Stock my tank

bialy

New member
Hey guys! My 55g (2 feet long by 2.5 tall) has had a long history. It has been converted into all sorts of fun/awesome tanks, including a reef tank several times. The tank has been running for a little over a year, parameters are perfect! Anyway, I had a crash and my only fish left are my pair of false percs (i do not know exactly what type of clownfish they are because i rescued them, and ironically they have been with me since the beginning). All my coral died and i have a mini carpet anenome left, some urchins, and a serpent star. Anyway i wanted your help stalking it. I am looking for a colorful, active, peaceful, reef community (at first i wanted to try cuttlefish but decided against it). Anyway i have a ton of live rock, and about a good 1.5-2in of live sand. I need some fish that will be a good, longterm fish that meets the criteria above. I was thinking of the following:

1. Bellus angelfish female (never had one but heard they are great)
2. Some wrasses (colorful, active species would be best, maybe a fairy and flasher?)
3. anthias? (i tried some before but they ended up kinda looking like goldfish. I know there are some super vibrant, harem style, small anthias out there, so please name the species)
4. ONE tang (i have had purple, black, yellow, and several other small tangs as well. They are super active which is why i like them, even though they add a large bioload)
5. gobies (i have only had maybe 3-4 in my time while in this hobby, and they always end up small and hiding, but recommend some active colorful species if you know of em. The tiny part might be good to add to the "community" aspect)
6. Firefish (i had a red one that lived a really long time. I was thinking maybe a pair?)
7. Dwarf angels (i know they can sometimes not be reef safe, i like the fire angel)


Obviously not all of these fish would go into the tank, but these were the ones that came to my mind. So if please comment some species of fish that would thrive in my tank. I am trying to make a "rainbow", using the fish in my tank, so take that into consideration. Also, different sizes are good, but i would prefer if they were all active fish. With inverts I am going to do a basic cleanup crew (can someone suggest a quick list of good inverts to add).

With coral and anemones, i LOVE LPS corals, so the tank will probably have some soft, zoas, some LPS, and 1 large carpet anemone. (no SPS just because they are so difficult to keep). Finally, if anyone knows a good place to get large LPS corals, please post the link. Really appreciate everyone who will help me with my tank!!!
 
You are not going to like to hear this, but for a 55G, Tang is out of the picture, so is bellus angel. And you would be kind of pushing the issue even with any dwarf angels depends on how your set up is. It will be very tight with anthias as well, I personally wouldn't attempt.
The good news is you can still have some kind of small wrasse like a flasher wrasse of some sort. Also should be able to house goby and firefish. Other commonly hardy fish you can consider are clownfish, any type of cardinalfish.
 
Tangs and the angel are out it would be cruel to keep them in a 3 foot long tank. I reccomend a pink margin fairy wrasse. And fire fish kill each other unless you buy as a mated pair
 
If you get a small Bellus female you would be surprised how long you could keep her in a 55g for. Possibly for her entire life. Bellus angels are in my top 3 fish
 
If you get a small Bellus female you would be surprised how long you could keep her in a 55g for. Possibly for her entire life. Bellus angels are in my top 3 fish

This is not a standard 4' long 55, this is a 2' long 55. I would only consider nano fish essentially for this tank. So Gobies, Assessors, Firefish, smaller Blennies, Bassletts/Grammas, etc.

Still some great options, but definitely no Tangs or any kind of an Angel other than pygmy. I don't think it would work for Fairy/Flasher Wrasses, nor Anthias given the length of the tank.
 
Thanks guys! Not including the height is actually 2 ft wide, and 3 wide. I appreciate the help, remember the fish i put down were just ideas, so can you please make a list of the species you all think would work? I have been in the hobby for a long time so i know the needs of many fish, I am just looking for a list of colorful, active fish.
 
. All my coral died and i have a mini carpet anenome left, some urchins, and a serpent star. Anyway i wanted your help stalking it. !


Stalking fish is a crime in many states


On a serious note though, fire fish, small gobies, chromis.... NO tangs, NO angels (bc of the coral), maybe an anthias but that is a stretch.
 
in a tall tank like that i think wrasses and anthias' vertical swimming pattern would look much better than a tang or angel's lateral swimming pattern anyways.
some suggestions(not all of them but you can pick and choose)
-labouti fairy wrasses
-flame wrasses
-any flasher wrasse
-sunburst anthias not active but they're one of my favorites, they're more like hawkfish hiding in a cave.
-any smaller kind of anthias(avoid pink squares and the larger ones)
-maybe a small angel if you must. i personally like potter's and multicolored.(careful with corals though. with these you're gambling)
-gobies would be fine
-firefish are fine too but the anthias and wrasses would probably pick on them.

careful the carpet doesnt eat all your expensive fish....dont you want a clown to go with the carpet?
 
I already have a 2 clowns in the tank. They are very nice, active and peaceful. I was super tempted to do cuttlefish just because i felt like I didnt have many fish options. Thanks though for all your help! If you had to stock it, what would y'all put in? I like the idea of 3 small anthias (if i can find a very small variety). But i need fish that will be out and about AND colorful. That is why i thought the bellus angelfish, but it isnt that colorful.
 
Get a Pygmy Angel over the Bellus. A nice Flame or my personal favorite (Cherub) would look great and are constantly moving. Plenty of colors to choose from also. Like orhers said may nip at corals but I've never had a problem with the Cherub.
 
Thanks guys! Anyone else got any suggestions? So far im thinking:

Bellus angel
Fairy wrasse of some sort (maybe 2????)
3sunburst anthias
Gody suggestions????
Dwarf angel?????

I decided no firefish because they are so easily picked on. I guess now it is a "semiaggressive reef tank"
 
Can you post the actual dimensions for the tank? First you said 2' long, then 3'? Or 3' long, 2' wide, 2.5' tall? Which would make it ~110 gallons. Either way, post the actual dimensions so we can help you.
 
2.3 long, 2.6 wide, and 3 tall. I just used a tape measurer, so those are the exact dimensions. Sorry for the confusion.
 
So it's actually 130g not a 55? If so then you could do the angel and probably a tang as well although the dimensions aren't exactly ideal for a tang.
 
Tangs shouldn't really be in tanks that are less than 3 feet long, they need a straight run. A large angel might be okay, they don't usually swim the way tangs do.
 
How about a Valentini puffer? They may nip at your CUC but mine has never been an issue and is nicer than my clowns...
 
Yeah i guess my LFS must have labeled the wrong amount of gallons on the tank. I would rather not do larger fish just because i think the tank looks better with several small ones. I got a labouti wrasse and it looks big. But i love the look of regal angels and bellus angels so maybe one of those mid-size angels (i believe they stay midsize). I really need open water swimmers so i was thinking a couple different type of anthias (a princess and 3 sunburst maybe??) any other good open water swimmers? Thanks!!!
 
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