Reef-safe aquarium fish

Reef-safe fish can share a tank with corals and inverts without picking at them. These profiles cover species rated reef safe, with tank size, temperament and any cautions to watch for.

Tank size: 5–396 gal; 5 gal (19 L) to 396 gal (1,500 L); half the list needs 30 gal (115 L) or more
Temperature: 73–81°F; 23–27°C, most of the list
pH: 8.1–8.4; Most of the list
Difficulty: 120 easy; 55 medium · 17 difficult
Temperament: 101 peaceful; 77 mostly peaceful · 14 aggressive

192 species and 25 varieties

Start here

A reef-safe starter list

Reef safe means the fish leaves corals, clams and the clean-up crew alone, and these six are marked reef safe and easy or beginner. The ocellaris clownfish and the royal gramma are the usual first pair, both 3.1 inches (8 cm). The firefish hovers in mid-water at 3.5 inches (9 cm) in 20 gallons (75 liters). The green chromis is a peaceful schooling damsel for 30 gallons (115 liters). The Banggai cardinalfish hangs among the rock at 3.1 inches (8 cm), and the tailspot blenny is a 2.4 inch (6 cm) fish for 20 gallons (75 liters) that perches and watches.

The rule

What reef safe means in the catalog

Every profile carries one of three marks. Reef safe means the species leaves corals and invertebrates alone, and that is the mark this list filters on. Caution means it usually does but has a known habit, a wrasse that eats small shrimp, a dwarf angel that nips clam mantles, a clown goby that irritates the coral it lives in. Not reef safe means it eats or nips as a matter of course, and those fish have the FOWLR list. Reef safe says nothing about other fish: the maroon clownfish and several damsels are reef safe and aggressive at the same time.

01
Reef safe
Leaves corals, clams and the clean-up crew alone
02
Caution
Usually fine, with a known habit on the profile
03
Not reef safe
Eats or nips, and belongs in a FOWLR tank
04
Not the same as peaceful
Temperament is a separate mark

Movement

Tangs, wrasses and a school for a bigger reef

The grazers and open-water swimmers need length. The scopas tang is the compact tang at 7.9 inches (20 cm) for 90 gallons (340 liters), marked easy, and the mimic tang reaches 11.4 inches (29 cm) in 129 gallons (490 liters). The fairy and flasher wrasses are the reef-safe wrasses by nature, feeding on plankton in the water column: the exquisite fairy wrasse lists 90 gallons (340 liters), McCosker's flasher wrasse 55 gallons (208 liters). The melanurus wrasse hunts flatworms and pests on the rock at 5.5 inches (14 cm). The schooling bannerfish is the reef-safe butterflyfish, a peaceful schooling fish at 8.3 inches (21 cm) for 124 gallons (470 liters).

Small reefs

Reef-safe fish for 20 to 30 gallons

The neon goby stays at 2 inches (5 cm) and lists 11 gallons (40 liters), and the sharknose goby is its 1.6 inch (4 cm) cousin for 13 gallons (50 liters). Helfrich's firefish is the small, peaceful firefish at 2.4 inches (6 cm) for 20 gallons (75 liters). The yellow cardinalfish and the pictus blenny both stay at 2 inches (5 cm) in 20 gallons (75 liters). Hector's goby grazes hair algae at 3.1 inches (8 cm) and lists the same tank. None of them touches a coral.

Watch out

Reef safe is not the same as peaceful

The maroon clownfish is marked reef safe and aggressive, a 6.7 inch (17 cm) fish that owns its anemone and the tank around it. The blue damsel is marked beginner, reef safe and aggressive, and so are the three-stripe and four-stripe damsels, which is why they are missing from the beginner list. The bicolor dottyback is a 2.8 inch (7 cm) fish that will harass anything its size, and the blue velvet damsel reaches 5.9 inches (15 cm) with the same temper. They all leave corals alone. They do not leave other fish alone.

By the numbers

Smallest

Largest

Easiest to keep

Most peaceful

Fits a 20 gallon tank

Fits a 30 gallon tank

FAQ

Common questions

What does reef safe mean?

That the fish is not known to eat or nip corals, clams, shrimp or snails. It is the top mark of three; the middle mark, caution, means the fish usually behaves but has a known habit.

Are clownfish reef safe?

Yes. Every clownfish in the catalog is marked reef safe, and none of them needs an anemone. The maroon clownfish is reef safe and aggressive, so it wants calm tank mates.

Are tangs reef safe?

Yes, tangs are grazers and leave corals alone. The catch is size: the scopas tang lists 90 gallons (340 liters), the mimic tang 129 gallons (490 liters), and the unicornfish need far more.

Which wrasses are reef safe?

The fairy and flasher wrasses, the six-line and fourline wrasses, the melanurus wrasse and the leopard wrasses are marked reef safe. The Halichoeres wrasses that eat small shrimp carry a caution, and the Thalassoma and Coris wrasses are marked not reef safe.

Are dwarf angelfish reef safe?

Most carry a caution, because a dwarf angel may nip clam mantles and fleshy corals. A few are marked reef safe; check the profile before adding one to a reef with clams.

Are damsels reef safe?

Yes, but many are aggressive toward other fish. The azure, yellowtail, sapphire and Talbot's damsels and the chromis are the mostly peaceful ones; the blue, three-stripe and four-stripe damsels are marked aggressive.

Index