Need advice for my 75 gal tank set up two weeks ago.

[chicagojb]

1. What is the best way to prepare my tank for fish after damsels? My tank has been set up for two weeks and I currently have 2 clownfish and 1 blue damsel.
2. Should I buy live rock if I plan on getting aggressive fish (clown trigger hopefully)?
3, How fast do clown trigger's grow?
4. I know a 75 gal is small for clown trigger, I plan to buy small, but at what size should I start getting concerned for any issues. I plan to trade and down size the clown trigger before issues arise.
5. What other fish will I be able to have in my tank? Here is a list of fish I like the look of: (yellow tank, blue tang, dogface puffer, koran angel, nigger trigger, huma-huma trigger, clownfish)
I would appreciate any advice.
Thank you.
John

 

[teresaq]

Hi, and welcome. There several threads like this https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/386044/lets-talk-about-cycling in the new hobbiest forum.
you really should have your live rock in and no fish at this point. cycling isnt done with fish anymore. A raw shrimp or ghost feeding workes great.
sorry I know nothing about triggers, but most of the fish you listed need a 6 ft tank. Most of them get quite large. The only ones I see that may work in a 75 gal is a yellow tang (even it will out grow) and the clowns..
T

 

[tiffanyk]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagojb http:///t/388296/need-advice-for-my-75-gal-tank-set-up-two-weeks-ago#post_3423603
1. What is the best way to prepare my tank for fish after damsels? My tank has been set up for two weeks and I currently have 2 clownfish and 1 blue damsel.
2. Should I buy live rock if I plan on getting aggressive fish (clown trigger hopefully)?
3, How fast do clown trigger's grow?
4. I know a 75 gal is small for clown trigger, I plan to buy small, but at what size should I start getting concerned for any issues. I plan to trade and down size the clown trigger before issues arise.
5. What other fish will I be able to have in my tank? Here is a list of fish I like the look of: (yellow tank, blue tang, dogface puffer, koran angel, nigger trigger, huma-huma trigger, clownfish)
I would appreciate any advice.
Thank you.
John
Hello there I might beable to help a bit. I have a Clown Trigger in a 155 gallon and he's probably tripled in size in 10 months. I also have a humu humu, emperor Angel, Blue hippo and I would never recommend adding any of these to a 75 gallon. The humu might be okay for a year or so but they are really aggressive. Especially toward a damsel/clownfish, during feeding time, sleeping time, roaming around time, you get the idea. The 155 is already to small for the CT and he's only 4 or so inches.

 

[chicagojb]

Teresa,
Thanks for the info. I use to have a tank set up years ago but I have basically forgotten everything I use to knwo. The reason why I came to the internet for answers was because the store I bought the fish from seemed like it only cared about making the sale rather than making sure I was setting up a healthy tank. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on what is right but I really felt I wasn't getting good info. I was told using clownfish rather than damsels was better to cycle a tank. Not sure if that statement is true but I haven't seen any info to back that up. This wasn't your average pet store this was a store that delt with only salt water aquariums and it really looked like nice like they really knew what they were doing.
John

 

[teresaq]

Anytime you cycle a tank, you will have ammonia, and ammonia will burn a fishes gills.
Like I said earlier, read thru the new hobbies threads, it will give you lots of info.
And yes most fish stores are out to make a buck.

 

[hawkfish203]

You should NEVER cycle with fish just use a raw piece of shrimp!!! Like Teresa stated it's really very harmful to the fish your cycling with.

 

[chicagojb]

Then I guess my gut feeling was right about the guy at the pet shop. I am in retail business myself and I like to think I have a pretty good bs detector. Well I guess I lucked out and all three of my fish have been healthy from day one. I will definitely do more research before I make another purchase. And I can guarantee it won't be at the same store.
Thanks to everyone for all the info.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagojb http:///t/388296/need-advice-for-my-75-gal-tank-set-up-two-weeks-ago#post_3423985
Teresa,
Thanks for the info. I use to have a tank set up years ago but I have basically forgotten everything I use to knwo. The reason why I came to the internet for answers was because the store I bought the fish from seemed like it only cared about making the sale rather than making sure I was setting up a healthy tank. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on what is right but I really felt I wasn't getting good info. I was told using clownfish rather than damsels was better to cycle a tank. Not sure if that statement is true but I haven't seen any info to back that up. This wasn't your average pet store this was a store that delt with only salt water aquariums and it really looked like nice like they really knew what they were doing.
John
Raw shrimp or ghost feeding is indeed the way to go, but I can explain the WHY a clownfish instead of a damsel. If the fish lives, a clownfish is a good fish to have, and if the damsel lives it may kill every fish you plan to add later unless you select only very aggressive tank mates.
Now you already have a fish, so cycling should be done by what is referred to as soft cycling. That means you must have for a 75g another 20g of saltwater made up at all times. You need to do ammonia tests everyday to check if you get a reading. As soon as you see a spike do a water change. Doing this will save the fish, and allow the tank to cycle slowly and as painlessly as possible. Live rock and sand are also needed to help give the good bacteria a place to build.
Power heads are needed to mimic the ocean waves so be sure to have two of these as well.
Welcome to the site!.

 

[chicagojb]

Teresa,
Yes, but there is a right way and a wrong way to make a buck. That PS might have got my business that day but now with all the information of gotten thru here, I will be shopping somewhere else in the future.

 

[flower]

If you ask 10 people how to set up a fish tank you will get 10 different answers. Here on the site you get lots of people brainstorming, that's what makes it great because that way if someone has a better idea they speak up and you can decide what to do based on all that feedback. If some information is off, somebody will catch it and you get the correction right away which makes a great safty net. All fish stores are after the buck, and you are dealing with a worker who was hired. Don't write off a local fish store (LFS)
I don't get my information from any fish store. I get it from books, articles in fish magazines or from here. I still use my LFS to get equipment or anything else I need. I just don't ask them first, instead I go in with a concept of what I want. For example, I say I want a skimmer and they show me their brands or a power head...etc...etc
99% of the time LFS won't carry the good brands I hear about here on the site, so I order it online anyway. However I do my best to give them my business first, so they stay in business, a nearby store in an emergancy is worth it's weight in gold.