55g Fish Setup ideas?

tannercelik101

tannercelik101

New Member
My 55g will be set up soon, with at least 50lbs of LR and and a sand bed, and I was just wondering on some ideas for some fish combos that I could keep in the tank. I definitely want a lemonpeel angel, and am open to suggestions as far as anything else goes. Also, I was looking on a website and for $80 I can get a cleanup crew consisting of:
is this overkill as far as a cleanup crew is concerned for a 55g?
Please give me any and as much feedback as possible, so I can make the most informed decision as possible.
Thanks!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by tannercelik101 http:///t/392924/55g-fish-setup-ideas#post_3492309
My 55g will be set up soon, with at least 50lbs of LR and and a sand bed, and I was just wondering on some ideas for some fish combos that I could keep in the tank. I definitely want a lemonpeel angel, and am open to suggestions as far as anything else goes. Also, I was looking on a website and for $80 I can get a cleanup crew consisting of:
is this overkill as far as a cleanup crew is concerned for a 55g?
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Please give me any and as much feedback as possible, so I can make the most informed decision as possible.
Thanks!
Hi...before you get a CUC, you need to be sure yo have the algae for them to clean up first. I personally would stay away from hermits, they kill the snails.I would build my own CUC and not get a pre-made up one. I would get different kinds of snails...here is a list I would stock if I had a 55g. You can get some, and build up later when you have more algae.
2 serpent stars (not green they grow and eat fish...they keep the rocks clear of wasted food)
30 Cerith (eats green slime algae)
20 margarita (eats even hair algae)
30 nessarius (keeps the sand clean and eats wasted food)
20 turbo (eats all kinds of algae)
5 peppermint shrimps (eats aptasia and wasted food)
2 cleaner shrimp. (eats wasted food... and cleans the fish of parasites, not a cure for ich, but they help make the fish feel better)
 
S

saxman

Guest
WOAH....welcome to the site, but hold on there!
You need to slow down on stocking a CUC, because your tank won't support one and they'll starve out. You also really don't want to add the CUC while it's actively cycling as the spikes can kill them off. The idea is to balance your CUC with the needs of your tank, and temper it with the types of fish you're keeping (some will eat shrimp, for instance), so you can see that just stuffing a new tank willy-nilly with a large CUC isn't the best idea.
For a 55 gal, I wouldn't stock more than 6 hermits, and I'd only keep the scarlet reef hermits. Hermits are opportunistic omnivores, and if there isn't enuff algae, detritus, and leftover food, guess what's for dinner? Your snails, and once hermits develop a taste for snails, they will always be on the menu.
Stay away from Margarita snails unless you're keeping the tank at temperate temps (68*F max). Margaritas will die off pretty quickly at normal tropical temps, so they're a waste of money.
Also, hold off on the Turbo snails unless you have a hair algae problem. They get huge (golf ball size) and are clumsy. In a 55, I'd go with 2 max if you need them. If you can find the Caribbean species with the orange shells, they are a MUCH better snail, and you can add up to 6 of them in a 55.
This is how I'd stock the CUC INITIALLY until your tank develops a "personality":
SNAILS (6 each):
Nerite (try to find the species with tan shells with black carat (^) shaped markings...these are less "intertidal" than the black ones. Awesome for film algae.
Astrea general algae eaters
Trochus another good all-around algae eater.
Cerith (film agae, will clean at the substrate line). There are small, so you'll likely want to eventually keep 18 or so.
Also, you'll want a couple of Nasasarius snails to start...eventually get 6 for a 55.
You can toss 6 peppermint shrimp in the mix as well.
Give this article a read before you buy anything...it's a good primer on choosing a CUC:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/cuc/cuc.shtml
Sorry for the lengthy post, but this is one subject on which I have a pretty strong opinion...
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by saxman http:///t/392924/55g-fish-setup-ideas#post_3492408
WOAH....welcome to the site, but hold on there!
You need to slow down on stocking a CUC, because your tank won't support one and they'll starve out. You also really don't want to add the CUC while it's actively cycling as the spikes can kill them off. The idea is to balance your CUC with the needs of your tank, and temper it with the types of fish you're keeping (some will eat shrimp, for instance), so you can see that just stuffing a new tank willy-nilly with a large CUC isn't the best idea.
For a 55 gal, I wouldn't stock more than 6 hermits, and I'd only keep the scarlet reef hermits. Hermits are opportunistic omnivores, and if there isn't enuff algae, detritus, and leftover food, guess what's for dinner? Your snails, and once hermits develop a taste for snails, they will always be on the menu.
Stay away from Margarita snails unless you're keeping the tank at temperate temps (68*F max). Margaritas will die off pretty quickly at normal tropical temps, so they're a waste of money.
Also, hold off on the Turbo snails unless you have a hair algae problem. They get huge (golf ball size) and are clumsy. In a 55, I'd go with 2 max if you need them. If you can find the Caribbean species with the orange shells, they are a MUCH better snail, and you can add up to 6 of them in a 55.
This is how I'd stock the CUC INITIALLY until your tank develops a "personality":
SNAILS (6 each):
Nerite (try to find the species with tan shells with black carat (^) shaped markings...these are less "intertidal" than the black ones. Awesome for film algae.
Astrea general algae eaters
Trochus another good all-around algae eater.
Cerith (film agae, will clean at the substrate line). There are small, so you'll likely want to eventually keep 18 or so.
Also, you'll want a couple of Nasasarius snails to start...eventually get 6 for a 55.
You can toss 6 peppermint shrimp in the mix as well.
Give this article a read before you buy anything...it's a good primer on choosing a CUC:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/cuc/cuc.shtml
Sorry for the lengthy post, but this is one subject on which I have a pretty strong opinion...
Thank you for catching my mistakes! That's why I love this site, I have a cold tank and stock with margarita snails. Also...in my defense, just to save face, I did say build slow and to not add anything until the critters had something to eat.
Now just in case I did something wrong in my own tank:
In my 56g I have that CUC minus the serpent stars and cleaner shrimp. I have 30 nassarious snails in it, I also have nerite snails but forgot to mention them...but seahorses are very messy eaters and waste plenty so far to keep everyone fed well. I had no idea turbos reach that size and I have 20 at least. I don't have astera snails because they fall on their backs and die (or so I was told) and the trochus are hard to find, I have some (25) in the 90g
Should I remove the turbos? I also have quite a bit more than 6 of each, what should I do?
 
S

saxman

Guest
If you like the Turbos and they do OK for you, there's no reason to do anything.
 
tannercelik101

tannercelik101

New Member
Sorry if I confused anyone, I have no intentions of stocking my tank with anything until like you guys said, it's fully established. I'm just trying to get the necessary research done while the tank is set up, so when the time comes I'm prepared and make an informed decision, rather than a quick rash decision to get something in the tank. Thanks for the input, and keep them coming! Also nobody has mentioned yet about a good set-up of fish that I could keep in the tank... Any ideas on that would be great, and I know it will be a LONG time before I get to fish in the tank, but like I said I'm trying to figure out compatibilities and such before I get further.
 
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