What next???

[rberhow]

I was wondering if any of you had any ideas for me as to what kind of fish we can add to our tank. We have a pair of false perc clowns, a yellow tang, a scooter blenny and hermit crabs. We are looking at buying a cleaner shrimp, an urchin, a feather duster but we aren't sure what will get along with our other fish. Would a royal gramma get along with everyone? Also, does anyone have any advice about purple lobsters? My hubby would love one but are they "vicious" towards other bottom dwellers? If we keep it well fed are we going to be ok? Also, how many urchins can a person have in a 55 gallon, safely. Sorry for so many questions but want to place an order here and don't want to make any huge mistakes along the way. Not sure if it will help but we have 50 lbs of lr, 50 lbs of live sand. Our tests show no nitrites or ammonia. Our nitrates are at 10 and our ph is at 8.2.

 

[angelsrock]

cleaner shrimp, an urchin, and a feather duster would be fine with what you got. urchins are good tank cleaners but when i got them they spent most of their time on the live rock. once on the live rock they eat everything off of it making it almost white again so you might want to reconsider urchins. a royal grama would be fine with everything else as well as long as you don't have a second one. i have a purple lobster and he doesn't mess with anything. i've got snails and hermits on my bottom and the only time he comes out is when i feed. i like him though. i also have in my tank a damsel, 2 dwarf lions, a queen angel, and a maroon clown. you really don't need a lot of urchins in a 55. if any iwould get 2.

 

[darth tang]

A royal Gramma will be fine. The Tang however should have gone in last as they can be very territorial sometimes and pester new additions.
Also, Your Tang will need a bigger tank. There is not enough room in a 55 for them to roam adequately. Think of it like having a corvette but only having school zones to drive in. That is essentially how your tang feels or will feel.
I suggest one urchin in a 55. I had two in a 140 for a while. They did great. Traded them in though, now wishing I didn't.

 

[drakken]

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=170608[/url]

 

[rberhow]

angelsrock-it sounds like you have a lot of cool fish. I didn't realize you could do lion fish with a clown? I absolutely love lion fish and we are looking at getting another tank so we could have some. Do you know would they be ok with a Tang?
Darth Tang-I wish my LFS would've been more honest about the tang but lessons learned. I am excited because we are looking at getting a 75 gallon sw, well established FOWLR for $300 and then our Tang can have more room to spread his fins. Do you know, would he hold his own with a Lion fish, or is a 75 to small for lion fish? HOw are the urchin as far as cleaning the glass of the tank? Do they basically just stick to the rock? I definitely don't want them depleting all my lr that I paid through the nose for. It really sucks to not have a local LFS. Its over 2 hours to the nearest one.
Drakken-OMG, it sounds like your purple lobster was possessed. Could I hope it was just a random case???

I guess I need to definitely put more thought into what we look at putting in next. Thanks for your honesty

 

[sankysyuck]

Yea sea urchins get pretty big so I'd say just one, you could get away with 2 but, I'd still just say one. There great for algae control, I have a long spined urchin and he mostly comes out at night since they're nocturnal. Feather dusters should be fine just monitor the tang, make sure it doesn't pick at it's feathers. A cleaner shrimp would most likely do well in your tank, and the gramma would prob do good. I've heard diffrent things about the lobsters so I'm unsure about that.

 

[angelsrock]

Originally Posted by rberhow
angelsrock-it sounds like you have a lot of cool fish. I didn't realize you could do lion fish with a clown? I absolutely love lion fish and we are looking at getting another tank so we could have some. Do you know would they be ok with a Tang?
it's not a good idea if you do get a lion and a clown, to get a volitan. you want to try a dwarf lion. the clown i have which is a maroon is the most aggressive kind of clown so that helps too.

 

[sankysyuck]

Yea Lions are OK with any type of fish as long as it wont fit into it's mouth. I have a volitan with my Maroon clown and they do fine, the lion is probobly the most peaceful fish I have!

 

[drakken]

Originally Posted by rberhow
Drakken-OMG, it sounds like your purple lobster was possessed. Could I hope it was just a random case???

I guess I need to definitely put more thought into what we look at putting in next. Thanks for your honesty

Purple lobsters are know to be aggressive. Good luck and post more questions!

 

[angelsrock]

Originally Posted by Drakken
Purple lobsters are know to be aggressive. Good luck and post more questions!
i think it depends on the lobster cause the purple lobster i have minds his own business and made a cave for himself and comes out when i feed my fish.

 

[drakken]

Originally Posted by angelsrock
i think it depends on the lobster cause the purple lobster i have minds his own business and made a cave for himself and comes out when i feed my fish.

Do you have any small fish that hide in caves like gobies? Everyone I know that has a purple lobster has had problems. Also, they only come out at night so you barely see them.

 

[f1shman]

I think for the most part you can have a lionfish with anything that won't fit in its mouth. Not many fish will bug a lionfish. (at least no one bugs mine - black volitan - bout a foot long)

 

[f1shman]

i also have mine with a maroon. My lionfish only gets mad when my trigger goes for food and then he acidentally hits the lionfish, he gives the trigger a little beat down lol.

 

[angelsrock]

the smallest fish i have is a dwarf lion, 2 inch maroon clown, a 1 inch damsel, and a cherub angel.

 

[rberhow]

Wow, I had no idea you could have lion fish with so many other types of fish. I thought they had to be in aggressive tanks only. Hmmm, definitely gives us something to think about. HOw big of tank do they need?

 

[angelsrock]

depends on the type of lion, if you get a dwarf they only need a 30 minimum. lion fish are not aggressive fish, except when a fish they can fit in their mouth comes along. they don't pick on fish or anything, their diet in the wild is fish so that's what they are use too. so if they can't fit it in their mouth they're fine.

 

[mdog30001]

STAY AWAY FROM PURPLE LOBSTERS! Mine ate all of my snails and 3 of my firefish. He would have gotten my Atlantic Pygmy Angel if I hadnt seen him goin for it. Luckily i saved my angel but my firefish were lobster meat. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

 

[angelsrock]

haha, my purple lobster must be a girl cause mine doesn't touch anything except the food that i give my fish...the rest of the time he stays in his cave under the liverock.

 

[drakken]

Originally Posted by angelsrock
haha, my purple lobster must be a girl cause mine doesn't touch anything except the food that i give my fish...the rest of the time he stays in his cave under the liverock.
Do you have any rock dwelling fish like gobies?

 

[rberhow]

Well, no more worries as far as the purple lobster goes....he didn't make it through the acclimation into the tank and he is now in my freezer awaiting his trip in the USPS system. I hate to admit it, but I am relieved. I was so worried that he would start attacking my fish. I hate to see anything die and it bothers me that we weren't able to save him but I would've hated even more seeing my other little babes dead carcasses floating in the water and having to rid of him for that reason. I also think my hubby has now resigned himself to the fact that it is not going to work to have one so it shouldn't be a problem in the future either. THanks again everyone for your honesty and sharing your experiences and helping me to learn from them.