Need help for a first time aquarium

cwalth

New Member
Alright, so this is my first aquarium that I'm starting to consider getting. I literally have done nothing outside of having a couple of goldfish before in my life, so I just want some tips on how I should go about this and if my ideal fish and coral selections would work together. Also, over the summer I will be out of town for several weekends; will this be an issue with the aquarium, or is there some way that the fishies would still be able to get fed without having a friend stop over and feed them? Finally, what size tank and filtration systems would I need for my selected fish, corals, and invertebrates listed below.
My fish/coral/inverts selection ideas so far:
2x Black-tail dascyllus
2x Yellow-belly damsels
2x false percula clownfish
1x blue hippo tang
1x star puffer
1x royal dottyback
1x heniochus butterfly
2x Koran angelfish
1x zoanthid orange center
1x leather toadstool
1x chili coral
1x green star polyp
1x frogspawn
1x purple undata
1x blue snowflake polyp
3x Mexican turbo snail
1x bubble tip anemone
1x blue linckia starfish
1x maxima clam
1x blue velvet nudibranch
Just let me know if there are any conflicts between those organisms or if some would be quite challenging to take care of, or if there should be something else that would be a good idea to add in. Thanks in advance for the advice/help
 

mr. limpid

Active Member
While Joe is finishing his burrito I'll give you my two cents worth.
Read everything you can, there are threads at the start of this forum a must read. go to the library and get any books on starting salt water tanks.
Buy the biggest tank you can afford smallest I suggest from the fish you want to keep is 180gal., I have 135 and wish I had the 180 and I bet you the people out there who have 180 and wish the got the 210.
Damsel are mean fish may cause trouble clown fish are in the damsel family my fight with yellow belly's. Butterfly will eat your anemone, and the angle will eat your claim.
Corals you need better lighting then for fish only, MH, T5 or LED, each has pros and cons. (read up on)
linckia starfish, I would wait on till tank is well established 1 year or better.
there is plenty more, Joe and others will add to.
Good Luck, this hobby is addictive and enjoyable.
 

cryptics

Member
A couple of things that jump out at me. Never put two Koran's in the same tank. General rule of thumb is only one angel per tank. By Star puffer i am assuming you mean the Stars and Stripes Puffer. First of all great fish. I recently gave mine to a person with a large tank for him to grow. He will kill almost everything on your list. The clam especially will be a very expensive treat for him. You really can't have a cleanup crew with them. Mine used to eat any crab and screw with snails. He would go around the tank and turn them all over. If they were near a rock he would cary them to a open spot in the tank and leave them turned over.
I hate damsels personally. Little evil bastards they are. They will mess with anything in your tank and bite at your hand when you put it in there. They are very hardy so they live long and you need to be a ninja to catch them
 

cwalth

New Member
Okay so the fish list should look like this revised:
2x false percula clownfish
1x blue hippo tang
1x royal dottyback
1x koran angelfish
Would one yellow tang be a good addition to it? And also by 180 gal is that US Gallons? because that seem just epicly massive to me...
 

cwalth

New Member
Sorry for double post, but I have two other questions:
With these above fish and corals etc would it be possible to add an octopus?
Also, what kind of filters, skimmers, etc anything else that I will need to create a successful tank should I get?
 

mr. limpid

Active Member
180gal US, and it looks big but start filling it with fish and rocks and it will change. Besides you need consider that these fish will grow then it will be crowded. As for the yellow its ok in a 180 and if these are the only two tangs I would put the Hippo in first then add the Yellow. On the clowns add them at the same time get one larger than the other, I had good luck with mine. The Octopus will eat your fish, needs to be in a tank all alone also with tight lid any holes or slits he will escape (they have no bones will fit threw any crack). What happen to the heniochus butterfly, very good fish he was one of my first fish to live 5 years, in only a 30gal. This was 27 years ago when an 55 was a huge tank.
 
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