New Tank

[mav.23]

Okay hey guys! For Christmas, I got a 55-gal tank, and I am currently taking an aquarium-keeping class. I want to do a saltwater reef tank, and I already have fund a friend who is giving me her ocellaris clown, yellowtail damsel, convict and Valentini saddleback puffer along with some bumblebee snails, a horseshoe crab an emerald crab and a pom pom crab. I want to get some soft/hard corals, a chocolate chip star, a feather duster and a sebae pink/purple/blue tipped anemone, as well as some live rock and live sand. I am thinking about upgrading in a few years and getting a dwarf snowflake eel with it. I guess what I'm asking is this a good combination, what other ideas do you guys have and will the clownfish host the sebae/will the sebae eat the ocellaris? Thanks guys! And please no flame. Idk if this is too much for a 55, but it's a pretty big tank and I have seen all of the fish and they are all under an inch (except the blenny, he's 2" long, about a 1/4" wide.) Thanks!

[bribo12]

The eel will eat all your inverts and probably the damsel. No such thing as a dwarf snowflake. Don’t take the horseshoe. They need a massive tank and very deep sand bed. Sebaes are not beginner nems. They need an established tank and intense lights. Are you sure that is what your friend has?
Also, the puffer is hit or miss with nipping corals so you’d have to watch that.

[mav.23]

Thanks! Do you have any suggestions for what other types of anemone I should get instead that will be good for the clownfish?

[bribo12]

I wouldn’t get any until the tanks been established for 8-12 months as they really need an established tank. Clowns don’t need a nem and there’s no guarantee the clown will host it. If you really want a nem down the line though go with one of the bubble tip anemone varieties. Green or a rose bubble tip would be the “hardiest” variety. I quote hardy because no nem is really hardy but bubble tips definitely do better than most of the other kinds.

[nooboftanks]

Originally Posted by mav.23

Okay hey guys! For Christmas, I got a 55-gal tank, and I am currently taking an aquarium-keeping class. I want to do a saltwater reef tank, and I already have fund a friend who is giving me her ocellaris clown, yellowtail damsel, convict and Valentini saddleback puffer along with some bumblebee snails, a horseshoe crab an emerald crab and a pom pom crab. I want to get some soft/hard corals, a chocolate chip star, a feather duster and a sebae pink/purple/blue tipped anemone, as well as some live rock and live sand. I am thinking about upgrading in a few years and getting a dwarf snowflake eel with it. I guess what I'm asking is this a good combination, what other ideas do you guys have and will the clownfish host the sebae/will the sebae eat the ocellaris? Thanks guys! And please no flame. Idk if this is too much for a 55, but it's a pretty big tank and I have seen all of the fish and they are all under an inch (except the blenny, he's 2" long, about a 1/4" wide.) Thanks!

In my experience chocolate chip starfish causes a lot of problems in a reef tank so be weary

[bribo12]

Originally Posted by nooboftanks

In my experience chocolate chip starfish causes a lot of problems in a reef tank so be weary

Good catch I didn’t even see the chocolate chip. Definitely a no go as they are coral eaters. Get a brittle or serpent star instead.

[mav.23]

Thanks! I didn't know that!

[Elude82]

Personally, as most of us get setting up new tanks or first getting into the hobby, you are going a mile a minute. What I usually do when I’m about to set up a tank, I first right whether it will be an aggressive tank, a community tank or a reef tank. Then I list my must-haves. With your list you are going to watch the circle of Life. Creatures eating other creatures. But that will only be you being lucky not to see your tank crash with the amount of bio-load you are dumping on it all at once. Outside of Inverts, you need to not add more than one creature at a time, lucky with two. Take your time, and stay on top of your water changes. Most people don’t take advice well, and do their own thing anyways. I foresee water changes being your best friend.

[Gina Paredes]

I didn't know that

[mav.23]

Originally Posted by Elude82

Personally, as most of us get setting up new tanks or first getting into the hobby, you are going a mile a minute. What I usually do when I’m about to set up a tank, I first right whether it will be an aggressive tank, a community tank or a reef tank. Then I list my must-haves. With your list you are going to watch the circle of Life. Creatures eating other creatures. But that will only be you being lucky not to see your tank crash with the amount of bio-load you are dumping on it all at once. Outside of Inverts, you need to not add more than one creature at a time, lucky with two. Take your time, and stay on top of your water changes. Most people don’t take advice well, and do their own thing anyways. I foresee water changes being your best friend.

I wanted to thank you for responding. I already have all of the animals in my tank at my class, I just need to move them to my tank at home. Most of the creatures on my list are already living together. The anemone and coral I want to add eventually, I have been told, need to wait for a while. But thank you anyways.

[Elude82]

No problem.