pics of my 55..about 2 months old or so...

[sir_dudeguy]

well, heres my 55. Like the title says its about 2 months old, maybe 3...cant really remember lol. Anyways, theres 4 damsels in there now, but i'm gonna try to get rid of them sometime this week, and get a clown pair to replace them. Then eventually i'm gonna get some gobies, a royal gramma, and then finally a flame angel...if thats not too big of a bioload. Im getting an aqua c remora (as soon as i hear back from the guy) and on friday i'm gettting a hob fuge.

ok, so this is how it started...just 30 lbs of lace rock....

http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i295/sir_dudeguy/?action=view&current=P1010194.jpg

and this is it now...i added 30 lbs of live rock about 1 and a half weeks ago...maybe 2.

http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i295/sir_dudeguy/?action=view&current=P2120201.jpg

sorry for the crappy pics...my camera's flash doesnt work (stinkin lieing ebay people!) but i'll be getting my aunts camera in a couple days to get better pics.

please give me some suggested corals and or fish! And tell me where i should put the corals (obviously, i cant place a fish in one spot lol) My fish list is not final, but i think i definately want the flame angel, and the clown pair, but not sure what kinda clown. and i know that its a 50/50 chance the flame will/wont eat corals...

as for lighting, i'll have 384 watts pc over it. Also, any suggestions on changing rockwork would be great too, as i'm not 100% sure i like how i have the rock.

thanks

 

[austinsdad]

That pc of brown rock (left side) in the newer pics looks like a prime candidate for a building block part.

Otherwise, looks like your rock is only sitting on top of the sand rather than to the bottom of the tank. You should never put sand sifters in there IMO with rock like that. Sand sifters (fish, pistol shrimp, snails) are very good for the bed. I'd stck some of that rock you have there and make little swim thru areas. Twist the rock around until it kinda locks in place - well, as long as you can't topple it with a couple of fingers, it's OK. I still think you can do another 20 or 30 lbs of rock too.

Maybe start out with leathers, mushrooms, ricordia and such. Eric Borneman's Corals book is a good thing to have at this time as you plan. But, get your fish stocked first and ensure you can maintain decent water chemistry before you spend on the corals too. Maybe a couple of $20 mushrooms wouldn't be too bad right now though IMO.

How's the powerhead situation in the tank. Flow rate?

 

[EELectric]

Well form my calculations that's about 7 watts per gallon so once you have an established tank you could handle most corals except SPS and clams.

If it were me I would add a bit more rock about 10-20 lbs or so. If you decide to add more rock do it after you remove those damsels or you might have some trouble.

On the fish, for the pair of clowns I think that would be a great idea, but on the type it depends on how aggressive or peaceful you would want them to be. Tomatos and Maroons are the most aggressive clowns I think and some normal percs are pretty peaceful. You could also try some unique kind of clown from this link. ( I know that they are pretty common but that is just a list of the types I have heard of)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=27

If you were to get a goby I would definitely reccommend a pistol shrimp/goby combination but as austinsdad said make your rock structure a bit more firm!

Start small with the corals but eventually I would definitely reccomend an anchor or frogspawn coral as long as you keep it about 6" away form any other corals.

This is all my opinion!

HTH

 

[sir_dudeguy]

oh i made sure that all the rock was touching the bottom of the tank...doesnt really look like it the way i pushed the sand up against it, but its all touchin bottom...except for the pieces that are on top of other rocks, which i made sure they are completely stable. And ya, i'll be trying to add at least 10 lbs when i get the money. I had the damsels in there when i added this rock w/no problems whatsoever...no mini cycle or anything. The rock was bought from a guy i know who's had it in his tank for like, 6 months but just broke down his tank.

And i've had those fish in there since the beggining and everythings been fine, no deaths/sick fish/anything. I wish i hadnt cycled w/them, but the lfs got me lol. Oh well, at least it all turned out well for the damsels as far as not dieing/getting sick during cycle.

I'm thinkin i'll deffinately try that pistol shrimp/goby combo...are there any pistol shrimp i should watch out for? And do i have to worry about the pistol hurting/killing anything in my tank? I've heard they might go for smaller shrimp, but i wont have any..maybe a cleaner later. and what is the best goby to go w/them...yellow watchman? And how many gobies could i keep? they dont really add to bioload much right?

I was kinda wanting a royal gramma, but i might pass on them...kinda losing interest in them. For the clowns, i'm thinkin that i'm stil gonna stick w/the tank raised ocelaris on the liveaquaria site. Those guys easy to breed? and how do you sex them? And I just want a pair that can hold their own the flame angel attacks them, which i dont reallly think it would but ya...

thats all i can think of now, sure to be more later!

thanks both of you for the replies

 

[roka64]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pCatId=31

You can look at the shrimp/gobie combos there.

I am going for the Hi Fin Red Banded Goby/pistol shrimp (the miss likes color, I do like the yellow one too). The cleaner shrimp should be safe if he is bigger than the pistol.

My damsels killed my royal gramma.

and how do you sex them?

They might both come as males, eventually one will turn female and be the bigger of the two.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya, i read about the clowns right after i posted.

My damsels killed my royal gramma

i'm not keeping the damsels. never planned on it either, i just had them to cycle because lfs told me i'd be fine w/them. Then i read about fishless cycles about 2 weeks later or so...i dont really trust lfs's anymore, unless i've been there a lot and i know the people...

also, are there any other fish that are about the size of the royal gramma that are colorful and active? I'm kinda leaning away from them now...just not as interesting as when i first saw them.

and can you mix gobies? If so, how many could i have in there?

as of now, i'm planning on getting the 2 clowns first, then maybe the gramma (or something similar) then the gobies (if i can keep multiple species) and last the flame angel. And i'll space them all out over about 4 months or so...that way its better on the fish, and i have money

thanks again, and any fish that i'd be able to get in addition to these would be great too, but i'm pretty sure theres not really more room (but i could be wrong)

oh, and is the pistol shrimp the only one that will go w/the gobies? a cleaner wont? and i've heard that cleaners catch other fish and eat parasites and whatnot off of them...true or no?

thanks

 

[EELectric]

I don't know about mixing gobies but shrimp gobies are the only ones that will form a relationship with pistol shrimp, and only pistol shrimp not cleaner's.

As for another fish other than a royal gramma I really like the fridmani pseudochromis like this one:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1116

It is a nice fish that will swim around and will be active.

As for multiple gobies you will need to be careful about the species. This goby can be kept in groups:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1145

And this one can be kept together also:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=181

But some gobies such as this one is extremely aggressive to it's own species:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=220

Overall take a look at these species and see which are compatible and which are not but IMO I think you will only be able to keep one species of goby:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pCatId=31

Sorry for the long post.

HTH

 

[roka64]

Keep in mind I don't have any experience in gobies (except for reading about them). I think the hi-fin goby can be kept with other gobies but may fight with their own species. I think neon blue might be ok together if they are a mated pair, plus they clean...hmmm maybe I might get one...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=194

Blennies might be cool too!

As for the cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp will clean also. I do have a little experience on these two, DO NOT overfeed the tank, or they will get lazy and not clean your fish. Still being new, I fed the tank too much and they ended up not doing their jobs. LOL!!!

You best bet is to read like EEL says and ask questions, find ones that are compatible. I wish I had asked about the royal gramma and my damsels...poor little guy.

 

[austinsdad]

Tank raised occellaris. You'll like those. Mine swim near my hand. Put them in first so that newer or bigger fish might not bother them. Liveaquaria has a section for shirmp gobies. Nothig to be wary of IMO, but my high finned (brown stripes) got into my overflow. Yellow watchman gobies seem to be the standard, but there are many to choose from.

I also like a pair of neon blue gobies. Thye don't do shrimp though.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

EEL---thanks for the links. I'm thinkin i dont really care for the high finned ones, so i'll pass on those...the psuedocromis i like...i've seen it before and have given it a bit of consideration. And i'm thinkin that little red and white goby that you say does good in groups i'll have to pass on...69 bucks for one lol...dont thinik i'll be getting a group of that any time soon lol. I looked in taht section that you gave the link to and found the sleeper blue dot goby (i think thats what it was called...) Do you think those would do alright in a 55? It would basically replace the gramma. And if i got that, would i be able to put it w/a yellow clown goby or the green banded ones? or any other small ones like that? I'd like to have a few gobies probably. They stick to the rocks and sand mostly right?

ROKA---i'm thinkin i'll eventually get maybe 2 cleaner shrimp...would that be ok? that way if i overfeed a bit, they'd be splitting the leftovers for the most part, instead of one eating all of it and getting lazy...cleaners are the white ones w/the red stripe correct?

AUSTINSDAD---i'm deffinately thinkin tank raised occelaris. I just like the colors of them more. I just called my lfs and they're out of em, but as soon as they get them i'll prolly get some...or i'll just wait for a couple weeks since i'm leaving the country for 10 days on next wednesday...

So now my list has changed a bit to:

1. Two tank raised occelaris clowns
2. maybe 2 or so green and/or yellow clown gobies (if i can keep/mix that many)
3. One Sleeper Blue Dot Goby
4. One Flame Angel, which would be my final fish.

Then, eventually this is what i'd like for shrimp and stuff

1. 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp, whichever is better
2. Maybe a pistol shrimp if they'll mix w/the above ones

And for corals i'd like:

1. A LOT of star polyps
2. hammers
3. frogspawn???
4. and is there one called a waiving hand coral?

and others

sorry for the book!!

 

[roka64]

get maybe 2 cleaner shrimp...would that be ok?

This is a cleaner:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=696
This is a fire shrimp, but this pic doesn't do them any justice:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=697
I had them in the tank at the same time, they usually hung out on opposite ends. I never had a problem between the two. Mine was really bright red, very beautiful.

yellow clown goby or the green banded ones

It looks like they would be ok in your tank. I don't know anything about your coral list, but these two will nip at SPS corals.

Pistol shrimp should be ok with the other shrimp as long as he is smaller than them.

The Sleeper Banded Goby is a jumper, so you will need something over the top of the aquarium. I think you might have to close that lid and get more gas exchange for a good pH.

LOL you are just like me. I couldn't figure out what I wanted!! There are just so many fish. I have two urchins that are cool too. I want to get a black long spined one. I have heard if they detect a predator, they will point their spines in it's direction...they are also venomous.

I'll tell you, I just bought this little guy and my damsels don't mess with him one bit:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=78
It's funny to watch him hover over the LR and dart and snatch something off of it (I don't know what it is he sees, but its cool to watch him hover...looks kind of like a bird, moving its head around).

 

[EELectric]

Well, I like your list but there is still always the possibility of the gobies not getting together, for example take a look at this compatability chart from liveaquaria:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

If you look goby on goby it says caution, so I'm not telling you to not try it but there is always a chance of them fighting, maybe someone that has kept multiple gobies before can tell you how it went for them. Hopefully it will work out and I think it would become a wonderful combintaion.

And yes the blue dot goby would mainly stay on the sand and filter through that. Clown gobies are characters from what Iv heard and they perch themselves on coral and other rocks. With your lighting you shouldn't even go into SPS but if you happen to make the mistake, it will not get along with your clown gobies. Lastly, I would stick to 2 and a max of 3 clown gobies because they each need to have there space in the tank. Also your bio-load needs to stay in check. Hopefully your fish selections will turn out nicely in your tank.

HTH

 

[sir_dudeguy]

roka--I think i'll do the 2 cleaners, just once someone by me is getting rid of theirs cuz they're too expensive here. And i think i'll eventually get a pistol shrimp, but not before i add a watchman goby (which i'm not doing till i get my canopy since i have no top on there)

and ya i'm having a REALLY hard time deciding what i want...I'm just glad i didnt go w/the 125 gallon tank that i could have gotten for the same price...that would have been a nightmare deciding on fish lol. And i do kinda like the sounds of that blenny...i'll look into that in a sec...

EEL--I think i'll try a couple of yellow clown gobies (and dont worry about the sps...not getting any) and then go from there. I want to go for a lot of movement on the ground/rocks.

and will the sleeper blue dot jump?

AAAAHHH!!! theres so many freakin gobies to choose from lol

thanks again

 

[EELectric]

I don't know if the blue dot will jump but it is always better safe than sorry and trust me I have had a fish jump out before and it is no fun. HTH

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya, so i'll prolly wait a while on the jumpers...do any of the clown gobies jump?
I'll probably just have my 2 ocelaris clowns for a while, and then get the gobies and/or blennies.