stocking for 55 FO

S

sir_dudeguy

Active member
i got a 55 gallon tank thats not quite done cycling yet, but i wanna find out what i should get for fish.
theres no live rock in it, but about 28 lbs of lace rock, 40 lbs of aragonite, 2 aquaclear 301 powerheads, and a fluval 304 filter. oh, and i just have a normal output fluorescent light strip, but i might be getting a 130 watt pc setup in a few weeks.

for fish tho, what all could i keep in there? i really like the flame angels, but do they require liverock to graze algea and stuff off of? or if i dont have lr, is there something i should feed them?
Also, i saw somethin called a scooter blenny i think is what it was called? how big do they get, and how hard/easy are they to keep?

and i have no clue what other fish i should get...so any other suggestions would be great...i just want 1-2 fish that are about the size of a flame angel/coral beauty, and a few smaller ones maybe

thanks!
 
The first fish I added to my 55 was an adult Diamond Watchman Goby. Tons of personality, readily took frozen food the first day, and keeps my substrate spotless. He'll even swim to the top of the tank to try to take Mysis right out of my hand.

He also seems to like to play with my hermits. He'll pick them up and drop them right on top of the rock he made his burrow under. As soon as they start to crawl away he picks them up and puts them back. It's hillarious, he's like a dog playing fetch.... or he's completely nuts... either way he's a blast to watch. :D
 
i have a 55g with a sailfin tang, percula clown, bicolor blenny, and a single damsal left over from the test to see if the tank was cycled. they all do well together and add to the few zoas and shrooms i have. dont forget the clean up crew!!
 
is the sailfin small enough for a 55? i've heard that really the only one is the yellow tang, and even they're kinda pushin it. oh, and the kole tang too i think.
 
IMO no tag will do well in a 55 long term - especially not a sailfin which gets huge.

Adding live rock to the tank would benefit your filtration, tank appearance and provide food for certain types of fish.

Make sure you clean the cannister filter weekly a they can become nitrate factories. A protein skimmer would be beneficial - you may want to check out the Coralife Superskimmers. They're affordable and do good job.

What fish you get will depend on what you're looking to do with the tank - aggressive, passive, possible reef in the future, etc.? With that in mind here are some fish you may want to look into:
Passive: Royal Gramma, firefish, gobies, blue/green chromis, percula clowns
Semi-aggressive: Flame angel, coral beauty angel, dwarf lionfish, six-line wrasses, four-line wrasse, orchid dottyback
Aggressive: Damsels, bi-color dotty back, sharpnose puffers
 
The Coralife Super Skimmer 65 is great on a 55 gal if you're thinking about getting one as MonkeyFish suggested. Have one on my own and have been very happy with it.
 
ya thats what i thought for a tang that 55 is too small for them. also, are flame angels ok w/green star polyps? do they eat/kill them? I might be getting a 130 or a 260 watt pc light in a couple weeks or so, and i'm really liking the looks of the gsp's. i dont think i want a lionfish either for this tank...maybe a wrass. does a bird wrass get too big?
 
pass on the butterfly, get a pair of clownfish. Nearly any species will do well in a 55. If you want the easiest to pair off I would get either a percula, ocellaris, or clarkii.
 
i'd like to get a clown pair, but would a flame angel be too rough with them? I've pretty much decided that thats gonna be one of my fish, i just gotta find out what else i want.
 
there may be a rough break in period until they all get along, but a pair of clowns should be fine. no sense wasting 55gal on 1 flame angel.
 
A bird wrasse needs a much bigger tank - they can get to be about a foot long and are fast swimmers that need at least a 6' tank (125g or larger).

Personally, I think that clowns are boring. They tend to stay in one area of the tank and bob up and down. But many do like them.
 
hawkfish... by themselves they have the most personality of any fish i have kept.
harems of royal grammas or flashers wrasse' are awesome. but difficult in a 55g....depended on the individual fish really...
 
hawkfish!!! thats what i was lookin at and i forgot about em'. I LOVE those guys. You think one would be good w/a flame angel?
My dad says that i can get about $100 worth of fish once its done cycling (not getting all at once of course). I know i want a flame angel/coral beauty which i can get the flame for about 35ish and the coral for 20. I know i can get the hawk for around 25ishso i still got about 30 bucks or so.

also, what order should i add the fish in? angel first? hawk first?
 
dangit...forgot to put that i dont want a clown now...dont really find them that interesting as monkeyfish says.

and how big to royall grammas get, and would i be able to keep them w/flame andgel and hawk? if so, how many would you recommend?
 
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Right now in the 55 reef I have, I've got a flame angel, a coral beauty, a longnose hawk, a small blue tang, and a royal gramma basslet with no problems at all. The angels chase one another occasionally, but I've got enough rock that they can get away from one another easily.

(To the tang police: upgrading in the near future, so no lectures)

Just so you can get an idea of the many possibilities you have. :)
 
i was thinkin about the...ah crap, is it flame hawkfish? its the one thats red.

ok, so i've got a flame angel and a hawkfish (the red one, lol) and maye a royal gramma. or should i get more than one royal gramma? in the future i look to get green star polyps. would these fish be ok with gsp's?
 
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