Few questions??

[matthew112687]

Is it a must to use all live sand as a substrate, or is there something else that I can use or mix live sand with? I am in the planning stages for a 60 gallon and I am just going to have some green chromis in there with some cleaner shrimp, snails, etc.

Also how many chromis do you think I could have? I have a sump with a protein skimmer rated for 100 gallon tanks, and a MAG 7 return pump.

Thank you

[DSMawd21]

with a 60 gallon, i would put mmaybe 2 3 tops...

[Agu]

It's pretty common to use dried sand and seed it with a pound or two of live sand on top.

Although chromis are schooling fish their track record in tanks is pretty miserable if kept in groups. They tend to harrass the weakest fish to death, and there's always a weakest fish until there's only one left.

[sir_dudeguy]

ya you prolly shouldnt get a bunch of chromis in there. they harrass the weak ones like aqu said. Also, i go to the lfs a lot, and lately i've noticed that their cromis are getting really big..they're just the green chromis. There's a couple in there that are bigger than their coral beauty angels, and they're very active, so i dont think a 60 would be enough for these guys, unless you only got 2, 3 tops. I myself was gonna get them for my 55 untill i found this out. I was under the impression that they stayed small, but i guess not.

[matthew112687]

Thanks for the responses.

I didnt know that chromis were aggressive, and I was hoping for a few more then 2-3 fish. Any other suggestions for stocking?

[sir_dudeguy]

its a sixty right? I'd say that you could do any of the dwarf angels, like flames (my favorite, but im not getting one :( ) coral beauty, um...ya theres a fair few others too.

I'd say you MIGHT be able to do a yellow tang, but no other tangs IMO. Any small gobies, grammas etc..theres plenty of fish...how bout listing what type of tank you want? reef or no reef? if you are going for reef, then that eliminates a lot of fish you can keep, since they'll eat corals. A good site for finding the types of fish you want is liveaquaria.com. I dont always agree w/the recomended tank sizes that they put down, but i like them for finding the fish i wanna get. I'd say make a list of fish that you like from there, and then post it on here.

[kraze3]

clowns, royal gramma, neon gobies, yellow watchman gobie, coral beauty, flame angel, there are many possibilities you have to pick a couple that you like and do some research or ask questions here. then you will know what can be kept with what and how many so u dont overload ur system

[sir_dudeguy]

ya, if you find a couple that you have to have (like i HAVE to have a dwarf angel) then you can build around those fish, since that will eliminate some more fish that wont get along w/them and whatnot.

[fishylad]

I have 2 Blue/Green Chromis, 1 yellow tail damsel, 1 true perc, 1 chalk bass, bicolor blenny and a spotted cardinal in my 55.

One of the Chromis is good size while the other is less than half the size. It seems the mission in life to torment the smaller one, especially at feeding time. I have had them for about 2 years and they are still there, but not sure if I would choose to have 2 again.

[matthew112687]

I am going to have to do some research on all these fish that everyone listed, thanks again for all of the responses. I am going to spraypaint the background tomorrow, and as soon as I get my paycheck I will be able to buy a protein skimmer then I will be set. As soon as I figure out what I want stocking wise I will post again to make sure its ok. Thank you.

[sir_dudeguy]

hey, if possible instead of painting the back of the tank, paint a seperate pice of glass/plexiglass/accrylic/etc etc etc...this way, if you get scratches for some reason on the front, you can just flip it around, where if you had the back painted, you can't.

[matthew112687]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7649516#post7649516 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
hey, if possible instead of painting the back of the tank, paint a seperate pice of glass/plexiglass/accrylic/etc etc etc...this way, if you get scratches for some reason on the front, you can just flip it around, where if you had the back painted, you can't.

I would but the tank is drilled in the back so the tank wouldnt look too good if I ever turned it around.

[matthew112687]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7646799#post7646799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
ya, if you find a couple that you have to have (like i HAVE to have a dwarf angel) then you can build around those fish, since that will eliminate some more fish that wont get along w/them and whatnot.

Really the only 2 fish that really intrest me are damsels and chromis. I am just planning for a simple tank. And I would like to keep it to as few species as possible and have more of the same thing.

Do chromis and damsels get along ok with each other?

and...

Do damsels have the same mentality as chromis when it comes to picking on the smaller one when they are in groups?

[sir_dudeguy]

damsels are, imo, the worst as far as aggression. Talk about big punch in a little package lol. My damsels (i got four of the threestripe variety) are crazy. they are always fighting and stuff. And i dont think they're very good w/corals...not my gsp anyways.

And thats weird that you're only interested in damsels and chromis lol...usually most people are NOT interested in them, but they can look cool i guess when they're in groups, but i dont know if they do well in large numbers...i'll i know is 4 is def. not the number to have lol.

If you would like to keep only 1 or 2 species, im pretty sure there are some gobies that can be kept together, or maybe some blennies but im not sure. I did see a tank where a guy had a few dwarf angles, all of the same kind, and it looked awsome, but i cant remember what kind, and i think most fight w/their own kind

[matthew112687]

From what I have seen so far I really like damsels and chromis, but I just need to go to a few LFS and check out fish, and if I like them I will post on here and see how many I can get so they will be comfortable in my tank. Thank you for the response.

[sir_dudeguy]

ya thats a good idea too. I do that a lot...just goin to the lfs to look for something i might like.

[fishylad]

For what it's worth my yellow tail damsel is te least aggressive fish in the tank along with my spotted cardinal. Since the damsel is alone, so to speak, not sure how things would change if I added another one, but not going to test.

[matthew112687]

Those yellow tail damsels are cool, but idk how many I could keep in a 60 without them harassing each other.

Does anyone know of a peaceful schooling fish that I could keep in a 60, or am I just going to have to realize that it isnt going to happen?

I also put the first coat of paint on for my background. When it is done I will post a few pictures.