New to this hobby

knoob

knoob

New Member
I've have a 55 gallon tank up now for over 2 months, I saw someone throwing it away so I took it. (Garbage picker :eek:) ) I had 2 clown fish to start it off & yesterday I brought I Dogface Puffer. Well let's just say, as you all my already know that was a very bad idea!!! Pet shop told me they would be okay but they were wrong! Now i'm coming to you good people here for help. Please keep in mind that I have no clue of what i'm doing & I don't know what made me choose saltwater. My questions; 1) What kind of fish I can add to this tank now that I have a puffer in there. 2) Any good book or website I can go & read up before I make another mistake. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
olemiss

olemiss

Member
That's a pretty broad question but reading the stickies in the "new hobbyist" section should help immensely. Since you found the tank I'd recommend testing it for copper. I'd also return the puffer as it will outgrow your tank, they are messy eaters and a large bio-load on a 55(unless you have a large skimmer) and it will limit what you can add to your tank down the line.
 
woody189

woody189

Member
Yea, if you have no experience, you're probably in over your head.
not saying you can't do it, I started last year w/ no experience, but I researched on this site for about 2-3 months before even buying my equipment.
Did you cycle the tank, or just threw the fish in? Is their live rock.
There's a lot of questions we need to know, but start w/ the stickies as suggested. There is a lot of useful info.
did The LFS (local fish store) that suggested you get a puffer know you just started it? If they did, don't go back ,they should know better.
See if you can take the fish back until you do more research. If you have to, get some credit and buy some cat food or something.
As for a good book, I think there was a thread recently about good books. Good site-- You're on it.
Sorry for the bad news.
I like your name BTW.
 
thebrohem

thebrohem

New Member
Dog-faced puffers are great fish. They have a great personality and are smart. Depending on his size, you may have to either return/exchange him, or upgrade your tank. Im not really sure what you mean by it was not a good idea to have the clowns in with the puffer. Did the puffer eat them? They are predatory, but they are usually only semi-aggressive. Lets just say, that mine is a push-over so im just interested in knowing what you mean by that. If he is a mean, aggressive fish, then regardless of his size or tank size, his mates are going to either get beaten up or eaten. So, there is a lot to consider and explain before we can go into great depth of help. Let us know
 
knoob

knoob

New Member
Originally Posted by thebrohem
http:///forum/post/3061653
Dog-faced puffers are great fish. They have a great personality and are smart. Depending on his size, you may have to either return/exchange him, or upgrade your tank. Im not really sure what you mean by it was not a good idea to have the clowns in with the puffer. Did the puffer eat them? They are predatory, but they are usually only semi-aggressive. Lets just say, that mine is a push-over so im just interested in knowing what you mean by that. If he is a mean, aggressive fish, then regardless of his size or tank size, his mates are going to either get beaten up or eaten. So, there is a lot to consider and explain before we can go into great depth of help. Let us know


[hr]
Yea he ate one of the clown fish. I had to take the other one out & put in a little tank that my son had.
 
knoob

knoob

New Member
Originally Posted by woody189
http:///forum/post/3061640
Yea, if you have no experience, you're probably in over your head.
not saying you can't do it, I started last year w/ no experience, but I researched on this site for about 2-3 months before even buying my equipment.
Did you cycle the tank, or just threw the fish in? Is their live rock.
There's a lot of questions we need to know, but start w/ the stickies as suggested. There is a lot of useful info.
did The LFS (local fish store) that suggested you get a puffer know you just started it? If they did, don't go back ,they should know better.
See if you can take the fish back until you do more research. If you have to, get some credit and buy some cat food or something.
As for a good book, I think there was a thread recently about good books. Good site-- You're on it.
Sorry for the bad news.
I like your name BTW.
I did cycle my tank with the 2 clown fish for 2 months before I brought the Dogface puffer. I like the, (If you have to, get some credit and buy some cat food or something.)
I should have just gotten a cat but I've always been a fish lover & always wanted to get into this.
 
knoob

knoob

New Member
Originally Posted by OleMiss
http:///forum/post/3061594
That's a pretty broad question but reading the stickies in the "new hobbyist" section should help immensely. Since you found the tank I'd recommend testing it for copper. I'd also return the puffer as it will outgrow your tank, they are messy eaters and a large bio-load on a 55(unless you have a large skimmer) and it will limit what you can add to your tank down the line.
Thanks most likely I will return him if I can. But he's so damn cute!!! I'll check the new hobbyist section & read as much as I can before sending another fish to there death!
Thanks everyone for the comments & help.
 
thebrohem

thebrohem

New Member
Well, in theory, though the puffer will eventually outgrow the tank, you could keep him as long as you keep just him. I mean, if all you want is to have a DFP then keep just him in the 55, and at some point, you can upgrade. Thats of course if you only want him. Since he already ate another fish, it might not be a good idea to have him with mates until you get a big tank. Either that or trade him and get a small puffer like a Valentini (spelling?) or something like that and have him in a community tank with clowns and such. So you have some options, its just a matter of what you want.
 
woody189

woody189

Member
Originally Posted by thebrohem
http:///forum/post/3061678
Well, in theory, though the puffer will eventually outgrow the tank, you could keep him as long as you keep just him. I mean, if all you want is to have a DFP then keep just him in the 55, and at some point, you can upgrade. Thats of course if you only want him. Since he already ate another fish, it might not be a good idea to have him with mates until you get a big tank. Either that or trade him and get a small puffer like a Valentini (spelling?) or something like that and have him in a community tank with clowns and such. So you have some options, its just a matter of what you want.

Valentini is a great idea. I wanted one, but I have a clam so I can't do it. They MAY nip at other smaller fish, but probably not.
You can look into those as well.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Can you post all the specs on your tank? Filtration, live rock, water parameters...everything? That is the best place to start
 
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