HUMH, I got a GREAT JOB

bb7551

Member
Hey a person I know is getting a 125 gallon fish tnak and is looking ito saltwater, He thought it would be to much trouble to keep one, SO I steped in and told them that once it is set up it is not that much harder then a freshwater, So he is like OK I will pay you 100 dollars plus the cost of materials and fish to set up my aquarium, so I got the wet dry all hooked up and is starting the cycling process. Now I have to think of fish He told me he likes sharks, and those things with big fins (assuming lion fish) Wil a radai lion be good? what other agressive would be nice in there, He likes clown triggers too, but I told him they may be to agressive. What do you think I should stock with, I want it to look full for him. thanks, John
 

bb7551

Member
Yep, ;) that is what he thinks, this is his first tank so he has nothing to compare it to, What would you suggest stocking it with? thanks, john
 

vavoom

Member
Cool job:cool: You should take him fish shopping w/ you & explain what might go good together. What type of decore he want's, reef, or fish only & explain cost & equipment needed. Have fun
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
I would say stock it with damsels, or better yet, imaginary fish. Because, not to be rude, but obviously this person knows nada about swf keeping. In reality, it is quite difficult compared to fresh. Do you think he can identify diseases and problems with a fish? Identifying a parasite, or symptom on a fish is dificult when you have to classify the host as "the one with big fins."
If you stock this newbie's tank with nice specimens, I predict much death and demise. If you're getting paid to set it up, you have nothing to lose by advising him to learn about the hobby before buying live animals. Because playing God is fun, yes, but it's also kind of serious when you have lives at stake.
Now, if you know a lot about this hobby: You might want to stock his tank with some easy, hardy specimens (once it cycles) that you can maintain until he gets the hang of it. Equipment and all.
For example:
Damsels.
Maybe a type of Eel after it gets established some.
A good book on SWF keeping. A computer so he can use this site for information. :cool:
 

bb7551

Member
Well, Yeah, he can ID all the different kinds of nasty little diseases, I have givven him my swf books and he is getting excited about the new tank, I will help him the first few months and will tell him what to do on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, I am not ALL that experianced but I got a morish idol to eat after it had not eaten for a week at the pet store, and that was hard! It was hard because it was housed with a 3" pacasso trigger that would eat everything up, after a while the idol just stoped going after the food, and then I steped in, and told lory that fish needs to eat now! and that whole tank needs to be treated and those eels are not healthy at all, and I went on about how they are not healthy, so I ended up with a job, and in 3 weeks I will be on payroll! I can't wait to ACTUALLY get payd lol. What I am doing now, I am not geting payd, I am just getting a creadit to the store, whitch is better then nothing right?Plus I get 50% off freshwaterfish and 25% off saltwater fish! Plus I can get them to order all kinds of fish. I just need to know what a good stock list and what you think would look good. I was thinking of:
Picasso trigger
green moray
clearfin lion
niger trigger
panther grouper
The two triggers should swim around alot and make it look full is there any other fish that I can put in there? thanks, John
 

laudluvr

Member
BB, I personally love the Triggers. They all are really fantastic in their own colored way. Clowns are my favorite.
I think you may have done a really good thing. Imagine this guy setting up a FW tank and having to look at it for years. It could get kinda boring for him unless he liked the lake bottom look. LOL
Now he will definitely get psyched by the incredible aesthetics of a saltwater setup. Both kinds are work. One just seems to be much more detailed and consistent. Get him into the habit of doing the little things and he will be waaay ahead of the game.
Good luck and I hope he sticks with it.
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
BB, nice man. :cool: That's very reassuring. Sounds like you'll be a good help to him as he learns. I second those triggers. Some may fight, but they are pretty hardy specimens. Good thing is that you are considering pairing the picasso with a niger. A niger is one of the most passive triggers that I've experienced.
I also second laudluvr 's Clown statement. They are my favorite too. But, waaaaaay to expensive and risky to put in such a new tank. Despite their hardiness.
Those panthers get ginormous. Might want to hold off until the bioload gets right. Just me blabbing again though.
Keep it up man. Good luck! :cool:
 

bb7551

Member
Well, I will be ordering the fish in about 3 or 4 weeks, and The triggers will not be that big, they should be around 4 inches each, as well as the lion the eel should be about a foot, so I don't expect a large bio load, There is no real way I can put in a clown trigger into this tank? I keep telling him they are to agressive but he keeps pushing. John
 

hairtrigger

Active Member
I mean, you could put one in. But, maybe not with the other trigger. The clown would undoubtedly be the tank boss in that situation. And depending on the clown's personality, he might hassle the eel some. But, green morays are exceptionally mean. I've heard some people say they need "species only" tanks.
Believe it or not, I had a Clown that was about 14 inches who lived with a Nurse Shark. He never bothered it. but, there was an undulated he hated. Needless to say, the undulated left permanently.
But honestly, I wouldnt do it. I mean, it sounds kind of risky given the tank's young age. Plus, if he doesn't have a UV Sterilizer, there's a more than likely chance some kind of disease will break out. Aggressive tanks, in my experience, can cause a lot of stress that results in problems that UV's normally take care of.
And I wouldn't want to put such an expensive, beautiful specimen at that kind of risk. I had my Clown for ages once I had a sterilizer. But, before, I'd lost some fish due to inexperience and disease. So, here, I would play it safe.
But, man, this is just my opinion. I don't want to steer you wrong. :cool:
 

bb7551

Member
K, Will nix the moray and the clown, What can I replace the moray with? Also, I decided agenst having a panther grouper in there, What else can I put in? John
 
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