New Salt water beginner

HI

I have recently bought a 26 gallon fish tank and have spent the last couple of days researching into fish but every website I go on is telling a different story.

I was wondering which fish I should start my tank with and which filters etc. to get.

I was going to get some Clownfish but then apparently green/blue chromis fish start getting aggressive when there older...

 

Some good fish to start with would be damsels. The least aggressive of these is the yellow tail blue damsel. Some fish that would do fine together are Clownfish, Damsels, and gobies.(this is what I did) Since your tank is bigger than mine you should get a male/female pair of clowns (not maroon clowns), one type of goby, (firefish are cool gobies) and a damsel. Putting more than one of each species in a small tank is a high risk if they arnt male/female pairs.

Fish to avoid: (by what I know)
Tangs (too big)
Triggers (too big)
Angels (too big)
damsel chromises (most aggrassive)
eels (too big)
lionfish (too big, too dangerous)
scorpion fish (too big. too dangerous)
puffers (too big)
I think boxfish get too big
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this is the most I know, I would stick with the ones suggested.

 

so 2 Ocellaris Clownfish

1 Bicolor Blenny


Thanks for the help any damsel recommened in particular??

 

Yellowtail Blue Damsels are the least aggressive. Also, if I were you I would chose either a firefish or a purple firefish, their really cool look!

I'm suggesting firefish over the blenny but....you could probebly get away with a firefish and a blenny in the same tank, they shouldn't be a problem. Firefish (flame gobies) are usually less aggressive than most gobies.

 

Would it be good to get a Arc Eye Hawkfish they are quite cool looking, apparently easy to handle but they can get aggresive

Should I stay with 2 ocellaris Clown Fish is there enough room to add on a arc eye and would he be compatable
                        1 Purple Fire Fish
                        1  Yellow tail blue Damsel

I can't see the arc eye bullying the other fish seeing as he would be the smallest when they are mature or I may be wrong...

 

Would it be good to get a Arc Eye Hawkfish they are quite cool looking, apparently easy to handle but they can get aggresive

Should I stay with 2 ocellaris Clown Fish is there enough room to add on a arc eye and would he be compatable
1 Purple Fire Fish
1 Yellow tail blue Damsel

I can't see the arc eye bullying the other fish seeing as he would be the smallest when they are mature or I may be wrong...

I would stay away from the Yellow tail blue Damsel ,,,, There a countless horror stories about people having bought these fish first to cycle your tank, only to have to tear all the rock out just to get the little mean blue Damsel out of their tanks. I'm also one of those people ! ( Blue Green Chromis are OK ) . Yellowtail Damsel grows from a docile juvenile into an aggressive adult. I call them demon fish ... LOL . Two of them killed a ocellaris clownfish I had .

 

lol wow, mine is a little aggressive but not that much. Yellow tails are the least aggressive though.

 

so if I don't get a yellow tail blue damselfish how about 2 or 3 blue/green chromis seeing as they like to be in shoals??

so 2 Ocellaris Clownfish
    1 Purple Firefish
    3 Blue/Green Chromis?

do I need to buy some powerheads for this fish or not

 

I'm not sure about chromises, I've heard from my science teacher (He has two 95ga and a Biocube) that chromises are the most aggressive and yellowtails are the least aggressive. Another fih you could get is a Royal gramma, they are a passive species and won't pick on other fish unless they invade it's territory, usually an overhang or cave. If you do get a gramma, don't get damsels, they like to pick on eachother, I learned that the hard way, my gramma died...
A yellow shrimp goby could be good too since firefish tend to stay in the middle and they stay at the bottom, they shouldn't pick on eachother as long as they have space.

I'll get a pick of the fish in my tank and pics of a gramma and watchman goby (yellow shrimp goby)

Heres my tank setup, a Royal Gramma, and a Yellow Shrimp Goby...

The Shrimp Goby should have a Pistol Shrimp with it...but I don't know if it needs one. All I know is that mine died without one.

 

I wouldn't recommend the yellowtail damsel either - I had to get rid of one but the other I have is *ok* although he does bully the firefish a little! I have a pair of indo firefish - they're great but they are reknowned for jumping and quite a few people who have had them say they hide up so you never see them - this is true for one of mine. Chromis are apparently very good although I have no experience of them...

 

I wouldn't recommend the yellowtail damsel either - I had to get rid of one but the other I have is *ok* although he does bully the firefish a little! I have a pair of indo firefish - they're great but they are reknowned for jumping and quite a few people who have had them say they hide up so you never see them - this is true for one of mine. Chromis are apparently very good although I have no experience of them...

I havn't had anyproblem with my yellowtail and my Firefish is accually getting meaner to the Damsel. I guess it's cause of all the times the Damsel picked on the Firefish. ;D As for the hiding and jumping part, I havn't had a problem like that. It really depends on the fish's personality. Alot of people say chromises are good but I've allways heard from my science teacher that they are the meanest and most aggressive. And obviously this is true because he said he had a pair and they picked on everything.

By the way, ANY Damsel fish is aggressive, usually you should keep them with more aggressive fish but one isn't a problem in a big tank, Mine is shareing a small 12ga with my perc. and firefish and he doesn't pick on any of them. It's also better if you let the other fish pick a territory before the Damsel, that way it's less aggressive.

EDIT: Oh, and Damsels are more likley to be aggressive if in a pair or school.

 

so if I do get a damsel ill accimilate it couple of days after clowns and firefish

 

It doesn't have to be a few days later, it could be the next day or so, just as long as the other fish find a territory first. Damsels are good at first, but I just found out today that mine is getting to be mean. But the two other fish in there hate him so I don't think there's a problem lol.

If you don't want to go through worrying about how this fish will be, just get a Royal Gramma, they swim just like damsels and are about the same size, just less aggressive. Hopfully if you get one, the others will stay away from it's cave/ overhang or else it will chase it off. I would suggest waiting a day after you put the other fish in to put one of these in.

 

how about 2 ocellaris clownfish
1 purple firefish
1 bangaI cardinal fish???

 

Lol, that should work.

Post pics when it's set up.

 

Redtail Filefish- sounds like a sound fish to get..low maintenance,peaceful and will fit in my tank

I think this is the list of fish I likely to get

: 2 false occelaris clownfish
1 Purplefire fish
3 Blue/Green Chromis
1 bangaI cardinal fish
1 Saddle valentinI puffer

Inverts I may get

: 1 Marble Sea Star
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 blue leg hermit crab


I will get 22 lbs of fijI live rock and possibly 14lbs of live sand my tank will not be filled for a while seeing as I am moving house hopefully I will
be able to move soon so I can get my aquarium ready to cycle

one last question once I cycle my tank will it need cycling again and with invertebrates does it still mean I have to change the water by 10% every week?

 

You only need to cycle a tank once, unless you drain all the water and take everything out. You still need to do waterchanges because of Nitrites, Nitrates, Ammonia, Ph, Alk, and salinity. Inverts can't take these out, they accually help make more, plants might help control it. I'm not sure about the puffer, how big does it get?

I'm not sure about the puffer, this site says that it might mess with inverts. The size might be fine, but it says its not reef conpatible, which means you are either risking or are crazy to get coral, inverts, all that stuff.

 

so no puffers

as part of my cleaner crew I will get marble sea star cleaner shrimp some nassarius snails and some turbo snails will live rock have the same effect as having more plants? or should I buy some saltwater plants

maybe a bI colour blenny to start off with instead of firefish.... I don't know

 

I'm not sure about the rock thing, I have some Halimades in my tank, and they grew like crazy. The fish will eat halimades once in a while too. A cool looking shrimp is the fire shrimp.(allred with white spots) I've never had a marble sea star, But I'm sure that's fine, Turbo snails will help clean the glass and Nassarius snails stir the sand bed...what you have should be perfectly fine now, I think your ready to setup the tank.

 

just found out that the file fish was perfect except... it eats invertebrates so....

I'm considering a Flame Angel fish there only inches they eat flake food lke other fish and they aren't to aggressive only to smaller fish , recommended I accimilate it last so every one has there own territory.... not sure