Hi there, I am starting up a 55 gallon tank (with 20g sump) that will initially be a FOWLR tank with the idea being a transition to reef. I have gone and picked some fish that I really like and was hoping to get some feedback on stocking suggestions. I am pretty sure that what I have picked will be overstocked.
Ocellaris Clownfish x2
Orchid Dottyback x2
Green Reef Chromis
Royal Gramma Basslet x2
Firefish x2
Six Line Wrasse
Green Mandarin
Blue Spotted Puffer
Lemon Butterflyfish
Red Sea Star
Tile Sea Star
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Dwarf Colored Feather Duster
Scarlett Reef Hermit Crab
Chestnut Turbo Snail
Electric Blue Hermit Crab
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
What do you guys think? Would it help to include an anemone from the beginning for the clownfish? What would you suggest?
I do not plan adding all the fish at once but slowly adding them over a period of time. All of the fish that I indicated as doubles will hopefully be purchased as a pair.
Ocellaris Clownfish x2 - could be a good selection
Orchid Dottyback x2 - Strongly encourage you to stay away from these. They will make you regret it. (they are little devils)
Green Reef Chromis - This could be okay. Keep in mind they are Damsels so they can eventually get aggressive as it gets older.
Royal Gramma Basslet x2 - Most keep 1 basslet, they may not get along. These can also clash with dottybacks.
Firefish x2 - Good for beginners and well anyone who likes them. Note they are more prone to jumping than other fish.
Six Line Wrasse - I LOVE wrasses but would recommend you to look into different ones than the six line because they can be little jerks. (Not always if properly fed, stocked, amount of LR, feedings, stock introduction order, ect ect)
Green Mandarin - You need to wait a while longer before you can get these. They will die without the proper micro fauna population in your tank. Let your refugium populate pods for a bit first, if you have one in your sump.
Blue Spotted Puffer - You said you wanted to go reef in the future? All puffers can munch on coral. There are
some that try certain species of puffers in reef settings but its a huge risk. Also they are aggressive and can bully others in a community tank.
Lemon Butterflyfish - This is a decent beginner fish but can be a risk to corals sometimes and requires a bit bigger tank than what you have optimally.
Red Sea Star - I would recommend waiting for your tank parameters to become stable first and build up some film algae on LR, ect. A 55 may be a bit hard to keep a star fish healthy (unless mature and maybe supplementing its diet). I would also recommend avoiding Linkias if you can.
Tile Sea Star - Same as above. (I do have a tile sea star though and I love it, had it maybe a year now)
Blue Tuxedo Urchin - These guys are cool and a good CUC member.
Dwarf Colored Feather Duster - These are cool also kind of gross haha. Some fish can harass them such as wrasses and what not.
Scarlett Reef Hermit Crab - Crabs are always a risk but hermits are the safest bet.
Chestnut Turbo Snail - Snails are cool!
Electric Blue Hermit Crab - Same as above for hermits
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp - These guys are AWESOME.
There is obviously a lot of missing information and input on these but I'll go further in detail on any of them if you want. I'm sure others will chime in. Oh and yeah your list is over stocked but hey you gotta weigh your options right.
