fish suggestions?

[wright824]

I just started my first saltwater tank. i have had it up and running for just over a month now. I am pretty sure it cycled. every thing went up and then went back down but i am suprised that it didn't raise dramaticlly. I expected every thing to go much higher than it did. i have damsils and they are doing fine. I want to get peaceful fish that all get along and are colorful. Any suggestions? oh and my 6 year old insists that we get a "nemo" fish or at least something that looks as close to one as possible ...she won't know the difference

I have a corner tank that is 40 gallons.. at least that is what the store guessed it to be. I had it for quite a few years and just never got a chance to set it up so i really don't remember exactly what size it was (it was my ex's)

 

[njjamie]

The first thing I would get is a cleanup crew. 10 snails, 10 crabs, and maybe even some shrimp. Call me crazy but I love my shrimp.....they are so cool to watch. I have 1 coral banded (kind of snappy-but funny) and I have 2 Skunk shrimp. Also make sure you put in plenty of live rock. After you have this going for a while, then I would think about getting some nice colorful fish.
I just went through all of this as my tank is now 3 1/2 months old......55g FOWLR. I was very impatient, also know as stupid, and I rushed getting fish. Save your money and take your time!

 

[30-xtra high]

how many damsils you got?
how much live rock do you have?
do you have crushed coral, or sand, and how much?
what kind of filter do you have?
do you have a skimmer?
i'd say you can add a false percula ( a nemo)
a royal gramma
a pygmy angel (coral beauty, flame angel, potter's angel, only 1 per tank)
(if you have sand) a blenny or goby
and depending on how many damsils you have now, and your filtration i can't tell how many more fish you can have.

 

[wright824]

I have a whisper 3 filter and a aquaclear 50 powerhead with the quick filter attached. they gave me 3 bags of live sand for the bottom of the tank. This is what the store set me up with. i have 5 assorted types of damsils and have had them since a few days after getting the tank up and running. the tank measures 22 x 22 along each wall (it is a corner tank) and has 3 panels that measure 13 each on the front and it is 24" high. it only has some fake plants that came with the tank. not plastic kind more like a fabric type and a very large thing :notsure: that looks like a piece of drift wood. it is mounted on a platform and sits at the bottom of the tank but reaches almost 3/4 of the way up the tank. it actually doesn't look bad in there :thinking:

 

[30-xtra high]

you have no live rock!??!?!? you need about 40 lbs of it fast! and fish wise, i'd say in about a week or two get rid of all your damsils, i know they are pretty and nice now, but they get mean and territorial and lose their color and become a "drabby" looking fish, then get yourself a cleanup crew, a cleaner shrimp, a blenny or goby of your choice, and 2 weeks after that get a nemo ( ocelaris or false percula clownfish), 2 weeks later you can get an angel, and two weeks after that you can get some green chromis, or some anthias, or basically anything under 6 inches. hope this helped

 

[bill109]

ok you said you wanted fish tht are nt only colorful but also friendly.. well damsels were an aweful choice to match tht.. damsel will loose a little but of color and you will HAte them they terrrize everything you put in the tank. they get but aggressive and they are fast little $hits.. i had one and it took me forever to get him and i regret it soooooo much.
they will make life for you clown a living ... you know what.
as far as the angel i suggst you DONY get one untill your tank is at leat 6-8 months old. or it may not survive.
a cleanup is essential unlees ou are doing ggressize tank wich you dnot hve to worry about i think..... for fish i would say something along this lines of what was mentioned.
2 blue green chromis
Royal Gramma
Flame Angel
2 Clowns
tht should be it unless you ae on top of water peramters and you can add another fish. try a jawfish... they are the neatest little guys to watch.
this will help you as well..
no fish from "where the pets go" you know the p3tc0 lol not well know for success unless it truley looks GREAT lol
also NO fish from the phillipeans.. they are a 3rd world countey i believe my lfs said and the fih from there dont live long.. when they catch them they put chemicals in th water and the fish almost float up to the top and they catch themm into your lfs and into your tank... then down the toilet..
hope this helps and good luck
remember read read read..

 

[jerthunter]

Originally Posted by wright824
I just started my first saltwater tank. i have had it up and running for just over a month now. I am pretty sure it cycled. every thing went up and then went back down but i am suprised that it didn't raise dramaticlly. I expected every thing to go much higher than it did. i have damsils and they are doing fine. I want to get peaceful fish that all get along and are colorful. Any suggestions? oh and my 6 year old insists that we get a "nemo" fish or at least something that looks as close to one as possible ...she won't know the difference

I have a corner tank that is 40 gallons.. at least that is what the store guessed it to be. I had it for quite a few years and just never got a chance to set it up so i really don't remember exactly what size it was (it was my ex's)
Welcome!
You may want to consider taking those fake plants out, most people do eventually because they want a natural look and the fake plants get covered in algae and start to look awful. You might consider adding rock to your tank because it helps with filtration and gives your fish and critters places to hide. I would also recommend returning the damsels, atleast most of them since they can be mean to other fish. As far as a first fish other then damsels I would say going with a clownfish would be the best bet, they tend to be peaceful, are beautiful fish, and fairly hardy.

 

[wright824]

thanks everyone for your advise. I will get the live rock right away and then take it from there. I didn't plan on keeping the plants, they came with the tank so i stuck them in for the time being until i could figure out what else to put in instead. the fish store said that since i had live sand i didn't need live rock??? so i didn't think i need it. the fish store said i needed the damsels in order to get my tank started. they said "every one gets them in the beginning" Clean up crew? Could you explain what they are for? No one mentioned them to me before
thanks

 

[reefkprz]

OK first off welcome to the board.
second, useing damsels as a cycling method is fast becoming history because its cruel to the fish and there are just as effective ways to do it without tourturing the fish by bathing it in ammonia.
third, I dont think the person your dealing with at the pet store is a very good source of information, live rock is one of the key filtration pieces in marine aquaria. 1 to 2 pounds per gallon is the basic rule of thumb, though you can use more if you like.
fourth, again welcome to the boards
fifth, A clean up crew for a 40gall or so tank consists of about 15 turbo snails (for eating algae) 15 nassarius snails (for sand shifting and eating of detritus) 5-10 blue or red legged hermit crabs (for detritus and algae controll) (keep in m ind they need spare shells to move into when they outgrow the ones they are in)maybe once your tank gains some maturity you can add a brittle star as a detritivore.
all of those numbers are just a starter number you can go up or down on any of those reccomendations. if you have little or no algae start with less turbos and crabs as the turbos will starve to death with out enough food. there are also many more types of detritivores and algae grazers that list is just to get you started on the right path and not etched in stone.

 

[reefkprz]

oh forgot to mention, I too would reccomend against Petcrow fish untill you really know what your looking at when it comes to selecting a healthy fish, they do not hold new arrivals in quaranteen at all.

 

[njjamie]

Originally Posted by njjamie
The first thing I would get is a cleanup crew. 10 snails, 10 crabs, and maybe even some shrimp. Call me crazy but I love my shrimp.....they are so cool to watch. I have 1 coral banded (kind of snappy-but funny) and I have 2 Skunk shrimp. Also make sure you put in plenty of live rock. After you have this going for a while, then I would think about getting some nice colorful fish.
I just went through all of this as my tank is now 3 1/2 months old......55g FOWLR. I was very impatient, also know as stupid, and I rushed getting fish. Save your money and take your time!

Live rock can be expensive but well worth it.
This is a suggestion that helped me but may not be worth it to some people. I, myself, am a salesman of office equipment. The first day I walked into my lfs I got a bunch of info from this one guy and he was really helpful. Usually people just buy it all on the spot and the sales guy try to sell you everything. While I was asking him questions, I asked him about how much he makes on his commissions......it was pathetic, like 3% of total sales. With me knowing that, I bought crushed coral, live sand, a few few chemicals. After paying for this and him making his $3.50 in commission, I gave him $30, and told him I really appreciated his help.
This one tip of $30, gets be a 20% discount on everything and he truly gets me exactly what I need. He does not even charge me for my RO and gives me such amazing deals. I have saved hundreds of dollars, but more importantly, I have received the best information!!!!
Just a suggestion!

 

[wright824]

i think your are right that the salesperson is not very knowledgeble. they don't even have any of the crabs or snails in the store. just fish. so i am going to get the rock and snails and crabs to strart with. Is this a good for now?

 

[wright824]

bump

 

[bluemantr]

I am pretty new at SW too. My advise to you, get the damsel out and give it back to LFS. Before putting any fish or invert in get your live rocks in. You should get cured live rock. If you get uncured rocks your tank will go in to cycle again. Even with cured live rocks you might have some mini cycle because rocks might have some small die off during the transportation. And inverts ( crab, snails etc..) are very sensetive about water parameters. So first get your rocks after that get your water tested. After getting some cleanup crew in i would wait a week or so for add new fish. And add a fish and wait 2 weeks for adding any other fish. Clowns you can add 2 of them at once.
Good luck

 

[reefkprz]

Start with the LR (live rock) bring a five gallon bucket/with lid or two with you and have them put the live rock in it and fill the bucket with tank water (you get almost no die off this way and your paying a lot of money for cured live rock so if they dont want to do it go somewhere else.) once you get the LR in the tank give it a few days and test for ammonia if you get a positive on ammonia your gonna go through another cycle (probably a shorter one than before) keep testing untill you get no ammonia (this could take anywhere from two days to six weeks) once you get no ammonia you can start adding snails and crabs.
has anyone explained drip acclimation to you yet?

 

[wright824]

I have the information on drip acclimation. thanks. So i guess i will start looking at getting some live rock before i do anything else. If i get the pre cured live rock can i put both the snails and the crabs in at the same time or should i wait until the live rock has been in the take for awhile first?