Stocking list for 50g lagoon style tank 30x24x16

jpxp90 · Mar 30, 2022

Hello everyone I’m trying to get some input on a stocking list I have going for this tank. It’s going to be sps dominated.
So far I only have a pair of clownfish and plan on adding one fish every 2-3 weeks.
This is a list I have going and suggestions would be greatly appreciated:

2 clowns (already have)
2 helfrichi firefish
Yasha goby + pistol shrimp pair
Mccoskers flasher wrasse
Yellow wrasse
Exquisite fairy wrasse
Yellow tang (small and will return when needed)
Diamond goby

I have solid equipment and filtration on the tank, so I’m not worried about having a high bio load. I also do a 15% or so (10g) water change a week.
thanks again in advance!

i cant think · Mar 30, 2022

jpxp90 said:
Hello everyone I’m trying to get some input on a stocking list I have going for this tank. It’s going to be sps dominated.
So far I only have a pair of clownfish and plan on adding one fish every 2-3 weeks.
This is a list I have going and suggestions would be greatly appreciated:

2 clowns (already have)
2 helfrichi firefish
Yasha goby + pistol shrimp pair
Mccoskers flasher wrasse
Yellow wrasse
Exquisite fairy wrasse
Yellow tang (small and will return when needed)
Diamond goby

I have solid equipment and filtration on the tank, so I’m not worried about having a high bio load. I also do a 15% or so (10g) water change a week.
thanks again in advance!

The Helfrichi Firefish will have to be a pair when you get them. Even then, it most likely won’t work out as these fish aren’t communal and tend to kill eachother in small tanks without enough room. The Diamond Goby, assuming you mean Valenciennea puellaris or Valenciennea cf puellaris, will need a deep sand bed to feed from. Even then, they can often wipe out the population and end up just dying in captivity. I did an entire post on why I don’t think these are good in captivity in a thread talking all about gobiidae. If you would like a good sand sifter and a great personality, these guys are excellent. Koumansetta hectori, it wipe out my cyano issue in a few days!

The Mccoskers Flasher Wrasse will need a 4’ tank to thrive in IMHO. These guys absolutely love to swim, and while they may stay small they swim a lot. The Yellow Wrasse, or Yellow “Coris” Wrasse will get rather large in size, around 6 inch for a male, females will stay smaller at around 5 inch which is still a large fish. This is Halichoeres chrysus but gets called a Coris due to the two looking similar in body shape. As for the Exquisite Fairy Wrasse this should be alright, if you want a wrasse that’s still got beautiful colours but isn’t a flasher wrasse then look into the Indonesian Variant of Cirrhilabrus lubbocki. Or if you want a wrasse for good “Pest” control, I’ll recommend the Pseudocheilinus ataenia or Pink Streak Wrasse. These guys are beautiful and do great control with the fish. Also have a very funny personality haha, this photo just about sums it up.

The YT will get aggressive quite quickly in that tank, I personally wouldn’t do it even if you had a plan to rehome it.

jpxp90 · Mar 30, 2022

i cant think said:
The Helfrichi Firefish will have to be a pair when you get them. Even then, it most likely won’t work out as these fish aren’t communal and tend to kill eachother in small tanks without enough room. The Diamond Goby, assuming you mean Valenciennea puellaris or Valenciennea cf puellaris, will need a deep sand bed to feed from. Even then, they can often wipe out the population and end up just dying in captivity. I did an entire post on why I don’t think these are good in captivity in a thread talking all about gobiidae. If you would like a good sand sifter and a great personality, these guys are excellent. Koumansetta hectori, it wipe out my cyano issue in a few days!

The Mccoskers Flasher Wrasse will need a 4’ tank to thrive in IMHO. These guys absolutely love to swim, and while they may stay small they swim a lot. The Yellow Wrasse, or Yellow “Coris” Wrasse will get rather large in size, around 6 inch for a male, females will stay smaller at around 5 inch which is still a large fish. This is Halichoeres chrysus but gets called a Coris due to the two looking similar in body shape. As for the Exquisite Fairy Wrasse this should be alright, if you want a wrasse that’s still got beautiful colours but isn’t a flasher wrasse then look into the Indonesian Variant of Cirrhilabrus lubbocki. Or if you want a wrasse for good “Pest” control, I’ll recommend the Pseudocheilinus ataenia or Pink Streak Wrasse. These guys are beautiful and do great control with the fish. Also have a very funny personality haha, this photo just about sums it up.

The YT will get aggressive quite quickly in that tank, I personally wouldn’t do it even if you had a plan to rehome it.

Dang so it looks like I’d have to rethink the whole tank. What would you recommend for a stocking list? Do you think a kole tang would be a better fish to rehome than the yellow tang? And maybe one helfrichi? That kiumansetta hectori looks perfect for what I wanted too.
So maybe:
2 clowns
1 helfrichi
Kole tang(rehome)
Pink streak wrasse
Lubbock wrasse
Exquisite wrasse
Yasha+Shrimp

I’m thinking maybe a long nose hawkfish too, but I hear they don’t do wel with inverts.
Thanks for all the info!

i cant think · Mar 30, 2022

jpxp90 said:
Dang so it looks like I’d have to rethink the whole tank. What would you recommend for a stocking list? Do you think a kole tang would be a better fish to rehome than the yellow tang? And maybe one helfrichi? That kiumansetta hectori looks perfect for what I wanted too.
So maybe:
2 clowns
1 helfrichi
Kole tang(rehome)
Pink streak wrasse
Lubbock wrasse
Exquisite wrasse
Yasha+Shrimp

I’m thinking maybe a long nose hawkfish too, but I hear they don’t do wel with inverts.
Thanks for all the info!

That’s an excellent stock list - As for the “hawkfish” there’s a specific anthias that’s sold under the common name of geometric pygmy hawkfish which looks similar to the Flame hawk.
Also the Hectori will eat off the rocks and they eat essentially any algae. They love it, so you may not need a tang anyway!

cdw79 · Mar 30, 2022

As someone who owns a 65g display, I couldn't imagine any tang realistically being happy in there. You'll hear stories here and there of people successfully keeping them in tanks around your size, and I'm no expert, but anytime I see a tang in a 50, 60, 70 gallon tank they don't look like they have the space they need. There are so many fish to choose from, I'd steer away from a tang in your system and look for something else. If there's something about tangs you like in particular, I'm sure we could find you some fish that have those characteristics that would be at home in your 50 gal!

cdw79 · Mar 30, 2022

jpxp90 said:
Dang so it looks like I’d have to rethink the whole tank. What would you recommend for a stocking list? Do you think a kole tang would be a better fish to rehome than the yellow tang? And maybe one helfrichi? That kiumansetta hectori looks perfect for what I wanted too.
So maybe:
2 clowns
1 helfrichi
Kole tang(rehome)
Pink streak wrasse
Lubbock wrasse
Exquisite wrasse
Yasha+Shrimp

I’m thinking maybe a long nose hawkfish too, but I hear they don’t do wel with inverts.
Thanks for all the info!

Longnose Hawks are a funny one. I love mine, he's got the funniest little personality, always watching no matter where he is, and the moment I make a motion toward the spot of the tank where I feed he makes a mad dash from wherever he is to the front of the line for food haha.

They can definitely be a little mean though. I've found that mine will beef with my assessor a few times a day- a hefty chase, sometimes back into the assessor's cave- but then 95% of the day they'll swim right next to each other, no problem at all. I'd keep that in mind especially when adding a dartfish. Try adding the hawk last if you can, and maybe see about choosing one on the smaller end. If you can't get it last, use an acclimation box to try and spot any aggression, and be prepared to put him in time out in the sump for a few days if he's bullying new additions (haven't had to do this myself but heard positive things about it)

jpxp90 · Mar 30, 2022

Awesome, I really like the long nose hawkfish, so I’d definitely add him in last if I can. Have you had any problems with it eating CUC? If the hectori eats algae as good as the tangs maybe I just will skip the tang!

Dave1993 · Mar 30, 2022

silver belly banana wrasse / Halichoeres leucoxanthus
Midas blenny
liopropoma rubre
hi fin clown goby / stonogobiops yasha
candy cane hogfish / bodianus sepiacaudus
Candy basslet / liopropoma carmabi (show piece fish)

some fish that i like that would work well in a 50 i have half of these in my 90

cdw79 · Mar 30, 2022

jpxp90 said:
Awesome, I really like the long nose hawkfish, so I’d definitely add him in last if I can. Have you had any problems with it eating CUC? If the hectori eats algae as good as the tangs maybe I just will skip the tang!

I am generally working from home and sit across from the tank for most of my mornings at least, so I tend to be able to keep an eye on things. I've never seen him go for any hermits or snails, even when turned over. The only time I've ever actually seen him make any move toward any invert was when he half went for my pistol shrimp today actually! But those things are so lighting fast, especially with the goby pairing, he really wasn't even close.

That said, you do need to limit the inverts you get with one. That's the only major drawback. As much as I want a porcelain crab, anemone shrimp, boxer crab, cleaner shrimp, etc. they'll either immediately get taken out by the hawk or, in the case of the cleaner shrimp, probably meet their inevitable fate a little later after a molt or something. I won't lie I've thought of moving it out to be able to get more inverts, but he's just too personable. Great addition imo as long as you can keep the bits of aggression down!