55 build/Stocking

[Jgisler]

Hello, I am not new to the salt water hobby, which is why I am thinking ahead and asking questions first! :clown:

I recently inherited a 55 gallon tank and I am working on a 20 gallon sump build as we speak.

I am going to start the tank off as a fowlr and I want to know if it will be stalked appropriately.

2 Auriga Butterflyfish
2 Ocellaris Clownfish (I currently have the pair in another fowlr aquarium)
1 Dwarf Angel
maybe a diamond goby...

My LFS agrees highly that this will work with the set up I have. (I have a ton of equipment such as canister filters etc.) So I feel water quality won't be the
issue. But i have learned the hard way in the past that overcrowding a tank can lead to disaster, and for some reason each aquarium will only hold a certain number of fish before disaster strikes.

Please let me know, any input is highly appreciated, but I have never cared for larger marine aquariums, so please be gentle :p

[Jgisler]

Any help? :)

[Jgisler]

help -_-

[Jerry W]

The Auriga BF grows to over 8 inches and even one would be pushing it IMO. Often times, having two of the same species results in aggression too. There are some nice smaller species that would work better; kleins, blackback, etc.. The clowns, dwarf angel and goby should be fine together. A 55 is a decent tank but once you have live rock in it, they tend to become really tight. Stock lightly with 4-5 small/medium fish. The butterfly could be the centerpiece specimen.

[Jgisler]

Thanks for the input I want to avoid all chances of over stalking. If that species will get too big what are some other butterfly species that are hardy enough and appropriate size?

[Jerry W]

Thanks for the input I want to avoid all chances of over stalking. If that species will get too big what are some other butterfly species that are hardy enough and appropriate size?

There are some nice smaller species that would work better; kleins, blackback, etc..

I've kept the above two bf's in the past. both are hardy and good captive fish. The blackback is a bit flashier, IMO and the one I kept in my 120 grew to about 5 inches. The kleins is a bit more muted but probably one of the best captive bf's around. IMO, either would work in in a lightkly stocked 55, however I'd emphasize having a good amount of live rock, which seems to optimize their chance of acclimation/survival.

[Jgisler]

Thanks for your help, I think i will stick to the smaller species, I also appreciate the fact they're hardier.

I think my stocking will be as follows:

1-black back BF
2- clowns
1- dwarf
1- goby

I feel that will be appropriate.

one more question.
Would you recommend keeping a majority of my LR in the sump to allow ample swimming space, or should I place more in the display tank to provide hiding places?

[SecretiveFish]

I like your revised stocking list. I too have run into the "magic" number of fish in a particular tank; for instance, in my 65 I can only have 6 small/medium sized fish. Without fail, every time I have tried to add just one more fish, one fish will die whether that be the new fish or one I have had for awhile bringing the number back down to 6...

I would make sure you have a decent amount of live rock in your display as the dwarf angel and the butterfly will dine on the things growing on it. If you have your live rock aquascaped such that there are plenty of spaces for the fish to swim through and you have good flow, the fish will be just fine. So to attempt to directly answer your question without knowing how much LR you have, I would put ~50lbs of LR in your tank and the rest in your sump. That of course depends on the type of LR you have with the more dense LR will not take as much space while less dense will take more.

[Oddballspecies]

The angel will get to big for the tank period.
Have you also considered a protein skimmer because they are very important for marine aquariums.
Other then the angel the stock sounds good.
p.s i think you could get a whole bunch of small yet beautiful fish for your tank instead of the stock you are thinking of, Do some research on other species because personally i think you could get an amazing community tank for the space you have.

some cool species are... Ghost ribbon eel, angler ( wartskin ), bi colour parrotfish , yellow tang, orange throat pike blenny, griessingeri goby and a valentini puffer, etc

[Jgisler]

No offense but those are some awful suggestions. And I am confident a dwarf angel will not get too big. Specifically a pigmy, or coral beauty.

[Jgisler]

And you can't keep a bicolor parot fish in a 55 are you nuts?!

[Jgisler]

I like your revised stocking list. I too have run into the "magic" number of fish in a particular tank; for instance, in my 65 I can only have 6 small/medium sized fish. Without fail, every time I have tried to add just one more fish, one fish will die whether that be the new fish or one I have had for awhile bringing the number back down to 6...

I would make sure you have a decent amount of live rock in your display as the dwarf angel and the butterfly will dine on the things growing on it. If you have your live rock aquascaped such that there are plenty of spaces for the fish to swim through and you have good flow, the fish will be just fine. So to attempt to directly answer your question without knowing how much LR you have, I would put ~50lbs of LR in your tank and the rest in your sump. That of course depends on the type of LR you have with the more dense LR will not take as much space while less dense will take more.

The "magic number" is all too real! The same thing has happened with previous aquariums. Thank you for the helpful advice!