Begining Setup Opinions wanted.

[fishcrazy]

Hello,
I'm just starting up a 55 gallon saltwater tank. I am giving the tank a full month for
biological setup. When the water finally checks out ok i have thought out a plan for
the tank. I have compiled a list of everything i would like to put into this tank. I'm pretty sure it
is all compatable however being as this is my first I would like some opinions.
The following is a list of fish and rock.
Live Rock 20-25lbs...
Blue Hippo Tang
Fu Man Chu Lion
5x yellow tail damsels
5x Sebae Clown
Scooter Neosynchriopus (bleenie)
2x Mandarin Gobies
Banded coral shrimp
Condi Purple Anemone Note:What kind of special prep or considerations are
needed for these?
Carpet Stichodactyla
Spiny Urchin
Please feel free to make suggestions or flat out tell me if this will not work.
Thank You,
Christopher Cobb

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
First off, welcome to the board. Now, this is in no way meant to be harsh so do not feel like I am being mean. First off, it is a 55 gallon tank. Relatively good size tank for a beginner. Those fish will not all fit in a tank of that size, however. This hobby is much different than freshwater. So the first thing is that you have to cycle the tank. You can use the damsels for that but you will probably want to get rid of them because they are so aggressive to other fish. Next thing is that the Lion will probably in all likely hood eat all your damsels in due time. They get large and eat all small fish. The Mandarins need a much larger reef tank with lots of copepods. You won't be able to keep a Mandarin alive in that small of a tank especially 2 of them. This also goes for the scooter blenny. Now these fish may all seem very colorful and you want to get them but you will first have to learn much more about these fish and their requirements. The Tang is not for a beginner and needs perfect water or it will quickly get sick and get a disease. They also need a lot of vegetable matter in their diet. I think 1 clown would be good to start with. 5 sounds like an awful lot as it will take up a lot of space and they do get aggressive towards each other. I recommend that you get a good book on reef aquariums and fish. Try the Reef Guide by Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung. I think you should start with easy fish and move to hard fish later. Try a clown to start with and then maybe a 6 line wrasse and a firefish or a cardinal. Please feel free to ask more questions as they come up.

 

[fishcrazy]

Thanks for the quick and honest reply. I had a very uneasy feeling about the setup . I'm going to pick up that book today. Thanks once again.