friendly and non-aggressive in groups

blinxxpunk182

blinxxpunk182

I LOVE MY AQUARIUM :)
Nov 9, 2007
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wanting to soon stock my 55 sw with some pretty looking non aggressive and friendly fish that can do well in groups preferably in small numbers (2-3) its kinda hard to find a good answer for this lol.i tank only has a feather duster and a starfish with liverock.
 
Seems to me that this is a surprisingly small group. . . As far as I can tell, I think some Cardinals or Chromis are your only choice. But, not everyone agrees with that. I've heard tales of Chromis slowly picking on each other until they die one by one. In fact I had a group of 7 large chromis in my 225 and within a few months 1 died of no obvious causes I could determine. I didn't think they were picking on each other much but there would be scuffling during feeding. I would be able to report more but my tank was destroyed in a house fire shortly thereafter. But, I plan on getting a group of Chromis in my new tank.
 
If you are looking at fish you can keep in small groups (2-3), you can get:

- Clownfish of the various types. I currently have 2 pink skunk clownfish which are doing very well
- Cardinal fish
-Chalk bass (my fish store has a couple and they seem to get along very well with each other)

I had chromis but I had problems with them picking on each other and the other fish so I wouldn't recommend it. Also, they are boring.
 
I too have a 55 gallon tank and I've really struggled with the appropriate stocking. I tried the groups of fish thing with my chromis and really didn't like.

The reason being is that you have limitations in a 55 gallon on the number of fish you can have.

I ended up single fish (except for my clownfish) and have gotten some really neat fish, each with their own personality and looks and behavior.

If you have groups of fish, you might end up with only 2-3 (maybe 3-4 max) different groups with maybe 2-3 fish in each group. Since there are limits on fish that will group, you are limiting what you can get.

By keeping fish singly, you can really open up your choices and get lots of different fish. The fish I keep in my tank include:

- Dwarf puffer
-Yellow tang
- 2 clownfish (my only group)
- Coral Beauty angelfish
- Yellow hogfish
- Rainsford goby

I had a hawkfish too but he jumped out.

I would go for variety of fish instead of the groups. I think you'll find the groups boring after a while.
 
In my 55 I have currently: 1 firefish, a pair of ocellaris clowns, and a neon blue goby. Future additions are: sand-sifting goby, shrimp goby, pistol shrimp, maybe an algae blenny, and a royal gramma. After that I'm going to focus in coral.
 
I personally think twin spot gobys (S. biocellatus ) are really interesting, peaceful fish who do great in pairs
 
blinxxpunk182 said:
well im not keeping the chromis. i dont want him. i just bought him to help cycle the tank.
Click to expand...

Another topic, but I got a bit angry at this post. Definitely not something I agree with at all.

But on topic, I like variety, personally (I have 3 tanks because I like it so much lol). I have a chalk bass that is shy and seems like it would not hurt a soul. Pretty colorful for its small size. Also, Blue Gudgeons. LFS had pairs for a while and they were inseparable.
 
Like Mandy, you'll find many of us here don't support cycling with a live fish. Especially when it can be done without it.

With that said I too have a 55g and with the exception of a mated pair of clowns I don't stock in schools. The options are just too limited until you get up into a larger tank in my mind.
 
well if it makes any of you feel better..... the reason for the chromis in the tank while its cycling is because i had it in my 20 gal, but my mom wanted to see some pretty ponies and came home with them a couple of weeks ago, so i was like.... hmm $5 or $80. seahorses cant be placd in a tank with other fish because they are slow eaters. so instead of being a jerk and flushing him, i placed him inside of my tank. my LFS doesnt want it back because they dont want to risk him having a disease, so i was limited. but thanks for the pointers on single fish. i might take that approach. i just have this fascination on watching a group of friendlys swimming wqith each other.
 
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