what fish would work in this setup?

boojumsnark25

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Aug 13, 2006
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Hi guys, I'm usually a freshwater guy but a guy from my church gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. A 45 gallon established coral reef tank with everything I need for a great price. There are no fish in it. I'm wanting to stock it with some fish...what fish would be suitable for a 45 gallon reef tank? I was also wondering if I could get a snowflake eel? Thanks guys!
 
welcome to SW!!!! For a reef you can do a lot of fish I would do a handfull of blue/green chromis, with a dwarf angel (coral beauty,flame angel, lemonpeel, halfblack,ect) a clown either a TRUE percula or a maroon. A six line wrasse and a royal gramma you could do a eel but I would be wary in any shrimp that he might get a hold off even little cromisses might meet their maker. Other than that there is a lot of fish to play with I think if you gave us a wish list it might be better for us to let you know what can would in a 45G. Best of luck.
 
I was thinking something along the lines of...

A small butterfly (black and white maybe?)
A couple of Occelaris Clownfish
Snowflake Eel
Dwarf Angle or two

Are all these fish compatible? Am I overstocked/understocked?

Like I said, I'm new to all of this. I dabbled in salt for a little bit, I cycled my tank and put a few clowns in before going back to freshwater. So, I've never really stocked a tank. Thanks!
 
I've been doing a bit of research..
I discovered you need to be careful with butterfly fish in a reef.

also keep an eye on dwarf angels. some are reef safe but within the species you may get some vagrants ;)

the clowns should be a good fit.
also look for some small tangs..if the reef is established they will help control algae.
 
Remember though, with tangs they grow large, and the grow fast. Even my yellow tang got annoyed in a 56 gallon, and he was just 3" or so. Ended up just upgraded to suit his needs and mine.
 
I don't think a butterfly would be a good choice for a 45G. With dwarf angels, it's really only recommended to have one as they will most likely fight (although I know a guy who keeps a flame and coral beauty with no problems but still not recommended).

SHK_ATK's ideas were good ones. Cardinals would work too.

Congrats on the tank! What kind of things do you have in there already?
 
I don't think a butterfly would be a good choice for a 45G. With dwarf angels, it's really only recommended to have one as they will most likely fight (although I know a guy who keeps a flame and coral beauty with no problems but still not recommended).

SHK_ATK's ideas were good ones. Cardinals would work too.

Congrats on the tank! What kind of things do you have in there already?
.

IDK, I haven't gotten the tank yet. He said it's a 45 gallon coral reef that's pretty much full of coral. I'm going to look at it in a day or two.

One thing though...If there are no fish and only coral, is there any ammonia source in the tank? Will I still need to do a fishless cycle?
 
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