predator tank questions

[lstt]

just looking for some opinions on aggressive pred. tank. i have a reef 46gal. 1y/o and now want a fish only live rock. i have a porcupine puffer on hold at the lfs. theres a larger one and smaller one. i like the personality of the larger. would i be able to put a harlequin tuskfish , blue cheek trigger and possibly a dwarf lion in that tank? i am new with this end of the hobby would like some honest opions. thanks . any suggestions of a nice group of fish for this aquarium would be appreciated. oh forgot to tell you the size of my new tank is 55 gallon.

 

[mumbulog]

your very limited on fish due to the size of your tank. I think the tusk will get to big for your tank and the puffer if you have other fish. The dwark lion would be ok, but thats the only fish out of your choices that would be ok after a year or so. I'm no expert but this is my honest opinion. I wouls sell your entire reef set up for a fair price and buy a 75 gallon or larger tank.
Gordon

 

[cgrant]

IMO...Your tank is a little on the small side for the fish you want, I also have a 55 and I am picking up my 210 on Friday due to fish I wish to keep, I would take a step back and decide on exactly what you would like to have in your tank and if you are sure you want those fish - step to a bigger tank, Best advise I can give you is purchase the biggest tank you can, Cause this hobby is like drugs, before you know it you are sucked in and have no hope for escape :help: Not that i would actually know...
I went from a 10 to a 30 to a 55, winter storm wipped me out in 98 and put it in storage till about 3 months ago, just got busy with life, house, kids, etc. now going to a 210, When we eventually move again I want something like ~350 built into the wall...see :help:
Main point to all this is if you decide to go with a bigger tank get the biggest space allows or what $$$ allow.
Whatever you decide good luck!

 

[lstt]

thank you for your advice . i have gotten addicted love my reef but space and money are a problem for a larger aquarium. what would go nice in a 55 fishonly

 

[boalgf]

Anglers, scorpionfish, toby puffers, dwarf lions, dwarf eels, and damsels are a few. Though you couldn't have all those together. There are many beatiful fish you could put in a 55 that are aggressive. I think dwarf lions and toby puffers are easily as impressive as the larger speicies.
I've got a porc puffer about 7". He was 4" only 6 months back so I think you should leave him at the LFS.
I know how you feel about larger aggressive fish. I love all of mine. Good luck.

 

[cgrant]

wow, i did not realize puffers grow that fast? 4" in 6 months seems like alot.
What do you feed that bad-boy? :happyfish

 

[boalgf]

It's closer to 3" in that time frame. He eats often and heavily. I feed him twice a day, mostly because he is a fin nipper but also because he is a food theif. I feed him nutrition fortified shrimp and krill, silversides, clams in the shell, and he seems to love nori lol. Though I don't intentionally feed him that. He steals it from the clip when the tangs are eating. The problem with gus gus (my puffer) is that he eats everything, including flake food. So he definitely overfeeds. Nothing I can do about it though, short of starving the other fish.