55g Stocking List - opinions welcome

[Reef1121]

Im just about done with my used 55g TruVu reef ready system that I drilled and added a 20g long that I made into a sump. I just have to add sand and water and let the rock cycle (got reef saver rock from BRS)

Right now Im thinking about a:
Potters Angel
Maroon yellow banded clown w/ rose bubble
Scopas tang
Mystery Wrasse
Longnose Hawk

And possibly a Red Maderin later down the road when the tank is more established and my reef is going good.

So any suggestions or feedback would be great

[nanoreefer1000]

Originally Posted by Reef1121

Im just about done with my used 55g TruVu reef ready system that I drilled and added a 20g long that I made into a sump. I just have to add sand and water and let the rock cycle (got reef saver rock from BRS)

Right now Im thinking about a:
Potters Angel- needs an established tank w\ a fuge
Maroon yellow banded clown w/ rose bubble- aggressive
Scopas tang-to big
Mystery Wrasse-will compete for pods with the potters
Longnose Hawk-good

And possibly a Red Maderin later down the road when the tank is more established and my reef is going good. - you can only have so many pod eating fish lol

So any suggestions or feedback would be great

[fish042099]

How many watts is the light? BTAs need moderate high lighting(4-5 watts per gallon). Red mandarins are hard to feed,too. You need live rock and daily feedings of brine shrimp.Your list sounds good, and I don't think that the tang is too big for that tank.

[nanoreefer1000]

Originally Posted by fish042099

How many watts is the light? BTAs need moderate high lighting(4-5 watts per gallon). Red mandarins are hard to feed,too. You need live rock and daily feedings of brine shrimp.Your list sounds good, and I don't think that the tang is too big for that tank.

Watts doesn't matter, it's an inaccurate way to see how powerful their lighting is.

[fish042099]

Whaat?!?!?!?!?! Sure they do!

[rssjsb]

I sense a pointless squabble coming on.

To avoid that, OP, what is your lighting situation? Fixture type, how many bulbs, LEDs, T-5, halides, compact fluorescents?

I would probably skip the scopas. If you must have a tang, maybe a kole or tomini would be more appropriate to a 55.

[fish042099]

I agree, you should get a koles tang.

[dzfish17]

I would make a few changes on the list... first off the potters angel can be a bit tricky unless youve been doing this for awhile (not trying to insult you, just curious if this is your first marine tank). I really think a 55g tank is too small for a tang... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1946079. The maroon clown is the meanest of the clowns so just be ready for it to bully the other fish.

[fish042099]

Potters angel isn't hard to keep if you have an established tank and experience. Also, I agree, the clown is on the belligerent side. You should get a pair of pink skunk anemonefish.

[nanoreefer1000]

Originally Posted by fish042099

Whaat?!?!?!?!?! Sure they do!

well it does but if you compare 250 watts of MH and 250 watts of PC you got a big difference.

[fish042099]

Yeah but if you comare 750 watt metal halide and 250 watt metal halide you get a difference too

[rssjsb]

Ok, this is the squabbling I was talking about before. Let's see if the OP ever comes back, and we can give advice based on the facts instead of arguing about theory.

[billyzbear]

Vivid keeps thier BTA's with just 2 pc's. It may not work long term, thou. I have mine under t-5's.

[Gill_bucket]

I wouldn't do the maroon clown, they are cute when small but get really big and aggressive. I can see the temptation though because they are guaranteed to pair up with your nem. I saw one at my LFS the other day, someone had brought it home only to have it beat up the triggers which were already in the tank, and the triggers were twice the size of the clown!!! That is an unheard of amount of aggression, so use caution.

[Reef1121]

Ok to answer many questions lol.

For lighting I'm doing 2 AI SOL Blue Modules, the tank is going to be a mixed reef with LPS and SPS. More SPS dominant though. I'm upgrading from my current 12g aquapod. But this isn't my first rodeo as far as reef tanks go. My first tank 5 years ago was a 28g biocube, followed by and 100g TruVu Reef ready system and then a 200g All glass dual overflow with a 75g sump. All three of those tanks were pre-military. I got the 12g to keep it interesting as far as difficulty goes and just to get back into the overall flow of things. But now with the 55g taking away from the water chemistry fun as it is more stable especially with the custom sump I built out of a 20g long breeder tank. So I wanted to do some fish that were harder to keep, if that makes any sense lol

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by fish042099

Potters angel isn't hard to keep if you have an established tank and experience. Also, I agree, the clown is on the belligerent side. You should get a pair of pink skunk anemonefish.

Even with an established tank and 15+ years of keeping dwarf angels, they can still be difficult, at best.

[Reef1121]

And If I don't do the tang is there another algae eating fish that is small enough for the tank? I just remember having my yellow tang in my 100 and he was so fun to watch in the morning as he went around and cleaned off the rocks.

Also more info about the build. Its a 55g TruVu reef ready system that I drilled to accommodate a 20g long breeders tank that I turned into a sump. It will be running a BRS dual carbon GFO reactor and a BRS bio-pellet reactor. I have a Rio HF 17 pumping back into the tank, and there will be a MP 40 for circulation but until I get the $$$ for that Ill be running 2 400 Koralia nano s that my LFS is letting me borrow. And there will be the 2 AI SOL blue modules, and will be running a eShopps PSK-100 skimmer.

If you need any more info Ill be happy to respond. And sorry about the delayed respond, had the unfortunate event of having to work the weekend

[Reef1121]

I had a pair of pink skunks in the 200g. They are beautiful and amazing clowns. If I did that I would probably do away with the rose bubble and get a carpet anemone as the colors are more vibrant and the skunks will still host in them if I'm thinking about this correctly

[MikeandNicole]

As someone who has a tank around that size (57g) I think I can give you some advice. At that size tank you can stock it two ways, 1-3 larger aggressive fish or a bunch of little swimmers. I can tell you right now the tang will get too aggressive, so will the mystery wrasse, and the maroon clowns. When I first setup the tank I had transfered in a mystery wrasse and got rid of him because every fish in the tank hid from him. Potters angel can get big and need an established tank and it might be ok down the line but not now.

What I stock/recommend:
Pair of percs clownfish: I have a pair, they stay smaller than maroons, less aggressive and I have a pair of picassos that are amazing
Pair of Helfrichis firefish: Make sure the tank is covered
Pair of Gold Assesor Basslets: Make sure they are ORA
Sunburst Anthia: Just one
Yasha Goby
Swalesi basslet
Barnacle blennies

I don't have any dwarf angels because it is a reef tank and I just don't trust dwarf angels with corals. But if you were not doing corals, I would consider one just not a potters or a golden dwarf as they are some of the toughest. Flames, argis, coral beauties, flamebacks would all fit but you have to be careful of the aggression. All of the other fish I listed are very peaceful and might not get along with the angel

[Reef1121]

Well after all the comments now I'm at a loss for what I really want. So here's the new list of what I'm thinking and again suggestions are welcome.

~Long nose Hawk fish
~Clown fish pair - up for any suggestions (just keep it looking natural not a fan of the cross genetic ones i.e. Picasso's)
~Mystery wrasse/ ornate wrasse - both are beautiful but again will take suggestions on wrasses
~Dwarf angel - still like the potter's both for the beauty and challange
~ Mandarin - farther down the line
Also had the brief idea of a school of 3 blue/green chromis but thought they might get too big for the tank

Also for the above post, I love the look of the Sunburst anthia, but am concerned with the feeding schedule as I do work 12 hour shifts and would at most only be able to feed the tank once a day. Do you feed the tank multiple times a day or what does your feeding schedule look like. I usually only like to feed every other day.

[Toddrtrex]

Do you plan on keeping shrimp? If so, the hawk fish and mystery wrasse with be an issue.

If you are referring to an Serranocirrhitus latus for the sunburst anthia, they are not like other anthia and you might get away with one feeding per day (( though 2 would be better )).

[Reef1121]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

Do you plan on keeping shrimp? If so, the hawk fish and mystery wrasse with be an issue.

If you are referring to an Serranocirrhitus latus for the sunburst anthia, they are not like other anthia and you might get away with one feeding per day (( though 2 would be better )).

I have a cleaner shrimp now that's almost 2" long but I don't think he is going to make the move into the next tank. I think hes just going to stay in the 12g aquapod, until I remodel it and when that happens he'll be at my LFS being babysat along with my yellow watchman and occelaris clown. Other than that no shrimp are planned for this build, just snails and possibly a starfish.

And the Serranocirrhiitus latus was the one I was looking at online.

[MikeandNicole]

Sunbursts are not like the anthias that need to be fed many times a day and 2 times a day would be fine (once in the morning once at night). I love the long nosed hawk and owned one a while back, but they will eat shrimp and when they get bigger they can also go after smaller gobies. For the clowns I would just go with a nice pair of true perculas and call it a day. If you are dead set on a wrasse I would look at one of the many flasher wrasses out there. They are less aggressive than a mystery, can be absolutely stunning in color, and are more invert safe.

[small alien]

You say you'll be feeding once a day at most. I think two feelings per day is minimum for a lot of reef fish. And definitely once a day. This will matter regarding your stock list. Will you get an automatic feeder?

[Neoferdina]

Ok, as stated before, don't do the maroon. I have a scar left from my maroon... just sayin...

Don't do mandarin and wrasses together unless you have a ton of pods. They'll be competing for the same foods and that's a competition the mandarin won't win.

+1 on sunburst anthias. Great fish. Timid though, so try to add this first.

Mystery wrasse can work out if you add it last so that it's on the bottom of the pecking order.

If you reefin' skills are up there and you want a bit of a challenge, get a leopard wrasse. Awesome fish, super friendly and leaves everyone else alone. If you can get it to fatten up you're in the clear.