Well My 25 Broke 55 Stocking Suggestions

[hops523]

Hey all, well this morning my 25 gallon saltwater tanks broke, and had to get all fish and inverts out, but that is a long story. So now that I do not have a saltwater tank I wanted to get a 55 gallon saltwater tank to replace it. I have some fish in mind that I want, but I wanted all of your opinions on what I should get and what I should not get. I am looking for some larger fish to stock it with. here is what I wanted:
1 Dwarf lionfish
1 Bicolor Angelfish
2 Domino damselfish
1 yellow tang, this might be too big
1 six line wrasse

 

[JJ1234567]

these answers are a mix of opinions and excerts from the pocket expert guide, marine fishes.

dwarf lionfish you could easily do. It would make a great inhabitant of the reef. Downside would be that it could eat (likely to) most shrimps you would want in the tank. Not sure about crabs or snails. Also it might (also highly likely) eat fish its size or smaller.

Bi-Color angel -- I think you could do this, at a max size of around 6 inches you should be ok. Not overly agressive, however if your planning on a reef, this may nip at LPS, soft corals, zoos, and clams

damsels -- Would never recommend anyone doing damsels unless it was a species only tank. They are agressive and territorial. (personal opinion, not books)


Yellow Tang -- IMOO tank is way too small for any tang, I would never house a tang in less than a 6 foot long tank. That being said, the book agrees with me to a point. It says min 75 gal. Generally safe, however if it is underfed may nip at SPS and LPS.

sixline wrasse - great choice. Easy to keep, however the occasional speciemen can pick on inverts (I have only heard of this once on here)

 

[hops523]

Ok that sounds great thanks for the advice. So no damselfish, and no yellow tang. I thought a tang would be too big. I was just not sure. Any other fish that could replace them?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, a 55 is tough for bigger fish cause its a big tank, but not that big... Somewhere in the nether regions between big tanks and nanos. You've got dwarf angels and dwarf lions, or perhaps maroon clowns, but not much else. Gotta jump up to 6' long for tangs fullsize angels, and larger wrasses

 

[Mr Miagi]

I wont echo what the other two have stated from books and said, because they are right, but your damselfish may be nice, can live in a community, although somewhat aggresive, but they simply wouldnt survive any lions appetite for long! Other than that, go for it.

 

[hops523]

Thanks for the advice I am just thinking of all the fish and possibilities. I will let you all know. Thanks again

 

[xNOTLOCx]

well go for a flame angel, there r some tangs that can have smaller tanks but there not the greatest looking, i think a cool fish to have is a hawkfish, it depends youd have to be cautious when adding it because it can nip at corals but alot of people never have problems with this and they are colroful, well ony red lol but i had a damsel and i loved it but i realized it would grow 7" so i took it back but it didnt mess with my other fish and was a cool fish, myne didnt personally nip at corals, but who knows, it was a bowtie, and my lfs has a 300 gal display well one of 2, but this is the smaller one and they have all sorts of fish in the tank but the two i liek are the humbug damsels full grown and in a reef so i think you could get lucky with a nice damsel.

 

[Lynden]

Damselfish and lions do not go together; however, the lion may actually be the one killed! Damselfish are fast, aggressive, and nippy; they have been known to escape a lionfishes jaws long enough to actually nip the lion to death

What a sad ending for such a proud and strong fish

However, not all damselfish are this aggressive; but try to stay away from Chrysiptera and Dacyllus damsels, they give the family its reputation.

 

[JJ1234567]

You know, honestly. If I had a spare 55 lying around, I would do a pair of maroon clowns. But thats just me.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Maroons are cool