Help us stock our 55 gallon

[reefer545]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
I am very sorry if I made you feel like I was judging you. I certainly am not. I am trying to help you make good choices for your tank. You can get a clown fish if that is what your son wants. With proper planning you could have a pair of clowns host an anemone. That certainly is not necessary though. It is your tank and the inhabitants are up to you. You are limited in species that you can keep. You cannot, for example, keep any kind of tang in a 55. Those fish are very active and the tank is just to small to keep them. I did not know what kind of fish that you were looking to keep. There are certain kinds of fish("Dori") that you will not be able to house.
As far as different species go, nobody can deny what he says. This way you save money, face, and most importantly -- frustration.

 

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by B-Baby80
Well i know i want simple,hardy and colorful.Oh and preferable some that all eat the same things.I like them with a little size but not huge.This damsel is tiny and hiding in my rock LOL!I am hoping to eventually have a anemone that my clowns would host.Although i know that doesn't always happen.Especially with captivity bred ones.
By the way what kind of fish was Dori?

I saw a valentini puffer at the LFS that was just so cute and shy.I think he was cute and thought we may get him if he was still their.When the time comes.What do you think?
B-Baby - I too have a 55g that is a couple months ahead of yours. Mine was also established and I moved it and started it up. I left some advice on another of your posts.
On mine, I spent $180 on T5 lighting and am very happy for it. I also bought a protein skimmer which works very well (although not the brand favored by folks on the boards). I have 2 maxi jet 1200 power heads with Hydor Flo wave makers attached. My overflow drops into a 15g refugium which turns over 600gph.
Livestock
For fish, I have 2 False Percs, 1 firefish and 1 sixline wrasse. I am looking at 1 or 2 more (max) that are compatible with what I have. Probably a goby of some kind and maybe a coral beauty angelfish. Not sure yet. I have already had 3 fish die in my short time. The first was a Banggai Cardinalfish who just stopped eating and died. The second was a firefish that got caught in a powerhead. The last one was a yellow clown goby that was being harassed by somebody and stopped eating.
For inverts, I have a cleaner shrimp, a red brittle star, a sally lightfoot crab, 2 emerald crabs, a half dozen small hermits and 20ish snails. I may get 1 or 2 more emerald crabs. I plan on getting a BTA (bubble tip anemone) in a few months.
For corals, I have a branching hammer coral, a candycane coral, a rock with a dozen or so purple mushrooms and a small colony of zoos. I plan to get more corals that are compatible with my lights.
I have learned LOTS on these boards. Great resources and lots of help. These boards along with several books have really helped me get off to a good start!
By the way, I believe Dori is a blue hippo tang.
Welcome to the boards, John

 

[brandon7491]

you can keep various types of mushroom corals under ur lighting. if i were you i would upgrade to t-5 or mh asap cuz ur going to have to light acklimate ur stuff to the powerful lights. n e ways for fish you could do. 2 percs,2fire fish,watchman goby,6line wrasse,flame angel. i would suggest you get bettter filtration.

 

[michaeltx]

well there are several differents types of corals that work under your current lighting. The only problem if you start getting corals for your current lighting when you upgrade you will more than likely find that the corals wont do so good because they are lower light corals.
as far s anemones there are a few that would work for normal lighting but really shouldnt be attempted unless you are going for a specific area type of tank. wrath anemones come to mind that are a deep water specimen, tube anemones which can catch and kill and eat fish if the tank isnt big enough for them to avoid it. all in all my advice would be upgrade you lighting before getting into corals you will be much more happier with the tank.
Next thing " Dory" needs a large tank 90+ at the very Least
angels *coral beuty**flame angel* are 50/50 on picking on corals so if you are going reef keep that in mind
If you are wanting shrimp and other ornate crustaceans I would stay away from the toby or valentine puffers because they will eat those expensive shrimps.
There are a lot of things in this hobby people are still learning but when first starting out a tank there are a few key things to keep in mind.
1 research your purchases-- not reasearching your purchases can in the long run devastate a tank if the wrong critters are mixed together or added to a reef setup.
2 pateints is a major key the only thing that happens fast is disaster!
3 doing to much to fast let the tank mature inbetween additions
4 research research, research plays a very big role
5 take the advice of anyone that you PAY at a store with a grain of salt everyone here isnt out for your checkbook some of us get very excited about our hobby and try to keep new folks from making the same costly mistakes that we all made. even with that there are some that beleive differently from others so read research and then you will have to make up your own mind on what you want to do with your tank.
welcome to the board and remember that the only stupid question is the one not asked~~!!
Mike

 

[rudedog40]

Originally Posted by B-Baby80
Well i know i want simple,hardy and colorful.Oh and preferable some that all eat the same things.I like them with a little size but not huge.This damsel is tiny and hiding in my rock LOL!I am hoping to eventually have a anemone that my clowns would host.Although i know that doesn't always happen.Especially with captivity bred ones.
By the way what kind of fish was Dori?

I saw a valentini puffer at the LFS that was just so cute and shy.I think he was cute and thought we may get him if he was still their.When the time comes.What do you think?

I have a Hawaiian Puffer in my 55. Comical little guy. The only issues with puffers are that they may have your snails and hermits for dinner. When I put my puffer in, the first day he tooks out all my Nassarius snails. However, he doesn't bother my hermits, astro snails, or crabs. So just be forewarned this could occur.
A pair of perc clowns would be good. You don't necessarily need an anemone in the tank for them. However, if you put the anemone in later, make sure you get one that's at least twice as large as the clown (i.e. if the clown is 4", get an 8" anemone). Otherwise the two clowns may tear it up while trying to host in it.
If you don't want to go aggressive (eels, lionfish, wrasses, etc.), a Dwarf Coral Beauty or Flame Angelfish, a Shrimp Goby (get it with a Pistol Shrimp, they work together), a Dottyback, or a Pseudochromis. I also have a Coral Banded Shrimp that's very amusing to watch. Some members here have reported they'll go after small fish and some inverts, but mine hasn't touched anything yet.
A "Dori" fish is a Blue Hippo Tang. It's tabu here not to put tangs in a 55. However, I just got a small 1" Blue Hippo for mine. He seems pretty happy, and school's with my green chromis and firefish goby. Yes, he will get too big for my tank. But I calculate that'll be 1 to 2 years down the road. At that time, I'll take him back to my LFS for consignment credit. If you're not the type that gets attached to fish, that is an option for you. However, be aware that any tang is an ich magnet if not kept healthy, and they can attack your smaller fish as they get larger.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by B-Baby80
Well i know i want simple,hardy and colorful.Oh and preferable some that all eat the same things.I like them with a little size but not huge.This damsel is tiny and hiding in my rock LOL!I am hoping to eventually have a anemone that my clowns would host.Although i know that doesn't always happen.Especially with captivity bred ones.
By the way what kind of fish was Dori?

I saw a valentini puffer at the LFS that was just so cute and shy.I think he was cute and thought we may get him if he was still their.When the time comes.What do you think?
Puffers do not remain shy and cute. You have many optoins open to you for fish choices. If you seriously want an anemone for a pair of clowns to host then I strongly recommend you at least getting T-5 lighting. As for other fish, there are fire fish, basselets, gobies, blennies, wrassies, and many others that will suit your tank. Those are just a few. Take a look at different fish and choose what is right for your tank. Go to a book store and pick up Marine Fishes by Scott Michael. It contains over 500 different species of fish to look at. It has specs for each breed. It will give you some ideas. It costs about $15 and is a good referrence book.