Help! bought 29 gal tank on lfs advice

old salt

old salt

Member
lfs told me I could put a tang and an eel and a trigger + 1 more fish... after coming here and reading books recommended by you guys I know that would be foolish.
I can't afford to upgrade anytime soon so I'm stuck.
My thought is 1 or 2 maroon clowns, 1 flame angel (really want but i'm concerned won't work), and maybe a cool cleaner fish (ideas?).
Am I way off base? Any suggestions or cool alternatives? I'm thinking no live rock or sand but not sure... (I want to do the smart thing)...
Thanks!!!
 
kdlbem

kdlbem

Member
It's really too bad people have to put money above all else........ I mean, I love $$$$$, but I would never tell anyone to put those fish together in a 30gal tank, just to make some money. Bummer. Well, first things first. Find a NEW LFS. Clowns are cool, not sure about more than one. I think the flame needs more room, I could be mistaken. Dottybacks are a fun, colorful fish. We also have a lawnmower blenny that is really good at keeping the tank clean. HTH,
B
 
S

slk3599

Guest
Your LFS is an idiot :mad: That being said,
you can have some really nice fish in a 29g, I have one set up. It has four fish: 1 Lemonpeel angel, 1 Allard's clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse and 1 Diamondback Sleeper goby.
If you want a pair of clowns, go with the Ocellaris clowns - False Perculas as they can be kept in groups with little or no difficulty. In Scott Michael's book states the minimum size tank for a Flame Angel is 20gallons. But you need to have live rock and a well established tank. Meaning you can't stick him in a newly set up tank and expect him to survive.
Contrary to your idiot LFS:
No triggers
No tangs
No eels
No lionfish
No full size angel fish
I would recommend 4-5 fish that will stay small:
Clowns
Blennies
Gobies
Gammas
Dottybacks
Stay away from the Cleaner Wrasses - they are difficult to keep even in larger tanks with lots of fish to clean. Try Cleaner Shrimp - they would work well for you.
HTH
 
jacrmill

jacrmill

Member
yes you can put a flame in a 29 gallon. you can also get a couple clowns, but i wouldnt get outside of the same species, because ive heard they then get aggressive. you could get a goby or a blennie, one of the bottom feeders, to clean up the left over food. is that what you mean by cleaner fish?
 
goldfish

goldfish

Member
Gosh...sorry to hear you were told to jam that many fish into a 30g tank. It burns me when lfs do that to people. What was he thinking??? Obviously not too much.
 
old salt

old salt

Member
I'm not sure yet if the problem is the LFS or the guy I was working with...
Should I go with live rock? I just have the stock lighting (eclipse system), would I have to upgrade? Does a lemonpeel angel need the live rock?
Yeah, I was thinking a bottom cleaner. Is that smart idea? I'm really concerned with setting up a tank that makes sense as well as being kinda cool..
 
jacrmill

jacrmill

Member
i would recommend live rock. it will make your tank look better, and provide a more natural environment to fish. it also has beneficial bacteria and is really cool to look at. with LR there are other fish you can get that you couldnt without it. i just got a blennie, who is really cool to watch. he hides his whole body in the LR, and sticks his head out and bobs it up and down. i dont think you would need to upgrade the lighting. ive got an eclipse also, and my LR is starting to look pretty good. im not sure if you need LR for a lemon peel angel, but you shouldnt put a lemon peel angel and a flame angel in the same tank. they will probably fight.
 
shel

shel

Member
See what people will say to get your money. I hate that. You need a new LFS. I would lr and ls. The stuff that grows is amazing. Also the lawnmower blemmie is very cool with the lr. I have one with 150lb of lr. He blends in so well, you have to really look for him. Once you find him you think I how did I miss him. Good Luck!! :)
Shel
 
old salt

old salt

Member
Sorry, didn't mean both the lemon AND the flame angels... was thinking one or the other.
The LFS said not to do live rock because of problems with medication... do the benefits outway that? Maybe I could do a small quarantine tank?
 
S

slk3599

Guest
Live rock is beneficial as filtration for the water and growing beneficial algae that the pyymy tangs will eat. Lemonpeel angelare constantly picking off the live rock in my tank. Just a note of caution - the Lemonpeels are not the hardiest of the pygmy angels.
No, you can't medicate a tank with live rock. So a small quarantine tank would be definately beneficial.
 
fantomkoala

fantomkoala

Member
U said above that you didn't know if it was the LFS or just the guy you talked to that was the problem. Well if the LFS told you not to get LR because it messes with medication I would have to say yuor LFS is bad and you should find a new one.
Live rock is possibly the best source of biological filtration, and it in no way would mess up medicating your tnak. It is vice versa. You could still treat your tank with copper or other meds, but your live rock would no longer be live.
Go with the live rock, and if you need to medicate, buy a 10g tank to treat your fish in. You can get a 10g for under $10 at some of the chain stores.
Fantom+K
 
old salt

old salt

Member
All the info came from the same guy at the LFS... maybe I chose a less experienced salesperson is what I meant.
Thanks a bunch for all the input so far! You guys are great!
 
cactus jack

cactus jack

Member
build a reef of live rock and sand and buy small reef fishes like the gobies, blennies, clowns, small wrasses, damsel, there are so many to choose from that will make a 30 gallon look great and give you lots of joy
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
yes, he is partly correct in saying that lr ... and meds...., but that is why you get a quarentine tank, or hospital tank, they ar e cheap and eaasy to build, but you stil want them even if 1 fish gets sick, you want ot isolate the problem, wo why leave it in wtih you others risking them??
and yes the benefits of lr and a dsb do FAR outweigh any draw backs, in either case, i would still find another lfs, if one is saying this, it is probably because that is what he was trained to tell people
believe me, alot of us have got some good horror stories that we could tell about lfs's, but a thread like that would overload the server here, i son't trust any(completely, i use my own better judgement
LOL
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
doug. lfs stands for local fish store
in the archives, is post called slang assistance, there are alot of terms that we use there, take a look at it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top