Picking Wat Fish To Buy

[Dalejr_802]

im plannig to start with just Fish only with LR and maybe later on conver it to a reef tank so my ? are

wat kind of fish can i buy rite now that will be good for a reef tank

and wat exactly is a reef tank (im guessing LR with anemonies or corals in it)

and wat do u guys think of buying fish online like do u thing that could be an option 4 on buyin new fish

 

[Chac]

im plannig to start with just Fish only with LR and maybe later on conver it to a reef tank so my ? are

wat kind of fish can i buy rite now that will be good for a reef tank

and wat exactly is a reef tank (im guessing LR with anemonies or corals in it)

and wat do u guys think of buying fish online like do u thing that could be an option 4 on buyin new fish

Really is a personal choice mate, all I can suggest is have a look at live aquaria at the fish you like the look of & ask us if they will be compatible

Reef - Corals of all sorts, IMO should should give Anemones a wide berth for at least 1 year

I wouldn't buy fish online in the UK but I know of people that have done it with no probs, may be a idea to get the views/experiences off of some of your U.S. Cousins as they will have more experience buying in the US than me

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

Most LFS that I have ever been to have spacific labels for each fish that will tell you if they are safe for corals and inverts as well. I would suggest going into a store with a good saltwater selection (or if you are like me, you can visit all of them in your area!) with one of those small notebooks and a pencil, jot down what interests you so that you can research them at home later. I like this strategy also because it has the added benifit of you being able to check out the quality of a fish you are interested in and see it a couple times before you buy. This may not be true for you because you live in a big city, so saltwater fish may come and go faster than they do in my area, but typically, I can see the same fish two to three times before I decide to buy it so I know a little more about its health than if I just bought it the first time I saw it.

 

[Dalejr_802]

im thinking of getting a

pair of common clown fish (my LFS have some baby clown about an inch in length)

Six Line Wrasse

Flame angels or any small angelfish but i heared that i need a well establish tank before getting 1 of these i just want to hear ur opinions

one Pacific Blue Tang or any that that doesnt grow that big and not agressive and reef safe any suggestions, i really want one of thee fish because of their color

Royal Gramma Basslet or any gramma fish

Clearner Shrimp (i might get 2 of them)

Emperor Angelfish (im just wondering if this will be fine, but im kinda sure that it wont be i just want to hear your opinions)

Lawnmower Blenny (i will probobly get this later on if its reef safe and not agressive)

clams

Banggai Cardinal or spotted cardinal wich one do u guys think will do

Mimic Tang


and this one i cant find the name of this fish the one with black white gray and yellow color in it the third picture shown
http/saltaquarium.about.com/library/blan...ctorreport2.htm

neon valvet damselfish


and i have a yellow tail and a zebra danio on my tank right now do u think it will be fine to keep them in there the first fish that i will buy is the clown so do u think they will get along

if u guys have any suggestions of fish that are not aggressive and is reef same let me know

oohh and my aquarium is only 50 us gal

thank u in advance

 

[crazyelece]

First I wouldn't do any tangs in a tank that small other than maybe a yellow. Most of the others need more swimming room and also become stressed rather easily and fall prone to disease.

I believe the emperor angelfish is a definate no as they get rather large if it the one I am thinking of. Dwarf angels like a flame or coral beauty would be fine but are a 50/50 chance of being reef safe.

The mystery fish is a type of butterfly which would not be reef safe I believe, also butterflys are considered more of an "expert" only type of fish so I wouldn't reccommend one

The velvet damsel isn't a good choice to me as the nice bright colors fade over time to a crappy dull brown. Also damsels are very territorial and can be mean. I had a velvet for awhile when I started out and it was fine with all my other fish, but I still don't like them due to the dulling out factor.

I think all your other choices would be fine, however I think you need to limit yourself to 5-8 of those on your list depending on exact species and sizes.

 

[Chac]

im thinking of getting a

pair of common clown fish (my LFS have some baby clown about an inch in length)

Six Line Wrasse

Flame angels or any small angelfish but i heared that i need a well establish tank before getting 1 of these i just want to hear ur opinions

one Pacific Blue Tang or any that that doesnt grow that big and not agressive and reef safe any suggestions, i really want one of thee fish because of their color

Royal Gramma Basslet or any gramma fish

Clearner Shrimp (i might get 2 of them)

Emperor Angelfish (im just wondering if this will be fine, but im kinda sure that it wont be i just want to hear your opinions)

Lawnmower Blenny (i will probobly get this later on if its reef safe and not agressive)

clams

Banggai Cardinal or spotted cardinal wich one do u guys think will do

Mimic Tang

and this one i cant find the name of this fish the one with black white gray and yellow color in it the third picture shown
http/saltaquarium.about.com/library/blan...ctorreport2.htm

neon valvet damselfish

and i have a yellow tail and a zebra danio on my tank right now do u think it will be fine to keep them in there the first fish that i will buy is the clown so do u think they will get along

if u guys have any suggestions of fish that are not aggressive and is reef same let me know

oohh and my aquarium is only 50 us gal

thank u in advance

The Butterfly is a Double Saddle Butterflyfish & although one of th emore peaceful butterflys they are definatly not reef-safe

Tangs - as crazyelece your tank is simply not long enough, Tangs are open sea swimmers & need a lot of 'in-line' swimming space

Flame Angels & Coral Beauty's depend on the personality of the fish, I have a CB which has been in my reef for 3 years & never nipped a poly, my mate had a CB that near wiped out his soft corals
ps (flames & Lemonpeel Angels are apparently the worst Dwarf's - as far as reef compatibility)

Also the number that crazyelece has given would already include the fish you have in the tank & obviously depends on each fish you buy

Bangii's are very boring fish that hardly move, I had a pair for ages, I swear they were stuffed

Clams require specilised care with High Level Lighting

Again isnt a Zebra Danio a Freshwater fish ???

What about your Clean UP Crew

 

[Dalejr_802]

let say that im buyin 5-8 fishes out of my list so how many clean up crew can i get

and i only have about 20 lbs of LR and am goin to get more this tuesday so is it okay to add the LR im still cycling and my tank is about 3 weeks old with abunch of hari algie (ithink its green and it look like hair or grass)

i started with 12 lbs of LR for the 1st week

added 8 in the 2nd week

and im goin to put 30 lbs on tuesday just to give u a cleare picture

so is it safe

how long or how many gallon do i need to be able to house a naso and a pacific blue tang i really like their colors


how bout if i decide just to with a Fish only with LR do u guys think dose fish would do and wat kind of fish can i add
i really like a pair of clown and a goby, gramma and some clams i have 260 watts of light

and im just wondering if i can buy a small pacific blue tang to put in my tank then sell it later, my LFS have some Pacific Blue tang wich is about 2.5 inches i believe

 

[Chac]

let say that im buyin 5-8 fishes out of my list so how many clean up crew can i get

Rule of thumb regarding Clean Up Crew is 1 per G

and i only have about 20 lbs of LR and am goin to get more this tuesday so is it okay to add the LR im still cycling and my tank is about 3 weeks old with abunch of hari algie (ithink its green and it look like hair or grass)

i started with 12 lbs of LR for the 1st week

added 8 in the 2nd week

and im goin to put 30 lbs on tuesday just to give u a cleare picture

so is it safe

Not sure what you mean sorry ?

how long or how many gallon do i need to be able to house a naso and a pacific blue tang i really like their colors

Gallonage really makes very little difference (within reason) to a tang, generally people will say that 100g (UK) is the smallest tank for any Tang but this rule is generally alwys broken, especially with Yellow tangs

What you have to remember is that Tangs need a lot of inline swimming space, so a long tank is ideal for tangs even if it isnt very high, in your case (IMO) there is no tang suitable for a 50US G, especially not a PBT or Naso Both of which can gre upto (& in the Naso's case) over 1' in lth

how bout if i decide just to with a Fish only with LR do u guys think dose fish would do and wat kind of fish can i add

If you mean the Tangs - then again No, regardless if you end up with a Reef or a FOWLR, you tank will still limit a tang's swimming space

I really like a pair of clown and a goby, gramma and some clams i have 260 watts of light

Nothing wrong with that list, Clams I would do a lot of homework on as it isnt a simple case of chuck it in & thats it - Clam Forum

and im just wondering if i can buy a small pacific blue tang to put in my tank then sell it later, my LFS have some Pacific Blue tang wich is about 2.5 inches i believe

Personally I would just make do with the fish that can be added to your tank & upgrade ASAP with a Tang Tank in mind, have a look at Dwarf Angels, cracking fish & a 50US g is a good size for 1

 

[Mr.September15]

*Not Trying To Hi-Jack Topic*

What do you call a tank that only has live rock and fish?And of course substrate...

Is it a LRF?
How big is the tank that were talking about?
Does the clean up crew effect the amount of fish you can keep?

 

[Chac]

*Not Trying To Hi-Jack Topic*

What do you call a tank that only has live rock and fish?And of course substrate...

Is it a LRF?
How big is the tank that were talking about?
Does the clean up crew effect the amount of fish you can keep?

FOWLR - Fish Only With live Rock
50 USg
No

 

[Dalejr_802]

i heared that you need 1 CUC per gal so dose the same rule apply for the clener shrimps

wat kind of things dose the hermit crab do

in ur opinion wat are the best CUC and i have some hair algea growing on the back of my tank and on my LR do u thik thwy will clean it too

on all of my fish that im getting do u htink u can help me on whihc fish should i et first and so on

and do u think i can add a clam right now my tank is only 3 weeks old

 

[crazyelece]

cleaner shrimps do well in groups so 2-4 depending on tank size. For your size tank I would add 2-3 depending on your budget.

Depending on the type of hermit crab they can eat algea or dirtrius or both. Mainly from the live rock and substrate.

I personally like a good mix of CUC. I like snails to take care of the glass and substrate and hermits to take care of the rocks. I have a mix of nassarius, margarita, and turbo snails and zebra, scarlet, and blue leg hermits. After having the tank running for six months I never have to clean up algea. Although I also have a fuge with macro algea and that helps a lot as well.

If the tank is 3 weeks old I wouldn't add anything except maybe a few cleaners. You want to get the tank well established so that the additions of any livestock won't be felt on the tank. I'm not sure on clams specifically but it is a good idea to add all corals last after all the fish have been added and the presence of any mini cycles have been completed.

 

[Dalejr_802]

so do u htink i can get a cleaner shrimp rather than buying a hetmit crab

and do they clean the tank at the same way


im trying to add some sand in my tank so my ? is can i remove my LR (about 50lbs) and put it in a large bucket or can i leave my LR in there when i put in my sand......by the way i have 40 lbs of live sand and im thikin of putting about 40 sands just regular sand

 

[Chac]

so do u htink i can get a cleaner shrimp rather than buying a hetmit crab

and do they clean the tank at the same way


im trying to add some sand in my tank so my ? is can i remove my LR (about 50lbs) and put it in a large bucket or can i leave my LR in there when i put in my sand......by the way i have 40 lbs of live sand and im thikin of putting about 40 sands just regular sand

Cleaner Shrimp arnt really part of your Clean up crew, althought they will pick up food etc they wont eat detritus etc.

Get a mixture of Snails- Ceriths, Turbos, Astrea,Turban, Trochus
Wait for a while before adding starfish as well

IMO neither your tank or you are ready for a Clam - wait for a few months & after doing the reasearch then decide if you still want one (have a look at the Clam Link I added )

You can add you sand around you Liverock

 

[Navarre]

OK i havent read the entire thread so if i have copied some ones answer then i do appolgise.

50 US gallons/tangs. Simple answer is no. Look to a dwarf angel for an alternative. Most tangs have a colour similarity in dwarf angels and these will live easier in a small tank.

Clams. Dont try unless you have a mature tank with stable conditions (which your wont be at 3 weeks old) and metal halides. (if the tank is more than 20 inches then halides are really needed)


With a 3 week old tank you really need to be concerned with takkng things slowly. No need to rush or only a disaster will happen quickly.
Lots of livewrock, good flow and then add your smallest and least offensive/aggressive fish first.