Need advice on stocking my tank

[ehenderson634]

I'm very new at the salt water thing so any input would be great. I'm a week into cycling my 55 gal tank and making a wish list for my fish when the tank is ready.
1 Royal Gramma
1 Red Scooter Blenny
2 blue Reef Chromis Damsels
1 Pajama Cardinal
1 False Percula Clownfish
1 Yellow Wrasse or a Six Line Wrasse
1 Fire Shrimp
We want to add some reef and coral down the road once we get the hang of things.
Will these guys get along? Is there to many? Any input anyone has would be a big help.

 

[ajroc31]

I had a yellow wrasse until he went carpet surfing, a really cool fish, great personality, but becareful, he is a jumper. If you decide to get a six-line, make sure he is the only wrasse, and imo, should be the last fish added, as they could become bullies towards newcomers.

 

[kellenr]

True, sixlines do sometimes 'bully' newcomers. I would prefer the sixline though over the yellow. They're colorful, swim around the entire tank and are great at cleaning up any spot parasites such as flatworms.
Royal Gramma's tend to be pretty aggressive sometimes though, I'd probably add the Gramma last but the Sixline 2nd to last.
I'd say definitely lose the Damsels, very aggressive, very territorial, very big headache. Read around and you'll see why everyone says NO on damsels. They'll harrass all of your fish, along with the R.Gramma there'll be a 'hostility in the water'. You want a calm happy tank for success.
Pajama cardinals are very colorful but very mellow. Just be careful they don't become a 'target' for the aggressive fish as they often do. I'd get a bigger one if you can and definately lose the Damsels.
Scooter Blennies are great for reef tanks, BUT they primarily eat different algaes on the live rock and sand. You'll need your tank to 'mature' a little bit before adding this guy or else it'll starve to death in a new tank.
If you're gonna keep corals you'll need to consider good lighting. This is often the deciding factor as to if one is successful in keeping a reef system or not. Because of the high cost of lighting people often try to get by with the cheapest they can. In a 55gal you're gonna need to get something like T5 HO lighting or better, you can look into that in other threads.
Well good luck and welcome to your new addiction!

 

[bizzmoneyb]

I'll second the NO damsels. Ive tried various types and they were all bullies.. constantly nipping and chasing the other fish.
I also had a six line wrasse and royal gamma and never had any aggression problems with either fish. So I think you'll be fine.

 

[ehenderson634]

I've heard that about damsels to, but I read that the blue reef chromis is one of the few damsels that are peacefull. Has anyone had any experience with that particlular kind?

 

[pnkflydlvr]

i wouldn't get damsels, but green chromis are a great choice, as they are similar to other damsels, but not aggressive.

 

[kellenr]

Originally Posted by ehenderson634
http:///forum/post/2695117
I've heard that about damsels to, but I read that the blue reef chromis is one of the few damsels that are peacefull. Has anyone had any experience with that particlular kind?
No, thats very wrong. The blue damsels are very aggressive, I think they're one of the worst ones. They harass fish of all sizes big or small. They create a lot of stress in peaceful tanks and the whole system becomes stressed, not good for fish health and disease prevention.
I had 1 Blue Damsel before when I first began saltwater, shortly after I learned of the "no damsels rule" and began observing why. It would constantly provoke, chase and nip my clownfish and even the other green chromis. It would harass them for 10minutes straight sometimes. I decided to remove it about a week later, and that took about 2hrs for me to finally catch it. They're very fast and hide in small spots so you have to take the rockwork apart to get to them, not good in an established tank! It was ok though because like I said I had just begun my tank when I first started saltwater, that was my damsel experience. The stories can go on forever of everyone having their problems with damsels.

 

[rort]

completely agree about the damsels. They are often times used as starter fish where they are used to test if the water is habitable and to continue in helping produce bacteria in the tank... yet I have never agreed with the act of knowingly sacrificing a fish to test something that could be tested in a tube. I made the mistake of the domino damsels. The biggest one actually killed the other two!

 

[rostato]

Green chromis will be a nic addition to your tank. They are not aggressive. I would get an odd number though, like 3 of them. They school together and one of them will become the leader and the others will follow.

 

[kellenr]

Yeah, the Green Chromis can be added. They are pretty hardy and not aggressive, good starter fish.