55 Gallon Saltwater…Any ideas?
by Aquaboy on Sunday, July 11th, 2010 | 5 Comments
Come september I want to set up a 55 gallon saltwater tank, i currently have, 1 10 gallon (fresh) community, 1 5 gallon danio (fresh) community, 1 1.5 gallon betta, 1 1 gallon betta, and 1 10 gallon BRACKISH tank. Ok does this sound like a good stocking plan???
1 yellow tang
3 common clownfish
invertabraes
1 blue tang
1 naso tang
and mabey more later…
it shows no saltwate rexperience, but that is ok.
Your stocking list is 10times overstocked. in saltwater fishkeeping you have to stock less. 1 yellow tang will grow about 15 inches and need at least 75 gallons with alot of caves and swimming room.
3 ocellaris clownfish will end up fighting and killing eachother until there are 2, but they will be fine in a 55 gallon.
1 blue tang. again no less than 125 gallon aquarium, they get large quitly.
1 naso tang, again at least 125 gallon.
This many tangs would need at least 200 gallon aquarium and tangs dont always mix well together.
You need to do more research, the process of saltwater isnt that hard for fishkeepers who are experienced, and generally not that hard, but they do need more details. way too overstocked. pick fishes like anthias, basslets, gobies, dwarf angels.
The yellow tang would be happy, but the blue and naso will be far too big and active. You need like a 100+ gal tank for a naso.
1 Yellow Tang
3 Clownfish
A few invertebrates
A few gobies (I love these guys; interesting personalities; lots to choose from)
Then maybe one or two other small ones that are compatible.
yea about the tangs…
one tang needs at least 75 gallons of water to be happy. Three tangs would never be happy in a 55 gallon tank and would constantly quarell among each other. So i would highly advice you to stay away from the tangs in such a small tank. As for the clowns, keep no more than two, and it is adviced to keep at least one anemone in the tank. Make sure you provide at least 20-30 lb’s of live rock and a cleaning crew of at least 10 snails and maybe a shrimp too. Fish to replace the tangs include: dwarf angelfish (no more than one), blennies, gobies, chromis, firefish, and jawfish. But before you purchase anything, be sure to do your homework and make sure the tank is right for them. monitor your water parameters and you should do fine. but please, dont get any tangs.
good luck
Definitely not – those stock would barely cohabitate in a 180g, let alone a 55. There are very few tangs which can be kept for any period of time in a system below 75g, because of 3 factors – their size and growth which is explosive, their behaviour which is belligerent to other tangs typically, and their swimming patterns. They need a lot of room both in terms of water volume and swimming length/open space, particularly any of the Naso species – which really shouldn’t be kept in anything smaller than 150g at their full size. The Blue tang (regardless of which variety, Atlantic or Pacific) is another which grows big and has an active habit of swimming, 120g would be a baseline for an adult. Yellow tang has similar needs. Not to mention all of them are incredibly prone to Ich, have massive bioload footprints, and are often difficult to acclimate and maintain. Especially in a new system.
As for the Clownfish, they’re a Damselfish, which are in terms of size vs. aggression, essentially the most aggressive fish we keep in this hobby. Clownfish are not to be kept in more than pairs in systems under a few hundred gallons because it will almost certainly result in the death of at least one (though in a lot of cases, some or all of them).
If you want reliable stocking options, look into the recommended volume they can be kept in as adults from reputable sources. The more you research, the better off you will be. And remember that because a saltwater tank’s primary mode of filtration is biological, the bioload has to be by virtue smaller than a fresh or brackish setup. There’s plenty of information out there, though right now I’d recommend starting out with the information on http://www.theaquariumwiki.com and working from there.
no, you cant go tang crazy like that. especially if youre going to cram them in a small tank. tangs are aggressive and they’re going to fight each other. especially when they are put into a tank WAY smaller than their minimum needed size. i would skip all 3 tangs altogether. invertabrates, fine, go for it. shrimp are great. i would do the clown fish in a pair. another idea is to go for dwarf angels. i see that you like color in your fish, try a flame angel, they look great (you wont be able to have corals though) good luck.