how many fish in 55 gallon? and how many?

[jaw88]

hello all,so i finally got a couple fish for my 55 gallon saltwater tank,i have a lawnmower blenny and a yellowtail damsel,any other ideas on what to add? i want a friendly FOWLR tank,so that i can eventually turn it into a reef tank without having to get rid of any fishies. So far the two i have are getting along well,they kinda swim around together a lot,and show no signs of agression towards one another,and i have had them for about 3 or 4 days. Also,how many fish to u think i could put in my tank without crowding it too much? i want mostly small fish,but a couple bigger ones added in,thanks for ur replies.

 

[TylerHaworth]

Get rid of the damsel now : ) they get nassssty the more they mature...

With a blenny in there I would PERSONALLY add 4-5 more fish... Right off the top of my head a good hardy/peaceful/beautiful combination would be: Royal Gramma, Purple Firefish, Pair of smaller clowns, and a Kole Tang OR a Foxface Rabbitfish

 

[TylerHaworth]

Note: I'm assuming you have the proper equipment to handle these fish... I'm sure someone will disagree with my opinions though : )

 

[jaw88]

idk how old that damsel is,but i read online that it is one of the least aggressive damsels,thats why i bought it,if it starts acting aggresively,then i will get rid of it

 

[TylerHaworth]

One of the least aggressive... That's a relative term in comparison to other damsels, not reef fish in general... When compared to most reef fish, they are quite belligerent upon maturity.

 

[lcstorc]

It is not the number of fish but rather the size of the fish. The general rule is one inch of adult fish per 5 gallons of water which would leave you with 11 inches of adult fish.
I too would get rid of the damsel. A pair of one of the smaller types of clown would be fine though you do want to keep in mind that clowns are damsels and they do get agressive. Maroons and Clarkii are some of the more agressive and larger so I would avoid them.
If you wait until your tank matures some, you may think about some anthias. They are not considered easy fish, but are beautiful and peaaceful. Kole tang is another pretty good idea but it will take a lot of the available bio-load with one fish so that would be a tough call. They are one of the smaller and more pleasant tangs.

 

[Ravenfan84]

I would have to agree with everyone when it comes to the damsel issues im dealing with that issue right now they were cute when they were little but became a menace i bought the blue fin damsels which turned black and very bold also i have a lemon peel which is becoming a pain i sang the same tune as u but soon realized that they need to go luckily i will be changing tanks in 3 to 4 months so ill get them then as for ur fish list i would go with Any Gobies, Royal Gramma, Yellow Tang or Kole Tang, 3-5 Chromis (i like to see a school), Pajama Cardinals all of these are Reef Safe and Peaceful

 

[TylerHaworth]

Yellow Tang is too large for a 55.