New Tank, New to SW

[cpeshalelimpix]

I just purchased a 24 gallon tank at a local aquarium shop and set up about 12 pounds of live rock and i have live sand. I just introduced a damsel to my tank and he seems to be doing well. I am just curious what kind of fish i should aim towards from somebody who is more experienced at this than i am. I wanted the Hawaiian spotted puffer due to its size and it says its easy and peacefull. Then i wanted two Percula clownfish and a possible a hippo tang but i wasn't sure exactly how large it would grow. My step dad has a 120 gallon tank but dosn't offer me any help at all. I also wanted a few anemones for the clown fish. Is any of this reasonable? Will any of this work? Any help is appreciated very much, thanks ^^
P.S. When i begin purchasing fish, i will most likely give the damsel back to the shop.

 

[autofreak44]

Originally Posted by CpeshalElimpix
I just purchased a 24 gallon tank at a local aquarium shop and set up about 12 pounds of live rock and i have live sand. I just introduced a damsel to my tank and he seems to be doing well. I am just curious what kind of fish i should aim towards from somebody who is more experienced at this than i am. I wanted the Hawaiian spotted puffer due to its size and it says its easy and peacefull. Then i wanted two Percula clownfish and a possible a hippo tang but i wasn't sure exactly how large it would grow. My step dad has a 120 gallon tank but dosn't offer me any help at all. I also wanted a few anemones for the clown fish. Is any of this reasonable? Will any of this work? Any help is appreciated very much, thanks ^^
P.S. When i begin purchasing fish, i will most likely give the damsel back to the shop.
welcome to the boards!
first off, return the damsel asap, it is cruel to the fish becasue when it is in the stressful environment of a cycling tank it ... well.. stesses the fish out... so first things first bring the damsel back to the store and put in a piece of raw shrimp. let the raw shrimp sit in the tank for about 3-4 days and then remove it. the shrimp will prodce ammonia, (same as fish waste will). ammonia is toxic to the fish. the ammonia will allow bacteria and algae to grow in the tank that converts ammonia to nitrite, and then to nitrate. nitrate is the least toxic of the 3 in the nitrate cycle. once this bacteria is established then you can start adding fish. this is called cycling a tank.
next thing, you will want to pick up another 10 lbs of live rock because that is what is necessary for the tank. rule of thumb is 1-2 lbs of live rock per 1 gallon.
the hippo tang is a nono, they will grow to be very large (not to sure but somewhere around a foot) and they are swimming fish so they need at least 6 Ft of swimming space
as for the anemones, i am not a fan of anemones for a few reasons.
-they require mature tanks of at least 6 months
-if they dont like where they are in the tank, they will float around in the tank and sting all your corals along the way
-they require very strong lights which are expensive (but also necessary for many other cool corals)
i dont know anything about the hawiian spotted puffer, maybe someone else can fill you and me in on that
there is my bit of knowledge, welcome to a great hobby

 

[autofreak44]

here is a list of cool fish that i think would be siutable for your tank...
cherub angel
percula/oscelaris clown
most small gobies (except for mandarins)
4, 6, and 8 line wrasses
most blennies
also take a peak in the nano form and look at other people's tanks for ideas

 

[chentiell]

how long did you wait to put in your damsels?

 

[chentiell]

this is to autofreak44 i wanted to know how long do you have to wait after you put the shrimp in the tank do you have to wait for it to cycle? I set my tank up on Sunday

 

[slowburn22]

Autofreak is right, right, and right again. We both disagree on cycling with the damsel when you already have it, but whats new?

It is very true that you do not need that damsel to cycle the tank, and can be just as effective with a raw shrimp. Keep in mind you'll probably have to remove a lot of your rocks to catch that damsel.
Like autofreak said the hippo is just not suitable for your tank. I dont the the puffer is either. I'm also in the same boat with the anemones. I cant stand them. I would much rather have clowns host in a frogspawn, and you dont have to worry about waking up and finding out that your frogspawn got sucked into a powerhead and shot all over the tank.
Last but not least, autofreaks fish list is more of what you should be looking at. With your size tank you gotta think small... Good luck!

 

[cpeshalelimpix]

I dont know if this makes a difference but i added bacteria to the water, (the amount that was said on the bottle) and i waited about a week before adding the damsel.
Also, how many stalks of the frogspawn should i get for my size tank and clowns? And does this site sell the cherub angels?

 

[moneylaw]

Originally Posted by chentiell
this is to autofreak44 i wanted to know how long do you have to wait after you put the shrimp in the tank do you have to wait for it to cycle? I set my tank up on Sunday
You should buy the test kit and test for ammonia, nitrite. Once ammonia and nitrite become 0, your tank is cycled, from my experience with fishless cycling, it takes about 4 weeks, but it varies from 3 weeks to 6 weeks.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by CpeshalElimpix
I dont know if this makes a difference but i added bacteria to the water, (the amount that was said on the bottle) and i waited about a week before adding the damsel.
Also, how many stalks of the frogspawn should i get for my size tank and clowns? And does this site sell the cherub angels?
Please STOP! You are making a very classic mistake than many others have made. Your tank has not cycled yet. That Damsel will suffer. Take him back. Being that you have rock that you don't know if it is cured or not, which means that it is likely not or semi-cured, please take the damsel back. We, unlike the LFS, are not out to get your money. We are all here as volunteers and get nothing in return other than the satisfaction of newer hobbiests learning how to care for their fish. Your tank is not ready for fish.

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by CpeshalElimpix
I just purchased a 24 gallon tank at a local aquarium shop and set up about 12 pounds of live rock and i have live sand. I just introduced a damsel to my tank and he seems to be doing well. I am just curious what kind of fish i should aim towards from somebody who is more experienced at this than i am. I wanted the Hawaiian spotted puffer due to its size and it says its easy and peacefull. Then i wanted two Percula clownfish and a possible a hippo tang but i wasn't sure exactly how large it would grow. My step dad has a 120 gallon tank but dosn't offer me any help at all. I also wanted a few anemones for the clown fish. Is any of this reasonable? Will any of this work? Any help is appreciated very much, thanks ^^
P.S. When i begin purchasing fish, i will most likely give the damsel back to the shop.
Puffers also have hard beaks, and many people who have acrylic aquariums complain about them scratching them up. You don't say whether your aquarium is glass or acrylic, but I just thought you might like to know that tidbit.
If you set your tank up on Sunday, and you put 1 dose of bacteria in, it hasn't even been up a week. I have a QT I am setting up and using Biozyme to help it along, and I have been working on it since Sunday. I have not seen a spike yet - and that is with following the directions and putting a dose of bacteria every day in! It's true you can cycle a tank with lr and ls but it still takes some time. If you don't want to invest in some test kits maybe your LFS will be willing to test.
If they tell you you HAVE to have a fish to cycle the tank, find another LFS, there are so many other ways to do it without torturing the fish. Patience is a virtue in SW aquariums.
I agree with whomever said you need to get 8-10 lbs more live rock. This is why we are waiting on our DT, everything I have read, heard, or witnessed says you need a min of 1 lb of lr to a gallon of water.
Please take the damsel back and take your time. Cycling with a fish is antiquated and needlessly cruel.

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by CpeshalElimpix
I just purchased a 24 gallon tank at a local aquarium shop and set up about 12 pounds of live rock and i have live sand. I just introduced a damsel to my tank and he seems to be doing well. I am just curious what kind of fish i should aim towards from somebody who is more experienced at this than i am. I wanted the Hawaiian spotted puffer due to its size and it says its easy and peacefull. Then i wanted two Percula clownfish and a possible a hippo tang but i wasn't sure exactly how large it would grow. My step dad has a 120 gallon tank but dosn't offer me any help at all. I also wanted a few anemones for the clown fish. Is any of this reasonable? Will any of this work? Any help is appreciated very much, thanks ^^
P.S. When i begin purchasing fish, i will most likely give the damsel back to the shop.
Like mentioned before...Try and snag the Damsel and take it back...You can use shrimp, or feed and empty tank for that matter...The puffer only reachs 3.5 inches but I still think it should have a larger home..Hippos can grow upto 13 inches and need alot of room to swim around, more live rock would be great but it is not going to crash the tank if you dont have 2lb/gallon..
Anemones are great, but do require more attention then alot of things in SW hobby, and if one goes caput, it can cause come serious damage, Welcome to the boards!!!
(Alot of step parents are that way)