55 Gallon Predator tank

[Tahoe61]

. Not to mention, I doubt the tank will be up until the fish matures to full size, which is typically 8".

Exactly.

They are stunning fish and would really love one, but my tanks are always too small.

 

[jasonrusso]

View attachment 724181

I love Harelquin tusks. Yes they grow slow. That being said, I had 2 of them and both went blind. I fed them Larry's food, mussels, oysters, squid, etc and I couldn't avoid it.

Research says it is a stress thing and I can't imagine a 55G would help. I hate when a beautiful fish dies, not to mention a $200 fish.


This was mine

 

[Tahoe61]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/maroon-clown-fish-looking-a-little-beat-up.373324/

I am all for assisting each and every individual if I can, but there comes a time when the hard truth needs to be told. Sometimes you have to get someones attention and encourage them to put on the brakes. No one including me is the perfect hobbyist, I have made my BIG mistakes and I sure wish someone along the way would have been honest with me, or that in my early days there were forums to bounce ideas off of. Almost bought a Nautilus once. ;Nailbiting
If this hobby is a passion you're not going dissuade someone from the hobby.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

The thing with lions, any variety, is they will eat anything that fits in their mouths. Anything even remotely shaped like a bullet will slip right down them.

Why not do a species tank? Multiple dwarf lions? Fuzzy, red, yellow...maybe throw in a fu. Then you could go with a leaf fish or two down at the bottom to spread it out some.

I hadn't thought of that!! Maybe I will!!

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

125 gallons is the recommended size. Not even close.



Not going to do what?

I would like a Korean Angel but to be fair to the fish I am not going to but it in a 40 gallon no matter how bad I may want it.

Why not just get a bigger tank? You want big fish get a big tank, that seems like the logical way to proceed.

I am not going to try to squeeze fish in my tank that won't fit (that's what I meant to say earlier lol). I can't get a bigger tank because #1 I am only a teenager and my mother doesn't want me to have a 300-gallon aquarium in her house lol. #2 is because I just got my stand built and it wasn't cheap. Like it was $2000. Not cheap. #3 is I don't know if the floor in my house would hold something like a 150 gallon. I haven't looked under the house and I dont really want to drill a hole in my parents' house and fill it with cinder blocks. I will definitely get a 200-gallon tank when I get my own place when I am older I am just exploring what I want and what I don't want in the tank situation.

 

[Kelsey Fletcher]

How about a marine betta?

I actually looked into those but I am looking for something more hands on and has more of a personality. Though, they are extremely beautiful fish!!!

 

[swebb]

I do not have any experience with these fish, but bluezooaquatics says they would work in a 55 gallon. They are a belted sandfish, indigo hamlet, shy hamlet, or barred hamlet and they all max out around 5-6 inches.

 

[dsh92056]

I do not have any experience with these fish, but bluezooaquatics says they would work in a 55 gallon. They are a belted sandfish, indigo hamlet, shy hamlet, or barred hamlet and they all max out around 5-6 inches.

+1

 

[Hitman]

I actually looked into those but I am looking for something more hands on and has more of a personality. Though, they are extremely beautiful fish!!!

Mine has a few on of personality. He follows me from one end to the other when I’m by my tank. I also hand feed him every other day. They are very shy at first but then they become attention hogs lol. I have mine in a 240 and he thinks he is the king till my Emperor Angel puts him in his place and steals his dinner once in a while. It’s funny watching him sulk till I feed him more lol

 

[RtomKinMad]

We have 180gal but wish we would have gone bigger! These fish grew super fast and make a lot of waste! But is so much fun and beautiful. We hand feed them. So much personality. Save your money so you can get that big tank you want someday! Some of our fish are 10+ yrs old.

 

[Left Coast DJ]

$2000 for a 55-gallon tank stand is a lot of money! Is it AU?

 

[Forsaken77]

I love Harelquin tusks. Yes they grow slow. That being said, I had 2 of them and both went blind. I fed them Larry's food, mussels, oysters, squid, etc and I couldn't avoid it.

Research says it is a stress thing and I can't imagine a 55G would help. I hate when a beautiful fish dies, not to mention a $200 fish.

This was mine

Were yours the Indian Ocean or Australian? I ask because I had an Indian Ocean and it also went blind just after maturing from a juvenile. It had zero stress and was king of the tank.

I had an Aussie years ago in a crowded predator tank and he was fine.

I actually believe it is the collection methods used on the IO Tusks that's causing this to happen. Because it seems to be a common thing and these are hardy fish by all standards. But for some reason it seems much more difficult to find an Australian lately.

 

[jasonrusso]

Were yours the Indian Ocean or Australian? I ask because I had an Indian Ocean and it also went blind just after maturing from a juvenile. It had zero stress and was king of the tank.

I had an Aussie years ago in a crowded predator tank and he was fine.

I actually believe it is the collection methods used on the IO Tusks that's causing this to happen. Because it seems to be a common thing and these are hardy fish by all standards. But for some reason it seems much more difficult to find an Australian lately.

They were both technically Aussie. That being said, I think the Aussie label is put on whichever one has the blue markings regardless of where they came from.

 

[Forsaken77]

They were both technically Aussie. That being said, I think the Aussie label is put on whichever one has the blue markings regardless of where they came from.

Exactly. If it has good coloring, it's Aussie, lol. That has even become hard to verify with a reputable LFS.

 

[Killamanjaro]

@Kelsey Fletcher you should check out this video of a predator reef, it is without a doubt the best predator tank I’ve seen and has got me itching to try one.

It’s filled with a load of soft corals, gorgonians, anemones and a clam. As far as fish go I saw two lionfish, a snowflake eel and some clowns. It’s a 40G so you should have no worries pulling off similar in a 50G.

 

[pluikens]

@Kelsey Fletcher I'm stocking a similarly sized 40 breeder with what I think are similar fish to what you were originally planning. My short list to live together in the tank are a striated angler, orange banded stingfish, and a dwarf zebra lionfish. Do you like any of those?