Good beginner saltwater fish for first timer?

well leximommy I don't have any thing yet but I will get only once I have got the tank. the type of tank I want is a 30 gallon with a fire fish goby and a pair of clownfish. with some a bit of fake and live rock and some crushed coral stuff not the sand. and bhcaaron I don't know were I would put a saltie but if a get a tank me and my parents would find a good place for it before we went into buying all the equipment so that's not to much of a problem right now. [I guess lol]

 

I would also like to have an anenomy [sorry don't know how to spell that] for the pair of clownfish I would like to have.

 

lol its ok daniel you should have seen how I spelt it the first time...oh and do it like this.....anemone an-E-mone (lol it sounds funny when you sound it out, but it spells right lol.....

ok then if your parents are helping that would be good.... now keep in mind with crushed coral you have a bigger chance of bacteria building up because ...well I don't know why, it just IS....lol oh and you can't have burrowing creatures....again if you want an anemone, you have to have a certain lighting system...like this...


but it may be doable if your parents are helping....

ok now.... aaron do you have that link for the site I always link you to for fish? I lost it somehow...let me know cuz I need it to come up with a few lists.... thanks...

daniel ill have to get back to you...lol but I would like to know...why are you choosing crushed coral instead of live sand?

(not knocking on your choice, just curious....)

 

because I was told that you can't use a fish tank vacuum cleaner thing with sand from a man in a fish shop is that true

 

No, that's not true. However, when you use it, you will continually loose sand so you will have to replace the loss every now and then. Don't worry, its not like you'll lose the whole thing, but maybe a few tablespoonfuls each time. However, there are some vacuums that have built in filters to eliminate that problem, however they are more expensive.

 

how much more expensive?

 

what do you think is better sand or crushed coral?

 

hey this is weird I saw a 10 gallon fish tank today on a video site and in that 10 gallon tank there was a clownfish and a dwarf angelfish I thought about this is it true that you can do that I thought you said that you couldnt without the fish getting sick but they were happy peacful and healthy what do you have to say to that ha ha lol?

 

infact I have seen tonnes and tonnes of 10 to 20 gallon salties on this video site and all of them have happy healthy and peacful 30 gallon minimum fish n them is this possible? but one strange thing was that they look bigger then 10 and 20 gallons why is that?

 

probly because they mislead you on the size of the tank.... and trust me.... your fish may seem happy, but that's only becasue they have nothing else to do...its not like they can pack their bags and move....ok now sand is better than crushed coral because you can have a wider veriety of inverts, you get a good "natural" habitat for your fish, and if have a few scavengers (inverts) in your tank, you get a benificial cleaning by them, everyday....

 

IMO... Never use crushed coral. Use DSB or BB. The finer the sand, the longer food and fish pooh stays in the water column. Crushed coral is evil ... > LOL . I know, it's in my tank !

 

There was a similar question on another thread. I hold true to my answer, just because you can fit the fish in a smaller tank doesn't make it right. They are not happy in a smaller home. Think of yourself in a house that wasn't big enough for you. As for the price of the vacuum, I don't know. I haven't gotten that far yet. You'll have to do some research yourself on that. Maybe you can get me a price.

 

I lost my link!!!!! I miss my fishy site, it had all of the info I needed about the fish I was researching and no its not the liveaqauria....I can't seem to find it though....hmmm....loosing stuff online is so much easier than in my house, but so harder to find....

 

I know, I can't find the link either. I'll look again tomorrow. Try the other one it was pet something rather... sorry

 

so I could put some clowns and a dwarf angel in the same tank of a 30 gallon but what would be the concequences? and why do fish stores keep fish in small tanks that isent the right size for the fish?

 

infact I think that I will do that plus a firefish goby could I do that with out that many hic ups on the way in a 30 gallon tank?

 

You'll have to tell us how that goes for you. Keep track of aggressiveness. The less room there is the more fish will compete for their own spot.

 

Many rule of thumbs with regard to gallons/inch of fish predated modern technology. You can actually keep more fish in the same amount of space with the biological filtration systems available today. However, especially with marine aquariums, you have to factor in aquarium territory in your fish selection decisions. Marine fish need plenty of retreats and problems can/will arise when overpopulating a tank. Overpopulation will result in stress and aggression.

Personally, unless you only want one fish, I would not go any smaller than a 40 gallon. Many marine fish are captured from the wild and are not used to small confinements such as the home aquarium. I think all marine fish keepers should have atleast 6 sq. ft. of aquarium surface area. This is just my opinion and not based on any scientific need.

 

bhcarron do you mean there would be more territory defence from the fish and what do you mean by how that goes for me? and would the fish get sick if I put all of those fish I just said in a 30 gallon together?

 

ok I really REALLY think an angelfish is a bad idea.... they need lots of room and are very aggressive (at least to there own kind I KNOW) and the reason the pet stores have them in small tanks is because its not there permanent home. would you have a problem with getting just a pair of clowns and maybe a small goby and seeing if that works for a while? I mean those plus a few inverts (cleaner shrimp, a crab or two and maybe a snail...) would be a beautiful little display and the fish would be very happy probly.... just be carefull with the clowns, I don't know the exact order you should get them (both at once or waiting a few days/weeks) but I know a female will kill other females

 

Since you seem like you're going to do it your way, I was saying keep us updated on how your set up goes for you. As for aggressiveness and illness... Fish want a place to call their own, even if its only a spot on the aquarium. When there are not enough spots because the tank is not big enough for the fish you have in there, more than one fish wants the same spot and start fighting. This tension creates stress. Stress, like in humans, weaken immune system and so make them prone to illness.

 

so if I got tonnes of live rock and made lots of caves and things would that probly satisfie the fishes spot to call there own?

 

LoL, you're REALLY trying hard, aren't you. Do what you'd like. Keep us posted.

 

yes id have to agree with aaron, just keep in mind, that no matter how hard you try, your fish just may not like eachother, (again the smaller the tank the bigger chance of this happening....) so don't get to upset when that 30 dollar angelfish kills both of the 25 dollar clowns....

 

I guess your right but I first I need to get the tank lol so some time next year when its set up ill tell you how its going . but just one more thing why does some one at a fish shop when I called up say that could do that and you guys tell me other wize that it wouldnt be smart what's with that?

 

and you know how anemones need lighting if I got a tank that had a built in light would that supply the right amount of lighting for the anemone to stay alive?

 

Try this: Post a thread of your own asking FishLore members about their LFS employees. Ask how satisfied they are or have been with the advise they have given them. Ask how many members have lost species due to bad advise. Really, try it. Then ask me that question again after.

 

what doyou mean who do I ask and how?

 

ow I get it ok ill just do that

 

because 90 percent of the time, they are told DO NOT TELL A CUSTOMER THAT THEY CANT DO SOMETHING! if you want to stock a 10 gallon tank with 200 bettas they will say go for it....they are there to make a sale.


here we are seriously trying to better ourselves and keep our fishys happy and healthy and help others at the same time....

(hehehe I sounded like I fishy rehab clinic....lol)

 

haha lexI lol

 

hI guys I know I shouldnt be asking this on saltwater beginners but its an emergency! in my freshwater tropical fish tank I just discovered a baby yay but the bad news is that there are no others and all my fish [most of them live bearers] are dorsal finned down and they are sticking out the back any one out there I need urgent help please as soon as you can help me!

 

Ummm... sorry I don't speak fresh. Try a freshie thread.

 

ok well the other babys got eaten and what do you mean by dorsal fin downed and sticking out the back? what type of livebearers do you have? guppies, mollies, swardtails....?

 

I have two pairs of platys five cardinal tetras a pair of swordtails an angelfish and a pair of spotted ballon mollys there out the front again today but they are gasping tonnes and look like there sufercating and I think my last baby has been eaten

 

how often do you do partial water changes? and how much, the gasping thing could be because there is too much ammonia in the water....

 

I do one partical water change per week taking out 1 third of it and today I found two of my cardinals chew up and dead

 

I'm sorry to hear that Daniel. You might want to post a new thread asking for help. If you use the word help or urgent or something similar, members here will come to the rescue.

 

thanks bhcaaron you a good help one more thing you know how you said that crushed coral is bad a no no well what if I had really thin crushed coral like sand would that be ok?

 

From what I've read recently, it may just be a matter of keeping up with cleaning/vacuuming it. You'll need to ask someone more experienced on that. I'll reread my books and try to find out why.