Fish options for my 2.5 year old 55 gallon system

[Zpmada]

Hi all,

I have a 55 gallon tank that has been running for 2.5 years. I don't have a sump. I have the following:

Reef octopus HOB classic 100 skimmer
Aquaclear 70 with filter floss, bagged charcoal, and bagged brs gfo
150 watt heater
Two (2) current usa true lumen pro deep blue led 48" strips

Misc coral including elegance coral, candy cane, hammer, Duncan, toadstool leather, and zoanthids. I also have a small bubble tip anenome that my ocellaris clownfish don't have interest in.

For fish, I have:
Pair (2) Ocellaris clowfish
1 royal gramma
1 yellow watchman goby
1 pistol shrimp (paired with the above watchman goby)

Would it be ok to buy a large 3-4 gallon hang on back refugium with chaeto and pods to add a manderin goby?

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[Zpmada]

Note

Note

Forgot to note:

I have about 40lbs of caribsea livestock
1" (40lbs) of live sand.

I can add another 40lbs of sand if that'll help.

How many gallons of chaeto should I have in a refugium to support 1 manderin in a 55 gallon? Thanks!

 

[djryan2000]

Forgot to note:



I have about 40lbs of caribsea livestock

1" (40lbs) of live sand.



I can add another 40lbs of sand if that'll help.



How many gallons of chaeto should I have in a refugium to support 1 manderin in a 55 gallon? Thanks!

To support a mandarin you'd need more rock / larger fuge


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[Zpmada]

To support a mandarin you'd need more rock / larger fuge


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Thank you for the feedback.

How many lbs of live rock and how many gallons of chaeto is recommended?

Thanks!

 

[djryan2000]

Thank you for the feedback.



How many lbs of live rock and how many gallons of chaeto is recommended?



Thanks!

I believe it's ~65 pounds of LR plus whatever you can get for a refugium. With that you may have to supplement with pods. That being said I've never kept a mandarin and I'm basing that off of what others have told me on here


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[Oldreeferman]

To support a mandarin you'd need more rock / larger fuge


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Absolutely true,
A HOB will not be anywhere near the capacity to support enough pods for even 1 Mandarin long term, its been tried already, and constant pod supplements get old & expensive real fast.
I too explored the idea but my conscience got better me, id hate the thought of starving anything & growing pods isn't worth the expense, trouble, & space for 1 fish.
Save that poor fish the agony of a long starvation death & leave it at the LFS hopefully................... for someone with a big reef tank.
One of the most beautiful bottom fish on the Planet but sadly its food needs are really hard to handle in anything but a large sys with a lot of live rock.
There is one alternative some shops do sell them acclimated to eat other foods, look into that & you may yet be able to purchase one that will eat both types of foods.

 

[Sk8r]

I've had that size and suceeded best with gobies (watchman and highfin redstripe), blennies (starry and tailspot), and jawfish.

 

[Zpmada]

It sounds like I should upgrade to a 75 gallon with more live rock and a sump to try a manderin goby.

What species of fish should I look into that won't eat a manderin gobys food supply? Any herbivore should be a safe bet?

Thanks

 

[djryan2000]

It sounds like I should upgrade to a 75 gallon with more live rock and a sump to try a manderin goby.



What species of fish should I look into that won't eat a manderin gobys food supply? Any herbivore should be a safe bet?



Thanks

Most fish are OK - they will take some pods but not chow down. Avoid adding multiple dragonets (obviously), wrasses, and dottybacks. If you have a question about a specific fish I'd look it up to see if they're a big pod eater.
Most herbivores should be safe. With a 75 gallon you're pretty limited to blennies and maybe a rabbitfish with good filtration


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[treesprite]

Stick to captive bred dragonets. I have had a pair of ocellated dragonets (still mistakenly called scooter "blennies" in most places) in a 75g tank. They eat pods, but will also eat prepared foods more readily than mandarins. They aren't as colorful, but still have the cute behavior typical of dragonets. But again, it is best to get captive bred ones.