# 50 gallon stocking list



## teddyzaper

hey guys wasup

i just found this awsome tank, brought it home and im gonna set it up hopefully by the end of this summer. its a 50 gallon (actualy 56.76 to be exact but there is a corner overflow and rounded corners so i call it 50) and there will be a 20 gallon long for a sump, a octopus p170 (i think thts the name) skimmer with a ATO and a 7.5 gallon display tied in. for lights there will be 500 watts of MH pendant lighting.

it WILL be a reef tank so please advize on whats sceptical, i will put a star next to the ones i LOVE and a plus next to the ones live aquaria dubed "with caution" for reef safe.

so here we go!

Six line wrasse, would love one for a bit of worm control just in case
Cannary blenny, heard they got great personalities
Midas blenny, same as Cannary blenny
Scissortail dartfish, i dont really need this one but i think they would be cool in a small school
Snowflake eel, now this one i gotta get, this tank will be set up around this fish so keep that in mind**+
Volitan lionfish, looks awsome but kinda scared of it +
Red striped angelfish, for some added movement and color+
Tibican angelfish, again for movement/color+
Golden angelfish, yet again +
Anglerfish, always wanted one but have been told not to so know might be my chance
Macneill's Assessor basslet, AWSOME LOOKING
Sailfin blenny, almost a must unless the snoflake rules it out *
Convict tang, i really want a tang and love the bright colors of this one *



please keep in mind, i do not plan on having all or even most of these, this is just so you know what i like, i would love suggestions, and need some answers and possible stocking lists for these fish. what go together what dont ect.... anyways, id love some input!


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## Pasfur

teddyzaper said:


> its a 50 gallon (actualy 56.76 to be exact but there is a corner overflow and rounded corners so i call it 50) and there will be a 20 gallon long for a sump, a octopus p170 (i think thts the name) skimmer with a ATO and a 7.5 gallon display tied in. for lights there will be 500 watts of MH pendant lighting.


Sounds like a decent setup, although i'm not familiar with this skimmer, and it did not appear on google. Pictures of the setup and equipment would be helpful.




> it WILL be a reef tank so please advize on whats sceptical, i will put a star next to the ones i LOVE and a plus next to the ones live aquaria dubed "with caution" for reef safe.


Keep in mind, your bioload on a reef needs to be much less than a fish only. It is critical that you keep nitrates at zero and do not have large amounts of organic waste accumulating in the system, wrecking havoc on your alkalinity levels. My 54 reef has 3 fish, a Six Line Wrasse, Coral Beauty Angel, and Ocellaris Clownfish. Look, i'm all in favor of having a lot of fish. Check out my 180 http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-fish-pictures-videos/pasfurs-180-fowlr-build-21979/ and you will see that I am not conservative when it comes to numbers of fish. But, a reef is a reef, and you have to make that decision up front. Do you want a reef lightly stocked with fish, or do you want a fish only tank loaded with fish?
That being said, lets look at the fish options you gave:



> Six line wrasse, would love one for a bit of worm control just in case


The Six Line Wrasse is extremely easy to keep, but is also one of the most aggressive fish in our hobby. Don't let its size fool you, these guys are nasty. I would not suggest keeping one in a tank of under 6' in length.



> Cannary blenny, Midas blenny


Both are good, reef safe fish for your tank size. 



> Scissortail dartfish


 I have never kept this fish.



> Snowflake eel, now this one i gotta get, this tank will be set up around this fish so keep that in mind**


Will eat bite sized fish, which eliminate a lot of these fish on this list. They are also escape artists and will get out of the tank with even the smallest of openings. Very hardy, easy to care for, and in my opinion ok for your size tank. They will, however, need some grow out space as it grows.



> Volitan lionfish, looks awsome but kinda scared of it +


 You did say you want a reef, correct? Because these last 2 fish are not reef fish, they are applicable for fish only setups.
The Volitan is not acceptable for your tank size, unless it will be a species tank with only a single Volitan on display.



> Red striped angelfish, Tibican angelfish, Golden angelfish


Red Stripe, more commonly sold as Eibli's Angelfish, is from the Centropye genus, as is the Tibican, more commonly sold as a Keyhold Angel. These are 2 of the larger growing members of the genus and not really suited for your tank size. Both are also more difficult to keep that some of other commonly sold dwarf angelfish. I would suggest you choose from a Coral Beauty, Flame, Half Black (Vroliki), Flameback, or Pygmy. 

The Golden Angelfish is also a Centropyge angel, Centropyge aurantia. I think you are using this common name to refer to a different fish, because the C. aurantia is almost never available and is very expensive. What fish exactly are you asking about?



> Anglerfish, always wanted one but have been told not to so know might be my chance


Good tankmate for the Snowflake eel, if you go that route. Will eat almost all the other fish on this list.



> Macneill's Assessor basslet, AWSOME LOOKING
> Sailfin blenny, almost a must unless the snoflake rules it out *


Both good reef safe fish, easy to keep.



> Convict tang, i really want a tang and love the bright colors of this one *


Your tank is not even close to large enough for a Convict Tang. In fact, your tank is to small for any Tang. It is not even open for debate. Tangs need a ton of room to swim, they eat constantly producing massive amounts of waste and growing at a crazy fast rate. You do not have a large tank, so you need to be thinking about fish that stay small, or fish that are very inactive.

If you choose to ignore my advice, which is great advice;-), then I would suggest you purchase a Kohl Tang, aka Yellow Eye Tang. This is the only Tang which really has any chance at all of long term success in your tank size. Even then, the odds are minimal.

You should give this article a glance:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...h-compatability-creating-stocking-list-38579/


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## onefish2fish

i would not add a tang in this size tank either and as far as i knew convicts were a white-ish color with black stripes? not much color there if you ask me. i wouldnt add the eel, lion or angler either as they will make meals out of your livestock and their bio-load is pretty large. the angels you chose will all snack on your corals, and prob. your inverts/shrimp.


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## teddyzaper

well ive read up on snowflakes, and ive come to the conclusion that they are reef safe IF you have secure live rock and make sure they cant topple the corals. 

i dont want a packed tank either, i just like to have a lot of options because i know some are just gonna be a simple NO 

so how bout this for my stocking list?

1x snowflake eel
1x anglerfish (a maybe, i really want at least 2 more fish and these are really aggresive)
2x sailfin blenny
2x midas blenny

would this work, is it to much, will the blennys be eaten by the eel.

could you please specify why you think the eel is not reef safe. from many articles ive read, they only eat fish and inverts.


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## teddyzaper

just wanted to say also, ive read all your aticles and all your threads, and most of your posts, lol im like a pasfur fish stalker XD


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## onefish2fish

i think the angler would eat the blennys and if it didnt you'd have to supply it with live prey, like ghost shrimp. i dont know much about eels but they'll eat your fish. when any fish eats a fish ( anglers, lions, eels, so on ) they have to turn that into waste which means a large bioload. ive seen an eel in a reef tank but i personally dont think i'd do it.


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## teddyzaper

i could definatly go withought the angler, im actualy kind of thinking against it since all they do is sit and wobble around. there is a bright yellow one at my LFS and ive never seen it move once while i was there (ive stayed and watched for p to 30 mins). i REALLY want a eel and im willing to do almost anything for it, the only thing i wont do is give up corals. im willing to spend 100's to find the right coral for him if thats what it takes. 

how bout this list:

1x snowflake eel
1x sailfin blenny
2x midas blenny
1x some sort of dwarf angel

?

any recomendations on dwarf angels that wont get eaten by the eel?

also, im planning on getting all these fish small, the eel maybe 5 inch, and they rest 1-3 inches.


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## teddyzaper

by the way, what about a lobster. dont call me crazy please because i dont really know about it, but if its possible with an eel could you recomend a type?


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## njudson

It sounds to me like what you really want is a FOWLR tank with a few hardy corals. I would definitely get the Midas pretty fish and their behavior is fun to watch. I worry that any eel will keep your nitrates forever > 0. But if your heart is set on it go for it and keep us posted on how it goes.


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## teddyzaper

im keeping an SPS dominated tank. it WILL be full of corals, with acans, acropca, montis, ect.... 

just wanted to say, corals and other organisms NEED some nitrates to live, and on some forums it is recomended for bigger tanks and more delicate tanks to have around 5 ppm nitrate. it improves growth, the reason most dont encourage this is because it changes. i can do up to a water change a day because im just a teen and i got nothing better to do rofl. i think around 2 water changes a week when the eel is full grown, but im gonna buy him small


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## teddyzaper

ok i think ive got it. 

1x snowflake eel
1x anglerfish
1x lionfish

will the lionfish be "reef safe" or will it pick at corals? im thinking either a dwarf fuzzy or a spotted, but any others that would work?


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## teddyzaper

lionfish i like:

fu man chu lionfish
dwarf zebra lion
antenae lion

leaning towards the antenae lion cause it looks the best IMO


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## trukgirl

Well everything I've read about Lionfish says that they are one of the more difficult fish to keep. I personally don't want a fish that I would have to worry about putting my bare hand in the tank and possibly get stung. Yikes! No rabbitfish or lions or anything like that in my house!


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## fishesfriend

turkgirl don't forget some blennies have a poisonus bite


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