I have been doing my research for when I start my saltwater tank but I would like to know others opinion on what fish should I have on the tank? It is a 90 gallon tank, and I am a beginner so maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to have fish that are too hard to take care of, at least not until I have experience.
Ideas Of Fish To Add
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Steer clear of dwarf angels. They are gorgeous but can be delicate. I fell into that trap, spending a bunch of money on these fish and the one that lasted the longest was a coral beauty for 6 months. The flame angel $200 died in a week. IT wasn't the best conditions because I didn't know what I was doing.
Clown fish though are always great. Entertaining and hardy if you get captive bred ones. Just have a good lid, I lost 2 because they like to jump and I didn't know that.
My six line wrasse is really hardy as well. I have had him for almost 3 years and the condition of this tank was atrocious for some time. ITs getting better though.
Pajama Cardinals is what I am getting next when I am comfortable that I have my tank stabilized.
I will not get an angel again though until I feel that I am an expert at this.
Read the journal BigFish has on his tank. Might be useful.
Donya's research is top notch too.
Clown fish though are always great. Entertaining and hardy if you get captive bred ones. Just have a good lid, I lost 2 because they like to jump and I didn't know that.
My six line wrasse is really hardy as well. I have had him for almost 3 years and the condition of this tank was atrocious for some time. ITs getting better though.
Pajama Cardinals is what I am getting next when I am comfortable that I have my tank stabilized.
I will not get an angel again though until I feel that I am an expert at this.
Read the journal BigFish has on his tank. Might be useful.
Donya's research is top notch too.
I'm not too much of a fish person; I've never really strayed from the ones that are supposed to be easy to care for so I know some of those well I guess lol. The following groups of fish are generally pretty easy to take care of in terms of feeding and hardiness and don't have much worry in terms of aggression if you stock cautiously:
Clowns, particularly captive-bred options that are still wild-type rather than designer. Obviously maroons and tomatoes are nastier and bigger, but Ocellaris and Amphiprion are pretty common starter species.
Most of the commonly seen gobies and blennies.
The more commonly seen cardinals like PJs and Bangais. There are also captive-bred options for some cardinals.
I have never kept tangs myself, but I would not put them in the same hardiness category as a lot of other good beginner fish since they are very ich-prone by comparison. Getting an ich-free tang without a quarantine tank seems like a less than trivial task from the amount of complaints I hear. A 90gal should easily house one of the smaller tank species, but if your main worry is that the fish is hardy while you get your feet wet, then I would stick to maybe a clown pair and some gobies for a bit until you're comfortable with things.
Damsels are also hard as nails, and some of the nicer species are easily stocked with other fish like cardinals and blennies. I've also seen a lot of successful community tanks of similar size to yours that have a damsel somewhere in the mix. However, even though many damsels are probably the hardiest thing you can possibly get, it's usually considered a bad idea to start with one, since that's how a lot of aggression problems start: the damsel gets established first and then tries to defend the entire tank. Personally I love damsels for their hardiness and character, but clowns are easier to deal as a starter fish since they have smaller territories.
Clowns, particularly captive-bred options that are still wild-type rather than designer. Obviously maroons and tomatoes are nastier and bigger, but Ocellaris and Amphiprion are pretty common starter species.
Most of the commonly seen gobies and blennies.
The more commonly seen cardinals like PJs and Bangais. There are also captive-bred options for some cardinals.
I have never kept tangs myself, but I would not put them in the same hardiness category as a lot of other good beginner fish since they are very ich-prone by comparison. Getting an ich-free tang without a quarantine tank seems like a less than trivial task from the amount of complaints I hear. A 90gal should easily house one of the smaller tank species, but if your main worry is that the fish is hardy while you get your feet wet, then I would stick to maybe a clown pair and some gobies for a bit until you're comfortable with things.
Damsels are also hard as nails, and some of the nicer species are easily stocked with other fish like cardinals and blennies. I've also seen a lot of successful community tanks of similar size to yours that have a damsel somewhere in the mix. However, even though many damsels are probably the hardiest thing you can possibly get, it's usually considered a bad idea to start with one, since that's how a lot of aggression problems start: the damsel gets established first and then tries to defend the entire tank. Personally I love damsels for their hardiness and character, but clowns are easier to deal as a starter fish since they have smaller territories.
Thanks everyone! So to what I see now clownfish seems to be what everyone agrees on. Blennies, gobies, cardinals, damisels, chromis and tang. It was kind of what I had in mind. I was going to start with damisels, but if clownfish is a better idea ill go with clownfish. What would you say about dottybacks? And I'll try to avoid the angels if they really do die that fast, they are kind of expensive. And read the journal by BigFish. I'll look into all this stuff. Again thank you everyone!!!!
Its not Big Fish, its BigTuna, sorry I'm an idiot.
And its not that angels die fast, they are delicate and need expert care. If they get expert care they can live for years! I couldn't give them that and didn't want you to fall into the same trap I did, buying what looked pretty just cause it looked pretty. But like I said, I'm an idiot!
And its not that angels die fast, they are delicate and need expert care. If they get expert care they can live for years! I couldn't give them that and didn't want you to fall into the same trap I did, buying what looked pretty just cause it looked pretty. But like I said, I'm an idiot!
Are you going to be adding any corals? I agree with stanleo, I'd avoid the Angels at first, and if you want to add corals they might be a pain anyways. I'm also not so sure I'd recommend a tang for a beginner as well. They are ich magnets, as I believe it has been stated already. Once you have a mature system, and things are good and stable the yellow tang would be great. They love to graze on the Live Rock as well, which is why waiting would perhaps be best. I love the idea of the cardinals. They were two of my favorite fish before things went chaotic with my tank. I had bangai cardinals, but I hear lots of great things about the pajamas as well. The Blue/Green Chromis is an excellent suggestion as well. I've had my eye on them for a long time and I think I will someday add a large school to my tank. I think they are great.
Im glad you are finding it useful. I really think I need to go back and edit some posts adding notes on where I made some mistakes now that I know better 
One of these days when I have some time I think I will do that.
One of these days when I have some time I think I will do that. Similar threads
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