totaly new fish virgin..............help

[frozenguy]

hi all-
i dont even have a tank yet....my friend just got one and now i want one.....well, i strolled down to my local aquarium......very nice one....(as far as i know)....anyways.....in about a month, i will be buying a tank...i think i'm going to buy this 75 gallon they have.....anyways.......i just have some basic questions.....
i want to buy a lion fish...i think its called an antenanae or something....a porky puffer, and a spiny box fish......1 or 2 eels...and maybe some others in the future...is 60-70 pounds of live rock about right?
that is what the guy there said.........also...he told me not to have fish and live rock......um.......ok..........my friend did it, and his brother did too....and one of my cousins and his dad too....sooooo.....what was he saying? he said i should quarentine any new fish i get in a seperate tank for 3-4 weeks before puting it in the tank with live rock...what is this???
i know i should let the tank sit after i get it set up just so it can get balanced and what not...but what is with that? anyways, if someone could answer any of these questions, that would be great...also, are those fish i mentioned compatable???

 

[slothy]

ill take a stab at it..
the reason you want to stick fish in another tank (quaratine tank) is so that it dont infect any other fish, and if it does/is sick easier to treat in a smaller tank with out any critters in it..
What the guy was talking about with the tank waiting for things to cycle (letting the bacteria grow).. usallly takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks normally.. the more live rock the better...
and the rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 8 gallons (adult size), as the fish you picked out will get big ...

 

[sistrmary]

It's an antennata lionfish And you'll have to pick between that and the porcupine puffer. The puffer will nip the lionfishes fins, and it will stress out. You don't typically want to mix boxfish/puffers either, one or the other or the lionfish.
You'll want to stick to one eel as they'll sometimes eat each other.
You want to get live rock for filtration/looks. When you do get it, let it sit in the tank for 4-6 weeks until you've tested the water and everything says zero. This is your basic filtration. Live rock and live sand. I'm all for it. 70lbs of live rock would be okay, but a hundred or so would be better But I'm addicted to live rock. I love watching things grow on it.
The best piece of advice that I or anyone else can give you is to read. Read read read. And when you start wanting to gauge your eyes out because you've read so much, read another book. Stick around here as well, you'll learn a lot, and it's a lot more entertaining than most books.
Second best piece of advice I or anyone else can give you: Rarely listen to your local fish store owners/operators. Remember always that they're trying to make a quick buck. Take everything they say with a pound of salt. Half the time they're trying to rip you off, the other half they honestly don't realize that they're lying out their pants. Very rarely will you come across one that knows what they're talking about and isn't trying to rip you off. (a lot of them make a set wage plus a commission, so even though you think that they don't have a reason for trying to screw you, they do sometimes.)
Anyways, this is getting lengthy (getting = gotten?) welcome to the hobby and enjoy. (But my position in the tang police makes me say "Be responsible" as well )

 

[frozenguy]

hehehehehe
well thank you!!!!
now that is something i dont understand.....fish all seem so incompatable.....atleast all the ones i like....i have heard so many (basicaly equal) statements about the compatability of lion fish and puffers......both contradict each other...the other side said that the lion fish is too an agressive fish and their aggresiveness with counter act each other.....i really like all three of thsoe fish....i mean, is it possibe? what if i feed them all live fish? will that calm thier aggression towards others?and the tank is pretty big, you dont think they will get their own space? also...my frind has a porky puffer and some normal box fish with a funny small mouth....they like each other, as so it seems...they hunt out the crab together....they have not yet caught fred....KEEP RUNNING FRED!!!

 

[frozenguy]

hehehehe
thanks, i'll make sure to do both.....