Looking to start a 55 gallon tank

[mosull]

Hey all!
I've been researching fish for quite some time now, and I decided to join this lovely forum to get some more information.
I have a 55 gallon tank that I have not used for quite some time now, and I decided that it would be neat to start my first saltwater aquarium.
My question is this: I only want one fish. Just one. What are some of the biggest species of saltwater fish that I can keep in a 55 gallon? I have always wanted just one big, beautiful saltwater fish.
I also had a question about tank cycling. How long should you cycle a tank until you can put a fish in it? Does it change depending on the type of fish?
Thanks so much!
- Mary

 

[bang guy]

Hi Mary,
I would suggest some type of Rabbitfish, perhaps a Foxface Lo or a Pencil-Streak.


As far as cycling I'll say 2 - 8 weeks. I know it's a wide range but you should let it take all the time it needs. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Depends on your idea of beauty... Lionfish are great as single species. Dwarf lions are pretty cool as well for your size tank. But, I happen to agree with Bang Guy on this one as well.
I'm a communal fish kinda guy myself... I like small schools. Cardinals, chromis, anthias (as close to freshwater goldfish as you can get), damselfish
Groups of damselfish would be very pretty swimming out in the open and poking out of rocks.
Then again, that's not what you asked. Let us know what you choose!

 

[mosull]

Thanks so much for the replies!
The Foxface and Rabbitfish are actually pretty cool. I hadn't looked at those before, they're very pretty.
Also, I positively love Lionfish, my dad had one when I was growing up, and I always thought that they were amazing. But I've been told by several people that a tank needs to be cycled for months in order to house a Lionfish, and while I am willing to be patient, I'm not sure if I can wait quite that long, hahaha.
I am super into predatory fish. I would love to have something that eats live food. I've had tons of large freshwater fish, but never anything saltwater, so I'm at a loss for how to start looking. It's so difficult to find fish appropriate for my size tank, as a lot of websites say that even Foxfaces and Rabbitfish need 180 gallons, so I guess I'm just struggling with misleading information.
I was looking at a lot of Triggerfish and Eels, do you think that those would be interesting or appropriate for my size tank? I'm not looking to squish any poor little fishies, hahaha.

 

[flower]

Hello and welcome to forum....LOL, I was always the kind of person who liked that one big fish as well. Heres the problem, this hobby is so addicting, and the fish are so beautiful, that one fish...just ain't enough. LOL..then there was coral, I couldn't get my fill.
I started with a 55g, then went to a 75g and then to a 90g, my house was too small for anything larger. So I got two tanks.
So welcome to the craziness. here is a great book to go look through at your local fish store (most stores carry this book)...because believe me, they don't carry a full selection of fish that you can have.

A page so you can see what is in it...all color photos and the fish size and tank needed

 

[snakeblitz33]

Lions are great fish. One lion in a 55g is fine. A cycle takes as long as it needs to... anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. You will have to cycle the tank regardless of the type of fish you put in it.
Lionfish should never eat live foods in captivity. Once you spoil them, they will never eat anything else. And because you want to limit the amount of disease that your lionfish is exposed to by only feeding dead food.
One large snowflake eel would be fine in a 55g tank, in my honest opinion. I don't feel like it would be a big issue.
triggers need long swimming distances and are unfit for your size tank, IMHO.
Two large maroon clownfish are very pretty to watch with an anemone.
There are plenty of large wrasses that are also fun to watch but don't stay out in the open a whole lot.
Anything that you do for your aquarium you will need to know and understand the biology and chemistry behind it to be mildly successful... start reading a few good books such as the conscientious marine aquarist by Bob Fenner and a few other starter books to get the basic jist of the hobby. The more you know now, the less you will spend later.

 

[jay0705]

I've gotten away from predatory fish lately, but I started my marine keeping w them. My personal fav is the dwarf lion fish. Hardy, peaceful, and nice looking. Now w your live food interest.i have to agree its best to feed dead.however w sum fish they just won't eat it. This was the case w my fuzzy dwarf. He'd take thawed krill rt out of my hand then just spit it out.where my trigger and puffer would eat it. This went on for a wk.silver sides,shrimp didn't matter he'd grab them ,then out it came lol.in my area I have a lfs that carries ghost shrimp.He never sput those out.He'd actively hunt for them when I didn't just hand feed them.i had him for many years w o issue. However I tried all dead options b4 live. When I did this I fed the shrimp flake and frozen food just b4 to "gut load" them. Shrimp r safer then feeding live fish but not totally w o issues possible. What ever u pick good luck. Take your time and find the rt fish for u. Also w cycling try sum LR u don't need it but it helps alot.

 

[saxman]

In a 55, your options for lionfish as a centerpiece type fish would be the dwarf species (Dendrochirus sp.) or a medium-bodied Pterois sp. You could also do multiple dwarf species or in the case of "D. fuzzy", you can keep a M-F pair or M-F-F trio in a std. 55 gal.
Most lionfish aren't too tuff to wean onto non-living fare, esp. the fuzzy dwarf. Fuzzies also come in different color morphs (brown, red, yellow, or any combination thereof)...we even had a specimen that had a turquoise tinge to its pectorals. One nice thing about lionfish and most other preds is that you only need to feed them 3x a week or so.
Here are a couple of good articles to aid in your research. The lionfish article contains good photos and information for pretty much all of the species you're likely to encounter:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml
This article discusses weaning your fish:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml
Give those a read, and hit us up with any specifics.

 

[mosull]

Thanks so much for the help!
I think I want a snowflake eel for sure. They just seem so fascinating to me. Now, is there any type of other, more active fish that I can keep with it? I do think a lot of the smaller, more colorful fish are really amazing. Would it be possible to have a medium sized clownfish or wrasse in the 55 gallon with it, or is the snowflake eel already pushing it as far as tank size goes? Since eels are generally nocturnal, it would be nice to be able to see something moving around in there during the day, provided that they could all live comfortably.
Thanks again, and I'm sorry about the ridiculous amount of questions, haha.

 

[saxman]

A word on SFEs...they're generally fine until they reach about 18" - 20", at which time they often become very aggressive, and often eat or kill their tankmates. In fact, the specimen I kept for over 15 years bit me...twice (I still have the scars from one of the incidents)! One of the times it bit me, it actually stuck its head out of the tank and bit me as I was changing the lamps in the canopy.
You mentioned smaller fish, and these would be right up a SFEs alley...
FWIW, I finally removed the SFE to solitary confinement where it lived out it days. During that time I tried to GIVE the eel away, but nobody wanted it...
Just want you to go into keeping an eel with both eyes open...

 

[mosull]

Hmm. That's really interesting. Maybe I would be better suited for a lionfish. I think that's what I might do. Sorry for the repeated flip-flopping, guys, hahaha. That way, when I inevitably want a bigger tank down the line, it seems like I will have a lot more options as far as tankmates for a lionfish. As much as I love eels, I think that a lionfish is a lot closer to what I am looking for in a fish.
I do have another question though, after having looked around some more.
How do you feel about invertebrates? It looks to me like anemones, urchins, and starfish could potentially be very useful to the environment of a tank, is that true? My dad, who had a LOT of saltwater tanks many years ago told me not to bother with them, as they can die and it is very hard to tell if they are dead, poisoning the tank.
I was also wondering, it says that lionfish are not compatible with invertebrates on the compatibility charts. What kind of invertebrates are they talking about, and is there any kind that I would be able to get?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by MoSull http:///t/394680/looking-to-start-a-55-gallon-tank#post_3513084
Hmm. That's really interesting. Maybe I would be better suited for a lionfish. I think that's what I might do. Sorry for the repeated flip-flopping, guys, hahaha. That way, when I inevitably want a bigger tank down the line, it seems like I will have a lot more options as far as tankmates for a lionfish. As much as I love eels, I think that a lionfish is a lot closer to what I am looking for in a fish.
I do have another question though, after having looked around some more.
How do you feel about invertebrates? It looks to me like anemones, urchins, and starfish could potentially be very useful to the environment of a tank, is that true? My dad, who had a LOT of saltwater tanks many years ago told me not to bother with them, as they can die and it is very hard to tell if they are dead, poisoning the tank.
I was also wondering, it says that lionfish are not compatible with invertebrates on the compatibility charts. What kind of invertebrates are they talking about, and is there any kind that I would be able to get?
Hi...times have changed from years ago...starfish, clams and such have a much better survival rate now......

ONLY IF YOU KEEP YOUR TANK WATER UP TO SNUFF.
The reason Lionfish are not compatible with inverts is because they eat them. A CUC (Clean Up Crew made up of snails, hermits and serpent/brittle stars) for a tank with lionfish is a challenge, I don't think they will bother an urchin, but those need tons of algae or they starve.
They are not aggressive at all but.....Have you considered seahorses? They are unusual looking, and pretty easy to keep as long as you purchase them captive bred....those eat frozen mysis and are no harder to feed than regular fish. I'm just tossing this out there, because you are still in the planning stage. You seem like the kind of person who likes the unusual...

 

[mosull]

Haha! You are quite right. I do have a love for anything weird. And actually, seahorses are something I have been looking into quite a bit. The problem being that supposedly they have a lot of babies, and after a certain point, I don't think I would know what to do with all of those babies, hahaha.
Another problem I've been entertaining is the fact that I am a college student, which means that I am likely going to move once I graduate in a few years. This is one of the reasons why I only wanted one big, hardy fish, because I figured it would be easier to move somewhere down the line.

 

[saxman]

MoSull,
Lionfish have no interest in corals at all, altho on occasion, some of them might decide they "like" a certain coral, and may perch on it repeatedly, which can stress the coral. Oddly enuff, if you move a fave perch, the lionfish will often seek it out and continue its behavior.
IMHO, your dad is right...leave the sea stars alone. The species that would do OK in a FOWLR setup can be predatory (I'm referring to the "knobby" stars such as choc chip and red knobby/red general). Also, sea stars tend to do poorly with higher NO3 levels, which are generally common in FOWLR setups.
And if the "bug" bites you, you'll definitely be wanting a larger tank or at least more tanks!
Quote:
The reason Lionfish are not compatible with inverts is because they eat them. A CUC (Clean Up Crew made up of snails, hermits and serpent/brittle stars) for a tank with lionfish is a challenge, I don't think they will bother an urchin, but those need tons of algae or they starve.
Flower,
Lionfish have no interest in snails or hermits, so keeping a CUC with them isn't hard at all. Most urchins are opportunistic omnivores, and will eat pretty much whatever they come across, altho Diadema sp. are more "weighted" towards algae.

 

[mosull]

I'm more familiar with freshwater tanks than saltwater tanks, but aren't snails supposed to be dangerous for a tank? I thought that it was really difficult to keep them clean from parasites.
I know that I need a protein skimmer, a pretty large filter, about 110 lbs of live rock, and about 55 pounds of live sand.
What types of skimmers and filters do you guys recommend?
What other things should I consider putting in my tank for the lionfish and for decoration?
What kinds of snails and hermit crabs are good for beginners? **EDIT**: I actually just read LionfishLair's Choosing Common Cleanup Crew Critters, and that was very helpful.

 

[jay0705]

Ok your at the high end for live rock. yes for reefs or "stock" community tanks alot of rock is needed. However your just looking at keeping a lion. 25-55lbs would b plenty.they don't eat the stuff alot of fish do off the rock. Your adding it for its bio filtration and help w cycling. You can get more its just for what want u don't need it. Snails r very good for marine tanks. Much diff than fresh water ones. I use cerith and turbos. But w turbos u need a decent amount of alage for them to survive.hermits I think r hit or miss. A lion that is big enough especially if it's hungry would try and eat them.

 

[mosull]

Well, that's a relief. I was looking at waay more money than I needed too, haha.
I really like the idea of having snails and hermit crabs in my tank. I would probably start out with a few bigger (and cheaper) hermits to see if my lion was even interested in them to start.
What specific filters and skimmers would be good for my tank? I would love to hear some reliable brands and some products that would give me perhaps a little bit more bang for my buck.

 

[jay0705]

It varies. I use a marineland hang on filter.some people like marineland sum hate them. There heaters suck!!!!! But the filter works well.i generally go w a bigger filter than you may need. My 75gal filter is rated to 90gal. If I had a bigger tank I'd prob run 2 filters. W skimmers idk that much. I don't use one. I keep hardy fish and iam anal w my water changes.turbo snails r good sized and alage eating machines. Large hermits eat alage as well so w either you want to let sum alage build up in your tank. If. U want alot of rock in your tank. Try a mix of live and base rock. Base is a bit cheaper and when placed w LR it turns into LR after 6-8 wks or so.