Swanwillow question for you

[davidhughes85]

I like the way you gave stocking options to the guy with the 90 gallons. so what can I try with a 55 right now I have a pair of fake perculas. Id like to have one yellow tang and one dwarf angel in teh mix but what do you recommend as far as number of fish what size. I will have 55 pounds of rock when i do this and it will be set up in a reef at the back of the tank maybe reaching 2/3rds up the back and sloping down towards the sides.. so there will be alot of swimming room for a 55

 

[davidhughes85]

or someone else

 

[Swanwillow]

hahaha I feel SPECIAL ohhh... (me blushing now)

I don't recommend tangs in tanks under 90 gallons...
the dwarf angel would be fine (I'm still blushing)
and a few smaller fish: gobies, wrasses (I had a trio of flashers in my 55, with a pair of clowns and a goby) heres another plug for leaf-fish if you can feed live foods... if you want color, flashers are AWESOME!!!! oh, blennies are great too. (ok, stopped blushing, thinking now)

to me, less is best: one 'medium' sized fish-the angel... if you REALLY want a tang, look for an angel that looks like a tang the lemonpeel looks just like a yellow tang, if you have a pocketbook, the golden looks like a kole tang. you can get quite inventive!!!
jawfish re awesome, if you have a sandbed at least 2 inches... I just lost mine, due to who knows what...

if your not doing a reef, or want one really interesting fish, you can even look into a eel!!! a dwarf lionfish would be fun, I don't know if the dwarf angel would pick on it or not... but it would take up the space left by NOT HAVING a tang. but that would limit you on what else you can keep in there: nothing smaller than 4 inches or so...

you asked too big of a question.

 

[davidhughes85]

ok...I am doing a reef so that does limit me a bit. no yellow tang??? heard there hardy ...you can say its ok.... just once....make me feel better;-)
I absolutely love bicolors and really want one of those but correct me if im wrong, you cant have two dwarfs together??...my clowns are about two inches long so a dwarf lion would eat them?

 

[Swanwillow]

they are hardier than most tangs, but tangs use too much room: in the wild, they take up SO much room, foraging daily for algae, etc... yes, it can be done, but its the same as getting a great dane for an apartment and trying to teach it to use the litter box, and never go outside... its possible, but in the long run, its going to be messy, and the fish/dog will end up going insane!!! the only tangs I recommend for people that just NEED one and would buy one anyway are in 75 gallon tanks, I'd be willing to say okto a kole tang, which stay smaller, and don't need AS MUCH room... but they are STILL a big fish, and need ALOT of care, food, and things like that!!!

ok, yeah, the chances of a dwarf lion snacking upon the clowns is something I forgot about- I TOLD you you made me blush!!!! I know you can't have two dwarves together of the same species/similar body type. YOU MIGHT beable to get away with two of VERY DIFFERENT body types/structures. bicolor and a flame, for instance may work out. but I'd do it with caution, and be ready with an escape plan if something goes wrong. Maybe even have to add them at the same time... (pump up the bioload before you add them: feed the tank every other day the extra amount you'd be feeding the tank with them in it-when the nitrates steady out back down at a low level an hour after feeding, its ready for them)

reef limitations: nothing that makes too much waste(the tang) nothing that knocks stuff over (the eel) and nothing that picks on corals (iffy with the dwarfs-be aware of it)

otherwise, flasher wrasses!!! whoot. if ya like the dwarf lion, look at leaf fish. seriously. I LOVE THEM!!! maybe I should get one, even... but I don't have alot of access to live food if I can't get him onto frozen. bah.

 

[davidhughes85]

thanks for all the help!!