Feature fish for 55 gallon reef

[Platehead]

I would recommend either a 6 line wrasse or a small flame angel. I have one in my reef tank and he is a model citizen. He leeves all my coral alone.

 

[wrassefan]

there's a few triggers that are considered reef safe...pink tail, blue throat and niger are the most common choices if you want to try one. I would try a bipartus wrasse if you can find one...can't get more colorful than that.

 

[reefsane88]

blue jaw is good candidate yellow tangs are haters u cannot throw anything in after .

 

[BillyB]

I had a Niger in my reef tank at one point. He got huge. Had to give him to a friend because I noticed him nipping at my LPS. Triggers are pretty cool, but I'd be really cautious if you're planning on adding pricey corals to your tank.

+1 on a small flame angel. I've wanted to add one to my tank for a while, just haven't gotten around to it. They're really cool looking fish though.

 

[MikeG]

Any type of dwarf angel are a risk, I have had a lemonpeel, flame, coral beauty and ALL of them eventually developed a taste for corals.

I would also recommend some type of fairy or flasher wrasse amazing colors and they are out in your face all day.

 

[pallobi]

I am condsidering a yellow tang...I have seen people get into wars on other forums about tank size fror tangs, but I have also been told it's OK for a yellow one in a 55. There is a lot of debate about it....

if your gonna add any tang, yellow, or scopas are a good fit (if there really is a good fit for a 55)... yellow and scopas are of the zebrazoma species which are normally the smaller of all tangs, along with a kole tang... personally i think any 3 of those would be a better choice if you go that route... i also feel a nice dwarf angel would be a great addition... if you dont keep sps, a flame angel is gorgeous, as well as coral beauty's... jawfish also would make a great addition of personality and activity, though be sure you have a few inches of sand, and not the fine sugar sand, or atleast a mix... imo, i would do a scopas tang, a flame angel, and a pearly jawfish jus my thoughts, GL!

and if you decide on anthias, be sure to get at least 3, and if you cant feed them a minimum of 3 times a day, and absolutely no less, stay away from them, regardless of what anyone might tell you...

 

[pokerfish]

Thank you for all your input and suggestions, I think the trigger fish needs more room than a 55, the anthias require more care than I have experience with at this stage, and I will do more research on the tang and dwarf angel options. The wrasse is a good bet, and because my tank is so restrictive I may have to go with smaller fish and chuck the wow factor of a larger fish...any new suggestions are welcome...

 

[RadReefer]

Mystery wrasse, I had one in a 46 gallon bow, it hunts around all day, very active swimmer, peaceful. You get the activity level of the dwarf angel and nice color, but no coral eating.

 

[pokerfish]

very cool fish...100 bucks on live aquaria, pricey, but in the hunt...

 

[mchartier]

Depending on where you are I have seen mystery wrasses a lot cheaper than that at a LFS. I love my mystery, very active fish that is not skittish.

 

[beckbrass]

And if you still want to get a large "wow" fish that's fine to. There's always time to get a larger tank first then add the fish you want

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

you should also consider a hawkfish....they are fun to watch.....i have an arc eye hawk fish in my reef for over a year and he is a smart fish...he gets know who is his owner and will go up to the glass and swim towards u...i guess its a way of saying "hi and im hungry" to u lol

 

[pallobi]

+1 on mystery wrasse... gorgeous fish!

 

[pokerfish]

Wow, thanks for the great advice, I will check out the hawkfish but I'm leaning toward the mystery wrasse...hopefully I can find one in Boston area for less. I like the one about the bigger tank...you know I check out craigslist every now and then. Clearly this hobby is an addiction...

 

[RadReefer]

I think I paid 75$ for my mystery wrasse at Coral Reef Aquarium. I just got a female solarensis wrasse there last week that cost me 30$ and it is an awesome fish. It's pretty huge (for wrasse standards), the biggest fish that I have now. The male of the species is in pesto's avitar.

 

[pokerfish]

Anyone have any experience with this fish? It has the wow, and the tank size, it says reef safe...but I'm concerned with the nocturnal thing...if it hides all the time when the light is on, then it's not gonna work...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+46+364&pcatid=364

 

[beckbrass]

It will eat your small fish. Never had one that's just the warning they give you in the description

 

[pokerfish]

I see that, I'm wondering if my clowns are actually considered small, and good luck catching my dottyback, he would have to be one big fast fish to make a meal of him...