55 gallon reef stocking

[Acanthurus1517]

Hello all,
So my 55 gallon reef tank has been static for a while now stocking-wise, but looking at my current roster of fish I’m wondering if there’s one or two more fish I could add. I don’t want to overstock the tank or increase the bioload ten fold so I am treading a bit cautiously with the prospect but if there is a small fish or two I could add, I’d be very happy. For reference, here’s my current fish population:

X2 Ocellaris clowns (1 regular, 1 midnight)
X1 Royal gramma
X1 Melanurus wrasse
X1 Azure damsel
X1 Firefish
X1 Tomini tang (will be rehomed eventually)

The options below are what I’ve been eyeing the most but I’m also open to other suggestions if anyone has any (I am aware that some of these come with their risks, but I’m willing to gamble if a good amount of people have had positive experiences with them):

Goby and shrimp duo
Hawkish
Flame or coral beauty angel
Blue-spotted jawfish
Aiptasia-eating filefish
Lawnmower or starry blenny

Please let me know if any one or two of these would work or if I’m already maxed out - any feedback is appreciated!

 

[Samantha A]

Do you have aiptasia in your tank? Filefish only eat aiptasia. They will starve to death if there aren’t any. Lawnmower blenny, starry blenny and midas blenny are entertaining to watch.

 

[christinna77]

Do you have aiptasia in your tank? Filefish only eat aiptasia. They will starve to death if there aren’t any. Lawnmower blenny, starry blenny and midas blenny are entertaining to watch.

These particular filefish will eat other meaty foods just fine, especially if captive bred. It's actually the other way around where they sometimes either won't touch aptasia at all, or go after LPS too.

 

[Samantha A]

These particular filefish will eat other meaty foods just fine, especially if captive bred. It's actually the other way around where they sometimes either won't touch aptasia at all, or go after LPS too.

So sorry. I was going by my own experience. Mine were captive bred. I don’t have lps so I would not know on that aspect.

Have a wonderful week!

 

[Acanthurus1517]

These particular filefish will eat other meaty foods just fine, especially if captive bred. It's actually the other way around where they sometimes either won't touch aptasia at all, or go after LPS too.

That sounds about right from what I’ve heard of them.

Do you have aiptasia in your tank? Filefish only eat aiptasia. They will starve to death if there aren’t any. Lawnmower blenny, starry blenny and midas blenny are entertaining to watch.

I have a tiny bit of aiptasia in my tank left over from what a peppermint shrimp I previously had used to eat but it’s far from plague proportions. Would filefish be a no-go and blennies one to aim for in that case?

 

[Acanthurus1517]

Bump

 

[raythereefer]

If that was my tank and I had plenty of hiding spots I wouldnt be afraid to add a couple more smaller fish. Some of your existing stock could be slightly aggressive to newcomers but hawkfish and Starry blenny should stand up to it well. Filefish maybe wouldn't attract too much aggression. Dwarf angel maybe touch and go on tank size

 

[BryanM]

Filfefish are no guaranteed aiptaisia eaters unfortunately, and are known to be LPS nippers.

 

[Tahoe61]

Dwarf Angel.

 

[Acanthurus1517]

Filfefish are no guaranteed aiptaisia eaters unfortunately, and are known to be LPS nippers.

I think in that case I’ll pass on filefish. Even if I don’t have that much aiptasia it sounds to me like peppermint shrimp would be a more reliable aiptasia eater, especially if the chances of filefish eating lps are that much higher than the chances of them eating aiptasia

If that was my tank and I had plenty of hiding spots I wouldnt be afraid to add a couple more smaller fish. Some of your existing stock could be slightly aggressive to newcomers but hawkfish and Starry blenny should stand up to it well. Filefish maybe wouldn't attract too much aggression. Dwarf angel maybe touch and go on tank size

Dwarf Angel.

I think my decision is starting to tip in favor of a dwarf angel and either a blenny or shrimp and goby pair. I actually do have quite a bit of hiding spaces in my tank (that’s probably why everyone seems in kilter in terms of peacefulness haha) so I think I feel pretty confident in going with those two. As for adding them in, would doing so once the lights are out in my tank be a good way to introduce them with less of a risk of aggression from the existing fish?

 

[Tahoe61]

I think in that case I’ll pass on filefish. Even if I don’t have that much aiptasia it sounds to me like peppermint shrimp would be a more reliable aiptasia eater, especially if the chances of filefish eating lps are that much higher than the chances of them eating aiptasia


I think my decision is starting to tip in favor of a dwarf angel and either a blenny or shrimp and goby pair. I actually do have quite a bit of hiding spaces in my tank (that’s probably why everyone seems in kilter in terms of peacefulness haha) so I think I feel pretty confident in going with those two. As for adding them in, would doing so once the lights are out in my tank be a good way to introduce them with less of a risk of aggression from the existing fish?

If able, yes introduce the new fish with the lights off. If I see aggression I put a mirror on tank for a couple of days.

 

[Acanthurus1517]

If able, yes introduce the new fish with the lights off. If I see aggression I put a mirror on tank for a couple of days.

Awesome! I’ll try that and pull out a mirror if anyone gets aggressive. Thanks!

 

[Sean Clark]

My filefish loves to eat zoanthids... all of the zoanthids.