along with a chance to get familiar with each other.

Often times when introducing new fish into an established aquarium, even resident non-aggressive species of fish will start bickering with the new arrivals, causing them to stress.

When introducing new arrivals to an established aquarium, you could partition a section off, with a piece of egg-crate ceiling tile, which is inexpensive and can be found at most local hardware stores, including Lowes and Home Depot. This material can easily be cut to size, as needed, to partition off a section of your aquarium. I'd recommend to let the new arrivals stay in this section for at least a couple of weeks, giving the resident fish a chance to see them everyday, and a chance to get used to them.

When this method is implemented it almost always results in a much higher successful introduction rate, often times without any incidents at all.

I will include a few resource web-pages from one of my favorite online aquarium stores... I will include a fish compatibility chart and an informational page which talks about the partition.

http://www.ocreef.com/saltwater_fish_compatibility_chart Includes a saltwater fish compatibility chart.

http://www.ocreef.com/acclimating_your_new_saltwater_fish_friends Includes information on introducing new fish to your aquarium, including a section on partitioning.

Sincerely,
David