Stocking 55gallon reef

thoeffe · Nov 11, 2018

I'm trying to think of what I want to have in my 55 gallon reef. So far I have a clownfish pair and a diamond sand sifting goby. Do you think my tank will be alright without a lid? Id prefer it to be open top like it is now but I'm worried about jumpers. Im also thinking about adding a lawnmower blenny, either a flame angel or coral beauty and maybe a kole tang. Do you think one of the angels would be alright In a reef? Any other fish suggestions, preferable active fish that swim in the upper water not scooters.

mich2599 · Nov 11, 2018

I would get a lid just to be safe. Ive had mine since May and added a carpenter wrasse and he had never jumped. He has now jumped out twice in the last week. I was lucky enough to be there the first time and my niece told me the second time.

PDR · Nov 11, 2018

You definitely want a lid. Any fish has the potential to jump and a DIY screen top is pretty easy to make. If you want a great looking lid, @cromag27 can definitely hook you up!

Angels are hit and miss with coral, and 55 gallons is kind of pushing it for the Kole. You may be able to get by with a single smaller anthias.

mattzang · Nov 11, 2018

I didn't have a lid, but had a lot of surface agitation, so I figured it was ok. I'm going to get a wrasse so I bought a screen top kit awhile ago, but didn't put it together.

Then the other day I go to grab my keys off of a table I have near my tank and suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see my female clown decide to vault out. Luckily I was there so I just scooped her up and put her back in, cat hair covered and all. The next day the screen was put together and on the tank

I'd get a top of some sort if I were you!

nereefpat · Nov 12, 2018

Your current diamond goby and future lawnmower blenny are both notorious jumpers.

Those two angels are a gamble, but many folks keep them in reefs. A 55 is a little small for a flame or coral coral beauty. A flameback would be a little smaller and better.

I would not recommend any tang for a 55.

Lots of wrasses to choose from. Halichoeres chrysus is a favorite of mine to recommend.

Flame or longnosed hawk is a must for every tank, in my opinion.

Jesterrace · Nov 12, 2018

thoeffe said:
I'm trying to think of what I want to have in my 55 gallon reef. So far I have a clownfish pair and a diamond sand sifting goby. Do you think my tank will be alright without a lid? Id prefer it to be open top like it is now but I'm worried about jumpers. Im also thinking about adding a lawnmower blenny, either a flame angel or coral beauty and maybe a kole tang. Do you think one of the angels would be alright In a reef? Any other fish suggestions, preferable active fish that swim in the upper water not scooters.

With that Goby you definitely need a lid. My diamond watchman ended up in my overflow within a few weeks of adding it and the only thing that kept it from carpet surfing was my lid. Remember that just because a fish isn't a known jumper doesn't mean that it won't jump. ALL FISH WILL JUMP AT SOME POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Lawnmower blenny should be good, although they can get grumpy as they get older and may view the Diamond Watchman as being too similar in shape to it. As for Dwarf Angels, it's all a gamble with corals, some will nip and others won't. I will say that the Flame Angel is more likely to be aggressive to it's tank mates in a 55 gallon. Not saying you can't get an aggressive coral beauty, I'm just saying I like the odds better with a Coral Beauty than a Flame Angel in terms of aggression. My Flame Angel was a butthead and my Coral Beauty has been a near model citizen. I will say this about any dwarf angel, it helps to have a well established tank with algae growing and giving them daily seaweed/nori feedings. It won't guarantee that you won't have coral nipping, but once again it increases your chance of success. I only have a couple of Euphyllia Frags in my tank, but my Flame Angel repeatedly nipped them when I had it and my current CB takes the occasional exploratory nip and then spits it back out and moves on (doesn't seem to like the taste). Either way it hasn't hurt the corals any with the CB. The Kole Tang is out in a 4 foot long, skinny and shallow tank. They get between 7-8 inches in length and need more space to swim. I wouldn't recommend any tang for a 55, although if you were dead set on it the Tomini is the only one I would chance.

Ruben's Reef · Nov 12, 2018

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! I agree with the other reefers suggestions but the only downside of a 55g is the width, too narrow, only 12 or 13 inch. Anyway you have a lot of other fish options that you can put on your tank. I have a Coral beauty for a while and no problem nipping corals. ABout the cover lid, I have a egg crate before and a firefish went thru and fall on the floor. Now I don't have no lid and nobody jump yet.

norfolkgarden · Nov 12, 2018

Lol, flame angel and yellow tangs are neck and neck for most beautiful butt heads.
Both are jerks to new introductions.
Hard to beat either one for beauty, or attitude.

egwich · Nov 13, 2018

I have a 55. Currently stocked with a Kole Tang, two clowns, and Royal Gramma. Going to put a Watchman Goby in by years end. Received the tank for free and ended up falling in love with the (expensive) hobby. I'm upgrading to a minimum 150 by March or April. My main reason is my Kole. I can tell he needs more room already and eventually is going to get aggressive. If you do put a Kole in there he may kill any other grazers or algae eaters you try to put in there.

Jesterrace · Nov 13, 2018

norfolkgarden said:
Lol, flame angel and yellow tangs are neck and neck for most beautiful butt heads.
Both are jerks to new introductions.
Hard to beat either one for beauty, or attitude.

Agreed. Had to give my Flame Angel the boot for bullying behavior (I added it last). It targeted my purple firefish within about 30 seconds of being released into the tank and I have a video of it scaring off my former Diamond Watchman Goby. I gave it the boot after it started nipping on my corals. Later on, my Coral Beauty and my Yellow Tang were both in the same holding tank at my LFS for several weeks and then put in acclimation baskets for a few days and released at the same time. All was good for about a month and then I noticed a chunk missing from my Coral Beauty's lower fin and then noticed the Yellow Tang would back up and slap it with it's tail scalpel (leaving a visible white mark on my CB). It also started shadowing/intimidation behavior towards my Melanurus Wrasse. Needless to say I gave it the boot. I love both fish for looks but will gladly take the Coral Beauty and One Spot Foxface for temperament and looks over either one of those.