Going out my mind, stock list Q?

chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Okay I posted this in a thread I had going earlier, but this is more appropriate place and will probably get the help I need here. Thanks in advance
The tank is a 56 gallon 30x18x24...
Okay so 20% of the fish I like are "not reef safe" 75% are "with caution" and like 5% are safe (basically the clowns and gobies). Luckily I paid $5 for a MH ballast and socket and only needed to buy a bulb so im not so invested there that it'll kill me not to do coral.
Lets try this stock list on for a moment (thanks for being patient I just have this thing for knowing where I'm going as I go there).
1. Maroon clown x1
2. Blackcap or Lantern basslet
3. Dot dash butterfly (Chaetodon pelewensis) (or other small butterfly)
4. One Spot Foxface
5. Flame or Rusty dwarf angel
6.A smaller wrass like an xmas wrass or blue head wrass
Then maybe 1 from this list below, unless something above doesnt work and 2 of these can work together (like lion and tiny puffer and minus the fox face as its the biggest above)
1. Lion (not a Volatain dont have room, I'm thinking an antenna).
2. Small less aggressive trigger like a niger.
3. (most likely) small puffer like a valentini.
4. Dont yell at me but maybe a Miniatus grouper? I can get one dirt cheap and its so freaking awesome looking, but I dont think it would work in that tank by itself :)
Forgive me for the novel !
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
clown and basselett can go with the puffer but not the grouper or lion
butterfly's and foxface are cautionary with all these
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
and cross off the trigger and grouper,, while nice those are two very fast growing fish, will outgrow your tank in less than a years time...
Butterflys and foxes tend to nipe LPS corals,,, i dont know how much or if the like SPS too...and dwarf angels are hit or miss from what i hear...
the lion would look nice, but im not sure how fast they grow,,,
I like your list, you may just have to get the original 6 set up and then see if you really have room for one larger fish???
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Maroon clowns get big and very territorial as they get older. I have a 4-inch female who occasionally causes problems in my 110g aquarium. In your 56g a maroon would consider the entire tank as "hers" in a matter of months.
I would suggest you consider a less aggressive clown, or else consider the clown to be the last or close to the last tank mate.
Otherwise, I think you could get away with:
1 clown (B&W Ocellaris, Ocellaris, Percula, or Maroon added last)
Blackcap or Lantern Basslet
Foxface, Scribbled Rabbitfish, OR Dot-Dash butterfly
Flame or Rusty Dwarf Angel
Small wrasse (consider something in the flasher or fairy families)
Sleeper goby or diamond goby for your sandbed
Valentini Puffer
That would give you seven fish, and probably max out your bioload. I suggested a scribbled rabbitfish because they are slightly less skittish than foxfaces. I also suggested that you do a butterfly OR a rabbit/fox because both of these kinds of fish get fairly large, and produce a lot of waste. You could consider the choice you make in this category to be your "trophy" fish along with the puffer. Finally, if you leave out the butterfly and substitute the fox or rabbit you will have a definite chance of adding some corals to this system as well. The puffer is more or less soft-coral safe (IIRC), just not shrimp and snail-safe (know that for a fact!) Since you won't have much of an invertebrate CUC you should definitely have a good filtrations system and skimmer in place to handle this biolad. You're pushing the envelope a bit, but not too far IMO.
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
I appreciate it. I think after a trip to 3 LFS's to discuss my situation I'm going with the following stock list, and while I'll here arguments about the tang the LFS will buy it back for what I paid (or more depending) when/if it becomes an issue.
1 pair of misbar percula clowns (i like the "character" the misbars give, my wife likes them too but doesnt like picassos or their price).
1 Mimic tang (go away tang police, I wont hurt the baby)
a "couple" of nano fish like clown gobies and neon gobies, good for bio impact/visual impact ratio
A shrimp goby, not sure which.
Engineer goby but doubtful as I've heard they will totally rearrange your sand.
Mandarin on the tanks birthday
Lawnmower blenny
dwarf angel
Then either 2 purple fire fish (with proper anti-jump measures) OR some "oddball chromis" like sunrise or purples OR possibly some bangaii beauties if i can afford them.
So like 5-6 smaller fish, a bigger fish and a big big fish, then maybe a few others if the tank allows. I cant just go write a check at the LFS so it'll be bit by bit and the tank will tell me when to stop.
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/3190694
get it in writing
Hahah, this is the same LFS that is going to sell me a working CPR bakpak for $40, and has let me "borrow" a used MH bulb for like 2 weeks now. But yes getting it in writing would be the smarter thing to do. I've brought back a fish here and there and gotten credit at prevailing wholesale, which frankly isnt bad when you're dealing with things like damsels :)
 
halamaya

halamaya

Member
thats a sweet deal I bought my backpack for 130 bucks. I really like it and the bio bale seems to work pretty well also.
 
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