Need Solid Advice for Stocking 55 Gallon

[kona22]

If anyone with years of experience with marine tanks could help me, I'd really appreciate it. I have a 55 gallon that has been set up for about three months. Things have not went well. I had a marine tank a long time ago and it was much more successful than this one. Now, I have a sump and live rock and frozen food, you'd think things would be easier...oh, well. I need help figuring out what fish to put in my tank. I have read up on wetweb and still am not sure exactly what to do. I really like interesting fish with a lot of personality. I just lost a lionfish. I had him about a month and he was awesome, my water was testing great and he suddenly quit eating and died. Would a dwarf lionfish do good in a 55 gal? What other fish that have fun personalities would work in a 55 gal? I will install a skimmer if that would help. I just don't want to lose any more fish. Besides feeling irresponsible, I get very attached to my fish and can't stand losing them. Thanks for your help.

[JimD]

Things have changed considerably since 'a long time ago'. Its like this, lionfish are hearty eaters that will heavily affect your bio-load, basicly, bio-load is the ammount of excess nutrients available in the water produced by some sort of life form. At 3 months, without a skimmmer, Im wouldnt be surprized if your water was still cycling and ammonia,, caused by feeding, was elevated killing the lion. What are your Ammonia/Nitrate levels?

[Bill S]

Just think of it this way - every time your lion ate, it's like dumping a dead fish in the tank. If you are going to keep lions or other "oscar"/predator type fish (big eaters), you need to be prepared to deal with their waste. FW fish are much better adapted to poor water quality.

One way to keep your water quality up is to do regular, large water changes. You'll need an RO/DI unit and buy salt by the bucket. But it works.

Otherwise, you'll need a skimmer to keep these kind of fish - because you are going to be fighting a polluted tank.

There are LOTS of fish with personalities - I'll offend some folks here, but - many that are more personable than a lion.

[kona22]

Thanks so much for quick reply. My water tested Ammonia--0, Nitrites--0, Nitrates--10, PH--8.3, and salinity perfect. Am told the 10 Nitrates wouldn't kill the lion. I do large water changes at least once a month. The lion was the only fish in the tank and he was so pretty. I felt so bad when he died. Don't want to do that again. What fish specifically are more personable, and hardy, than a lion?

[Bill S]

A freakin' plecostomas has more personality than a lion... JK.

Flame Hawks, many tangs (hippo, powders, sohol), CBB (mine is a hoot - he loves to "ride" the currents), several blennies, spotted panthers (a grouper) - really ANY of the groupers, but they are the SW version of Oscars. Some of these fish may get too large for a 55.

[kona22]

Yes, that's the problem. So many of them get too big for a 55 and I don't want to get fish and will be good in a 55. My lion was very personable and would swim up every time I walked in the room, I'm sure he would have fed from my fingers but I didn't think that was a very good idea. He was very active for a lion from what I've read. What is a RO/DI? Is an AquaC skimmer good? Also, what is a CBB? (That's probably one of those, "Oh duh" kind of questions, sorry!)

[Jonthefishguy]

I dont recommend a CBB "copper banded butterfly" as they are not a fish that beginners should start with. Depending on what lionfish species, they can outgrow a 55 gallon quite quickly and then you find yourself not knowing what to do. Most of the lionfish species other than the dwarfs grow to the size of a football NOT COUNTING the length of the fins.

RO and RO/DI (reverse osmosis/deionised) systems help to remove impurities from your water: such as chlorine, chloramines, pesticides, phosphates, heavy metals and many others. Some of these impurities can lead to the growth of nuisance algae, while others may cause much bigger problems. The DI (De-Ionizing) cartridge does an excellent job removing phosphates, silicates and nitrates. They are highly recommend for reef tanks and will also work great for fish-only tanks. Numerous installation accessories are available for these units. The most useful accessory is a drinking water kit so you can also use the RO (or RO/DI) unit for drinking water.

[JimD]

RO/DI is a water filter that removes most or all total dissolved solids from your source water. Which AquaC are you talking about? They make a few. CBB = Copper Banded Butterfly, a very benificial and beautiful marine fish.

[kona22]

Oh my gosh, I love copper banded butterflies! It was the fish that made me want to have a marine tank in the first place. They've always been one of my favorites but I think it would so die in my tank! If I kill a lion, hmmm. So is the RO/DI thing in addition to the skimmer? How big are they? Or is it something you use to purify the water BEFORE you use it in the tank? We've been using Culligan water. I'm not sure what AquaC it is, the guys at my fish store just told me about it. I was planning on going there tomorrow. I read on wetweb in an article by Jim Fenner about a dwarf lion from Hawaii that looks like a real lion, not just a fuzzy little critter. It's 7 inches full-grown and he says it's very hardy. Would that be a good choice if I get a protein skimmer or should I steer clear of lions all together. I planned on having an aggressive tank but it hasn't worked out so well so far....

[LittleReef]

So you're planning on having a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock?) If so, I love the tangs! They're fun to watch. :) Also, if you don't mind having a little poison in your tank, the Yellow Foxface's personality is great. Also, it's an easy beginner fish! (Was for me, at least.) Good luck! Can't wait to see pictures. :)

[Gilbert]

I have a 55 and personaly think that making it FOWLR wouldn't be a good idea. most agressive fish get pretty large. unless you only want 1 or 2 fish i wouldn't do it.