Would a Blue Tang be ok in a 55 gallon tank?

altcrash

We just bought an established aquarium and my girlfriend is on me about getting what she refers to as "the interesting fish" (tangs, lionfish, puffers, ect.) I keep telling her that the tank is too small but sometimes think that maybe a Blue Tang would be ok in a 55 gallon tank. Would it? Any reef friendly suggestions would be great!

Melissa

well some would say that if its small that you could put it in a 55. But i recommend putting them in 75 gallons or more. I wouldnt reccomend puffers of loinfish in your tank either, they need about 100 gallons to be happy.

usmc121581

I will say no. Now if you plan on up grading to a 70 or bigger then yes it would be all right to get a baby or a small one. But the small ones are not easy fish at first as they tend to not eat or they are mistaken that thwy are dead by new comers. What I mean is that they play dead and somethat that doesnt know that will mistake it as being dead.



What kind of lighting do you or are you getting? Also do you want soft or hard corals?

altcrash

hey thanks for the responces. As for the lighting it's an Odyssea 260 watt PC

usmc121581

So as for the corals. You have about 4.7 watts/gallon. Which would give you choices between some polyps, mushrooms, and leathers.

altcrash

Would that be enough light for a clam?

Andre

I dont think so, I have been told clam needs a lot o light.

usmc121581

No you will need more light. Something like MH's. They require high light.

caferacermike

Keep in mind that even if you did have a nice sized blue hippo, that'd be the only fish you could keep. Of course you could attempt others but the quality of life in the tank would suffer. If it was my 55g I'd prolly try a small pair of clowns, 2 fire fish, another small goby and maybe a scooter blenny. That'd keep the fish in different areas of the tank and offer plenty of color and diversity.