all the critters

[bethkira2000]

Okay I have done all the research, and gone thorugh all the things as far as beginner fish.
A pair of Clown fish-False percula
1-blue surgeon
1 pair of either green chromis or
1 pair of damsel fish
1 Cleaner skunk Shrimp
1 rose bubble tip anemone
now the snails and other algae invert is where i get lost. But I know I need some.
2 blue hermit crabs
1 feather duster
various zoanthis
And maybe a couple of mushroom corals
and thats it. Please feel free to input, give advie and or feedback. I need all the help I can get.

[Grins]

Which tang are you thinking of when saying blue? The hippo? The powder blue?

I'd go with chromis over the damsel and I'd probably get 3+ versus 2. Even one would be better than starting with two I'd think.

[bethkira2000]

sorry Grins the only way I know to describe it is the one that looks like Dori in Finding Nemo. My daughter says all the time we have to have Dori mommy. She wants Nemo, and Dori.

[Grins]

Paracanthurus hepatus
Blue Hippo/Palette Tang/Pacific Blue Tang

[bethkira2000]

okay thank you Grins. I wanted two other small fish, I thought about a blenny, or maybe a goby?

[clown-lover]

What size tank?

[bethkira2000]

Its a 55g CL

[Pufferpunk]

Way too small for a tang, especially a hippo. You're gonna have to tell your daughter, no Dori.

[clown-lover]

If you plan on upgrading I don't see where you will have a problem but you'll have to realise that a Blue Hippo's minimum requirements is around 75 gallons but they do better in 125's or larger.. The longer the tank the better. They really are zippers when swimming throughout the tank.

With your 55 if you plan on getting the tang right away I would wait on anything else personally just because of the bio load. But then I shouldn't be talking as with my 75 I'm thinking I'm overstocked as well and am planning on finding a home for my PJ Cardinals. But as long as you go into it armed with knowledge about what potential problems your going to face its up to you to decide ulimately. If you want that whole list I'd make sure you have a good skimmer and have your nutrient export working really well before you have all of your purchases in place. but thats just my opinion.

hth
Mark

[Pufferpunk]

I can't see an adult hippo in a 75g.

[salty420]

you'll have to skip on the tang which may be hard to explain to your daughter but will have to be done. other than that the list is great, i too would opt for 3 chromis over a pair of damsels... with the tang out you could def get a goby in there. i love my yellow watchman, he's a great big guy at 4+ inches and hangs out in the front showing off his great colors.

[bethkira2000]

I was honestly thinking of going with the clowns first, And then the Tang, but maybe I will get a different tang, or something, I would like some of the smaller fish, like the gobies or perhaps blennies but I just don't know who goes with who.

[Grins]

I bet your daughter would love a lawnmower blenny. They don't stay small either, I've seen one that was easily 6" with a huge head.

[bethkira2000]

wow, I was hoping to get a tang, but I guess it won't work. I was hoping to get a good size fish, but I guess in a 55 you really can't. I wonder could I do a powder blue tang instead of the hypo?

[shanefee]

I thought the tang in nemo was a lipstick tang .

[Pufferpunk]

No tangs in a 55g. If you definately have plans on upgrading to a 90g or larger in a year or 2, Kole tangs are pretty slow growers.

[bethkira2000]

whats a lipstick tang?

[shanefee]

I think the other name for it is a NASO TANG.

[bethkira2000]

I hope to get a bigger sized fish, but I don't know what else to get.

[dolfans1]

The tang in Nemo (Dori) was Paracanthurus hepatus. This fish has a lot of common names: Palette Surgeonfish, Pacific Blue Tang, Hippo Tang, Blue Surgeonfish - they are all the same (and there's probably a few other names that escape me). Personally I prefer Palette Surgeonfish or Hippo Tang, as there are so many different tangs with "blue" in their name that it can cause confusion. A LFS called this fish simply "blue tang" when I bought mine almost 2 years ago. Picture of mine is at the bottom.



Naso tangs and Lipstick tangs are names for the same fish, but this is a different fish than the Hippo tang, and isn't the tang that was in Nemo.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/tangs/naso.php

[mandy21]

No tangs in a 55g. If you definately have plans on upgrading to a 90g or larger in a year or 2, Kole tangs are pretty slow growers.

I'm not so sure I'd put even a Kole tang in a 55. I have one in a 75 and I know that's not big enough. He swims over the whole thing. He's not full grown, but he's fairly large and very active. He was crammed in the little 15 gallon holding tank at the LFS and I had no idea how much he would swim the tank. I have plans to upgrade the tank and I may be doing it sooner than I was thinking.

[Pufferpunk]

That's why I said she'd have to upgrade to a 90+ within a year or 2. I started a juvie in a 55g & upgraded to a 90 a year ago. It's still only about 4" now.

[Grins]

wow, I was hoping to get a tang, but I guess it won't work. I was hoping to get a good size fish, but I guess in a 55 you really can't. I wonder could I do a powder blue tang instead of the hypo?

A powder blue needs even MORE room. Consider a lemonpeel dwarf angel maybe? You could maybe get away with a yellow tang as I have but again allow me to say that I'm fully aware that Butters will potentially if not probably need a bigger home at some point.

[saltydunc]

powder blue tangs are hard to find in good condition and they are tricky to keep....you could always get a bigger tank 100g + ....then get what tang you want....no other species comes close for beauty....in my humble opinion.

[bethkira2000]

I think maybe a dwarf angel,i actually saw one in Fosters and Smith and I thought that might have to do. But if I got a Hypo tang(Dori) as a juvi how long before I needed a bigger tank, if I went that way?

[saltydunc]

after saying the powder blue is hard to keep i only went and bought one today :) .....i couldn't resist ... it is the best specimen ive seen in my lfs as they are usually small and skinny...this one however is 6" and nice and fat.

[Pufferpunk]

VERY prone to ich. I hope he's in QT.

[bethkira2000]

that still doesn't answer my questions

[Reefscape]

I think maybe a dwarf angel,i actually saw one in Fosters and Smith and I thought that might have to do. But if I got a Hypo tang(Dori) as a juvi how long before I needed a bigger tank, if I went that way?


If this is the question your refering to Beth, then i would not even buy one with a view to only keeping it as a temp measure. They should be in large aquariums..

Niko

[bethkira2000]

well I would like a bigger tank, however I can't find one that is affordable. Now I was looking online and thought, maybe a wrasse, Dr.Fosters and smith have some that are reef safe, so I thought maybe one of those instead.

[Pufferpunk]

Wrasses are beautiful--excellent jumpers too. Be sure every inch of the tank is covered. Some do get quite large so check the adult sizes. Maybe you can give it a name for your daughter & tell her Dory sent the wrasse instead.

[bethkira2000]

thats an awesome idea, any thought as to which one is the best for the tank?

[Grins]

Look at some of the flasher and fairy wrasses Beth, they are gorgeous colors and your daughter will probably like the "girlie" tones of some.

[bethkira2000]

Oh Grins I wish she would, she is turning into me, a true tomboy. Would it be better to get a pair? Or should they stay by themselves?

[Grins]

Hmm, I'm not certain. I know they are often alone, not sure how they are with others of the same family. Some of them get pricey by the way, some not so much. But check out the colors of the Carpenter's Flasher, Filamented Flasher, McCoskers, etc.

[bethkira2000]

okay thanks Grins... I think I am going to check on fosters and smith

[Grins]

Find anything that you think she'll like?

[saltydunc]

i seen a rainbow wrasse at my LFS and it is a stunning fish.....don't know if it would be suitable for your set up though.

[Squawkbert]

I'm just chiming in to suggest avoiding Coris Wrasses - they're awsesome to look at when they're small, but they tend to stay buried in the substrate ALL the time - then they get huge.

Best of luck.

[bethkira2000]

Thanks everyone and to answer you grins there are several that interest me. Iam going to post there name in a min.

[bethkira2000]

Filamented Flasher-also known as Whip-Fin wrasse

[bethkira2000]

the Exquisite Fairy wrasse,The Mystery Wrasse also known as Whitebarred Wrasse, Lineatus Fairy Wrasse, Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse and lastly the McCosker's Flasher Wrasse. I think for wrasses thats it

[Grins]

Pretty much the ones I thought you'd like! Beautiful fish aren't they?

[bethkira2000]

THey are beautiful fish, I can't wait until I get some.