Help Stocking

[vcam]

Hey guys,

I'm going to start off by saying I'm a complete newcomer to the hobby! For the past month or so I've been thinking about starting a tank and I finally went for it

After TONS of research and reading I went out and bought a 60g (36 by 16 by 20) tank.
Right now it is equipped with:
-40lbs of sand... i believe it's mixed grain (sand, small rocks, some shell fragments)
-60lbs of dry rock
-1 Mover M900
-an Eheim heater
-a fluval 306 filter
-1 fluval sea 36"-48" led lighting unit
-a corallife 65g skimmer

I put it all together 5 days ago, threw a raw shrimp in there and have been doing daily doses of aquavitro seed. Ammonia and Nitrites are increasing so I think everything is going wonderfully.

Now the part I would like some help with :

I have read many posts about people putting way to many fish inside of a tank, and don't want to be that type of hobbyist.

The first thing that caught my attention was an eel. In particular the chainlink. I kept him in mind while aquascaping so I built a nice sized cave from him/her to stay in.I'm also fascinated by the clean up crew and tank mates who help keep everything balanced naturally. For example blennies, hermits, emerald crab, shrimp.... but they wouldn't last long with the eel. Tossing the idea of trying a few coral, maybe down the road, so I'm trying to stay away from things that would think they are a nice snack.

Anyway to my actual question for you all :

If I go with the eel, what else can I stock the tank with? (seeing as it is a huge bioload, and a CUC probably wouldn't last long)
and/or
If I don't go with an eel, what other centerpiece could I consider that might work with a CUC? and what else would go with that guy you're suggesting

!!Sorry for the long post!!

[TimeConsumer]

Your tank is 50 gallons, not 60. The only eels I would consider in a tank that small would be a wolf eel or a snowflake eel. Both will eat crustaceans and small fish, but will probably leave corals alone. However they are a big bioload that will probably overwhelm a weak skimmer like a coralife.

There are a ton of cool show fish. Are you a wrasse man? If so, how about a Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse? Reef safe and will go well with all sorts of other easy fish like ocellaris or percula clowns, banggai or pajama cardinals, firefish, gobies, blennies, etc. He will also appreciate your cave. But they are jumpers so get a screen top.

If I were stocking your tank I would maybe get one small fairy wrasse, a banggai cardinal, and a yellow watchman goby. That gives you one bold bright swimmer, one slow methodical swimmer with a cool body shape, and one bottom dweller. Those three would be a good start and a nice low bioload as you learn to manage nutrients. Eventually you could add one or two more fish like a tail spot blenny, firefish, or clownfish if you wanted.

[vcam]

Thank you for the reply! I will look into the fish you have suggested.

Are there any other option or combinations the rest of you like? The more suggestions the better for me :P

[TimeConsumer]

There are an absolute ton of cool fish you can get. I like to mix and match different body shapes, swimming styles, area of the tank occupied, colors, etc.

Gobies usually dominate the bottom dweller category for easier to keep fish. I love the watchman gobies and yasha gobies.
Firefish and cardinals usually add in some interesting body shape. Cardinals also get a plus for swimming style.
Clowns definitely get a bonus for swimming style with that goofy wiggle.
Blennies get points for character since they like to perch on rocks a lot and stare at you with that weird look on their face. I love the little tail spot blennies.
Colorful fish is a good spot for your fairy wrasse. Royal grammas look great with the purple and yellow combination. These also do a lot of swimming.
You can also try a chromis if you like. Good little dither fish.
Damsels are great, colorful, and easy to care for but buyer beware. These can be little demons. I had great luck with a yellowtail damsel that had a wonderful disposition, others did too. But others get ones that takeover half of their tank and will terrorize other fish.

[vcam]

So far, those I'm 90% sure i'd like to have eventually are:
1x watchman or yasha goby
1x blenny
2x clownfish
1x fairy wrasse

but I'd be interested in another to add size, maybe something around the 6inch range since the tank isn't large

[TimeConsumer]

6" is a big fish for a 3ft tank. I would highly recommend you stick to smaller fish.