redsea's 55g Reef Build

[redsea]

Hi all! How are you doing this Thursday?

This will be a build thread for my 55 gallon saltwater aquarium. I had one already, but the plan has changed since then, and I would like start a new thread for the tank.

I bought this aquarium from somebody in April of 2009 (I think that is the right year, LOL). The tank is now currently empty except for a few corals that are in it, which will probably end up being moved to my 125g in the future. I do, however, have a Pearl Eye Clarkii Clownfish that is in a 20g QT, he will be moved over soon. Other than him, I don't have any livestock planned, so I am open to suggestions. I was thinking that it may be cool to have some pairs of fish in here from LA's Diver's Den, what do you think? I know for sure that I will be purchasing an ORA Mandarin for this aquarium within the next few weeks, not sure what type though. I really like the red, but I like them all so I will just buy the one that is available at the time.

For inverts I was thinking either a pair of Coral Banded Shrimp, or just a single.

I think that is about it, thanks!

 

[carey]

How about a pair of fire shrimp OR a pair of flame hawks? I've seen them in the divers den here and there. The flame hawk is an awesome fish, I really really wish i had waited and gotten a pair. lol
Are you going to be fowlr or is coral important?

 

[carey]

lol, i should have looked at the title of the thread more carefully, you want corals in this tank. lol my bad....

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Suuupp! Do you want schools?? I think it woul be really cool to have a bunch of random fish in your 125 and a school or pairs of fish in the 55.
It is DEFINITLY going to be a reef?

Lol carey we ha the same question. I think he should go fowler with an eel, lionfish maybe? Jump on the angler bandwagon!!

 

[redsea]

lol, i should have looked at the title of the thread more carefully, you want corals in this tank. lol my bad....

LOL. Actually I am now not sure, I may consider making it a FOWLR since I will already have my 55g and 125g as coral tanks. That may open up some more options as far as stocking goes.

How about a pair of fire shrimp OR a pair of flame hawks? I've seen them in the divers den here and there. The flame hawk is an awesome fish, I really really wish i had waited and gotten a pair. lol
Are you going to be fowlr or is coral important?

Thanks for the suggestions! I saw a pair of Flame Hawks in the Diver's Den last night, not sure if they are still there though. Really good suggestion! I was looking at the Longnose pairs the other night too, I think it is pretty cool about the color difference with the male and female.

Suuupp! Do you want schools?? I think it woul be really cool to have a bunch of random fish in your 125 and a school or pairs of fish in the 55.
It is DEFINITLY going to be a reef?

Lol carey we ha the same question. I think he should go fowler with an eel, lionfish maybe? Jump on the angler bandwagon!!

I think an eel would be pretty cool (like a Snowflake), but he would probably make a snack of my future-planned Mandarin.

Thanks for posting! I appreciate it!

 

[redsea]

Here are some pairs that I found on LA that I like.
Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Cryptocentrus cinctus
Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Neocirrhitus armatus
Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Oxycirrhites typus
Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Astrapogon stellatus
Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus

What are your thoughts on these guys? Which one(s) would you get?

Thank you for looking!

EDIT: I have taken the Coral Hawkfish of the list of possibilities, LA has them labeled as aggressive. That leads me to me next question. Would a Flame or Longnose Hawkfish pair be a poor idea with a Mandarin? Or would that work out okay?

 

[carey]

Believe it or not my mandarin is quite sturdy. My ywg lunges for her here and there and she never falters, just goes about her business and ignores him. I found my clowns harassing her the other day too and she didnt' bolt or run away she just ignored them. lol

If the mandarin can't fit in the fish's mouth I think you'll be fine. The flame hawks I believe are reef with caution due to them liking to eat small shrimp. lol But they should be fine as far as corals...It's just such an awesome fish, he has so much personality! He's even more personable than my lawnmower who is uber cool. LOL

 

[redsea]

Believe it or not my mandarin is quite sturdy. My ywg lunges for her here and there and she never falters, just goes about her business and ignores him. I found my clowns harassing her the other day too and she didnt' bolt or run away she just ignored them. lol

If the mandarin can't fit in the fish's mouth I think you'll be fine. The flame hawks I believe are reef with caution due to them liking to eat small shrimp. lol But they should be fine as far as corals...It's just such an awesome fish, he has so much personality! He's even more personable than my lawnmower who is uber cool. LOL

Cool, thanks for the great advice (as always). I really like the Flame Hawk pair but 130.00 is a bit pricey for me, lol. Still a possibility though!

 

[redsea]

I think I will move over my Pearl Eye Clarkii Clownfish tonight to this empty tank.

I also think I will do some general maintenance on the tanks and check the hypo on the 125g, and make sure it is okay.

Thanks for reading my short, little update! I will post later and tell you all how it went.

 

[redsea]

He has been in for a little while now, now the tank is not empty! BUT my QT is, you know what that means, LOL.

The Toadstool that I have in this tank (that I bought originally for the 125g) is doing great! I think it has grown substantially too!

So that is the little update for tonight! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post!

 

[carey]

How big is your toadstool? I have that HUGE one in my 125g and it seems to grow daily. lol Love that thing, makes a great centerpiece coral.

Keep the updates coming, always interested in the goings on in your tanks! lol

 

[redsea]

It's not huge, but I can definitely tell that there has been growth since purchase. If I remember (which I probably won't ), I will post some pictures of it later when the lights are on.

The Pearl Eye Clarkii Clown is still doing well this morning, just swimming about as Clownfish do.

Thanks for the interest! I am always interested on what is going on in your tanks too, LOL.

 

[redsea]

Well, off to a new LFS! I have never been to this one before, so I will report on how it is later. Apparently they are supposed to have ORA Mandarins, so if they look nice and fat maybe I will pick one up for this tank.
Thanks for reading!

 

[redsea]

I went to the LFS, but I didn't get any fish. They did have Mandarins, but they all had white heads, and the one that didn't looked like it wasn't eating. They also had ich in a few of their tanks unfortunately, I can't escape from it. LOL.

Thanks for reading the update!

 

[redsea]

More Possible Mandarin News:

There is a LFS approximately 25 minutes away that seems to have healthy fish. I have been there in the past, but it has been a while. I found out that they have tank-raised Mandarins that are eating a kind of frozen brine! The Mandarin I saw in the picture didn't look skinny either. I hope to go there sometime soon and check out the Mandarins and fish.

Thanks!

 

[carey]

Good luck on your visit. Maybe fate is telling you it's time for a mandarin. lol

 

[redsea]

Good luck on your visit. Maybe fate is telling you it's time for a mandarin. lol

Thank you so much! I hope to get there at the latest by Sunday. I would prefer to get to the shop sooner, but weekdays generally aren't a good time to go fish shopping for me.

 

[carey]

Yep, good thinking. You wanna be able to take your time, specially if you get the mandarin. No rushing lol....

 

[redsea]

Yep!

I am a little nervous it won't be there though now. He had two, but sold one. He said he could reserve the one that is left for me, but I would like to see it first.

If it is meant to be it will still be there, I suppose :lol.

 

[redsea]

Okay, so I may be headed to the LFS today. I have been talking with the owner and he informed me that he has Mandarins in stock, however, they are not from ORA. If any of them eat prepared foods, do you guys think it would be okay to purchase one? I was looking at the 55g last night and as long as what I think are pods, are indeed pods, I have a pretty good population. Even if none of his eat prepared, do you think I should buy one, and try to train it while it eats pods?

Thanks for reading and posting your opinions!