any suggestions for schooling fish for a 38g?

[jacksonpt]

Subject says it all... Any suggestions for 3(ish) schooling fish to add to a 38g tank? I've got a maroon clown and a rainsford goby... the maroon sticks close to his BTA, and the rainsford blends in well to the rocks as he hunts and feeds... I'd love a few fish that will be more out in the open and add some color and movement to the tank.

Anthias would be my preference, but my tank is too small.
Cardinals are a possibility, but I've never ever seen one move.... they just hover.
Same with firefish.
Damsels are the fallback, but pretty sure I'll end up with 1 after a few months, so the inevitable deaths are a deterrent for me.

Any suggestions, or is my tank just too small?

[Sk8r]

Damsels to exhibit normal behavior (and not kill each other in freakout) should be in a 100 gallon tank. The behavior you're after is just not going to happen on that scale with any species I can think of. If you want lively and interesting behaviors, look to the yellow-headed pearly jawfish, the tailspot blenny and the various shrimp gobies. They won't school, but they'll move. You do need to maintain film algae for the blenny. The goby will eat regular food, ditto the jawfish.

[Half Vaped]

The only fish that come to mind are Red Spot Cardinals. Maybe not as active as, say, Blennies, but they certainly move around more than Banggai or Pajama Cardinals.

I second the recommendation for the Tail-Spot Blenny. They don't school, but Midas, Blue-Dashed and Pictus Blennies are a few others that would likely work well in your tank and add some color and movement you're after.

[mandarin_goby]

38g is too small for a midas...mine is all over the place in my 75. My one chromis is very active, I started with 3 and now I'm down to one very large guy. Agreed about the cardinals, my pajama and banggai just kind of hang out in one area.

One fish that is always all over the place is my 6 line wrasse...not sure if 38g is ideal for them though.

[heathlindner25]

Not really schooling but ,you can put quite a few barnacle Benny's in there.

[jacksonpt]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

A midas and/or jawfish were on my list as possible contenders if I couldn't go the schooling route. I'll look into some of the other suggestions.

[nereefpat]

Damsels to exhibit normal behavior (and not kill each other in freakout) should be in a 100 gallon tank.

I'm guessing that maroon clown HATES damsels and chromis, right?

Would a pair or trio of royal grammas or chalk bass be ok in a 38?

[Sk8r]

Maroon clowns ARE damsels...more like the dascyllus (domino) damsel right down to living in a nem. And two big dascyllus or maroons in the same small space are warfare. Maroons have been known to grab a trespassing naive fish and shove them into their anemone.

I'd go for the chalk bass, I think, though honestly I've only heard they're peaceful: I haven't actually dealt with them. Grammas, maybe, but not necessarily together.

[CafeReef]

Blue Reef Chromis. Can be difficult to find but look awesome

[nereefpat]

Blue Reef Chromis. Can be difficult to find but look awesome

They do look awesome, but wouldn't the maroon clown take it behind the woodshed?