Starting a new tank!!!!!!! Need info

[BlueWater]

OK ya'll... I have decided to turn my freshwater 55 with a turtle in it too into a saltwater Aggressive Fish w/ Live rocks in it tank.

My current 15 gallon houses a 1 1/2 inch Dwarf Lion, a 1 inch Green Spotted Puffer, and a 1 1/4 inch Scooter Blenny. Some Crabs, and a few Mushroom rocks.

They've been doing fine the last 2 weeks but now I want to go big.

What other fish do you recommend with these critters? I don't want something that'll eat the mushrooms. I've got a couple RIO Powerheads in there right now, and will toss on my Prizm Skimmer. Will that be enough for filtration? I will put in about 50lbs of LiveSand. and 40lbs live rock.

I was thinking of putting in either or... CowFish, Porky Puffer, Flame Angel. I want fish that won't hide all day like a Fairy Basslet.

[BlueWater]

Forgot to mention, I do not plan on going to any larger tanks. This is the biggest I'll go.

[the_blue_tuna]

The Angel would not be a good choice in that set-up. If 55 is the maximum you intend to go , and with the filtration listed , you have enough fish already . You have to remember , these little guys grow up.


http://www.fishbase.org/ComNames/Com...SearchList.cfm

[BlueWater]

3 fish in a 55 gallon?

I thought these fish get no larger than 4-5 inches?

[the_blue_tuna]

Even at 4 inches each thats 12 inches of fish . If you use the rule of thumb that states 1 inch per 5 gallons as a starting point you are already over. Now I am by no means saying that this rule is set in stone but it helps as a benchmark so that everyone can have a point to start from .
Then you must consider the variables , filtration being a main one . A prizm skimmer , 40 pounds of live rock and 50 pounds of sand are what you propose. I dont have any personal experience with the prizm so I will not comment on that . 50 pounds of sand will give you about a 1 inch deep bed and that is not enough to build a properly functioning DSB in my opinion. 40 pounds of live rock is also not alot although depending on what type you have/get it could work. Pacific rock is less dense so 1 pound would net you a greater surface area than you would have with some of your aquacultured rock.
Then the other variable you must consider are your occupants and thier eating habits and adult size . The specimens you are wanting eat alot of meaty foods and have somewhat messy eating habits. You can control alot of the out fall from this by being careful how much you feed and how often .These are all things that are not impossible to overcome , but things you should be aware of. Many people have way more fish than I do in their tanks.I try to look at it though as not just how many fish I can cram in the tank but also can I do a reasonable job of keeping them healthy. JMO.

[BlueWater]

I was just looking at 50lbs as a base. I could always go more. But I definitely can't afford a 4inch bed. The rock will be live branch vanisi and fiji rock. I only thought about 40lbs to give the fishies more swim space. The 15 gallon is plenty of room for them now, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens in a few months.

Also as for feeding... I am feeding 1-2 plastic teaspoon of brine a day. I know the lion eats like a big. I toss in a 1/5 cube of formula one in there too. The puffer eats anything.

Could I could the feeding down to once every other day? I want to get the Fuzzy Dwarf to start slowly getting accustomed to other foods other than brine. (actually, it ate some freshwater fish flakes today).

Thnx for the info.

[Mikeman]

it would be less expensive to go out and get some silica sand from menards or home depot, and make a 4" sandbed then to get 50 lbs of base rock, in fact it would probli only be like 10 or 15 bucks more to get some silica sand, if you want to get both

[Triggers]

Originally posted by BlueWater
I want to go big.

I was thinking of putting in either or... CowFish, Porky Puffer, Flame Angel.

Well, first off a 55 is by no means big when it comes to keeping aggressive marine fish. either get a larger tank and keep aggressive fish or keep the smaller peaceful fish that hide a bit.
many aggressive fish are mainly aggressive during feeding time. most other times if ample room is provide, just keep to themselves.


yes, as mentioned fish will grow. Cowfish are capable of growing enormous the same with puffers. you would need lots of LR to keep the flame satisfied, they dont care as much about swimming room as they do about picking at the LR and moving in and out of the crevices, a true reef fish.

what you could do is keep one small picasso trigger with one or two other small fish(Maroon clown, small wrasse. my experience with this species is that they do grow quite slow as they tend to be one of the more active triggers cruising the tank back and forth.

post back when you decide what to do as their can be alot of room for failure with a small setup.;)

[BlueWater]

Hmmm...... Don't know if there's any Meynards in L.A. Maybe I'll ask my cousins out in AZ if they ahve some. Checked Home Depot here for Silica or Southdown playsand. They don't have any around here. I'll have to look more.

As for the Picasso, if I got that, would that, and the FuzzyDwarf be alright together? My Dwarf hovers around the tank alot. I really dig him and don't want to get rid of him.

Thnx for the info.

[Triggers]

i wouldnt think it would be a problem although i have never kept those two species together.