Good Starter fish?
- Thread starter parker171
- Start date
salty blues
Active Member
Damsels seem to be the starter fish of choice.
paintballer768
Active Member
Be careful adding a "group" of clowns. The only recommended amounts of clowns to keep together is a mated pair. A group of them would fight for territory. Clowns can be mean sometimes, they are a member of the damsel family as well.
For a starter fish thats easy on the wallet, IMO chromis, pseudochromis, or damsels.
For a starter fish thats easy on the wallet, IMO chromis, pseudochromis, or damsels.
grabbitt
Active Member
If you go with a damsel, you will more than likely regret it when other additions start coming in. They're nasty little guys and can be a HUGE pain to remove. I recommend basically anything other than damsels. I started mine out with three, but I lucked out.
Not because they turned out to be docile, but because they all managed to kill eachother off.
Not because they turned out to be docile, but because they all managed to kill eachother off.
renogaw
Active Member
Originally Posted by parker171
What if the clowns all came from the same tank at the pet store, they've been at the pet store for atleast a month together
unless you want to create a natural harem (7 or more), keep only 2 clowns in your tank. and make sure they are the same species
What if the clowns all came from the same tank at the pet store, they've been at the pet store for atleast a month together
unless you want to create a natural harem (7 or more), keep only 2 clowns in your tank. and make sure they are the same species
ice4ice
Active Member
You definitely do not want to have a group of clownfish in your tank. The clowns you see at your LFS are juveniles.Once a single dominant pair is established, they will cause havoc and kill the other clowns in the tank. It's best to have only 2 clowns to a tank - unless you have a really large tank (250G or more).
renogaw
Active Member
probably a couple small fish such as a bicolor blenny, flasher wrasse, a royal gramma, some smaller gobies, etc. stay away from mandarins, tangs, angels, butterflies, foxfaces, and other bigger fish.
i would not go with a firefish or a pearlfish because your tank is so low that they could find it easier to jump out of.
i would not go with a firefish or a pearlfish because your tank is so low that they could find it easier to jump out of.
buckster71
Member
Getting out damsels...how can I discribe it easily...
Hiroshima and Nagasaki....
My wife and I tag teamed the buggers and only one survived the tank nuke and is still in there, however, he is constantly picked on by a Bicolor Psudochromis...
Hiroshima and Nagasaki....
My wife and I tag teamed the buggers and only one survived the tank nuke and is still in there, however, he is constantly picked on by a Bicolor Psudochromis...
crt81
Member
Originally Posted by parker171
well i recently bought a longnosed butterfly and it died 3 days later, all my water is perfect, i was thinking of getting blue damsels cuz there like 10$ and keep them in for a few weeks to see if they do well, then i was hoping to add a group of tomato clowns
A word of advice- stay away from damsels. Yes they are cheap and when they are juviniles they do great in the tank but once they reach full adulthood they will terrorize everything in the tank! I just loved my yellowtail damsel and it was great when I first put it in the tank, but now it is the devil!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the worst part is that I have so much LR that I cannot get it out without taking everythng out of the tank, essentially disturbing all my corals. It may be beautiful but if it is terrorizing my tankmates the beauty part just goes out the window!!!!!!!
I HATE THIS FISH!!!!!
A good fish to start with is either a occ. clownfish or a midas blenny. Both hardy and beautiful at the same time. Good fish to put in a community tank! Very peaceful but if you have a bold fish or two don't worry, they can take care of themselves, trust me!!!
well i recently bought a longnosed butterfly and it died 3 days later, all my water is perfect, i was thinking of getting blue damsels cuz there like 10$ and keep them in for a few weeks to see if they do well, then i was hoping to add a group of tomato clowns
A word of advice- stay away from damsels. Yes they are cheap and when they are juviniles they do great in the tank but once they reach full adulthood they will terrorize everything in the tank! I just loved my yellowtail damsel and it was great when I first put it in the tank, but now it is the devil!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the worst part is that I have so much LR that I cannot get it out without taking everythng out of the tank, essentially disturbing all my corals. It may be beautiful but if it is terrorizing my tankmates the beauty part just goes out the window!!!!!!!
I HATE THIS FISH!!!!!
A good fish to start with is either a occ. clownfish or a midas blenny. Both hardy and beautiful at the same time. Good fish to put in a community tank! Very peaceful but if you have a bold fish or two don't worry, they can take care of themselves, trust me!!!
djcanis
Member
I would deff stay away from Damsels. It is what I started with and the 4 stripe harrassed every other fish in the tank till I scooped him out and threw him in the snow. I know its kind of mean, but a 8$ fish killed a Koran Angel, a BiColor Angel and 6 Line. Green Chromies are great, they are just as cheap, very dosile, and cool to look at. When I reset up my tank after a move I put a pair in to test the tank. 2 years later I lost one, the other one hasnt been anywhere near as social since. he just hides in the rock and comes out to eat. Anyway, Chromies over Damsels anyday.
gmann1139
Active Member
Yeah, I'll echo the damsel comments. Cheap, but mean and territorial. Once in a while you get lucky and get one or two docile one's, but this site is overflowing with stories of damsels that required Herculean efforts to remove.
Chromis are supposedly damsels minus attitude, no personal experience though.
And yes, when a $5 fish kills something that's worth more than that per fin, you'll start thinking of creative ends to the fish.
Go with a pair of clowns. They're fun fish to watch, fine in the small tanks, and relatively hardy.
Chromis are supposedly damsels minus attitude, no personal experience though.
And yes, when a $5 fish kills something that's worth more than that per fin, you'll start thinking of creative ends to the fish.
Go with a pair of clowns. They're fun fish to watch, fine in the small tanks, and relatively hardy.