Clownfish Questions

michael r

michael r

Member
Hello there,
Slowly but surely I am advancing in this hobby (although I'm really still at ground 0). I added cured live rock into my aquarium and added some frozen shrimp to produce ammonia.
Within a week, (not having seen a spike of either ammonia or nitrites) I measured my water parameters and ammonia and nitrites were at 0, while I had about 20 pppm nitrates.
It has now been two weeks since I last had those readings (they have remained the same) and it will be another week before I go out to buy the fish.
My tank temperature is at 81*, is that acceptable?
I believe that I am now ready for my first two fish, and realize two things:
1. Only add one or two fish every 2-3 weeks and
2. Quarantine all fish
However, seeing as these are my first fish, I believe I am wise in saying that quarantining these first fish would be pointless.
I plan on starting off with A. ocellaris, the 'False Percula'.
I have a 90 gallon aquarium and was wondering how many would be a good number to add.
Also, I assume the acclimation flash presentation on this website is a good guideline that I can use for these fish.
For how long should I quarantine?
Also, what exactly should I feed my clownfish?
Oh, and since my aquarium is now cycled, and with the parameters stated above, should I perform any water change before the first fish?
That's all for now, please answer as many questions as you can.
Thanks,
Michael
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
I wouldn't put a clown in first IMO.
I would recomend making a stock list and figure out by asking here which fish should go first to last. There is a good book called Marine Fishes by Scott W. Michael which gives information including what they eat on over 500 species of fish.
I would also lower your temperature to the mid 70's.
How much lr do you have?
 
michael r

michael r

Member
You're the first person I've heard of yet to say that clownfish shouldn't go first. Why do you say that?
I realize the importance of making a stock list to determine the order of introduction, but I assure you that of all of the fish I will consider, they will be peaceful.
I have 75 lbs of live rock.
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
I would get a few more pounds of lr. I guess you could add a clown first but I'd get a bigger fish to watch instead of smaller fish in a tank that size IMO, you can if you want they are pretty hardy.
 
michael r

michael r

Member
I will add a few pounds of live rock soon, but apart from a protein skimmer, I also have two biological and mechanical filters running, so I think that should equal to quite a bit more tahn 75 lbs live rock (this used to be FW - Didn't know that other filters weren't necessary).
I may add a Foxface, but should I wait, or could I add it in a few weeks after the clowns?
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
I would say to quarantine anyways. I don't know how well you trust your LFS. I trust mine. He has a lot of tanks and neither of them are connected to one filter and I haven't seen any fish of his with any diseases, unlike petland where everything runs through one filter and don't care if anything gets sick. I recently setup a quarantine tank just in case and will probably start putting new fish in quarantine. So far I've had no problems with any of my fish... and as far as acclimating, I just add like a cup of water in a container i put them in, wait 15 min, add another cup, and then put the fish in my tank.. it's worked for my fish and snails (clown goby, clownfish, dottyback..). If you buy fish from here though, go ahead and follow the procedures they list, but I don't see how they'll know if you're telling the truth about how long you acclimated anyways. As far as how many fish to add, that all depends on the needs of the individual fish and sizes. Invest in the proper equipment and itll make things smoother for you in the long run. good luck.
 
michael r

michael r

Member
When I asked 'how many', I meant how many A. ocellaris clownfish do you recommend for my 90 gallon aquarium?
 
marineman0

marineman0

Member
do u have a fish store nearby, well if u do start with a $5 fish and if it lives get a clown or two of the same species
 
michael r

michael r

Member
So you recommend no more than 2 clownfish of the same species for my aquarium?
Great, and also, a question which no one has yet answered:
What do I feed the clownfish?
How many different food items should I constantly be offering to my fish?
 
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