Stocking 55 gal tank... please help!

[anh318]

Hello all- I am new to this forum and to owning a salt water fish tank. I am paying a local company to install and maintain my tank. However, I am wanting some advice on the fish to place in it. I want to insure that I do not overcrowd the fish by selecting too many. I am also concerned about compatibility among them all. The tank is a 55 gallon, visible from both sides, and will be placed within a wall in my home. I plan to put around 50lbs of live rock in it. From what I understand, you can typically place 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of tank. I am not sure how to account for sea anemones, crabs, starfish, etc. This is what I am thinking so far:
2 clownfish (ocellaris or percula, not sure the difference)
1 royal gramma
1 banggai cardinal
1 dwarf angel (coral beauty, flame, or bi-color.. any recommendations on either of these?)
starfish and 2 crabs
I personally like bright or eclectic fish. Any recommendations? Would I have room for any others? I want my fish to be happy and not cramped! Thank you in advance for any advice!
-Ashley
(55 gallon perfecto overflow glass aquarium, Wet/dry Eshopps 75 RS, Deep Blue Triton 3 850 GPH pump, Eshopps PSK 75 skimmer, Deep Blue 9 watt in-tank sterilizer, TLF Phosban Reactor, Bwell Extrax Phos 1.32lbs, maxi-jet reactor pump, & LED panel 120watt x2)

 

[aquiman]

Not able to help on all of your questions but there are compatibility matrixes on line that can help. As for the dwarf angels, the flame is a great one and one of my favorites. Good luck

 

[anh318]

Thank you, I will have to look for the compatibility matrices online. Do you personally have a flame angel? If so, any problems with aggression or nipping at coral?

 

[aquiman]

Presently, I don't have one but I did and he was great. Unfortunately, I didn't quarantine him and I think the stress might have gotten to him and he died shortly after I got him. They are not aggressive, as a matter of fact they are peaceful. Here is a link on this website to the dwarf flame so you can read up a bit on them. I don't have coral but the link will also tell you that they are reef safe. One thing you should also notice on the link is the expertise level required for this fish and it says moderate.... as a newbie, you might want to look for something that says easy, but since you are having someone care for them and it seems like you have a nice setup, you could be fine. Be sure to check the comaptability matrix to ensure you have the right mix of personalities. Good luck.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/Flame-Angelfish--1299-with-separate-79-in-Marine-Life-Use-code-flame_p_6276.html

 

[snakeblitz33]

Clownfish are a standard in the hobby - either way you won't go wrong for your size aquarium. Royal grammas are fun to watch as well and should get along just fine with the rest of your stock list. The cardinal is also a pretty standard fish - but I hope you know that they come in more color morphs than just the black stripe and the pajama. You may find some others that you find interesting. Cardinals do best in pairs. A dwarf angel most likely isn't going to be a problem in your tank, either. I personally like pygmy angels over bicolors. Flames are intersting and do have personality - but I stay away from them in reef tanks because I have heard too many horror stories. Same for lemonpeels. When you put an angel in your tank you are pretty much rolling the dice on whether your corals will be safe or not.
Starfish are creatures that I feel are better left in the ocean. We as hobbyists in our small little tanks (compared to the ocean) can not give starfish their proper nutrition and most die within a year of captivity. Sandsifting stars consume an entire microfauna population in the sandbeds and then starve to death as well... You may want to consider something less predatory in the future, such as a cucumber. Lettuce nudibranchs are also a nice addition to a reef since they eat algae - typically a bane to new saltwater hobbyists.
I don't know what crabs you are referring to, but there are some crabs out there for the aquarium hobby that shouldn't be available to the regular hobbyist. I recommend staying away from horseshoe crabs, as well as fiddlers. - and anything else that you (or your family) would eat.
It sounds like your being taken care of - I guess you went with an affordable "package" deal. The protein skimmer isn't quite top of the line - and the generous use of a phosphate removal media to me shows that the live fish store probably expects their customers to overfeed. What I suggest is to go ahead and start doing some of your own research on the hobby - so that eventually you can save yourself some money and do some things on your own. I recommend this link: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/guides-for-new-hobbyists to get started in the hobby.

 

[reefr]

agree with Snake..
sand-sifters are challenging to keep, yes. I had one thrive for 4.5-5 months, then deteriorate(starvation). For sand sifters, I recommend a mature (1+yr), deep sandbed(3"+), and a large tank (200+g), if you want them long-term. for otHEr stars, you need ESTABLISHED LR, LOTS of it (100+lb BARE MINIMUM). I have a six armed Orange Sea Star- Echinaster sp and he is doing good, probably since I have +-200 lbs of established LR (2+yrs).

 

[anh318]

Thank you for the information. I am trying to read more about these aquariums, as I hate to take what the fish store says as true without my own knowledge. You mentioned that my skimmer may be less than adequate for my tank, do you have any recommendations? I bought what the fish store recommended, but have no problem spending more on something if I need to. I do not want to skimp on my tank, as I know I will pay the price later. Do you see any other concerns with my equipment?
As for the flame angels, what type of horrors have you heard? I have read conflicting information about them with coral and aggression. Do you think any of the angels or butterflys would be good for my tank? I have also tossed around the idea of a yellow tang, but have read that they may get too big for a 55 gal....
As for the starfish and crabs, I am also open to recommendations, hence the reason I posted on this forum. My husband likes the idea of fiddler crabs simply due to their appearance, but what sort of bottom dwellers would you advise I get (I was hoping for SOME type of crab)... Also, what kind of cardinals are you referring to? I would definitely be interested in something other than the usual black stripe or pajama.
I would love to hear anyone's recommended list of fish for a 55 gallon. I know that I am new to this and I am very open to others opinions. Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[reefr]

you could get some bangaii cards! great fish and personality!

 

[gemmy]

I will never again add a dwarf angel to a reef tank. I had a lemon peel that destroyed my corals along with my blenny. I also have a 55 reef. My current stock list is a fuzzy dwarf lionfish, 2 occellaris clowns and a royal dottyback.

 

[kiefers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ANH318 http:///t/393580/stocking-55-gal-tank-please-help#post_3502053
Thank you for the information. I am trying to read more about these aquariums, as I hate to take what the fish store says as true without my own knowledge. You mentioned that my skimmer may be less than adequate for my tank, do you have any recommendations? I bought what the fish store recommended, but have no problem spending more on something if I need to. I do not want to skimp on my tank, as I know I will pay the price later. Do you see any other concerns with my equipment?
As for the flame angels, what type of horrors have you heard? I have read conflicting information about them with coral and aggression. Do you think any of the angels or butterflys would be good for my tank? I have also tossed around the idea of a yellow tang, but have read that they may get too big for a 55 gal....
As for the starfish and crabs, I am also open to recommendations, hence the reason I posted on this forum. My husband likes the idea of fiddler crabs simply due to their appearance, but what sort of bottom dwellers would you advise I get (I was hoping for SOME type of crab)... Also, what kind of cardinals are you referring to? I would definitely be interested in something other than the usual black stripe or pajama.
I would love to hear anyone's recommended list of fish for a 55 gallon. I know that I am new to this and I am very open to others opinions. Thank you so much for the advice!
I hav a 56 gallon colunm reef with the following.
Fish.....
2 true perc clowns
multi colored angel
picasso trigger
Royal gramma
Manderine
cardinals arerather boring fish that merely take up space. I wanted colors and movement in the system. Crabs are EVIL! Lol...... just sayin.
Several corals a mix of softies and stonies.

 

[anh318]

I am conflicted with the dwarf angels, I hear so many different things about them. Why are crabs "evil"... Are there any that you would consider? Does anyone have an opinion/experience with a yellow tang? I am wondering if one of these would be an acceptable addition to my tank. Also, I am confused as to the difference between the ocellaris and percula clown. From reading about them, it seems the only difference is that the ocellaris is tank-raised in captivity. Does anyone have an opinion as to which is better? I plan on hosting them with an anemone...Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[kiefers]

The true percs are wild caught and false percs are tank raised (I believe) typically, the wild caught have more of the black around the white and are a darker orange. (once again, I believe) In my opinion, I prefere the wild caught for the coloring only. whether wild or captive, they do the same thing. Keep in mind to sometimes you have to teach them how to eat frozen foods.
With the dwarf angel fish, it is pretty much hit and miss. Mine never bothered anything but my royal gramma. (they bicker from time to time but nothing more).
I actually had two in my system at once but had to take precaustions when I added them in. They got along beautifully and never bothered anything. Some have had issues with them nipping at corals or fighting other fish

 

[anh318]

Did you have two of the same type of dwarf angels (i.e. 2 multicolor)? I would love to have both a coral beauty and a flame angel, but have heard they do not mix well. How did you integrate them into the tank?

 

[reefr]

always tank bred. Clownfish have declined seriously in population since Nemo came out.

 

[kiefers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ANH318 http:///t/393580/stocking-55-gal-tank-please-help#post_3502196
Did you have two of the same type of dwarf angels (i.e. 2 multicolor)? I would love to have both a coral beauty and a flame angel, but have heard they do not mix well. How did you integrate them into the tank?
I had a lemonpeel and my multicored. I reaquascaped the tank then at night acclimated them together (not in the same bag, just the same time). within a few hours I let them go and let them figure things out for themselves. They were my last additions to the system.
They got along great. A few spats here and there but other than that they were great.
Flames are hot headed, if you must, do it they way I wrote it above.

 

[clown-keeper99]

I have kept several dwarf angels and they haven't caused a problem in my soft/LPS reef
What I have done is put them in the tank and got them power chowing prepared foods and then slowly introducing corals
However I do not recomend that you keep more than one
Crabs get kind of a bad rap in the trade because they tend to eat corals and some larger ones will take down fish
BUT there are several kinds that will make good additions to your tank
Hermit crabs are great algae eaters and make up a fair portion of my clean up crew
Emerald and Sally Lightfoot crabs are algae eats but some can be bad eggs (Sally Lightfoots can get large and may take down fish, but are amazing algae eaters when small)
Porcelain crabs are planktavorous and will be a good community inhabitant but can be difficult to feed
A good skimmer for a tank that size is a Coralife Super Skimmer 65
I have one and love it.....
My $0.02

 

[reefr]

^
hermits WILL eat snails.

 

[saxman]

If you want crabs, get a few scarlet reef hermits (Paguristes cadenati)...they're pretty (bright red w/yellow eyestalks), and are the most unlikely crab to eat your snails or bother your fish. In a 55, I wouldn't stock more than six (6), esp to begin with.
Most peeps add WAY to many CUC critters in new setups, and what happens is they die back to what the tank can support, which in a new setup, are very few. As your tank matures, and you get a "feel" for it, you can add the critters that will benefit the tank most in the proper numbers.
Here's an article on choosing your first CUC:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/cuc/cuc.shtml
As far as stocking fish is concerned, your list is pretty "plain vanilla", unless those are fish that tickle your personal fancy. You can't really go by "so many inches of fish per gallon"...you need to account for the body mass of each fish. For instance, gram for gram, a 4" dwarf lionfish puts out more waste than a 4" dwarf angel, or even more than two 2" clowns.
In a 55 gal, you could keep a dwarf lionfish, or even a M-F pair or M-F-F trio of fuzzies. For bottom fish, you could go with a small species scorp or waspfish. Your tank is too small for triggerfish, but you could keep a filefish or two in it...Acreicthys tomentosus (matted filefish) is a good choice that can be kept in M-F pairs, and will eat Aiptasia.
In our std 60 gal, which is basically the same size as a 55 gal, we kept:
(2) (M-F pair) fuzzy dwarf lions (Dendrochirus brachypterus)
(1) green Hawaiian dwarf lion (D. barberi)
(1) Cockatoo waspfish (Ablabys taenianotus) (a real fave of ours)
(1) redfin waspfish (Paracentropogon rubripinnis)
(1) cheekspot scorpionfish (Scorpaenodes littoralis)
There was a CUC (snails, scarlet hermits), a few hardy softies, and live macro algae to round it out.
It was a great little "off the beaten path" setup.
A final thought, if you get clownfish, add them LAST...they get nasty once they pair-up and stake out a territory. They'll likely even attack you while you're cleaning the tank.
HTH

 

[woskie70]

My Flame angel did well at first with my corals and then one day he just started nipping so I think it just depends on the fish.

 

[anh318]

Hey everyone- Thank you so much for all the comments and feedback. After looking more into it and reading some of these forums, I ended up buying a larger tank so that I will have more room for fish. I went with a 110 gallon tank (60" l, 15" w, 28" height). It will be a couple of weeks before it is up and running because I had to custom order the tank. But, I will definitely share some pics once its installed! Here are the fish I am thinking about:
2 clownfish
1 kaudern's cardinal
1 royal gramma
1 yellow tang
1 hippo tang (not sure if my tank is large enough for this one??)
1 flame angel
1 catalina goby
1 blue spotted jawfish
1 helfrichi firefish
possibly some chromis and/or green mandarin
If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations of other fish that would go good with these, please let me know!! Do you think this would be too many fish??
Thanks again!