Critique of 55gal stocking plan

[MargieInAZ]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the hobby, but have been reading like crazy for the past several months.

I have a 55gal horizontal tank with about 70lbs of live rock, and a bed of live sand. The rock was cured when I put it in the tank.

I have a protein skimmer, a uv filter, and two Korilina #2 powerheads. A set of 48" 260w PC, actinic & led nighttime lights.

The tank is two months old, and I already added two Ocellaris Clownfish a week ago. My water parameters have been looking good and have been kept stable with weekly 20% water changes.

Here's what I'm thinking, as far as stocking goes:

2 Clowns (already in there)
2 Kaudern's Cardinals (pair)
1 Melanurus Wrasse (male)
5 Blue Reef Chromis or Vanderbilt Chromis
1 Watchman Goby
1 Coral Beauty

Cleanup crew of turbo snails and hermit crabs
Plus some soft corals.
I'm guessing that may overstock it, so I'm open to suggestions on what to cut. But would love it if I could add all of them. They are all supposed to be peaceful.

Also, I plan on adding a fish every week or every other week, until it's fully stocked. But what about the Chromis? And the pair or Cardinals? Do I treat the group as one fish? I wouldn't think I'd add one Chromis a week... they're pretty small, and I don't want them to establish dominance with each other if I can help it. I'm adding a group so that they'd school.

Finally, what order would you add everything?

Thank you so much for any help/advice.

-Margie

 

[PVChick12]

No sump huh...? Have you considered one?

Hmm, I am no stocking expert, but I think that bioload is far too big for a 55 gallon....might be able to handle it if you upped your total water volume by putting a 20-30 gal sump underneath (then you could hide all those pumps and wires, ect). Even then, a 55 gal DT just seems a bit small for 12 fish. Personally I would cut the chromis, I'm not sure they would school in a tank of this size anyhow.

 

[LulusMoogle]

Too many fish for a 55g, if you ask me. Cut the chromis, I think. They're interesting, but whether they'll really school in a tank that size is somewhat up in the air.

Angels are known to be coral-nippers. It's really a hit and miss with them. I haven't heard much success with them, but I guess you could try it out and see how it goes. If he misbehaves, take 'im back.

Oh. If you get a goby... I recommend a pistol shrimp to go with him. So fascinating to watch!

 

[singold]

Nice Aquascaping, looks great. I just moved form a 55g to a 75g, it can get crowded quick. I agree w/Laura, appears to be too many fish. May want to cut back on your projection. Also, remember with the Coral Beauty Angel, there is the chance of nipping on your soft corals.

 

[jrdoan]

Drop the Chromis and keep an eye on the Coral Beauty... I had a one a few years ago and I know they are fish specific but it nipped the heck out of my corals and caused me alot of headaches. I eventually traded it for a flame angel .. which did the same thing

 

[crvz]

It can be done, but you'll have to have really good husbandry habits and great filtration. If you want to play it safe, keep it in the 6-7 fish in those sizes. You'll have more fish than I do in my 150 if you keep that list (though granted, a few of mine are a bit larger).

 

[MargieInAZ]

I'm okay cutting out the Chromis, I was thinking it was probably overstocked with that many fish in there too.

If I cut the Chromis, what order should I add the rest in?
I'm thinking: Cardinals, Goby, Wrasse, Coral Beauty.

I really do like the Coral Beauty. I'd like to give it a shot, and hope he doesn't nip at the corals. I'll be sure to buy him at a LFS so I can return and exchange him if it becomes a problem.
Any other suggestions?
I read that the wrasse would eat shrimp if I tried to mix, so I'm leary of adding any shrimp, since I really like the wrasse too.
Thoughts???

 

[PVChick12]

I have a lunare wrasse (the a-hole of the wrasse family), a coral beauty and shrimp that all live peacefully in my 60 mostly LPS reef tank. The trick for me is just keeping them VERY well fed, I feed 3 different kinds of food everyday, this however also entails a lot more water changes to keep the water clean, personally I don't mind the extra maitenance because I love my fishies, but that descision is your's to make.

 

[PVChick12]

Also, I don't know if you are stuck on that particular wrasse which is "Reef compatible with caution". But you may look into the reef safe wrasses for your own peace of mind, there are some very stunning ones:

http://liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+1378


Though, you may be lucky with the Melanurus if thats really what you want, like I said, my lunare (aka 'lyretail') is actually classified as NOT reef compatible, but I haven't had problems (minus the fact that he eats a LOT). lol happy reefing