need advice once again

[Itz Irish]

we have re-done our basement so my parents are letting me set up my 55, i would like something aggressive, like a wrasse, humu, or something of the sort. i like dwarf lions, toby puffers, and many more. but i am having some serious trouble deciding what to put in. any advice? looking for something with a lot of personality.

 

[Itz Irish]

im thinking of putting cheato algae in the tank, like a tidepool, and having that sort of set up in the tank. but am unsure if i have to tie the algae down, what sort of fish would be good types for this type of tank, i am starting to look at more options than JUST an aggressive fish.

 

[fish cowboy]

The fish you listed are going to need a bigger tank. All of them will outgrow a 55 gallon. You would be better of with pygmy angel or other fish that stay small.

 

[billsreef]

The Dwarf Lions are good, Toby Puffers are also good, but could end up nipping on the lion's fins. There are some mid sized active wrasses that would also do well, such as the Ornate Wrasse. The Humu will get a bit large, and will also nip at lion's fins.

 

[Itz Irish]

what about a trio of jawfish? (possibly a mix of species) and a pair of true percs? then a neon goby, a coral beauty, and a falco hawkfish. does that sound like too much? with some caulpera algae, or some chaeto algae actually in the tank. what do i have to do to prevent the algae from spawning or sexing??

thanks

 

[billsreef]

The smaller fish would be lion food

 

[LisaD]

I have a green wolf eel blenny in a 55 - lots of personality. You could keep a dwarf lionfish with it.

Or alternatively, something like green wolf eel, dwarf angel, toby and one or two other fish...

 

[Itz Irish]

hmm, i dunno if i want a lion, or the trio of jaws and pair of clowns. how would a dwarf lion fare in a 30? and have the others in the 55? also what type of dwarf lion would you recomend??

 

[billsreef]

For a 30, a fuzzy dwarf would be OK. The jaws will be best as a mated pair, they don't like trios

 

[Itz Irish]

i have only heard of a few types of jawfish, pearly or yellowheaded, tiger, and dusky. i have also heard of bluespots but dont want to pay that much for each. which type would you best advise? and how deep should the sandbed be? and one last thing, should i get a lot of sandsifters? like sand sifter starfish to keep the sandbed clean as possible?

 

[billsreef]

I like the pearly jawfish myself, but any of them will be fine. They do best with a deep sand bed, around 6 inches or so. A mix of mostly fine sand with some rubble pieces to help them build sturdy burrows is best. Deep beds like that are best maintained with sand bed worms, amphipods, nassarius snails, and the like. Sand sifting starfish will eat all the critters that actually make a deep sand bed work, so are best not used.

 

[Itz Irish]

ah yes that could pose a problem, so you would suggest a good amount of nassarius? for rubble, should i get a mix of rougher sand and finer sand, or just mix some shells in with fine sand. thanks a lot for all the help and advice Bill!

thanks again,
ryan

 

[billsreef]

For a 55 I wouldn't go more than a dozen nassarius, unless you feed really heavy. For the sand, just mix some shells and coral rubble in with the fine sand, maybe around 25% of the sand should be rubble for them.

 

[Itz Irish]

ok, i have limited down the tanks inhabitants to 2 lists. i am completely unsure about which i like more. any input would be good
LIST 1- Pair of True Percs (maybe a mix of a True Perc and Ocellaris??)
Falco Hawkfish
Eibli Angel
Lemonpeel Angel
Half Black Angel
(i know you arent supposed to mix dwarf angels, but i have researched all 3 of these, and it is common for them to breed in the wild creating different hybrids, and as long as introduced at the same time, decent chance of success? tell me if im wrong!)
LIST 2-Pair of True Percs (maybe a mix of a True Perc and Ocellaris??)
Falco Hawkfish
Pair of Jawfish (not sure what type)
Purple Firefish (not sure how many, 1 or 2)
Firefish (not sure how many, 1 or 2)

Whats your opinions??
Ryan

 

[Itz Irish]

bump

 

[LisaD]

I like the tank list with angels, but not sure it would work. at the least, I would limit angels to two that people have experience keeping together in smallish tanks (e.g. flame and coral beauty). that they hybridize in the wild might make them LESS compatible, as many marine fish are territorial and aggressive with fish they see as more "like" themselves. when there are fights in the ocean, they can swim off to defuse the conflict. not an option in a small box of water.

 

[Snapper66]

Jaw Fish are a Good Choice as are Tobys,a Humma would be Alright for a Year or so.I had one in a 55 for a year then upGraded and in he Went.Lion Fish unless it is a Dwarf will eat the Jaw Fish.

 

[billsreef]

For the angel trick, they need to be small sub adults that haven't determined sex yet. That way you should end up with one male and a harem of two females.

 

[Itz Irish]

bill so you think i could definately pull off having the 3 dwarfs? just make sure they are sub adults, i will talk to my guy at my LFS and see how small he can get them in for me, at the same time. I just think it would be so cool if i could hybridize the angels, from what i have read, correct me if im wrong, the lemonpeel is more aggressive than most. but the eibli and the halfblack are less aggressive than most, so shouldnt IN THEORY the other 2 be submissive to the lemonpeel? and just kinda let him do his thing?

 

[Itz Irish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11526388#post11526388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LisaD
I like the tank list with angels, but not sure it would work. at the least, I would limit angels to two that people have experience keeping together in smallish tanks (e.g. flame and coral beauty). that they hybridize in the wild might make them LESS compatible, as many marine fish are territorial and aggressive with fish they see as more "like" themselves. when there are fights in the ocean, they can swim off to defuse the conflict. not an option in a small box of water.

that is a good point lisa, because i can completely understand that and i dont want to have WW3 in my tank. i really like the variety of colors that a flame and lemonpeel would bring me, but i would like to add a 3rd in if i were to get those 2. any opinions on which?