What fish to get??

[aquariumrescueunit]

I have a 55 gallon reef tank and recently went from a nano to this tank and I need more fish!! Usually picking fish would be easy for me but I have a ruby hawkfish and he is the alpha male I don't know what I can put in there that is pretty and won't fight the hawkfish. I also have 2 clownfish. Also I have a lot of corals so I can't have any coral snackers...any suggestions?

 

[Joeganja]

blennies, hippo tang, yellow tang, purple tang, kole tang, sailfin, any reef safe wrasse, gobies, cardinal fish, chromis

 

[haleyf1024]

55 is too small IMO for any tang, except maybe a kole. Chromis are known to kill one another, but I personally 3 very peaceful ones in my 110. How about a marine betta or midas blenny?

 

[eatbreakfast]

That looks like a 54corner so some of the fish that would do well in a 4ft 55g may not work with the corner dimensions.

Blennies of the Genera Ecsenius and Meiacanthus will work. Many gobies will work, just make sure they arent bite sized for the hawk. Firefish and Dartfish, Grammas, Assessors, Liopropoma basslets, small tangs such as kole and tomini,sunburst anthias, peaceful damsels of the Genus Chrysiptera.

 

[Joeganja]

A 55 gallon is fine.

 

[eatbreakfast]

A 55 gallon is fine.

For some fish, but not all. Hippo, Sailfin and Purple tangs grow to 12", 15", and 10" respectively. They are all very active, can be aggressive, and are disease prone when stressed. Even if purchased when small they each double every 6-8 months when healthy and adequetely cared for. A 55g, particularly if a 54 corner is just not a good idea for these particular fish.

 

[haleyf1024]

For some fish, but not all. Hippo, Sailfin and Purple tangs grow to 12", 15", and 10" respectively. They are all very active, can be aggressive, and are disease prone when stressed. Even if purchased when small they each double every 6-8 months when healthy and adequetely cared for. A 55g, particularly if a 54 corner is just not a good idea for these particular fish.

+1 I agree, even purples would get nervous. Mine hates his QT hypo tank, I can't wait to put him back in the DT

 

[Joeganja]

I've been in this hobby for about 10 years now and I've successfully kept many tangs in a 55 gallon for over 3 years and I haven't had any problems. As long as you have good flow for aeration for oxygen and a strong skimmer you'll be fine. I've seen many people have yellow tangs in 40 gallons and smaller. I now have a juvenile hippo tang in a fluval edge 6 gallon and he is fine. I have a blue naso and a yellow and a dogface puffer and 3 mono Argentus in a 55 gallon with no skimmer and I have no nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia problems. Now some may disagree with the way I've done it but that's what this hobby is. There's different ways to do something and they may work and they may not. It's a great big experiment that teaches you a lot.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've been in this hobby for about 10 years now and I've successfully kept many tangs in a 55 gallon for over 3 years and I haven't had any problems.

How many tangs and for how long for each? Tangs can live 10-15years and 3yrs just is not a testament to success, especially if their growth rate has not been on par with what it should be. Most tangs as juveniles double in size every 6-8 months if healthy, then as they mature their growth slows. If the size of these fish is still that of juveniles where they can be comfortably housed in a 55g for three years then they have not grown in a manner that healthy fish should grow.

As long as you have good flow for aeration for oxygen and a strong skimmer you'll be fine.

Aggression and swimming space also play a major role. Tangs are active fish that use the entire length of large tanks to swim and graze and defend. T o cut that down and add more tangs to that is not something that is taking the well being of the fish into consideration.

I've seen many people have yellow tangs in 40 gallons and smaller.

Unfortunately so have I, and for every one person that provides a healthy environment there are ten more that within a period of months have killed that tang by insufficient care.

I now have a juvenile hippo tang in a fluval edge 6 gallon and he is fine.

Define fine, not dead, not at the moment covered in ich? By the time substrate and decor are added there is less then 5g of water volume in the 6g edge. How long can a fish that grows to a foot in length be properly provided for in that environment?

Now some may disagree with the way I've done it but that's what this hobby is. There's different ways to do something and they may work and they may not. It's a great big experiment that teaches you a lot.

There certainly is more than one way to be successful, but success should be defined more by satisfying the fish's needs and it growing, and developing in ways where it can stake out and defend a territory, show proper color, be of proper dimensions, not by "I didnt kill it so I have succeeded".

Experimentation and trial and error have done a lot for our hobby, but ultimately we are caring for living creatures. We have a responsibility to care for them to the best of our abilities not"lets see how small of a tank I can keep a tang in" and if we cant at least plan out what we will do if a fish outgrows what we can provide for it than we really need to reconsider keeping it in the first place.

I agree that there are situations where a tang that for most people will not work in a 55g will work for somebody that is more dedicated and pays greater attention or puts in more work, but to do that for someone that is looking for ideas and has not indicated that they are willing to do extra is not in the best interest of the op

 

[saltyphish]

No, not for those tangs!

A 55 gallon is fine.

 

[saltyphish]

You state we are responsible for the care of our fish admirable, but then suggest the tangs. Here is the problem. Yes, you may be able to keep them alive. However, alive is not necessarily thriving. You want your fish to be happy. Tangs would not be happy in that tank. Yes it is ok to experiment and try new things but there are still boundries you should not cross and one is keeping livestock in an improper habitat. I'm all for trying new things but there has to be some discretion involved.

How many tangs and for how long for each? Tangs can live 10-15years and 3yrs just is not a testament to success, especially if their growth rate has not been on par with what it should be. Most tangs as juveniles double in size every 6-8 months if healthy, then as they mature their growth slows. If the size of these fish is still that of juveniles where they can be comfortably housed in a 55g for three years then they have not grown in a manner that healthy fish should grow.



Aggression and swimming space also play a major role. Tangs are active fish that use the entire length of large tanks to swim and graze and defend. T o cut that down and add more tangs to that is not something that is taking the well being of the fish into consideration.



Unfortunately so have I, and for every one person that provides a healthy environment there are ten more that within a period of months have killed that tang by insufficient care.



Define fine, not dead, not at the moment covered in ich? By the time substrate and decor are added there is less then 5g of water volume in the 6g edge. How long can a fish that grows to a foot in length be properly provided for in that environment?



There certainly is more than one way to be successful, but success should be defined more by satisfying the fish's needs and it growing, and developing in ways where it can stake out and defend a territory, show proper color, be of proper dimensions, not by "I didnt kill it so I have succeeded".

Experimentation and trial and error have done a lot for our hobby, but ultimately we are caring for living creatures. We have a responsibility to care for them to the best of our abilities not"lets see how small of a tank I can keep a tang in" and if we cant at least plan out what we will do if a fish outgrows what we can provide for it than we really need to reconsider keeping it in the first place.

I agree that there are situations where a tang that for most people will not work in a 55g will work for somebody that is more dedicated and pays greater attention or puts in more work, but to do that for someone that is looking for ideas and has not indicated that they are willing to do extra is not in the best interest of the op

 

[Joeganja]

Omg why are we making a big deal about this. We all have our own opinions. Yes we are all right and wrong in a way so just do what you want experiment and good luck man :)

 

[saltyphish]

Facts are facts!

Omg why are we making a big deal about this. We all have our own opinions. Yes we are all right and wrong in a way so just do what you want experiment and good luck man :)

 

[eatbreakfast]

You state we are responsible for the care of our fish admirable, but then suggest the tangs. Here is the problem. Yes, you may be able to keep them alive. However, alive is not necessarily thriving. You want your fish to be happy. Tangs would not be happy in that tank. Yes it is ok to experiment and try new things but there are still boundries you should not cross and one is keeping livestock in an improper habitat. I'm all for trying new things but there has to be some discretion involved.

Perhaps I did not articulate what I meant. When I said that there are instances wher a tang that isnt suited for a 55g could do well I didnt mean that just any tang would work. I was specifically thinking of a yellow or a convict tang. Tangs that the general consensus need larger than a 55g, but could be properly housed in one if it was planned specifically for there needs, such as open swimming spaces, extra filtration, and noncompetitive tankmates. I believe could be done as an exception and not the norm.

Omg why are we making a big deal about this. We all have our own opinions. Yes we are all right and wrong in a way so just do what you want experiment and good luck man :)

But when someone is asking for advice and giving them an experimental idea without them realizing they are taking on additional risks is setting them up for failure. Caring for living things is something I personally wish people would take more seriously.

 

[KoleTang]

This is not what your going to want to hear, but judging by the algae growth in your tank, it looks like you have a nutrient problem. I'd recommend getting that fixed before adding more bioload which is just going to make the problem worse. (More of a headache for you and more risk to the fish)

 

[aquariumrescueunit]

That looks like a 54corner so some of the fish that would do well in a 4ft 55g may not work with the corner dimensions.

Blennies of the Genera Ecsenius and Meiacanthus will work. Many gobies will work, just make sure they arent bite sized for the hawk. Firefish and Dartfish, Grammas, Assessors, Liopropoma basslets, small tangs such as kole and tomini,sunburst anthias, peaceful damsels of the Genus Chrysiptera.

I feel like your a trustworthy guy and I'm gonna go with a kole tang cause they are beautiful and a few fire fish or a fire fish and a basslet. I would try damsels cause they are cheap but in the past the ones I had were straight up evil creatures haha thanks for the advice

 

[aquariumrescueunit]

This is not what your going to want to hear, but judging by the algae growth in your tank, it looks like you have a nutrient problem. I'd recommend getting that fixed before adding more bioload which is just going to make the problem worse. (More of a headache for you and more risk to the fish)

There is algae lol. The reason for that is I just tranferred everything from a biocube to this tank 3 weeks ago and my biocube had a nutrient problem sort of. I run GFO and do weekly 20% water changes, I have 0 phosphates right now and the only reason there's still algae in there is because it's still living by cannabalizing on itself (when plants run out of nutrients they have to eat up their own nutrients before they can die) the good news is it's going from green to brown algae and I don't know if you know about algaes various stages and cycles but it goes from say bubble algae being the worst to green slime\hair algae to brown hairy algae and then to it's death. Hopefully it will be gone in a month I began adding Startsmart multi purpose once a week for algae control and that stuff really works! It just takes some time

 

[aquariumrescueunit]

55 is too small IMO for any tang, except maybe a kole. Chromis are known to kill one another, but I personally 3 very peaceful ones in my 110. How about a marine betta or midas blenny?

Betta sounds doable too, I can't get a blenny tho cause my hawkfish is king of the sandbed and will kick butt and take names of any fish on his grounds