Reef safe is a distinction used in the saltwater aquarium hobby to indicate that a fish or invertebrate is safe to add to a reef aquarium. There is no fish that is completely reef safe. Every fish that is commonly listed as reef safe are species that usually do not readily consume small fish or invertebrates. Fish listed as reef safe also do not bother fellow fish unless in some cases, for instance tangs, they do not get along with conspecifics and sometimes fish with similar color or body shape. Every fish has a personality, is different, and, in some cases, are opportunistic feeders. Tangs, which by most accounts are reef safe, may in adulthood eat some crustaceans shortly after they molt. Many larger predatory fish, for instance eels and pufferfish, will adapt very well to a reef tank and will be problem-free as long as they have sizable tankmates and no crustaceans. Some aquarists have also had success in keeping smaller fish with predatory ones in reef tanks by adding the smaller fish at night, sometimes with newly rearranged rockwork.
Reef safe fish
Anthias
Basslets
Blennies (excluding fang blennies, a few species will nip at polyps and giant clam mantles)
Cardinalfish
Chromis
Clownfish (sometimes excluding the maroon clown which can grow very aggressive and territorial)
Damsels (sometimes excluding larger, more aggressive Dascyllus varieties)
Dwarf angels (dwarf angels in a reef setting has been heavily debated)
Dottybacks
Dragonets
Foxface (foxface and rabbitfish will occasionally eat certain corals if underfed)
Gobies
Jawfish
Pipefish (can be killed by stinging corals and anemones)
Pseudochromis
Seahorse (can be killed by stinging corals and anemones)
Tangs
Wrasse (there are both reef safe wrasse and ones that are notorious for killing small fish and invertebrates)
Reef safe invertebrates
Anemones (anemones, especially carpet anemones can eat fish and burn corals to death requiring specific placement for specimens in an aquarium)
Coral (there are aggressive types of coral which have sweeper tenticles that can burn other corals; these may require specific placement in an aquarium)
Crabs (specifically small hermit crabs, anemone crabs, emerald mithrax crabs and strawberry crabs)
Fan worms
Giant clams
Scallops
Sea cucumbers
Sea fans
Sea slugs
Sea stars (there are many sea stars which are not reef safe like crown-of-thorns starfish and chocolate chip sea star)
Sea squirts
Shrimps (peppermint shrimps, pistol shrimps, anemone shrimps and blood red fire shrimps are better choices since the commonly available banded coral shrimp can kill fish, and the mantis shrimp will kill and eat most animals in a tank)
Snails (some snails are parasitic but are rarely, if ever, offered in the saltwater aquaria trade)
Sponges
Tunicates
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