50g stock list--opinons please

[MinibowMatt]

I have a 50G tank I am going to begin stocking. It is a reef, more focused on LPS and softies. I will have some montis and acros thoughas well. I already have a 2" royal gramma in thers, and I am going to add a small 1.25" TB WS maroon clown. I will wait until all other fish have been added before I put my clown in, as I know whes a biatch. I was going to add a 2.5-3 CBB today. As soon as my pod population is big enough I will add a green mandarin too. I guess I may still be able to add 2 more fish. Definetly 1 more. I dont know what I should add. I was thinking a Flame angel or Coral Beauty.

What do you all think about that? A good plan?
Thanx

[tangreef68]

I would get a wrasse. Depending on your budget, you many colorful options such as the fairy and flashers.

[MinibowMatt]

do you think a wrasse and mandarin will compee for pods? I want my mandarin to flourish..

[tangreef68]

depending on what you get. I believe the types i listed are plankivores.

[MinibowMatt]

thanx for the input Tangreef.

[petoonia]

What about a goby or blenny they dont take up much room, and from what I hear they have great personalities.

[SDguy]

Research the CBB choice a bit. They are tough fish, with poor survival rates, and frankly short lifespans even if you can get them to eat frozen foods. And that's a big IF. And your maroon clown WILL eventually thrash a CBB in a 50g tank, IMO. I would personally get a more mellow clown, but that's up to you.

Flasher wrasses and some of the smaller fairy wrasses would be great choices. Make sure you know which ones need sand to sleep in, in case you don't have sand in the tank.

Make sure you have a backup plan to catch the coral beauty or flame just in case it does end up sampling your corals. It's a chance.

Lots of blennies/gobies to choose from. And maybe a single anthias. Hardy species that do OK alone, like fathead, lyretail, bartlett, redbar, etc.

[tangreef68]

fairy and flashers do not need a sand bed. They sleep in the rocks at night.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8403525#post8403525 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangreef68
fairy and flashers do not need a sand bed. They sleep in the rocks at night.

Oh really? I thought some of the fairies slept in sand.

EDIT: Research each particular species before purchasing ;)

[Poniegirl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8403699#post8403699 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
Oh really? I thought some of the fairies slept in sand. Good to know. Thanks! :)
Some do require a sand bed. With 100's of different species and sub-species, it's almost impossible to say one group does or doesn't act a certain way.
These are my favorite fish, but take care in choosing. There are an amazingly diverse range of behaviors and needs.

[fishysteve]

Maybe a dottyback of some kind. ORA has indigo dottybacks. They are a cross between an orchid and striped dottyback. Very cool fish.

[MinibowMatt]

I thought about a dottyback, but they are known jumpers, arent they? I am not planning on covering this tank.

[ObscurityKnocks]

Some wrasses do require a sand bed, but the fairy and flashers do not.

[ObscurityKnocks]

Forget about the fairy/flasher wrasses if you are not covering your tank.

[ACBlinky]

I have to agree with ObscurityKnocks. I had a Lubbock's fairy wrasse for about a year, and within that time he jumped out of his tank NINE times. Each and every time he jumped, the tank was covered - for the first eight months or so there was a glass top with just a few holes for equipment, followed by eggcrate. His final jump was his last, unfortunately I found him too late. He was on top of the eggcrate, baking under the light. He was a beautiful fish, but VERY jumpy.

[tangreef68]

I have heard of some fish jumping through 1/2" holes. That is a pretty small hole.

[MinibowMatt]

I definetly do not want any carpet surfers...

[Poniegirl]

I hope you don't rule out an entire genus of fish for the reason that some folks have had them jump. I haven't had that experience, myself, but I can't say they won't.
On the same note, I have heard of many other types of fish jumping, as well. Clowns, gobys. I'm afraid that's just one of those things with fish.
Aside from all that, anthias and psuedochromis are also some nice, reefsafe options.

[ObscurityKnocks]

It is pretty well established that the fairy/flasher wrasses have a tendency to jump. I have seen mine on occasion jump and hit my eggcrate covering the tank. My clowns,angels,tangs,etc.. have never done that. Another time I was at the LFS and a carpenters flasher wrasse jumped out of a tank that came up to my waist and if flew up to my eye level before luckly landing back in the tank he jumped from. It kinda freaked me out.

I would hope he would rule out an entire genus of fish if he can't provide the proper setup for them.

[SDguy]

Well, I've heard of just about every type of fish carpet surfing...from jawfish to clowns to triggers to even lionfish...

I think as long as you have a canopy on your tank and maybe eggcrate covering the open back (if it is an open back) you'll be OK. Also, I think the taller the tank, the less likely fish are to jump. JMO/E.

[MinibowMatt]

Well i can provide the proper setup.. that isnt the problem. I just do not want eggcrate on my tank. I have a custom pendant I made for it, so no canopy to contain the fish either. I prefer to stick to fish that have tendencies to NOT jump. I did pickup a nice, fat CBB, and he is taking frozen mysis. I will begin stocking my fuge with extra pods to make sure he continues to recieve proper nutrition. Unfortunately, I am still unsure of what my last fish addition will be.

[Poniegirl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8411633#post8411633 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ObscurityKnocks


I would hope he would rule out an entire genus of fish if he can't provide the proper setup for them.

"The Wrasses constitute one of the largest (the second largest family of fishes (after the Gobies with at least 60 genera and six hundred plus species.) and most diverse families of marine fishes. From amongst the smallest (Minilabrus striatus of the Red Sea at under two inches and part of an ounce) and largest (the Napoleon Wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus at more than seven feet and four hundred pounds) of species, they are plain to outright gaudy in their markings and coloration, easygoing to the point of total non-competitiveness to true terrors of the reef. "
That's a big group. :)