Advice for new salt water fish

fishey

fishey

Member
I need to know how to take care of salt water fish because im getting them can some one tell me how to take care of them........ <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
 
fishey

fishey

Member
Uh what stuff would i need for salt water fish <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
 
fishey

fishey

Member
Uh what stuff would i need for salt water fish <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
 
fishey

fishey

Member
Uh what stuff would i need for salt water fish <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
 
underthesea

underthesea

Member
Your are going to need a good filter and a protein skimmer. Also youare going to need some good lighting. Also live rock helps. Also a good sand bed.
 
kris walker

kris walker

Active Member
Hi Fishey,
It sounds like you are fresh into the hobby. So I'll assume you know nothing, and just list the things you will need to learn before getting saltwater fish.
Water quality (chemical levels: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, temp)
Water sources (reverse-osmosis (RO), de-ionized (DI), distilled, not usually tap water)
Type of fish tank (glass or acryllic)
Lights (NO or VHO fluorescent, power compact (PC), metal halide (MH))
Type of substrate (crushed coral (CC) or sand like for a deep-sand bed (DSB))
Filters (over-the-back, sumps, canister, protein skimmers, wet-dry, etc)
Cleanup crew (hermit crabs, snails, starfish, etc)
Fish compatibility
Fish space issues (some fish require more space for their mass than others)
Well, I'm sure I missed some things, but I list what i thought of so you can learn about them, then make informed decisions about what is right for your situation. Sorry if you know all this already. Again, I was assuming you were starting from scratch.
Welcome to the addiction,
kris
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
ok, we woll offer plenty of addvice,and normally whenever you call, but i do have a suggestion
there is a book by michael paletta
titiled the NEW MARINE AQUARIUM, i would like to suggest you get a copy and read it befor you proceed, it is relatively inexpensive(for a book), adn very easy to read and understand, but covers most of your starting questions and then soem(including selection), ti has been a great help to many newer aquariists, and like i said it is very easy to undrstand, it pputs everythinginto the lamens perspective, and also has a step by step start up guide
taht would be the first hing i buy,a nd it wil only take a couple of hours to read
HTH and good luck
welcome aboard, your gonna love sw
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
for a 10 gallon, i would say a damsel, a clownor a goby, that would be about it, but that is covered in the book i reccommended, do not worry about reading holding you back, you will not get the tank set up and running in a day, i would do htis before purchasing anything else, sw needs a little work to set up, and takes time, but is very worth it in the long run, start with the book, tehnbuy some salt and use what you ahve learned to your benefit,
do not be in a hurry to buy the fish today, i would wait and read today
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
Hang around this board, read the post and you'll pick up lots of info. A protein skimmer, imo, is not needed for a 10 gl, research and find out if you want one before getting one.
I don't know if this was said, but you have to cycle your tank before adding sw fish! well you can cycle with damsels, but they may die, Throw in a some shrimp from the deli and/or some live rock. I just answered on a good fish to add.
oh you'll need salt....and it would be better if you didn't use tap water. Don't rush! Take things slow, let the tank cycle, (if you need to know how to cycle and how long and stuff, either read past topics or ask)
 
kris walker

kris walker

Active Member
Great point, this is perhaps the BIGGEST mistake we all make. Patience is *absolutely required* for success in this hobby.
Good luck, and when you get ansy to buy a fish, and you know you should wait, go buy a book instead and share what you learn with us!
kris
 
krux

krux

Member
I also read The New Marine Aquarium, and I agree, after reading a dozen or so books in the last few weeks, I think it is one of the most basic, as well as thorough of the beginner books (if that makes sense). There are some other beginner books, but most of them deal with freshwater, and just have small sidebars or a couple chapters on marine environments.
I would recommend that if you are going to have to go out and buy filtration equipment, lights, and all the other things, that you might want to add to that list a larger tank. 10 gallons is just too small I think for a first sw tank. You will have wild swings in salinity, temperature, and checmicals, unless you are a chemist and used to doing things like this already. I got a 29 gallon tank from my local mall type mega pet store for 45 dollars, and used the old 10g tank that I was going to use originally as my quarantine tank instead.
Also, I think you will probably want a variety of fish in your tank, and you will probably only be able to get 1 or 2 to live comfortably in a 10 gallon tank unless you choose something really really small. Just spending 50 bucks will really give you a lot more options. Its also probably better to get the tank now and the other equipment to fit it, than get equipment for a 10 gallon tank and then realize in 6 months that you want something bigger and have to rebuy everything.
Also SWF has some package deals that you can take advantage of that are designed to start at about 30 gallons in size. If you do not live in a big city, and are looking for things to eat your algae for example, SWF has a deal that will fill your tank with cleaning goodness for like 89 dollars including all shipping and everything, delivered right to your front door. At all of my LFS all of the inverts are twice what they cost here, and they don't come with any assurance that they will live through their first night. They do not have such package deals for tanks only 10 gallons in size as far as I have seen so far, so thats one more reason to upgrade tank size.
Read and understand The New Aquarium, available all over the place (ISBN 1-890087-52-1) and it will answer a LOT of your first questions.
Good luck!
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
good point, upgrade tank size now, or you will anyway in a few months. how many of us say "if i only had a bigger tank or I want a bigger tank" with bigger you can do more. and it is easier.
 
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