Hi there, I do not have saltwater fish at the moment, but I have had freshwater for over 10 years and have been looking into saltwater a lot because I plan to venture into saltwater fish when I graduate college. That being said the information I will provide is only what I have gathered from many different sources on the internet.
1) i was thinking of getting 1 or 2 clown fish as a starter, are there any easier saltwater fish to keep?
- I do not know if there are any hardier fish, although it seems that clownfish are pretty hardy. Just do not put them into the tank until it is done cycling.
2) i was thinking of keeping them in a 15 gallon tank, to small or good size?
- A 15 gallon tank for just two clowns should be fine, the general rule I find is that about 10 gallons of water per fish, but it seems that clowns don't venture too much once they find a spot they like so this should be ok.
3) do i have to have live corals in the tank with clown fish?
- No you do not need corals or anemones in the tank with the clown fish. They are just an added bonus. However if you want to have an
anemone in the tank for the clownfish to host, I would recommend looking into possible a larger tank, and also look up the type of clownfish you want and its compatible anemones.
4) exactly what is the salt used and how much is need?
- The salt mix used is up to you, since I am not caring for a
SW tank at the moment I am not too sure on what salt to use. Each salt requires different amounts per gallon it seems. Just do remember to plan when you are going to do a
water change because the salt and water must be mixed at least a day in advance because when it is dissolving the salt can be very caustic and harmful to fish. You also might want a
powerhead just to keep the water moving in whatever bucket you plan on mixing the saltwater in.
5) is normal gravel okay, or is sand a must?
- Like #4 not much experience here, but it seems sand is better than crushed coral because crushed coral allows larger bits of debris to gather in it. I would go with sand if possible, because it also IMO looks better. Just make sure to have a cleaning crew of snails to turn over the sand so that not much debris gets trapped. This is because if you try and stir the sand when cleaning the tank you will release all the debris and that could become toxic and kill your fish.
6) can i use any old heater? it was were used for my freshwater tank.
- If the heater works well it should be fine. I just recommend that you don't go cheap when it comes to equipment for the saltwater tank because if the equipment happens to break or doesn't fully do its job then it can cause problems and in the end cause a loss of fish. And since fish are generally more expensive than freshwater ones, replacing them can be costly. So it seems like it would save money in the end to not skip buying the expensive equipment in the beginning.
I would recommend having a power
skimmer. This is not absolutely necessary if you are doing a fish only with
live rock setup, but it can immensely help with keeping the tank clean. Fish lore actually has an article about a good hang on the back of the tank protein skimmer (if you can't have a
sump to place the skimmer in) that my
LFS recommends.
Hope that wasn't too much information for you. If I am wrong on anything, everyone please feel free to correct me, because I don't want to give out bad information, plus it would help me be more knowledgeable for when I start out.
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