kingkinn

So far i've been researching and i think i'm going to put these fish in my tank.

2 Clownfish
1 yellow tang
1 Royal Gramma
1 Diamond Golby
5 Peppermint Shrimp
10 blueleg hermet crabs

Does this sound like a good stock? If not why? and what should go and/or what else should i add to this? As a person who has never had a SW tank any input is greatly appreciated. I'm doing research now and it'll prolly be a month or so before i add my first fish, do i add the clownfish first or the crabs and shrimp? Please Help, Thanks!

BEARjuice

tangs need alot of room, how big is your tank going to be?

Mike

according to the aquarium info dropdown it's a 55 gallon being converted from freshwater to saltwater.

Kudos for doing the research first. You're saving yourself a lot of money and headaches doing that.

I'd add the inverts first (drip acclimated). I would hold off on the diamond goby for awhile. They do an awesome job keeping the sand clean but that is also how they eat. In a new tank they may starve. It can be a lot of work making sure they are getting enough to eat. The tang, clowns and gramma should do fine. The gramma may pick/pester at the crabs. Keep it well fed. Definitely recommend live rock and a good protein skimmer along with powerheads for water movement. I don't care for the wet/dry filters on a saltwater setup. They are good filters but I don't really use a mechanical filter on my saltwater setups.

kingkinn

First off, Thanks. I had planned on using a nice quanitiy of live rock, and a wet/dry filter. Didn't really wanna go with a protein skimmer unless absolutely had to. If i use my wet/dry filter from my FW tank, do i need to replace the media before hand?

kingkinn

my tank is 55gal

travie

Any tang shouldn't go into a 55g. Otherwise the rest of your stocking plan sounds fine.

Mike

Yes, I'd start with fresh media. Add the live rock first, let the tank cycle for a couple of weeks and then slowly begin introducing fish to let the cycle ramp up as fish are introduced. Protein skimmers are definitely not mandatory, but if you could see the stuff they pull out of the water column you would get one. Makes for a healthier tank, less frequent water changes.

Definitely a valid point. Some don't think tangs and angels should even be kept in aquariums.

kingkinn

any suggestions other than a tang than? i'm not really sure i was mainly picking out fish that were for beginners as i do not want to spend a nice quanitity of money on a fish and have it die! So any other fish you guys would recommend?

Mike

The green chromis are awesome in schools and they are not all that expensive. A pair of tank raised clownfish - all kinds of cool looking clownfish out there. Captive raised cardinalfish are really nice and interesting too. Be sure to QT all new fish too for a few weeks at least.