hkirchen

Hi! A fish newbie here, and I am thinking about starting a SW tank. I have started a fish wish list, I have done some research. Here is my ultimate end tank in a couple of years.

55g SW Tank with refugium and live rock

Fish:
1xClown
1xBlue Tang
1xShrimp
1xMandarinfish
1xPurple Firefish

My questions are as follows:
1. Are these compatible(according to the chart they are, but does anyone have any personal experience?)
2. I am a little confused about the reef setup versus live rock. Are these fish okay in either? Should I get anemone for the clownfish?
3. How do I plan out the progression of the tank to make sure that all of these will be happy in the tank?
4. How much live rock do you suggest? I have heard that the more the merrier, and the mandarinfish needs lots of pods to fead(not adding that one for at least a year!)

Thank you,
Heather

GreenMan13

A live rock (LR) tank would be just live rock with fish but no coral where as a reef tank would be LR with living coral in the tank. Most coral uses photothinisys so they need stronger lights which add a bit to the cost of the tank but coral help make the tank more colorful and interesting. In either case you need LR. I think none of these fish are a problem with coral.

You will want to start with the LR only. This will cycle the tank. You will want to check the ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels every couple days until they are zeroed out. Then you will want to add some clean up crew like the shrimp (you might want more clean up crew like crabs and snails as they help keep the tank running smooth and are very little bioload on the tank). And then the fish (I don't know the order you will want to add those). The fish and clean up crew should be done slowly letting the bacteria grow to handle the load. Then coral if you are going reef.

At least a lb per gallon. More is better, you just need to make sure that you have plenty of water movement though as if you just add a ton of LR and don't have enough water movement it will be pointless.

nemo addict

i would not put a tang in a 55 gallon,,, and the anemone would be the same as the manderine after a year as they need a mature tank to survive and not all clowns will host a anemone ,,, when selecting manderines make sure they are eating , and try and get one that is eatin flake or mysis as they are very hard to feed and most just starve there self ,, tangs need a lot of swim room even when smaller and can stress so much that they dye or end up with ick all the time and still end up dying anyway ,, tangs require a 90 - 120 gallon minimum depending on which tang ...

travie

My first advice to all newcomers into the world of saltwater: You should start with reading one or both of these books before you even start thinking about buying equipment or setting up a tank: the new marine aquarium; Step-by-Step Setup and Stocking Guide, by Michael S. Paletta or The conscientious marine aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists, by Bob Fenner are about the best two books to buy on how to setup and maintain saltwater tanks. They will teach you a lot.

A blue tang(assuming Blue Hippo Tang, Dory in Finding Nemo) cannot go in a tank that small. It needs a tank of at least 200 gallons.

hkirchen

Thank you! I did some more research, and I have ruled out the tang. I will look into more clean up crew though.

Does anyone know if Mandarin Fish and Firefish would get along? In the compatibility chart, the are listed as C for caution?

Also, would any of the fish I mentioned bother my clean up crew?

Thanks
Heather

nemo addict

i know there are certain gobys that you cant keep with them one being the shrimp goby,
Do not keep Spotted mandarines in a tank having Anemones as well, as the later may feed upon the former.
and your CUC should be fine

soldieroffortune1974

Does anyone know if Mandarin Fish and Firefish would get along? In the compatibility chart, the are listed as C for caution?


That will depend on the amount of space they have available.A larger amount of room,will decrease (possibly) their aggression to each other.Smaller space will increase aggression.

4. How much live rock do you suggest? I have heard that the more the merrier, and the mandarinfish needs lots of pods to fead



The more live rock is better,but keep in mind,the volume of liverock and decor,coral,etc also decreases total water volume. Matter = mass,the more mass of an object,the less water is actually in the aquarium,to fill it.

A refugium,sump will compensate for that by adding extra water volume.

Clowns, don't necessarily need anemones,with the lack of predators. Clowns do well with or without anemones. They will also develop a relationship with corals,much the same way they do with anemones. There's a lot of info and guesses on how their relationships with anemones/corals actually works,but all agree it's for defense against predators mostly. You can have either 1 or both,just have to be cautious about which ones to add. Some anemones will kill clown fish.

The clean up crew should be fine,even though the clown might eat the shrimp if it's small enough.

nemo addict

i have never heard of a clownfish eating part of the cuc shrimps ,, matbe mysis or brine but not cleaner or peppermint

soldieroffortune1974

You have a point,but I have seen a friend of mine's Percula (clownfish) chasing the peppermint shrimp,I don't know why;but I thought he was trying to eat it. (I could be wrong)

nemo addict

they chase em out ov anemones or if they are hosting corals
(their terroritry) mine chase every thing tangs chromis in fact the only thing they dont chase is the mandarine and theirselves ,, i have 3 percs and they rule the tank,,,
When you ask divers what the most aggresive fish they see on there dive they normally say clown s

hkirchen

Do you have any pics of your mandarin fish? That and the clown are teh two that I want the most, and I would love to hear about yours!

Thanks,
Heather

sgould

I have kept mandarin and firefish together and did not observe any compatibility issues. The bigger issue for mandarin is their diet. They very commonly starve within 6 months in the home aquarium because most specimins will not wean to prepared foods...preferring only live foods such as copepods. The population of which, even a single mandarin can deplete in fairly short order. That is why it is so important to have a large tank with lots of live rock and a fully established pod population before attempting a mandarin.

nemo addict

not a very good pic as its taken on my phone and at the moment i am in the middle of moving tank to a new stand (building) and new electrics and lighting,, so when i get a bigger tank all i have to do is replace display tank and move a bit of pipework unless one comes up before then and then i can do a straight transfer as i have all my furniture from my dining room in my shed and in the uk the weather is"nt very good ,,,,

Matt

Clowns are awesome fish and my avatar is a blurry picture of one of my black clownfish

Clwonfish are very hardy and peaceful unless they are breeding or hosting an anemone

Definetely Grab A Pair Of Clowns They Are Awesome Fish

From Matt A Clwonfish Lover

;;wv

nemo addict

heres are a few more shots ov my neglected tank







and heres the reason its being neglected as it will have a new home by the end of next week (hopefully) and here is day 2 of the project

hkirchen

Nemo Addict:

Those are cool! I would love to see the finished project. How big will the new stand hold? How long have you had the mandarinfish?

Thanks,
Heather

nemo addict

the new stand is 6ft x 2 ft but i am looking for a 5x2x2 at the moment as when i save up for my new tank it will be a complete system i all ready know what it is and how much it is ,, and it comes complete with skimmer sump closed loop system heaters lights the lot and is <=======> that shape 6 ft across flat and 6 and a half feet to the points but that is a good few months yet as its £1200 about $2000 and i will only get in agreement that i sell whatever tank i have at the time

I have had the manderine about 9 months - a year cant remember but is going verywell

hkirchen

That is really good to hear! I hope I have as much success as you have had with yours~!
Heather