Noah Hemingway
Active Member
If anyone has a good reef safe stock list for a 55 gallon tank please give me ideas! Wanting at least 1 tang & a pair of black clowns. Other than that i’m pretty open minded but no damsels or chromis please!
Aquarium stocking
- Thread starter Noah Hemingway
- Start date
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tomini, two spot or white tail tangs
Black saddleback clowns
fu manchu scorpion
royal gramma
coral beauty
Black saddleback clowns
fu manchu scorpion
royal gramma
coral beauty
A tang in a 55 gallon really isn't a good idea.
Along with the clowns you want, I would do something like:
Yellow wrasse, H. Chrysus
Lubbock's fairy wrasse
Long nose hawk
Bangaii cardinal
Pink spot watchman goby
Starry Blenny
Along with the clowns you want, I would do something like:
Yellow wrasse, H. Chrysus
Lubbock's fairy wrasse
Long nose hawk
Bangaii cardinal
Pink spot watchman goby
Starry Blenny
Soren
Valuable Member
Be sure to do your research on minimum tank size for the choices you make and make sure you are planning on the adult size of each fish. I personally would not recommend it, but you might get away with having fish that grow too large for your tank if you re-home them when they get too large (this is not easy and is not a good plan in my opinion).
A 55-gallon is a large tank for small fish (3-4" adult length), but a small tank for medium fish (6-7" adult length), especially if they need swimming room.
Based on my research, tangs are pretty much out of the considerations for 55-gallon tank in order to be happy and healthy, even for the smaller Ctenochaetus tangs. You might be able to have a Ctenochaetus (bristletooth) tang in a 55-gallon tank, but it is definitely under the minimum recommended. Any other species of tang is likely to outgrow a 55-gallon tank or be very cramped at adult size.
A pair of clowns should work well in a 55-gallon tank.
Do you plan to include a sump, or do you plan to have other sources for filtration? We should really know more about your setup than just display tank volume before giving recommendations on how many fish to stock.
A 55-gallon is a large tank for small fish (3-4" adult length), but a small tank for medium fish (6-7" adult length), especially if they need swimming room.
Based on my research, tangs are pretty much out of the considerations for 55-gallon tank in order to be happy and healthy, even for the smaller Ctenochaetus tangs. You might be able to have a Ctenochaetus (bristletooth) tang in a 55-gallon tank, but it is definitely under the minimum recommended. Any other species of tang is likely to outgrow a 55-gallon tank or be very cramped at adult size.
A pair of clowns should work well in a 55-gallon tank.
Do you plan to include a sump, or do you plan to have other sources for filtration? We should really know more about your setup than just display tank volume before giving recommendations on how many fish to stock.
OP
OP
Noah Hemingway
Active Member
The tank has a 10 gallon sump and this will only be their tank for a year as when I move out next year I will be upgrading them to a 200 gallon.
Soren
Valuable Member
That plan could allow for a tang, though I have heard recommendations to be careful with upgrade plans. Once you buy a tang, you will ensure the need for an upgrade, so make sure the upgrade will happen in time for the tang's growth. Otherwise, you will need to re-home the tang if it grows too big before you upgrade. I know I have seen recommendations to buy the fish according to current tank size and get the tang after you upgrade the tank.
Based on my research, you could have success with a Ctenochaetus tang (due to 6-7" adult size smaller than other tangs), especially with your plans to upgrade in a year.
For my own plans, I have been reading through reef aquarium books as well as doing research online to know as much as possible about each fish I consider. Try to put together a list with a reasonable number of fish and reasonable species at adult size for your tank (or reasonably slow growth rate and reasonably likelihood of the upgrade in a year).
Also, I am not sure about the recommendations from some others for a foxface. I would like to know more about the justification in a 55-gallon tank. From my research, the minimum tank size for the smallest foxface, the One Spot or Siganus unimaculatus, is 70 gallons, while most others are recommended for a minimum of 125 gallons. I have seen many reports from members keeping a foxface and noting how fat they are for their length and recommending larger tanks for them than the minimum.
My main advice is to carefully research adult sizes of the fish you choose for your 55-gallon tank size, both for determining which fishes you can consider for likely success as well as for determining how many fish you can successfully include.
Though I do not feel experienced enough to offer suggestions for specific fish, I like the list suggested above by @nereefpat for a few reasons:
Fish are appropriately sized as adults to be comfortable in a 55-gallon tank, total number of fish as well as inclusion of fishes that occupy different areas of the tank both seem to be reasonable for a 55-gallon tank, and the relative aggressiveness is not out of place with any of the included species. These are probably the biggest factors to keep in mind when making a stocking list.
Based on my research, you could have success with a Ctenochaetus tang (due to 6-7" adult size smaller than other tangs), especially with your plans to upgrade in a year.
For my own plans, I have been reading through reef aquarium books as well as doing research online to know as much as possible about each fish I consider. Try to put together a list with a reasonable number of fish and reasonable species at adult size for your tank (or reasonably slow growth rate and reasonably likelihood of the upgrade in a year).
Also, I am not sure about the recommendations from some others for a foxface. I would like to know more about the justification in a 55-gallon tank. From my research, the minimum tank size for the smallest foxface, the One Spot or Siganus unimaculatus, is 70 gallons, while most others are recommended for a minimum of 125 gallons. I have seen many reports from members keeping a foxface and noting how fat they are for their length and recommending larger tanks for them than the minimum.
My main advice is to carefully research adult sizes of the fish you choose for your 55-gallon tank size, both for determining which fishes you can consider for likely success as well as for determining how many fish you can successfully include.
Though I do not feel experienced enough to offer suggestions for specific fish, I like the list suggested above by @nereefpat for a few reasons:
Fish are appropriately sized as adults to be comfortable in a 55-gallon tank, total number of fish as well as inclusion of fishes that occupy different areas of the tank both seem to be reasonable for a 55-gallon tank, and the relative aggressiveness is not out of place with any of the included species. These are probably the biggest factors to keep in mind when making a stocking list.
Soren
Valuable Member
As I think more about this, I could go the route of making personal suggestions as I would choose, though your own preferences could differ.
Since I am planning a 90-gallon reef right now, I could cut my own list down for less fish due to less volume (especially since my system is 90-gallon display linked to 75-gallon mangrove lagoon with 75-gallon sump for total water volume around 180 gallons compared to your current plan for 55-gallon display with 10-gallon sump for total volume around 60 gallons) and eliminate all inclusions too large to produce a list of recommendations for your 55-gallon tank, something like:
2 black and white ocellaris clownfish (as you stated, and also my personal choice)
1 orange spotted shrimp goby (or similar goby for sand cleaning)
1 Rainford's goby (also for cleaning sand and/or small pests)
1 bristletooth Tomini tang (which may necessitate the upgrade, also utilitarian for algae consumption)
3-5 yellowstriped cardinalfish (or similar fish for a small group or school)
1 four line wrasse (or similar wrasse for pest control)
maybe 1-2 royal gramma if space/aggression/bioloading allows
Note that these are choices only based on research of the experiences of others and not my own, while also making specific choices based on my own preferences. I am not sure, but this seems like a reasonable bioload for your situation while also including fish that have different functions in the tank as well as occupying different areas, therefore reducing likelihood of aggression.
Since I am planning a 90-gallon reef right now, I could cut my own list down for less fish due to less volume (especially since my system is 90-gallon display linked to 75-gallon mangrove lagoon with 75-gallon sump for total water volume around 180 gallons compared to your current plan for 55-gallon display with 10-gallon sump for total volume around 60 gallons) and eliminate all inclusions too large to produce a list of recommendations for your 55-gallon tank, something like:
2 black and white ocellaris clownfish (as you stated, and also my personal choice)
1 orange spotted shrimp goby (or similar goby for sand cleaning)
1 Rainford's goby (also for cleaning sand and/or small pests)
1 bristletooth Tomini tang (which may necessitate the upgrade, also utilitarian for algae consumption)
3-5 yellowstriped cardinalfish (or similar fish for a small group or school)
1 four line wrasse (or similar wrasse for pest control)
maybe 1-2 royal gramma if space/aggression/bioloading allows
Note that these are choices only based on research of the experiences of others and not my own, while also making specific choices based on my own preferences. I am not sure, but this seems like a reasonable bioload for your situation while also including fish that have different functions in the tank as well as occupying different areas, therefore reducing likelihood of aggression.
Gordon Marvin
Community Member
Tangs are out of the question here is what I would do
Pair of clowns
Salifin algae blenny
yellow watchman goby
fire fish
royal gramma
coral beauty (they can be prone to pick at corals)
Pair of clowns
Salifin algae blenny
yellow watchman goby
fire fish
royal gramma
coral beauty (they can be prone to pick at corals)
