New Hobbyist Need help stocking tank

[laxplaya]

I have a 55 g tank and thinkin of startin with 50 lbs of live rock and some live sand. I am not sure how many fish i can have but i have made a list, please comment on it if there are any flaws.
-Percula Clownfish
-Royal Gramma
-Pacific Cleaner Shrimp
-Blue Hippo Tang
-Porcupine Puffer
-Red Fromia Seastar
-Bubble Tip Anemone
-Firefish Goby
-Mandarin Dragonet
-Spotted Mandarin Dragonet
-Fuzzy Dwarf Lion
-Some cleaners from a reef kit
(i am not sure the quantities of each fish yet)

 

[fishy.....]

If this is truly not a joke than you are going to be ridiculously over stocked. Nix the Tang and porcupine puffer to begin with they do not belong in a 55 gallon tank.

 

[renogaw]

-Percula Clownfish yes x 2 max
-Royal Gramma yes x 1
-Pacific Cleaner Shrimp yes x 1 or 2
-Blue Hippo Tang NO
-Porcupine Puffer Probably not
-Red Fromia Seastar Probably not
-Bubble Tip Anemone depends on light--wait a while though
-Firefish Goby Yes x 1
-Mandarin Dragonet Yes, this or the spotted. DO not get both, and only if your tank is old enough and you have a fuge
-Spotted Mandarin Dragonet
-Fuzzy Dwarf Lion Only if you want everyone else to get eaten.
-Some cleaners from a reef kit
(i am not sure the quantities of each fish yet)

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by Fishy.....
If this is truly not a joke than you are going to be ridiculously over stocked. Nix the Tang and porcupine puffer to begin with they do not belong in a 55 gallon tank.

i've found out that most posts, unless UTTERLY rediculous, are not jokes but seriously people who need the help.

 

[laxplaya]

Thanks for the help, wats with my blue hippo tang? i really like them y cant i have them? and the guy at my LFS said FD Lions are peaceful and wont harm my other fish

 

[fishy.....]

Some friendly advice - Don't take everything your LFS says for granted, they are out to make money. Confirm what they say in some other way.
Most if not all tangs will get to big for a 55 gallon tank. Some say that even a 75 gallon tank is pushing it.

 

[renogaw]

i dunno on the lions. they are generally kept in an aggressive tank.
as for the tang, it will outgrow a 55 and be insanely unhappy. I'm pushing it keeping a kole in my 75, but they generally are the smallest of the tangs.

 

[patandlace]

All tangs need 6' tanks IMO. The FD will eat small fish and shrimps.

 

[larryndana]

Originally Posted by LAXplaya
I have a 55 g tank and thinkin of startin with 50 lbs of live rock and some live sand. I am not sure how many fish i can have but i have made a list, please comment on it if there are any flaws.
-Percula Clownfish
-Royal Gramma
-Pacific Cleaner Shrimp
-Blue Hippo Tang
-Porcupine Puffer
-Red Fromia Seastar
-Bubble Tip Anemone
-Firefish Goby
-Mandarin Dragonet
-Spotted Mandarin Dragonet
-Fuzzy Dwarf Lion
-Some cleaners from a reef kit
(i am not sure the quantities of each fish yet)
Guess i'll tackle a few of these.
TANG - No to the tang, they need at least a 5 or 6 foot long tank.
PUFFER - The puffer will need a bigger tank of at least 75 gallons.
STAR - The star is ok if you add about another 50 to 75 pounds of live rock, add live sand(not baged sand, from the ocean that comes in a box....real live sand). Let the tank mature for at least a year.
ANEMONE - i believe this is a lower lighting needed anemone(correct me if i'm wrong) but it will still need more than adverage lighting.
DRAGONETS - for both of these....follow the star advice. purchase young, as young as you can get. this way you may be able to get them to eat prepaired foods.
LION - i believe the lion will be ok, but not sure. no small fish or he will have a tastey expensive treat.
this is my 2 cents worth.

 

[laxplaya]

For lighting i have those Compact flourescents some are like blu so when u turn on the blu at nite it looks sweet (i hope so havent out water in yet lol) and do they make blu hippo tangs small so i can keep in 55 g? And the seastar, does it really need all that live rock and live sand? I will have all live rock and live sand and it seems to be alot but i am not really sure. Thanks so much for the help.

 

[laxplaya]

oh and another i was curious about asking, a 4 stripe damsel, its so small and cute how come it kills all these other fish and how??? Would it be ok with my tank i would probly get a couple. My LFS sed they are good starting fish cuz they are dirt cheap and u use them to see if the water is ok. And i know that sometimes the fish you add first is sort of becomes the dominant one and if a rather aggressive fish is added a while after the first ones he will not be as agressive.

 

[susiestank]

Originally Posted by LAXplaya
For lighting i have those Compact flourescents some are like blu so when u turn on the blu at nite it looks sweet (i hope so havent out water in yet lol) and do they make blu hippo tangs small so i can keep in 55 g? And the seastar, does it really need all that live rock and live sand? I will have all live rock and live sand and it seems to be alot but i am not really sure. Thanks so much for the help.
Its an animal , they dont just make it small - they grow. The 55 will be too small for it. Can you provide more information on the light? Watts? etc.

 

[laxplaya]

-Mandarin Dragonet Yes, this or the spotted. DO not get both, and only if your tank is old enough and you have a fuge
What is a fuge?

 

[laxplaya]

Not sure the light wattage but it is really good lighting, and i didnt mean small ones i mean like a dwarf blu hippo tang because there are other dwarf kinds of animals.

 

[susiestank]

Originally Posted by LAXplaya
oh and another i was curious about asking, a 4 stripe damsel, its so small and cute how come it kills all these other fish and how??? Would it be ok with my tank i would probly get a couple. My LFS sed they are good starting fish cuz they are dirt cheap and u use them to see if the water is ok. And i know that sometimes the fish you add first is sort of becomes the dominant one and if a rather aggressive fish is added a while after the first ones he will not be as agressive.

Also you shouldnt cycle you tank with fish - I would stay away from the damsels. They are aggressive and I have read many posts where people can't catch them in the tank and they keep killing other fish and then must take down their rock just to get the fihs out.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by LAXplaya
Not sure the light wattage but it is really good lighting, and i didnt mean small ones i mean like a dwarf blu hippo tang because there are other dwarf kinds of animals.
There is no such thing as a dwarf hippo tang. Hippo tangs get 9 inches and need far too much space than a 55 provides.

 

[renogaw]

depending on what the power output the PC's might be good enough for a BTA (gasp, did i say that? where's the sirens ). i have two of them that are doing rather well, but my clowns won't go anywhere near them. so if you want a BTA for that reason don't get your hopes up. you'll have to hope your BTA settles at the top of your tank, and rearranging rock becomes a hassle because you can't move them or the rock they are attached to towards the bottom of the tank.
a fuge is a seperated water area that you use to grow macroalgae such as chaeto or caerlupa (however you spell it). it provids a spawning home for pods. dragonets will most likely die without a HUGE source of pods--most won't eat frozen unless you're insanely lucky.
and please, get the tang out of your mind. you CANNOT have one in your tank. if you don't take people's advise on this, its your own risk. but why ask for advise and not take it when 100% of the people tell you the same thing?.